Commuting - Will a bike kept outdoors rust to pieces?

My wife is tired of me trekking in and out of the house carrying my bike every day (and she's tired of carrying hers in and out).

I'm about to build a small deck on the back of the house and it will have room under it to keep the bikes. I'm not worried about theft, my neighborhood has almost none. I'm just worried about exposure to the elements.

I can put something under the bottom of the deck to direct rainwater to the edge rather than allowing it to fall through onto the bikes. So they won't be getting wet directly, although they will be open from the sides to any rain that blows in on them, humidity, etc. They'll be on a stone patio, not grass, so there won't be standing water near them or anything.

Do you think they'll survive well? Should I string a tarp vertically on the side to limit their exposure? I'm not sure the HOA will go for that, but hey it's better to ask forgiveness than permission :D . Anyone else have their bikes outside?

not if its an AL bike :)

http://www.ida.net/users/bikegd/

How about incorporating one of these under the deck. Better looking than a tarp held up with jute and duct tape. Pretty reasonable in price.

For $500 apiece, I could just replace the bikes. And I also won't have 72" vertical space under the deck... closer to 60".

For $500 apiece, I could just replace the bikes. And I also won't have 72" vertical space under the deck... closer to 60".

Get better bikes. Then ask the question again. :D

In the mean time, just cover each with a tarp or plastic and they will be OK.

Cheap:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7154459099&category=62131

Expensive:
http://www.cyclesak.com/bikecover/home.asp

Midrange:
http://sportsbay.com/bicyclecover.html

build a shed for them.

I keep my bike on the front porch of my apartment. It is up against the porch railing, which I covered with a brown tarp and tightened. Next I put a 1.5' piece of plywood over it, the length of the bike, secured to the top of the railing and the roof of the porch by two lengths of rope. A pillar blocks most of the wind from the front of the bike, and the apartment wall blocks the rear. It is essentially enclosed from 5 of the 6 directions, and does just fine out there. It never even gets wet. I also lock it to the railing overnight (you never know). It's been out there about a year, so for so good, are far fewer tire tracks through the living room!

Out of courtesy to my roommate (non biker), I keep one of my (8) bikes locked on an exposed porch. It's covered with a tarp. It does need a bit extra TLC, but nothing crazy-more frequent chain lube/deraileur checks/check for cable crudd. Sealed bearings are great!

Apart from the bearings I don't think there is any steel in modern bikes anymore.

Unless of course it is a custom steel frame bike but then that would never get left outside, I hope.

CHEERS.

Mark

I keep two or three bikes on the front porch. I ride more often if I trip over a bike when I open the door. Even in the rainy, humid Houston weather, rust has not been a problem. On my steel bikes, I keep a heavy coating of wax on the frames...touch up nicks and scratches. The frames are fine.

UV rays are a BIG problem in Houston. Tire sidewalls "cook" out in two or three months. Plastic parts, such as on shifters, become brittle and glass-like. Saddles are also "sun sensitive".

So, I try to limit sun exposure as much as possible. The bikes would be better off indoors. They would be better off in "climate controlled" storage. They would be better off it they were never ridden. But, on balance, I'll trade some "aging" for the convenience of being able to grab a bike quickly and easily whenever I leave home.

I have parked my Cannondale commuter at a parking meter every working day for the past seven years, in rain, snow, sleet, hail, and sun. The frame, aluminum, is fine. It's not good for a bike to be out that much, but it's not that bad either. There's not a whole lot on the bike that will rust. Rain tends to take the lube off the chain, which will lead to expensive repairs if you don't tend to it. However, standing in the rain is not nearly as bad for the bike as riding in the rain, and a well-lubed bike is relatively impervious to moisture.

My personal opinion, based entirely on conjecture, is that the UV light from the sun is worse than rain. It attacks the rubber pieces of the bike, and breaks down lubricants. Plastic pieces get brittle and break. Tires don't last very long. The paint on the side of my bike that faces the sun is lighter than on the shade side.

I have noticed that the bike requires a lot more maintenance in the winter. For instance, I've replaced the headset in each of the last two Januaries. My working hypothesis is that water gets into the bearings and freezes, and the expansion and the friction of the ice wreaks havoc.

A tarp over your bike would provide adequate protection from all of these dangers.

Sunlight will definitely not be a problem. They'd be under a deck on the north side of my house, they will receive 0 sunlight.

Dutchy, what are you talking about? Lots of non-expensive non-custom bikes are steel frame, or wheels, definitely gears & chain & lots of misc... Go to K-mart with a magnet.

I'm more worried about my wife's steel frame cruiser than my aluminum frame hybrid, but even my hybrid has many misc steel parts.

I think I'll give it a shot. I'll probably hang a tarp along the outside edge of the deck to limit exposure from that side, two sides will be blocked by the house, leaving open only one side where we'll walk in and out. I really don't like the hassle of tarping each bike individually... like alanbikehouston, the easier it is to ride, the more I'll ride. The more hassle involved, the less I'll ride.

Jeff-

If you'll send me a sketch I'll send you some options. Solving people's outdoor space issues is what I do (I'm a landscape architect), and it would be fun to figure out some storage solutions that put bike care and condition first, ease of use second, acceptability (aesthetics) to the HOA third, etc.

Steve

Since you are bldg a deck: Place corrugated plastic sheet under your new deck slightly slanted for runoff. People do this so their 'under' deck areas are relatively dry. You won't have to take the tarp off and on.

Before I built a shed to house our bikes (and create a roof platform that serves as fort, pirate ship or whatever for my son) I found that Rubbermaid makes an outdoor unit suitable for storing bikes. Try this link for a look: http://www.rubbermaid.com/hpd/consumer/product It is product number 3752-01-714, I found it by searching for storage sheds. It opens at on end and part of the roof slides back to allow access to bikes. I believe it is less that 60" high. Placed under a deck as you suggest something like that would look very neat and last an eternity.

My steel bike stood outdoors 24/7 fro 2 years in a damp coastal town with no long-term problems.
Wax the frame and exposed cables with car wax. Spray framesaver or WD40 inside the frame tubing. Keep the seatpost and all threads greased. I found that a wax-in-solvent (white lightening/pedros) chain lube worked best.

build a shed for them.

Host (Eric Idle): Last week the Royal Festival Hall saw the first performance
of a new symphony by one of the world's leading modern
composers, Arthur 'Two sheds' Jackson. Mr Jackson.
Jackson (Terry Jones): Hello.
Host: May I just sidetrack for one moment. This -- what shall I call it --
nickname of yours...
Jackson: Ah yes.
Host: "Two sheds". How did you come by it?
Jackson: Well, I don't use it myself, but some of my friends call me "Two
Sheds".
Host: And do you in fact have two sheds?
Jackson: No, I've only got one. I've had one for some time, but a few years
ago I said I was thinking of getting another, and since then some
people have called me "Two Sheds".
Host: In spite of the fact that you only have one.
Jackson: Yes.
Host: And are you still intending to purchase this second shed?
Jackson (impatient): No!
Host: ...To bring you in line with your epithet?
Jackson: No.
Host: I see, I see. Well to return to your symphony.
Jackson: Ah yes.
Host: Did you write this symphony in the shed?
Jackson (surprised): No!
Host: Have you written any of your recent works in this shed of yours?
Jackson: No, no, not at all. It's just an ordinary garden shed.
Host: I see, I see. And you're thinking of buying this second shed to write
in!

Like Michael W, I too lived in a coastal town and my beater steel bike was left outside in all weather and I rode it on the wet sand at the beach where it would get sprayed with salt water, and did that to that bike for about 8 years. I had that bike for 24 years with no real signs of serious rusts and it was never treated! My kids have those junky bike you get from Walmart and left them outside in all sorts of weather and they don't have much rust. I did junk the beater bike when I moved because when I removed the bottom bracket to inspect the frame in that area there and found some rust that I felt was something that I just didn't want to haul across country-but it was still serviceable.

I current steel bike is 20 years old with no internal treatments but it was touched up whenever a scratched appeared and kept waxed. No rust on that bike at all. That frame and most highend steel frames from that time period forward in America where coated with zinc to prevent rust, and the steel from Europe is chromed before painting.

As far a bike cover goes, you can get a sturdy cover made for outdoor grills that fit neatly over bikes at any home improvement place, and they come with loops so you can tie the bottom closed. I think they fit better then the bags I used in the past made for bikes and their cheaper.

not if its an AL bike :)

Aluminum can corrode Dogboy(I'm an aircraft mechanic, trust me on this). Just not like how steel does. When you see a piece of bare AL with a white powder look to it, that's corrosion. But anywho, a bike exposed to the elements will rust/corrode (painted parts obviously not). Try to get it under protection. But if not, ensure that you lube/spray all exposed metal parts(chain, cables, bolt heads and so on) if it has to be exposed to the elements.