General Cycling Discussion - Will this ruin my bike?

This might sound like a dumb question, but....
I live in a small apartment and I recently bought a new bike that won't fit anywhere inside. I have a deck that has a roof, but is outdoors. Do you think it will damage my bike to store it on the deck? I'm afraid it might start to rust even if it is covered from the rain, just because of the moisture in the air. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

My advice is not to store your bike outside, not because of the weather (though that is a consideration,) but because it will tempt theives. If there is any other way to bring it inside, that is always preferable, even if you have to sleep with it.

The wife will have to scoot over a bit.

You've got to have some empty wall space. In front of a window?? The back of a door?? Put up a hook ($4.00) and hang it from the ceiling!!! Got four just like that. It's ART. That's what I tell my non-biker friends.

The choices for storing my bike are:

Door #1) carport, which is like the deck, leaving the bike exposed to the elements and theives.
Door #2) storage shed with the lawnmower.
Door #3) a corner of the living room.

My wife is caring enough to let me select door #3. I wipe it down when I come in from riding and roll it into the corner.
Plus it is a great conversation piece. Anyone who visits is almost "obligated" to ask about the bike. ;)

Ron

Yeah, and if your wife, girlfriend, roommate says anything, but reply you just need a prettier bike. I think a Bianchi, Colnago, or even better, Pinarello would look EXCELLENT hanging from anyone's ceiling. Especially mine. :)

Nobody could say those aren't works of art!

Like RonH, Rainbabe lets me keep mine in the living room because, get this, she considers $400 an expensive bike (slaps knee, laughing). I know I have some PR work to do before I will be able to get the Bianchi.

Rainman

That Bianchi Celeste paint job will match your curtains perfectly.

Newbiebikerguy,
I can completely understand where you are coming from with your post, and NO it is not a dumb question! I live on the 11th floor of a 37 floor building, so there are MANY people living in my building. Even though we have a balcony and our building has a bike room, NO WAY would I store my bike in either of those areas. First of all, the bike room can be used by anyone in my buiding (who cares if you need a key to get in and you can lock it up). Can you just imagine the HUGE mangle of mess in a common area? Some people don't care if they knock their bikes into yours. I have seen some bike rooms where ONLY the doorman has a key, not each individual apartment and it was very orgaized with wall mounts and secure locks, but that is not the case with mine. So that idea is out.

Also, like the point you made about the outdoor elements that can destroy your bike from leaving it on your roof is not a chance I would want to take. Like Cheryl suggested, there must be a window or ceiling area that you can hang your bike from. I have once debated about leaving my bikes on the balcony and buying a really good cover for it, like the ones you see for motorcycles. That idea was quickly ruled out, which I can honestly say is for the better.

Instead, I opted for a really nice wooden bike rack I bought from Colorado Cyclist (http://www.coloradocyclist.com) that can fit up to 4 bikes. The rack adjusts from 8-10' celings and looks great almost anywhere.

Good luck finding a spot in your apartment. Any place crammed indoors is better than a spacious place outdoors! ;)

Just my opinion...

My bike lived outdoors in a coastal town for 2 years, inc wet winters.
Its not something you want to do with an ultra-light bike, but if you apply car-wax to the frame, and frame-saver wax to the inside of a steel frame, then it wont come to much harm.

The security aspect is worth considering. Can you rig a bike locker on your deck? You can build one out of plywood or metal sheeting.

If you are as protective of your bike as Marcy is of hers, you'll definitely want to keep it inside.

I have a performance rack that holds up to fours bikes. It's not as aesthetically pleasing as the wood rack but it does the job. Here is the link if you'd like to take a look at it.
http://www.performancebike.com/shop/large_photo.html?SKU=4128&Store=Bike

If you want something a little less expensive, they also have a two bike hanger:
http://www.performancebike.com/shop/Profile.html?SKU=1866

Now I'm going home to wash my bike in my bath tub.

If your bike is newer, it is probably made mostly of non-corrosive materials. That means you could store it outside as long as it was covered.

If you decide to spray the inside of the frame with a corrosion inhibitor (good idea), take your bottom bracket and headset out before applying so that the solvents in the corrosion inhibitor do not get into your bearings and break down the grease.

There are plastic bicycle covers available for outside storage which I would recommend.

Its not a stupid question but, If you will care to read more on all the post one thing is certain, You are just tempting the bad element to have an interest on your bike, and another bad element is the weather, it will kill your bike, Just look for more suitable place in your apt. to store you bike, treat your bike like a very preciuous merchandize and I am sure you can find one,

I just lean my two bikes up against things in my tiny apartment living room. But then, I'm a slob; and my cat doesn't care.