What do you guys do to keep the **** thats on your bike after a winter or rainy commute from ending up on your floor?

Currently I use some boot mats, but they dont seem to be doing as good of a job as I had hoped...

Any suggestions?

I don't know what would be better than two plastic boot mats with raised perimeter edges to hold the crap. That's what I use at work to keep the janitor happy.

My issue is that the mats dont catch it all (BB, and front or back of rear fender) and the SO isnt happy... Which is significantly worse than the janitor...

Just trying to keep the peace at home...

1) Get rid of the wife.
2) Problem solved!

On a more serious note, mayhaps a large rubber mat, or even some vehicle floor mats strung together?

Whenever I've got a dripping bike I just wheel it in the door and then go grab a car wash towel to wipe it off. My steel babies don't like the water.

You can go to Lowes or Home Depot and buy plastic carpet runner, about 24" wide, for around a $1.00 per foot. It's on a big roll back in the flooring department, and they just cut off as much as you need.

I rinse the bike outside with water and bounce it couple of time to shake off the water before bringing inside. Then I parked it under some 3x5 floor mat from Home Depot. They are rib and catch the dirt while the bottom are rubber so the water does not get through. Cost is under $20. The mats is also great when working on your bike.

My bike's never been inside, unless the garage counts.

My bikes hang by the front wheel for storage. A boot tray underneath catches everything.

I have a trainer mat from Performance for near the door for the bike to drip on while I take off my shoes, coat and helmet. It's 20 inches longer than the usual 3x5 mats, which makes a lot of difference.

GReat thread and ideas. I've just got a cardboard box flattened out on the floor now, need a more permanent solution.

I have a hallway to park my bad-weather Indestructa-Bike in, but I need to bring it inside to do maintenance, which involves dripping lubricant, road-grime, and sometimes filthy slush or rain run-off, depending on the weather.

The local small department/hardware store chain, Benny's, has plastic-backed canvas dropcloths. The canvas soaks up the liquids - water, oil, paint, what-have-you - and looks darn good doing it, especially with a few well-earned stains. It also stays flat and in place, unlike plastic dropcloths. The plastic coating on the underside prevents stuff from soaking thru and ruining the carpet or hardwood. I got a 6x12' one for 12 bux.

I haven't seen them at the Home Despot, but check your local hardware or paint supply store.

I use a tarp.

That 24" clear plastic carpet runner works perfectly.

I just park my bikes in our old garage, no worries about drippage, enough holes in the uneven floor for drainage. Have to be careful which boards you step on, can throw bikes farther down on the board of balence

I live in a condo, no garage. I have a hallway rug up against the wall, A bit classier than the plastic runner, but takes more to clean when that becomes necessary. I'm intrigued by having them stand up vertically though as I now think it is a good idea to have two bikes at the condo and one out at the shop. Stupid n+1, I don't even have a cargo bike yet.

I use a large commercial entryway mat. It catches the vast majority of gunk.

I use two end sections of these, turned upside-down. The "tread" on the underside is very deep and holds water well, and two sections are just long enough to cover the whole bike. Which is important, since my snow bike lives in the dining room (at least when we're not having guests!):

I just spread a blue tarp on wet days. You know, the blue tarp

Apartment, no garage, three bikes hangin' out:



Boot trays not shown.

The Portland on the trainer mat near the door.

I just use 6ft long carpet runners that I got at KMart. They seem to work and can be vacuumed.

My bikes do not go in the house, so no issue there.

Some of you have some very understanding wives to be able to hang bikes in the house or you are single. My wife would probably hang me from the rack if I put those up in our house.

My wife doesn't mind all my bikes in the house, it's me who can't stand it. I hate looking at my bike in my living space. We do have bike storage in the building but it isn't safe for all my bikes. Her bike and my winter bike go into a communal bike locker and my two other bikes which use to be in the bedroom or balcony depending on the season are in my personal locker in the basement. Not the safest but I really don't like bikes in a house.

Getting my bike out is always a chore and this is one of the reasons I purchased Bromptons for her and I. Though they haven't arrived yet they will stay in our unit tucked away.

To the OP when I did bring in my wet bike in I used an old thick blanket to absorb all the crap that dripped from the bike. Which is probably what I will do when the Bromptons get wet.

Zombie thread!

Does anyone make a 2'x4' plastic tray with a shallow lip? Seems like that would be perfect.

yeah, it was bumped by a spammer selling floor mats.

I wonder if there is a tray for under cars to catch oil drips that might work?

My bike and cars are all in the garage. I have large pieces of scrap carpet from one of our construction jobs that I park both cars on top of. Never needed anything under the bike, but if I did I would probably just do the same with a piece of carpet.

I do bring my bike into the kitchen from time to time if it's just too hot outside to work on it. But I make sure it's dry and no major dirt build-up on the tires before bringing it in, though our kitchen is tiled so it wouldn't be a big deal.

Rented Apt. Faux wood floor. I mop the parking spot and the rest of the floor, occasionally..