The Money Mustache Community
Around the Internet => Antimustachian Wall of Shame and Comedy => Topic started by: meghan88 on May 09, 2016, 08:41:11 AM
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There's a bike storage room off the upper parking garage in the condo building. It is tiny and fits eight bikes - there are eight hooks on the left side wall. There's barely enough room to position a bike in front of a hook prior to hoisting it up there. I've claimed the farthest hook and rather than use the hook itself, I lock my bike against the back wall. It's completely out of everyone's way. I'm the only one who uses their bike on a daily basis, rain, shine or snow. The other bikes never move except for maybe once or twice a year on a sunny Saturday or Sunday.
For a while, someone was storing a large table saw in there which I had to drag in and out of the room every time I wanted to get my bike. Found out who that was and they removed it.
But the worst offenders are newbies who think it's fine to leave their bikes, sometimes two bikes locked up together, leaning up against the right side wall. Hey, the racks are all full with bikes that don't move. I can't get my bike out because these new bikes are in the way and there's no room to squeeze past them. And it would be impossible for anyone else to get their bikes off the racks - not that it matters because they're not being used.
These non-used bikes are invariably Norcos or Treks or something halfway decent, and just about all of them need some serious air in their tires - further proof of non-use.
Seeing as we live in a part of the country where the car is king, I guess the assumption is that a bike storage room is akin to a storage locker.
Aside from putting up signs which will likely be ignored because nobody goes in there after they dump their bikes for the first time, does anyone have any creative suggestions for dealing with this? Condo rules say that we can't keep bikes anywhere else - not even in our own units because the elevators "might get scratched".
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Have you contacted anyone in the building about either more bike storage, or what alternatives they would accept? If the spaces they provide are always full and they don't want you bringing your bike up and down in the elevator, the onus really should be on them to provide you with an alternative.
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I'm on the board of my condo and, for 1 3/4 years, have been trying to get our crappy management company (who's getting terminated) to investigate ways to increase our bike storage capacity. (We come up with ideas, and then the company changes personnel or they find some other reason to drop the ball.) We have a nice bike cage near the bottom of our parking deck that holds somewhere around 50 bikes, but because some people have abandoned bikes and others have managed to get theirs in there despite not registering them with the concierge (they're not supposed to have the lock codes unless they register), we are suffering the same problem of the cage being overcrowded. Consequently, many people (like me) cannot even get their bikes out to use them. Anyhow, I think we are *finally* getting some new racks for better organization in the coming month.
Hopefully your building has a management company that is less crappy than mine. Our board is great, but the company drags their feet on projects (and other issues that I shall not get into here). My suggestion would be that you contact your property manager and any board members you know to ask them about increasing the bike storage capacity. Let them know of the problem you are experiencing. I would also suggest you brainstorm ahead of time about whether there might me another appropriate space on your building site where a second bike cage/racks could be added. That's one of the things I've been pushing for here -- that an area of dead space we have elsewhere in the parking deck have more bike racks added. If you're able to approach the manager and the board with possible solutions, hopefully you would have greater success in getting them to implement them. You could also just start with requiring residents to remove all property from the cage for a day while the building cleans the cage space, and then people are only permitted to put their bikes back in if each one is registered on file with management.
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Since you appear to be the only one (or one of only a few) who uses your bike on a regular basis, why park it in the back? Why not put it near the door so you don't have to fight your way through the entire room with it every time?
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Have you contacted anyone in the building about either more bike storage, or what alternatives they would accept? If the spaces they provide are always full and they don't want you bringing your bike up and down in the elevator, the onus really should be on them to provide you with an alternative.
Thanks GuitarStv - the alternative is another room in the lower garage but it's very out of the way and requires garage fob access (the upper has access to a side door). Adds a large lump to my keychain and an extra 5 minutes to get in or to get out. There's not much sympathy from the board because I'm a lone voice crying in the wilderness (I've been to meetings so I know that no one else cares).
Hopefully your building has a management company that is less crappy than mine. Our board is great, but the company drags their feet on projects (and other issues that I shall not get into here). ... I would also suggest you brainstorm ahead of time about whether there might me another appropriate space on your building site where a second bike cage/racks could be added.
LeRainDrop - management company is OK but the Board doesn't care ... and there's no extra space that wouldn't involve taking away car parking ... heaven forbid.
Since you appear to be the only one (or one of only a few) who uses your bike on a regular basis, why park it in the back? Why not put it near the door so you don't have to fight your way through the entire room with it every time?
Hi Miss P. The room is way too small for that suggestion to work, unfortunately. The handlebars of the first bike hit the edge of the door every time it's opened (it opens inward). The hinge of the door is flush with the right side wall. If there are two bikes on the right side wall, there's no way to maneuver any of the bikes off the hook and out the door. Dumb design.
There is an area at the back of the upper garage where I could lock the wheel to the frame but we've had some thefts here. I use a pretty good Abus U-lock but one never knows, even though it's an old beater Trek that I got off kijiji for 80 bucks. So no big investment if it got stolen, just a big piss-off.
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Interesting. And I guess there's no "service elevator" that could be used to get your bike to your own condo?
(The rebel in me would have started storing my bike in my own condo long ago...elevator scratches be damned. I mean, they're not offering you a viable alternative.)
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Sell the unused bikes and free up some space.
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I have no advice, just came to commiserate. I live in a small, walkup condo building (16 units). In our bylaws, it states that bikes are not to be brought throught the hallways due to damage done to walls/stairwells and that all bikes are to be left in the exterior sheds. What I *don't* understand is how that's supposed to work since only 8 units have exterior storage sheds (the other 8 units have storage closets inside the building). *ALL* the storage options (closet vs shed) are very small and hard to manoever a bike into. I haven't made it to board meeting yet but most owners don't care as I think all but 3 of the units are now used as investment properties. The other owners don't want to do anything if it costs them money since it takes away from their rental profits. :(
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I would just break the stupid rule about keeping it in your unit, at least until the complex contacted you about it.
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Can you take both wheels off the frame, and U-Lock them somewhere secure? Then bring the frame in. This way you're no longer bringing a bike into the building. You're just bringing bike parts. :P
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Do you have a garage stall? Can you ask about mounting a hook to the wall in front of your space that you could hang the bike above the hood of your car?
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I have no advice, just came to commiserate. I live in a small, walkup condo building (16 units). In our bylaws, it states that bikes are not to be brought throught the hallways due to damage done to walls/stairwells and that all bikes are to be left in the exterior sheds. What I *don't* understand is how that's supposed to work since only 8 units have exterior storage sheds (the other 8 units have storage closets inside the building). *ALL* the storage options (closet vs shed) are very small and hard to manoever a bike into. I haven't made it to board meeting yet but most owners don't care as I think all but 3 of the units are now used as investment properties. The other owners don't want to do anything if it costs them money since it takes away from their rental profits. :(
How awful. That is way worse than anything I have to deal with. My sympathies.
I would just break the stupid rule about keeping it in your unit, at least until the complex contacted you about it.
Yeah, I've done that. I can't see how a bike would cause much more damage than, say, a zipper on a knapsack (e.g. if someone leans back against the elevator walls).
Can you take both wheels off the frame, and U-Lock them somewhere secure? Then bring the frame in. This way you're no longer bringing a bike into the building. You're just bringing bike parts. :P
Hah!! That would make a point, but would be a PITA. I'm stuck being a vigilante for now, removing all things in my way. And now, at my workplace, the summer dilettante bikers have taken over the racks downstairs, so the Trek will be snoozing beside my desk until October.
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Do you have a garage stall? Can you ask about mounting a hook to the wall in front of your space that you could hang the bike above the hood of your car?
Nope - there's no reserved parking. Plus a lot of car break-ins and thefts.