Right now I'm keeping my bike (Kona Ute) inside, but it's a pain getting it out of the house. The only room with enough space is in the back of the house, so getting to the front door involves a complicated dance of maneuvering around furniture and through narrow doorways. Getting to the back door is somehow worse. Is there a viable outdoor storage method that doesn't involve a shed? Does anyone know anything about either of these products:
http://goo.gl/6g4wV
About our backyard: It butts up against neighbors' yards on all three sides, with two sides being fenced (you can't see over it). No alley. Our driveway does extend to the back, but a vehicle is always parked at the street end. You can't really see our yard from the street. You would have to walk down our driveway to see it.
Also, a hoist or wall hook will not work in our house.
Those types of locks may still leave your bike susceptible to tampering /thieving.
1. Anchor into concrete, not asphalt or wood. Anchoring will require a hammer drill (rent from hardware store) and a quick setting epoxy (sold at hardware stores)
2. You'll probably need large, long chains (sold at hardware stores) to lock through your frame and wheels.
Maybe you could find a clever way of rearranging your living room furniture so the bike can be parked behind a sofa or something?
would taking a wheel or two off help?
The only thing wrong with those that I can see (assuming good installation) is that then you get to worry about the chain. All chains can be cut, it's just a matter of time/tools.
Personally, I'd try to rearrange/get rid of furniture and store inside (but I like an empty house). Next best would be inside a bike locker/shed/out of sight (even out of sight of your out of sight back yard), secured with your posted method. I wouldn't leave it where you could see it unless you knew where it was and were headed for it. That way if evil people decide your secluded back yard is the perfect place to break into your house, they don't get a bonus bicycle for their deviousness.
I also wouldn’t want my bike to be out in the elements 24/7. The UV rays will wear away any plastic/rubber parts & the wet will eat away at the metal. A vinyl cover helps, but my experience of leaving grills, etc. with a cover on them has not been too successful since the cover sometimes traps the moisture in.
A small shed is probable best, with a product like you’ve shown on the inside for extra safety would be sweet. Something like this wouldn’t take up too much space - http://www.rubbermaid.com/Category/Pages/ProductDetail.aspx?Prod_ID=RP091380
Do not overlook the idea of hanging the bike from the cieling or on the wall.
Thanks for the replies. Truth be told, I would love a shed (for both bike and lawn mower storage), but I'm hesitant to put one in as I don't want to eat up more of our yard if I can avoid it. We just built a raised garden in the area that would be perfect for a shed.
I had certainly planned on using a cover if I'd received encouragement about those anchors, but I hadn't thought about trapping moisture underneath.
It looks as though my current method may be the best for the foreseeable future. I may revisit this when we finish our 3rd floor (we have to start it first!). Then we'll move some furniture/entire rooms around the house.
Orion, it makes me nervous. I've never been good at finding studs in plaster walls. Plus, there just aren't that many places that aren't aren't taken up by a fireplace, woodwork, built-ins, etc. The biggest bare wall is right where I'm currently storing the bike.
Motorcycle covers are designed to not trap (as much) moisture underneath. I used one (for my motorcycle) for two years when I didn't have a garage. One might work ok on a bicycle...
My buddy uses an old BBQ grill cover for his "porch bike"
I found its easier to move a bike around inside a house if you roll it on just its back wheel with the bike verticle ... I only figured this out when I had to move a bike down the aisle of one of those big style PAT busses with narrow aisles.
I found its easier to move a bike around inside a house if you roll it on just its back wheel with the bike verticle
You haven't seen a Kona Ute, have you? 
Ohhhh Right I haven't!
I definitely wouldn't put any stock in being secluded. I thought my garage was secluded (it's on a dead end, unmarked alley, not really visible from the street) but someone came and stole crap out of there.
I keep my bikes in my basement, I assume that's not an option for you? It is one thing that gives me pause about buying a Ute or other cargo bike, I'm not sure if I could maneuver it down there very easily.
rzod - studs aren't so bad to find. Take an electric toothbrush or razor (ahem or similar device), turn it on, put the back end (not the business end) against the wall about shoulder height. Move it back and forth from side to side, you should be able to hear differences. The "hollower" sounds are the spaces, the middle of the "less hollow" sound is a stud - and it will happen at mostly reliable distances (like 12" centers, or whatever). To double check, try it near a window - the window will be framed in and have spaces around it. Doing it at waist height could produce confusion in a house with a fire break in the wall (head or shoulder height should be safer, but old houses can be crazy). If you hear no variation, you may have plaster directly on brick or some other oddity (and exploratory drilling might be in order)
My second favorite way to check is good for quick confidence. Take a drill with a very very small bit, head towards a window, see what it feels like to drill into the stud near the window. Move 6 inches away, see what it feels like there (no stud). Check standard center distances from a corner/window/door for feel, measure accordingly. But that can put a lot of little holes in a wall, and if you've got wire mesh backed plaster, it will just prolong the nightmare.
I probably didn't help, I'm sorry. Good luck with the bike storage (and the reno)!
@Salty - It's an option, but not a great one. Our basement can get dampish at times and also has become a repository for things which have no proper place: "Where does this go?" "I don't know. Put it in the basement!" It's getting a bit crowded down there.
@ejwme - Are you saying you know someone who has used a "similar device" for this purpose? Yowza. (Insert joke about studs and wood here.)
(Insert follow-up joke about "naughty pine".)
Vaguely related...I've seriously wondered about the feasibility of buying a junked-up van and parking it semi-permanently in front of my house. The exterior becomes framework for flower boxes; the interior becomes reasonably secure bike storage.
I'd love to see what you come up with as I have almost identical issues, which stinks since I ride everywhere, but don't have any where out front to just lock it. I seriously thought about just getting a bike rack and cover, but then I thought that would just add to the "what is that thing" curiosity from the neighbors.
Something like this would allow you to keep your garden, and have a place to store bikes and your lawn mower. It's not quite as practical as your Ute, but it is at least as cool.
I think your outdoor idea with a cover could be ok, but I'm with Salty that thinking you're secluded might not be all that safe. I've had a couple instances where the stolen items could only have been seen by neighbors and another time by people we'd had over before.
When's the last time you heard an angle grinder being used in your neighborhood and thought "I should go check to see if someone is stealing something"
I'd never trust 3/4" rod with something I cared about in a residential area. If someone really wanted it, it would actually be easier to steal than if you had it locked with a chain in public, just because most folks don't flinch when they hear neighbors using powertools.
"Something like this would allow you to keep your garden..."
Epic.
Before I used either of the products in your original question, I would probably make some kind of locking loop. Rent a post-hole digger from Home Depot, dig a hole about 1 foot round and 3 feet deep, you would have to find some kind of heavy steel rod in a loop shape, 3/4" rebar from a scrap yard would be ideal, and set it into the hole with a few bags of ready mix concrete. Even if you did a shed I would do some kind of anchor like that under the floor of the shed.
Now if it was me, I would probably make the loop out of pipe, and "accidentally" leave a live 110 volt wire inside the pipe, so if someone "accidentally" tried to cut through the pipe, it would "gently" make them aware that the pipe shouldn't be cut. But that would be very, very wrong.
I found its easier to move a bike around inside a house if you roll it on just its back wheel with the bike verticle
This is true so long as it's (a) not a Kona Ute (as Dan mentioned) and (b) without fenders mounted. Provided neither is the case, it's definitely the best way to move a bike through cramped quarters. Regulate by using the back brake. I used to flip my bike kind of all the time before I got fendered and it was really useful for going up and down elevators, which I had to do occasionally.
Why not obtain a three river bike rack and mount it somewhere?
@Nick - That is awesome. Even better, maybe I could build a secret lair under my house, and enter and exit via a cave hidden behind a waterfall. Then I'll be all ready for the Batman ride!
@orion - Is that possible, or is this a case of me not seeing internet sarcasm? That was actually my original thought and what led me to those bike anchors.
Not to hijack this thread but…can the three river bike racks in front of the close Right by Nature store on Smallman St. in the strip be repurposed to a better location?
http://bike-pgh.org/buy_stuff/purchase-bike-racks/
Pricey, but you can: http://bike-pgh.org/buy_stuff/purchase-bike-racks/
Well, that is slightly embarrassing. I hadn't noticed that part of the site before. You're right though, it's a bit more than I (or my "financial advisor") would like to spend. What about the other racks? Are they any less secure? The hoop and swerve racks are closer to my budget.
I don't see how they are less secure. The 3R racks are custom made and have more involved metal work and welding. The two you mentioned can be mass produced quite easily.
http://www.outdoorbikeracks.net/items.asp?Cc=BQBR-CM-S06&iTpStatus=0
You could also find a fab shop near you who can bend up what you wish, weld a base to it to suit how you can mount it and paint it yourself. Might not be much more money, if any.
they have a bender at thick.
Like this?
@rzod: Not quite as cool as the BatCave, but what about installing a hoist and an eyebolt on the outside, by a second-story window? Hoist the bike, open the window and chain the bike to the eyebolt.
You'd still want to cover it somehow, most likely. But no-one could steal it from outside without a ladder and an angle grinder, even if it were in plain sight.
Or just ride it right up to the window. It worked for Batman.
@reddan - That's a clever idea, but maybe too complicated for me. I think I'll either just keep it inside and consider moving some furniture around, or look into getting one of those Dero rack (a hoop or swerve) and using a motorcycle cover.
