djSlvt

A way to do it, is go outside, wipe your wheels and bike, then take a bike, and bring it into your room, all the while remaining confident...


If asked what you doing, answering bringing bike inside.


If asked you can't do that, tell them I need to do this, because I'm not leaving my bike outside to have it stolen.

If there is any other further objection, tell them if you want me to rent from you I will have to keep my things safe, then take your bike and go inside.


Done...



P.S. Stop the nice guy mentality. Nice guys don't get laid, and nice guys finish last. Nice guys have a hard life and die bitter old men..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBtb_Evo-Wk

Blue Order

If you're paying rent, they should let you keep your bike in their garage, if they don't want it inside the condo. Either in your room, or in the garage. If you keep it in the garage, lock it to something secure with a u-lock, just in case someone leaves the garage door open.

Niles H.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=G7DAXpj0u9I

***
Keep it in your room. Lock it even there. Use a decent lock. People in your neighborhood will see you with it, and know you have it. Don't make it easy for them. There are many thieves and thefts in such neighborhoods.

Don't be a wuss about standing up and speaking to your landlords about it. You can be nice, but clear; and you can work out a way to say it in an agreeable way. You can assure them you'll be careful and keep things clean. They should be able to understand. If necessary, educate them with pictures of how many other cyclists do this, in nice apartments, rooms, homes, etc. Some people may not be aware of this, and it might help to make them aware of it. It's a standard practice for cyclists. They should be glad you've chosen such a benign form of transportation, and should help you with your situation.

***
Pasadena has some nicer neighborhoods. Why not keep your eyes open, and move when you can? Maybe get a part-time job to cover the difference in rent?

I wouldn't stay in a neighborhood like that any longer than necessary.

Blue Order

+1

Niles H.

Many thieves carry tools in a backpack, or just in their pockets. They know how to break locks.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=5TNTq3nhu...elated&search=

furiousbob

I spoke to my landlord tonight when I got home from work. Asked them about it (the thing is, I understand their language but can't speak it...they understand bits of english so we struggle to communicate...yeah i know, crapa$$ relationship) and after some looking around and such, they decided that if I was to park my bike in the garage, they wouldn't be able to back out their cars without hitting my bike in some way AND that the best solution would be to lock it to this garden hose reel that sits on four wheels....I was pretty struck back by their suggestion...

I ended up locking it up for the night. Tomorrow when I have my day off of work, I'll ask my gated community neighbors and see if I can use their water gauge units to lock my bike to. Seems like a better idea.

I also tried convincing them to let me park my bike upstairs in my room but I wasn't too surprised when they said no as their carpets are lined with plastic and their walls spotless. Clean freaks...perfect situation wouldn't you say? Sigh...I guess I'll just ask my other three neighbors tomorrow and see whats up.

furiousbob

Holy cow...Just watched the two youtube videos...I'm...now more paranoid then a pothead on a bad trip.

I'm going to buy a good Krptonite U-lock (I've always liked the chains but they cost upwards of 90 bucks) and lock that bike to my foot. No but I am going to go pick up a U-Lock next week (the bike purchase emptied out my pockets). Would it be a good idea to lock it to utility pipes? Because if they can't cut the U-lock, they'll try and cut the pipe and Kablooey. Oh and I debadged the bike on my lunch break at work. Clean as a whistle.

I work 60 hours a week...one full time job as a supervisor at a pharmacy retail chain and one part time job at a Staples. I can barely cover my bills as it is. I'm only barely 20 but when I was 18 I made some stupid mistakes and now I'm paying dearly for them.

spinnaker

You can't afford it because you are living in SoCal. It's time to move out of SoCal. Plenty of affordable places in the country without the high crime rate.

tgreenwood

Offer them a solution when you go to ask. For example, offer to do something nice for them in exchange for letting you keep the bike in your room. Taking out the trash, fixing something, washing the windows, whatever.

If they are older, they are probably less able to do things. Offer to help with something around the house.

Be creative and use diplomacy. And like others said, make sure they know you won't be doing major repairs in your room on the carpet. People are usually afraid of what they don't know or don't understand. The more they know about what you plan to do, and the more they can visualize how you're going to keep it clean, the better.

t

furiousbob

I tried talking to them again today. No use...stubborn people they are. Would it help to lock up my frame/rear wheel outside and bring my front wheel inside with me?

s0rcerer13

get some nice big black trash bags and cover your bike up, then bring it in. If not drop a c-note and you should get your way.

wb 86

I feel your situation, as I also work similar hours to cover mistakes I made when I was 19 and am now 27. I also do it all mostly by bike or foot. I had times where my only option was to lock up my bikes outside in sketchy neighborhoods and it drove me nuts. When I could not bring my bike inside, I would lock it up as best I could without the wheels or seat on it in an area out of the way. De-badging is also a good idea as you mentioned. Another thing I did was lock my good commuter bike amongst 3 beater department store bikes behind my apt. I pulled the beaters out of dumpsters and ended up with what looked like 4 worthless bikes chain locked together under my porch.

I hope your situation gets better, 8 years later I am still indebted to my past financially but I now live in a house with an avid MTBer and we currently have 13 bikes in our living room. Our landlord could care less as she has seen how neat we keep the house and yard overall.

Craig

dynaryder

Lock it to the utility pipes. I lock my bikes to the water pipes in my apt's parking garage. If they let you,take the front wheel inside,otherwise a full size U lock should be long enough to pass through both wheels. Put the front wheel next to the rear and slide the lock through them so it's in the rear triangle of the frame. Like this:


BTW,here's some good info:
https://www.missinglink.org/Pages/bike_locking.html
https://www.sfbike.org/?theft_locking
https://www.bicyclesource.com/bike/th...securely.shtml

folder fanatic

Consider buying a folding bike before buying some bike you cannot take inside with you. Mine are with me at all times-especially in the house. Besides, I live in a neighborhood just like yours-and my folding bikes haven't be taken yet (knock on wood).

Niles H.

Another idea: If you put the bike inside a nice clean (cloth) bike bag, there would be no chance of dirtying anything.

Some people have worked out an interesting way of making a non-folding bike into something like a folding bike: Use a standard bike (with 26" wheels) that has a frame that is fairly compact. Use quick-release wheels, and practice until taking them off is second nature -- easy and quick and no problem. And practice until putting the wheels back on is also easy and quick and no problem. It's possible to get the moves down so that it is much easier than it was before.

Then get (or make) a few velcro straps, so you can put the wheels alongside the frame, and attach them fairly securely to it (and to each other) -- overlapping the wheels so that the whole package is nice and compact. Sometimes you can work it out so the top tube makes a good carrying handle.

Lower the seatpost using a quick-release clamp.

Turn the bars to the side.

All these things can be done pretty quickly.

Then put it in a nice cloth bag, and you can carry it into many places where you wouldn't otherwise be able to carry it.

***
Or, look into a folder. Dahon makes some reasonably priced ones. There is a folding bike forum (or sub-forum) here on bikeforums.net. The folks there would be glad to answer questions. Some of them have chosen folders because they got fed up with having bikes stolen.

One of the great advantages of folders is that they solve a lot of security problems. You can bag them and carry them inside -- into the workplace, onto trains, into libraries, stores, wherever -- it makes it a lot easier to keep the bike with you and to keep it safe from thefts.

Some fold very compactly.

***
There are some great video clips on youtube.com (of folding bikes being folded and unfolded, to get a sense of what it is like). There are links to these videos on some of the 'Folding Bikes' sub-forum threads.

www.dahon.com has some good information and videos.

***
The quick-release wheels/velcro straps idea is worth considering too.

A bag made of lightweight ripstop nylon would be compact and easy to make.

huge

Mail your bike to me, I'll make sure no one steals it.

I agree with everyone who said you should move.