The Topeak Dual Touch bike stand is a sleek, modern take on horizontal bike storage. It’s also easy to use and even fits kids’ bikes! Read the review below for more reasons we use this bike stand in our own house.
Topeak Dual Touch Bike Stand
RATING: Exceptional
MSRP: $220
BEST FOR: Cyclists who appreciate minimalist designs, as well as areas that are not highly trafficked by kids
CAPACITY: 39.7 lbs per hook set, 2 bikes or 4 with add-on kit
PROS:
- Sleek, minimalist, modern design
- Can fit any wheel size – from balance bike to adult!
- Highly adjustable for flat or sloping top tubes
- Comes almost fully assembled!
- Doesn’t damage walls
- Excellent quality
CONS:
- Stable, but best not to have kids running into it all the time
Topeak Dual-Touch Bike Stand Review – Results of our Testing
Topeak’s Dual-Touch Bike Stand is a sleek, minimalist design that keeps the focus on your bikes, not on a clunky rack. Surprisingly easy to assemble and install, the Dual-Touch is also versatile because it can hold everything from balance bikes to adult bikes, and flat or sloping top tubes. As one of the most unique bike storage racks we’ve tested, it’s easily our favorite for indoor bike storage!
How it Works
The Topeak Dual-Touch Bike Stand is a black anodized aluminum pole that is pressure-set between the floor and ceiling (dual contact points). No mounting hardware, and no damage to any walls required! A quick release lever easily extends the pole upwards to reach ceilings up to 10.5 feet high, and hook mounts are secured to the pole to hang up to four bikes.
The top and base of the pole are capped with round rubber feet to maximize contact with the floor and ceiling, and increase stability. The top of the pole must be secured against a ceiling joist or beam to support the pressure of the top of the pole. Failure to do so could result in the pole punching through dry wall.
The hook units that hang the bikes can be moved up or down the pole depending on the space needed to store the bikes – great for accommodating kids bikes and adult bikes. Additionally, these hook units can be angled and secured up to 30 degrees to fit snuggly with flat or sloping top tubes!
There’s also an optional handlebar stabilizer bar to keep the front wheel aligned and looking neat and beautiful.
Capacity and Fit
While the Dual-Touch Stand comes with two bike hangers, two additional hangers can be purchased for storing more bikes on the opposite side of the pole. Each hanger can support 39.7 pounds, and each pole can support a total of 158.7 pounds.
Because the hangers can be angled up to 30 degrees, most sloping top tubes should not be a problem. Additionally, the hooks on the hangers can be adjusted horizontally to make the space between them wider or more narrow. This certainly helped when we attempted to hang smaller bikes.
In our testing, we were able to fit a Strider balance bike, and even a woom 1 balance bike that has a uniquely curved top tube. We also successfully hung a 14″ bike, 20″ bike, 24″ bike and women’s and men’s bikes. We had trouble with the 16″ bike we tested because its top tube is abnormally steep. This shouldn’t be a problem with most 16″ bikes.
Bikes with wider handlebars can be a bit of an issue if you install your pole too close to the wall. We installed ours pretty close because we wanted the bikes as flat against the wall as possible. However, when you do that, there isn’t enough room for wide handlebars to fit between the pole and the wall.
As a result, we had to turn the handlebars and front wheel to make room. Not a big deal, but it certainly doesn’t look as clean as a perfectly aligned bike. If you have the room, you might want to measure your handlebars and install the pole a little farther from the wall.
Assembly
The pole itself comes fully assembled. The only additional assembly required is mounting the hook units onto the pole after it’s been secured between floor and ceiling. This only takes a few minutes.
To secure the pole between the floor and ceiling, find the ceiling joist and mark the ceiling. Release the quick release lever to extend the pole upwards until the rubber top cap just slightly hits the ceiling. Once it makes contact, close the quick release lever back in place. To fully engage the pressure set stability, push down on the foot lock stepper.
We initially had trouble engaging the foot lock because we had extended the pole too far. While we thought the top was just barely brushing the ceiling, it was extended too far to allow the foot lock to push the pole upwards and lock into place. We had to lower the pole just slightly with the quick release, which then allowed the foot lock to engage.
When you’re ready to mount the hook hangers, we recommend leaving the hangers and the hooks about 3/4 screwed in until you’re ready to mount your bikes. At that point you can determine the best angle for the hook mount and the best placement for the hooks and tighten the screws accordingly.
Here’s Topeak’s official installation video:
While we did not have the issue I’m about to bring up, there are enough comments on Amazon that we wanted to ask Topeak directly. Several people reported that over time, the column came loose and fell over. Most speculate about weather related expansion and contraction.
However, Topeak’s response was clear that if the column is installed properly, it will not fall over, even with time. Here is a portion of their answer to us:
“The stand needs to be totally vertical, directly on a level floor and against a level ceiling joist or beam. The most common error is that users don’t tighten the QR bolt enough. The torque spec in the instructions says 3Nm, but users can exceed that to ensure that the two tubes don’t slide into each other. Other common errors are installing on a rug, or bumping the stand enough that it offsets the alignment but doesn’t immediately cause it to fall. In theory weather can play a factor—after all, heat and humidity can change wood—but Topeak has never had this come up.”
Basically, Topeak stands behind their product fully – you’re just responsible for installing it correctly! We are keeping our column up in our home and will update this review if we have any issues. **UPDATE** 2 years later, we’ve never had to adjust it and it still works perfectly!
Bottom Line
Topeak’s Dual-Touch Bike Stand is a surprise winner in our book. While we were initially a bit skeptical of the overall idea of a bike storage column, we were soon won over by its sleek design and ease-of-use. And as far as family storage goes, anything that can store every size of kid’s bike get an extra gold star!
FTC Disclosure: Affiliate links are included in this review. No monetary compensation was provided for this review, however, the reviewed product was supplied by the manufacturer or distributor to help facilitate this review. All opinions and images are that of Two Wheeling Tots LLC. All content and images are copyrighted and should not be used or replicated in any way. View our Terms of Use.
