Wet bike?
I just got a new bike. I don’t have a garage and we have a small shed. I can’t house my bike in that. I have been keeping it on my small porch locked up. It is fine when there is no rain, but when it rains the bike gets wet. I don’t want it to end up rusty and creaky quickly. So, I’ve tried to move it into the porch as much as I can. It still gets misted and wet. Yesterday I threw a towel over the handlebars and seat. That seemed to help, but the chain and tires are still getting wet. I worry about like dry rot and rust.
Where do you keep your bike when it rains? Do you have any suggestions what would work best? Do you know if bikes rust easily or dry rot?
I am thinking I’ll need to get a bike cover that is plastic to keep it nice and spankin’ new looking. I don’t want to bring it in the house because the tires are dirty and will mess up my floors. So, I’m at a loss. I guess I should just buy a house with a garage to house my bike, right? Stupid townhouse!
7 comments:
We keep our bikes in our study but it is right next to the front door and we’ve got wood floors so they doesn’t make too much of a mess that can’t be easily wiped up.
Your bike will rust if you leave it outside and you will probably need to be cleaning and oiling your chain weekly. My local bike shop sells “bike pajamas” which are designed for covering your bike if you store it outdoors but I’ve got no idea if they are any good.
[...] Kate just wrote a post about having troubles storing her bike. Nikki and I have had to make the decision to give one room of our two bedroom townhome almost entirely to storage of bicycles. I’d love to have a garage to store the bikes, but even more appealing would be a place to work on the bikes. Imagine Nikki’s excitement when I pull out a bike in the living room to begin work… yikes. [...]
I just wrote a post about our struggles to house our bikes… it’s not optimal, but effective for our living space.
Hey K-
We bought industrial hooks and hang our bikes from the ceiling. It works well because they don’t take up floor space. Would your home have a place where this might work?
If not, there’s a cute house in my neighborhood that is for sale! It has a garage!
I used to keep my bike in the dining room @ my old place, now it’s in our garage… I never did keep it outside. I paid too much for that! Luckily my old roommate never cared.
I think if I were in your situation I’d go with a bike cover all the time, not just on rainy days. That way it won’t fade in the sun, either!
http://www.bikeracked.com is devoted to bike racks of all kinds.
depends what your bike is made of, but many parts can rust, (even if your frame is carbon). the chain, in particular, will rust. OTOH, chain should be changed every 2000-3000mi…
Bike covers are not a good idea unless they are made of a breathable fabric (like car covers). Bike covers are usually plastic. The plastic cover accellerates condensation and minimises evaporation; end result, accelerated weathering. If you can clean your wheels (any all purpose cleaner and a car rag what I use) then you can install a wheel type wall mount in your house. Wheel type wall mounts (available online /@ your bike shop) will prevent the back tire from marring the wall. If it can’t store inside, high in the corner of the porch might provide less exposure. Good Luck!