The BBB ParkingLot Bicycle Storage Hook is a relatively cheap solution to hang a road or mountain bike with tyres up to 3in wide. It lacks any sort of swivel feature and is only accessible from the right, so you'll need to place it with care.
- Pros: Very solid construction
- Cons: Doesn't swivel, no channel to hold road tyres straight
Few subjects get cyclists exercised as much as the cost of certain accessories – particularly those reliant on little finesse/design, that perform rudimentary functions. Case in point: hooks for hanging bikes off. Many people have success with plastic-coated pound shop hooks costing, erm, a pound, but this approach is reliant on getting the angle of the hook just right, and is also a single-thread point of failure – not great for heavier bikes in certain surfaces, such as older brick or drywall.
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Then there's the like of the Feedback Sports Velo Hinge – at £28, possibly the most expensive bike hook on the market.
Falling pretty much in between these extremes is the BBB ParkingLot, a fixed, simple 'hook' for tyres from skinny to 3in wide. Made of bent steel, with an indented plastic rim protector to hold the rim in place, it's a pretty simplistic solution. Technically it's not a 'hook' as the bar the rim sits on is straight, the rim staying put because of the indentation.
In order to be wide enough to fit a 3in mountain bike tyre, there's no channel to hold a road bike tyre, meaning there's some room for movement left-right once the bike's in place. This isn't a major issue, but if you like your bikes perfectly arranged it might annoy. Recognising the advantages of being able to swing bikes left or right once on a wall mount to save space, many hooks now feature pivots, but the ParkingLot isn't one of them; the bike sticks straight out from the wall.
Fixing is via three included screws, hefty enough to go into a wooden stud by themselves, or into masonry using the provided 10mm plastic plugs. Noting the instructions say 8mm, but the provided are 10mm.
> Buyer's Guide: 10 of the best bike storage systems
It's hard to say much more about such a functional item. It works, it'll hold a variety of tyre widths, and is strong enough to withstand considerable abuse. I'd say from the look it'll hold a lot more than 20kg without issue, but no doubt BBB has been conservative given it's far more likely to be the wall mounting that would give way before the hook itself did.
The most likely comparison is with the X-Tools version of the same thing, often about the internet for about £5 each. That design (and others of the 'bent hook type') is prone to difficulty getting a tyre/rim combo larger than about 2.5in over the hook, whereas the BBB ParkingLot with its straight bar and indented rim holder is easy to hang chunkier tyres off.
Verdict
A solid, simple design for holding many sizes of tyre and wheel
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Make and model: BBB ParkingLot Storage Hook
Tell us what the product is for
For anyone needing to hang a bike on a wall.
BBB says:
Stylish vertical bike storage. Hang your bike on beams and walls.
A space saving option for storing bikes.
Protect your wheels and wall with wide contact points.
Fits road tires and MTB tires up to 3'.
Maximum weight: 20 kg
Rate the product for quality of construction:
8/10
It's solid – bent steel done good.
Rate the product for performance:
7/10
It would be good to see an indentation to hold a skinny tyre in place.
Rate the product for durability:
10/10
It will probably outlast you.
Rate the product for value:
6/10
Much cheaper options are available, with some drawbacks.
Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose
Perfectly well. Can't fault it.
Tell us what you particularly liked about the product
Solidity and lack of 'hook' need to lift up then down.
Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product
No channel for holding a skinny tyre straight.
Did you enjoy using the product? Yes
Would you consider buying the product? Yes
Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes
Use this box to explain your overall score
For the money it's a very stable, easily accessed wall hook.
Age: 44 Height: 183cm Weight: 72kg
I usually ride: Merida Ride 5000 Disc My best bike is:
I've been riding for: Over 20 years I ride: A few times a week I would class myself as: Expert
I regularly do the following types of riding: cyclo-cross, club rides, general fitness riding, mountain biking, Dutch bike pootling.
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