Hi e-Man!
I have a variant on one of these:
http://www.harborfreight.com/mobile-bike-storage-61231.htmlI also have a Minoura stand from the 1980s that is freestanding an used coated hooks under to support bikes with horizontal top tubes, one over the other.
There's also a winch device that draws a bike up off the floor, using hooks under the handlebars and
saddle rear rack, since it could damage the saddle, in my opinion.
...and I use hooks placed in the rafters to hold bikes by two wheels or one.
All these methods are viable, but I would urge caution with wheel hooks:
• Obvious, but make sure the hook is going into something solid. If near a roof, joists and studs can be weakened in unseen ways, sometimes by rot or termites.
• Avoid the excessively discounted hooks, as they can be of such mild steel as to stretch open with time under the weight of a suspended bicycle. I'd suggest not hanging a bicycle carrying a touring load; unladen will give best results.
• For the same reason, the vinyl dipping on the hooks can come off/pull through, causing the steel hook to damage the edges of aluminum rims. The cheap ones also have a coating that softens in summer heat, causing the same issue. This can be a problem if installed near a warm roof. I have sometimes sleeved even the better hooks in clear vinyl tubing to prevent rim damage. Of course, clean rims will stay nice on hooks than ones covered in road grit or salt.
• Be *sure* the hanging wheel's quick-release is securely closed, especially if the bike is suspended by the front wheel if the dropouts lack "lawyer tabs". Rear wheel dropouts are generally more resistant to pull-out when the bike is suspended by only one. An incredible amount of bicycle damage can be incurred from an unbroken fall as short as a meter onto concrete.
With these caveats in mind, I've found all the methods above to work fine, hooks included.
Best,
Dan.
EDIT: By the way, I've never seen a well-built, properly tensioned wheel pulled out-of-round by hanging on a hook.
