Bike Storage

Hi All -

I did some searches on past threads, but couldn't quite find what I was looking for. My fiance and I just bought a townhouse, and are trying to figure out where to store our bikes. We don't have a garage, and there isn't really a good closet to put them in.

We're considering putting them in the shed, which is situated on top of the deck, so the flooring is the actual deck. But we're having a few concerns. First of all, we live in NC, so humidity and temperature are what we're most concerned about. There's no water going into the shed at all, so they'll stay completely dry. Any thoughts on whether or not the humidity and temperature will affect the bikes at all if we store them in there?

Our road bikes are our babies, which I'm sure you all can relate with...

Thanks in advance for the help!

I'm in a similar situation - I live in a condo in Durham, NC which has no outside storage (only option would be to erect something similar on the deck). I would be worried about humidity - I would also be worried about theft. My bikes (also my babies) live on free standing performance brand racks in my living room against a wall. They're unobtrusive and I know the bikes are secure and protected from the elements. How about an extra bedroom?

Good luck!

Carrie Anne

I had a VERY small 2 bed apartment in college. I loved it because it was old, cheap, and very cute. There weren't any outside storage space available. Everyone who had bikes would leave them in the hallway outside their apartment door, which was pretty isolated because there were only two apartments per hall. Because my bike and my husband's bike were top of the line newly purchased road bikes, we didn't want to give anyone the apportunity to steal them. So, my husband purchased four very large J hooks at a Lowe's or Home Depot, spending only $5, and inserted them into the ceiling (making sure that they were in raftors of course) of our second room. We placed the bikes upside down with the tires hanging from the hooks. This gave us a lot of floor space to put furniture and other stuff under them.

I've kept bikes out in Florida humidity in the shed for four years, and in a garage for several years before that- they're fine.

My bikes live in my living room. I worry about theft and the elements anywhere else. To me they are art. I've even seen cool stands that allow you to hold two up against a wall so they don't take up a lot of space. For example: http://www.nashbar.com/profile_morei...u=12288&brand=

I would think humidity would be better for them (any rubber seals, etc.) than a completely dry environment like Arizona. My bikes live in a garage that is never opened except through the small door and it gets hot in there. The only thing I worry about is spiderwebs, which seem to appear overnight out there.

Karen

Thanks ladies for your feedback! I really appreciate it. We hung them upside down in our bedroom of our previous apartment in DC - it was such a tiny place that it was the only place they could go. I think we were really excited to not have the bikes living on top of us in our new place, but now with the prospect that they would actually leave our sight, I guess we were getting nervous.

Good to know that they survive Florida humidity - if a bike can handle it in FL, ours can definitely make it in NC. I really like the bike stand though! The descrition says - "attractive enough to grace the walls of your living room". Maybe it will be the new art in our living room :)