Indoor storage in a small apartment

ba_barabus · 18-07-2015 12:46pm #1

Guys,

I'm moving into a new small apartment. I've no outdoor storage for my bike and it would have to be kept in the apartment in the first floor.

Has anyone any storage ideas to keep the bike safe, compact and tidy within the apartment?

rollingscone · 18-07-2015 12:56pm

ba_barabus wrote: »

Guys,

I'm moving into a new small apartment. I've no outdoor storage for my bike and it would have to be kept in the apartment in the first floor.

Has anyone any storage ideas to keep the bike safe, compact and tidy within the apartment?

How high is your ceiling?

CheGuedara · 18-07-2015 12:57pm

ba_barabus wrote: »

Guys,

I'm moving into a new small apartment. I've no outdoor storage for my bike and it would have to be kept in the apartment in the first floor.

Has anyone any storage ideas to keep the bike safe, compact and tidy within the apartment?

I use a Toppeak Dual Touch stand. It's tidy enough, holds two bikes and braces between the floor and ceiling so no mounting anything to walls.

Lusk_Doyle · 18-07-2015 1:29pm

Behind the couch?

omri · 18-07-2015 1:58pm

Lusk_Doyle wrote: »

Behind the couch?

Balcony during the day keep it inside during the night or when youre out.

sconhome · 18-07-2015 2:41pm

Not being smart but check your lease you may not be allowed a bike inside.

omri · 18-07-2015 3:04pm

AKW wrote: »

Not being smart but check your lease you may not be allowed a bike inside.

I could understand such a clause regarding the pets but with bikes - ridiculous nonsense...

rollingscone · 18-07-2015 3:09pm

omri wrote: »

I could understand such a clause regarding the pets but with bikes - ridiculous nonsense...

Healthily ignored in my building.

The management company would find a lot of angry feedback about their priorities if they tried to make an issue of it.

Lusk_Doyle · 18-07-2015 3:47pm

rollingscone wrote: »

Healthily ignored in my building.

The management company would find a lot of angry feedback about their priorities if they tried to make an issue of it.

Rightly so. A ridiculous "rule" and made to be ignored.

ba_barabus · 18-07-2015 3:56pm

rollingscone wrote: »

How high is your ceiling?

High enough actually to take a stand.

Behind the sofa won't work as it's in the middle of the room.

I have nowhere to store it other than in the apartment so if anyone has a complaint they can gladly provide me with a shed.

Has anyone a link to one of those bike stands?

rollingscone · 18-07-2015 4:15pm

ba_barabus wrote: »

High enough actually to take a stand.

Behind the sofa won't work as it's in the middle of the room.

I have nowhere to store it other than in the apartment so if anyone has a complaint they can gladly provide me with a shed.

Has anyone a link to one of those bike stands?

High enough to store a bike hanging on Pulleys?

ba_barabus · 18-07-2015 4:20pm

rollingscone wrote: »

High enough to store a bike hanging on Pulleys?

Have you an image to illustrate it to me?

RobertFoster · 18-07-2015 5:03pm

If you image search "bike in apartment" you might get an idea of what's possible with various hooks and shelves. How practical some of them would be with a wet commuter is another thing.

tomasrojo · 18-07-2015 5:45pm

Probably not of interest to you, but the problem can be approached from the other end: get a bike that can be compacted down. (A Brompton, for example.)

Lusk_Doyle · 18-07-2015 8:42pm

RobertFoster wrote: »

If you image search "bike in apartment" you might get an idea of what's possible with various hooks and shelves. How practical some of them would be with a wet commuter is another thing.

Blanket or mat on the floor would sort that worry.

cython · 18-07-2015 8:43pm

tomasrojo wrote: »

Probably not of interest to you, but the problem can be approached from the other end: get a bike that can be compacted down. (A Brompton, for example.)

Very dependent on what the bike is used for, TBH - I wouldn't fancy cycling up the hills in Wicklow on a folding bike, for example, and down could be even worse!

RainyDay · 18-07-2015 8:48pm

omri wrote: »

I could understand such a clause regarding the pets but with bikes - ridiculous nonsense...

Lusk_Doyle wrote: »

Rightly so. A ridiculous "rule" and made to be ignored.

rollingscone wrote: »

Healthily ignored in my building.

The management company would find a lot of angry feedback about their priorities if they tried to make an issue of it.

I can understand the resistance, but it's not really ridiculous at all. Stairways aren't made for bikes. Staircase turns aren't made for dragging or pushing bikes through. Apartment hallways aren't designed for bringing or pushign bikes through.

Having said that, such developments should have safe and secure storage for bikes. Last time I rented, each unit had an outside shed, with enough room to hang a bike vertically. They weren't exactly high-security units, but there weren't any particular issues. I've discovered since then that this was a rarity.

Wouldn't it be nice if DAFT listed bike storage facilities for every apartment rental, in the same way that they list car parking?

xebec · 18-07-2015 8:50pm

cython wrote: »

Very dependent on what the bike is used for, TBH - I wouldn't fancy cycling up the hills in Wicklow on a folding bike, for example, and down could be even worse!

Have seen a Brompton pass me descending Glenmacnass as I was going up it... Wouldn't be tempted by it myself though!

OleRodrigo · 18-07-2015 9:20pm

Aldi do one similar to this :

Cantona's Collars · 18-07-2015 10:49pm

http://www.ikeahackers.net/2014/08/krokig-3-bike-rack.html

http://www.ikeahackers.net/2008/12/tv-shelf-with-door-stoppers-for-legs.html#at_pco=smlwn-1.0&at_si=55aac95d3fdd6f14&at_ab=-&at_pos=0&at_tot=1

Cheap,cheerful but effective.

eeeee · 19-07-2015 12:11am

RainyDay wrote: »

I can understand the resistance, but it's not really ridiculous at all. Stairways aren't made for bikes. Staircase turns aren't made for dragging or pushing bikes through. Apartment hallways aren't designed for bringing or pushign bikes through.

Having said that, such developments should have safe and secure storage for bikes. Last time I rented, each unit had an outside shed, with enough room to hang a bike vertically. They weren't exactly high-security units, but there weren't any particular issues. I've discovered since then that this was a rarity.

Wouldn't it be nice if DAFT listed bike storage facilities for every apartment rental, in the same way that they list car parking?

There's absolutely no way in the world I would leave my race bikes outside in a shed. I have lived in many apartments (and still do), and never keep them outside now. I keep mine in my bedroom (there are 4 in there, two sides of the room are taken up by bikes and rollers). There are two bikes on the stairs inside my door, they're the guard bikes. If you want to rob the flat you have to get by them and their pointy bits first!

Re stairs etc., I can pop my bikes on my shoulder and head down any stairwell no problem, even my 16kg commuter. I used to have a studio in a small old building, and I brought Henri up the 4 flights of tiny stairs no bother. Needs must.

I cannot, in any way shape or form understand why bikes should be banned from inside an apartment, when prams and wheelie trolley's for example are allowed. What you want to keep in your apartment is your business (within the realms of the legal obviously!).

omri · 19-07-2015 12:44am

gadetra wrote: »

I keep mine in my bedroom (there are 4 in there, two sides of the room are taken up by bikes and rollers).

You are obviously single or just weird

eeeee · 19-07-2015 1:11am

omri wrote: »

You are obviously single or just weird

Not single but definitely weird :cool: Where there's a will there's a way :pac:

rollingscone · 19-07-2015 9:49am

omri wrote: »

You are obviously single or just weird

Or has her priorities straight.

RainyDay · 19-07-2015 10:02am

gadetra wrote: »

There's absolutely no way in the world I would leave my race bikes outside in a shed. I have lived in many apartments (and still do), and never keep them outside now. I keep mine in my bedroom (there are 4 in there, two sides of the room are taken up by bikes and rollers). There are two bikes on the stairs inside my door, they're the guard bikes. If you want to rob the flat you have to get by them and their pointy bits first!

Re stairs etc., I can pop my bikes on my shoulder and head down any stairwell no problem, even my 16kg commuter. I used to have a studio in a small old building, and I brought Henri up the 4 flights of tiny stairs no bother. Needs must.

I cannot, in any way shape or form understand why bikes should be banned from inside an apartment, when prams and wheelie trolley's for example are allowed. What you want to keep in your apartment is your business (within the realms of the legal obviously!).

Glad it's working out for you, though there are other views. If I were a landlord, I'm not sure I'd want my tenants pushing or carrying a wet dripping commuter bike into my apartment. If I were a management company board member, I'm not sure I'd want cyclists dragging wet dripping oily bikes through common areas.

DivingDuck · 19-07-2015 10:16am

gadetra wrote: »

I cannot, in any way shape or form understand why bikes should be banned from inside an apartment, when prams and wheelie trolley's for example are allowed. What you want to keep in your apartment is your business (within the realms of the legal obviously!).

It's less about them being inside the apartment and more about the necessity of bringing them through the common area to get them there.

While some cyclists are both strong and conscientious enough to prevent their bike from damaging the paintwork on the walls, many simply can't lift their bike or don't give a damn if they leave rubber smears along the walls and dirt tracks in the carpets. This is unfair to the residents who treat the shared areas of the building respectfully, as the cost to repair these areas will be borne by them also, despite having no responsibility in their damage.

You make an excellent point about prams, but the reality is that the country would be in uproar if people were asked to leave those outside, so it simply isn't practical to enforce the same regulations on them. Trying to determine which cyclists are and aren't being respectful of the common spaces would require more time and effort from the management and the residents, so the path of least resistance is to ban the practice entirely.

It isn't particularly fair, but there is reasoning behind it.

Lusk_Doyle · 19-07-2015 10:36am

RainyDay wrote: »

Glad it's working out for you, though there are other views. If I were a landlord, I'm not sure I'd want my tenants pushing or carrying a wet dripping commuter bike into my apartment. If I were a management company board member, I'm not sure I'd want cyclists dragging wet dripping oily bikes through common areas.

The same should apply for wet dripping buggies, clothes and shoes then. Why do you say dragging when most people who cycle would be capable of carrying the bike or rolling it? It's no different from a buggy. Also, I can't recall the last time that I saw a bike dripping oil all over the place. No need for oil on a bike anyway. You know the way people clean up water from the floor where they live? I imagine cyclists do the same if their bike is dripping water when they put it in the apartment.

Lusk_Doyle · 19-07-2015 10:38am

DivingDuck wrote: »

It's less about them being inside the apartment and more about the necessity of bringing them through the common area to get them there.

While some cyclists are both strong and conscientious enough to prevent their bike from damaging the paintwork on the walls, many simply can't lift their bike or don't give a damn if they leave rubber smears along the walls and dirt tracks in the carpets. This is unfair to the residents who treat the shared areas of the building respectfully, as the cost to repair these areas will be borne by them also, despite having no responsibility in their damage.

You make an excellent point about prams, but the reality is that the country would be in uproar if people were asked to leave those outside, so it simply isn't practical to enforce the same regulations on them. Trying to determine which cyclists are and aren't being respectful of the common spaces would require more time and effort from the management and the residents, so the path of least resistance is to ban the practice entirely.

It isn't particularly fair, but there is reasoning behind it.

When in actual fact the majority of the damage caused to walls is by buggies, prams, people moving furniture, etc.

rollingscone · 19-07-2015 10:45am

I manage a small apartment building with narrow stairs, even without prams or bikes people make **** of the hallways and landings and as Lusk_Doyle said permanent damage comes with furniture moving or drunken hijinks.

OleRodrigo · 19-07-2015 10:47am

RainyDay wrote: »

Glad it's working out for you, though there are other views. If I were a landlord, I'm not sure I'd want my tenants pushing or carrying a wet dripping commuter bike into my apartment. If I were a management company board member, I'm not sure I'd want cyclists dragging wet dripping oily bikes through common areas.

What about carrying rubbish down to the bins ? What about weekend parties ? I see this do more damage in my apartment block than bikes.

Frankly, that's a typical attitude - ' I can imagine that might be a problem so lets ban it ' .

Also, having been on management company board, I've rarely come across such a bunch of cretins - people who want the status of a title but lack the skills to back it up.

OP - Ive three bikes in my apartment, all mounted on the wall. I clean them outside and on the balcony so they never mess the place up. My wife has OCD ( obsessive cleaning disorder ) - if it gets a green light from her its OK.

DivingDuck · 19-07-2015 10:55am

Lusk_Doyle wrote: »

When in actual fact the majority of the damage caused to walls is by buggies, prams, people moving furniture, etc.

I didn't say it was fair, I said that legislating against these things is simply not possible. Furniture must be able to be moved in and out of a building or the premises could never change hands or be redecorated. Provisions for children must be made or anti-discriminatory bodies will become involved.

Cyclists are not protected by law, as families are, or protected by practicality/business as moving home is. It's as simple as that.

Someone said they couldn't understand why bikes were banned; I was explaining it. Not justifying it.

omri · 19-07-2015 11:48am

RainyDay wrote: »

Glad it's working out for you, though there are other views. If I were a landlord, I'm not sure I'd want my tenants pushing or carrying a wet dripping commuter bike into my apartment. If I were a management company board member, I'm not sure I'd want cyclists dragging wet dripping oily bikes through common areas.

Toddlers should be banned from rental accommodation
- they too make hell of a mess but independently and in a random manner as opposed to a dripping oil bikes moved from front door to I would presume the balcony if they're indeed dripping the oil... I'm not sure but I think the landlord is obliged to repaint the property every 2 yrs or so while reasonable wear & tear is something you could not avoid. Don't see why there should be a problem with having the bike inside.

omri · 19-07-2015 11:51am

gadetra wrote: »

Not single but definitely weird :cool: Where there's a will there's a way :pac:

indeed

eeeee · 19-07-2015 11:59am

omri wrote: »

indeed

My bikes are waaaay prettier than that:pac:

Re bikes inside apartments, as others have said there are numerous things that damage walls and floors way more than a bike ever will.

Also if forced to leave bikes outside, carbon cannot be locked and any bike is extraordinarily venerable to theft - I would hope the management company has a compensation fund to replace the several thousand euro bikes can cost when inevitably stolen having been left outside or in an underground carpark unlocked?

Lusk_Doyle · 19-07-2015 12:22pm

gadetra wrote: »

My bikes are waaaay prettier than that:pac:

Re bikes inside apartments, as others have said there are numerous things that damage walls and floors way more than a bike ever will.

Also if forced to leave bikes outside, carbon cannot be locked and any bike is extraordinarily venerable to theft - I would hope the management company has a compensation fund to replace the several thousand euro bikes can cost when inevitably stolen having been left outside or in an underground carpark unlocked?

Why can't carbon be locked? Much like an unlocked car, if you leave a bike unlocked outside and it gets stolen, well then, that's your own fault.

tomasrojo · 19-07-2015 12:54pm

I tried leaving my bike in the underground car park when I lived in an apartment block. I left extra locks locked to the stand. I came home one day, and someone had been practising their levering technique on my spare locks. So I just kept the bike in the apartment after that. It might be forbidden, but if you are decent about not making a mess, no-one will know. Just another somewhat unsatisfactory accommodation you have to come to if you're in a minority.

G1032 · 29-11-2015 6:11pm

http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest-news/new-kickstarter-campaign-claims-to-be-the-ultimate-bicycle-storage-solution-201417?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=Social

Weepsie · 29-11-2015 7:55pm

G1032 wrote: »

http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest-news/new-kickstarter-campaign-claims-to-be-the-ultimate-bicycle-storage-solution-201417?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=Social

Completely useless in a rented apartment unfortunately but otherwise looks a deceptively simple solution.

I've one of those Aldi bike stands, but have yet to unbox it. Not sure if it has to be secured to a wall or not, as I can't attach anything to the walls

G1032 · 29-11-2015 8:23pm

Weepsie wrote: »

Completely useless in a rented apartment unfortunately but otherwise looks a deceptively simple solution.

I've one of those Aldi bike stands, but have yet to unbox it. Not sure if it has to be secured to a wall or not, as I can't attach anything to the walls

It looks the business alright. Wouldn't like to be sitting under it after a 3hr spin on wet roads either!!

OleRodrigo · 29-11-2015 9:18pm

The Aldi one is good. Needs a small hole in the wall though.

GSOIRL · 29-11-2015 9:37pm

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/45823825/stowaway-the-ultimate-bike-storage-solution-for-yo?ref=discovery

This could be an option. Designed by an Irish fella.

Carawaystick · 29-11-2015 9:47pm

If you ca't bring a bicycle into an apartment, just take a wheel off and bring several bike parts into the apartment.... simples.

caol ila · 29-11-2015 10:20pm

2 for 1 this weekend, not a ceiling storage system but does claim to store your bike and keep your walls clean. http://www.getclug.com/

ThisRegard · 30-11-2015 1:05am

GSOIRL wrote: »

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/45823825/stowaway-the-ultimate-bike-storage-solution-for-yo?ref=discovery

This could be an option. Designed by an Irish fella.

An Irish lass I think.

Indoor storage in a small apartment

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