Surfer34

Today i was out on my ride and decided to stop at my local sandwich/pizza place to grab a torpedo. I have been going to this place for about 5 years. Its small.
Anyway, I have my $8,000 mtb with me and I really dont feel like keeping it outside while I go in because there are no bike racks and the closest place to put it leaves it out of eye sight.
So I am inside and some people are bump into my bike and are having some trouble moving around me.
The owner then tells me not to bring my bike inside anymore.
I explained to him the situation and he didnt care.
So, I wont be eating there anymore but generally what is the custom with taking bikes inside a business...
Frowned upon or welcomed ?

fietsbob

a Folding bike would go under your table, so not be in the way.

but of course, you can always patronize someplace else..

didn't you bring a Lock ? keep it from rolling
and have it right by your window seat , near a door..

Mondo734

I spent a few years working at a gas station with a small eatery in Evergreen Colorado and here is how we handled the situation. We would tell people that they would have to leave the bike outside, and no we didnt have a place to lock em up. We were sympathetic to thefact that these bikes do cost as much as some peoples cars so we would offer to watch the bike for the people if they placed them somewhere where we could see them. We also put a cheap table outside and a few chairs so once you had your items you could sit outside with your bike.

Bill Kapaun

Does the cost of your bike make a difference to the person that stumbles into it and gashes their shin?

tsl

So you can afford an $8,000 bike but not a decent lock?

cruisintx

maybe once the first mortgage on the bike is paid off.

Surfer34

That doesnt answer the question I posed but........yes I can afford a lock. I didnt have a lock with my because when I left for my ride I didnt intend on stopping anywhere.

Surfer34

The cost of my bike matters to me.

And if someone cant walk without walking into a bike then thats their problem.

Do you have that problem ?

Bianchigirll 

It is the owners right to refuse to serve you with or without the bike. I susgest you call ahead with your Iphone using the GPS APP to give an exact arrival time and the banking APP to pay for the torpedo then have the delivery boy had it up to you as you pass by like a feeding station.


BTW I have no issues with leaving my rare Bianchi Proto outside Dunkers while they toast a salt bagel and make a huge Turbo Ice for me. But then again I guess that is only worth about 2K

Yo Spiff

I'll generally look for a place with outside seating, and ask if I can bring my bike up to the table with me. Not gotten any grief over that yet. There is a new restaurant that just opened right on the bike trail next to the river. Lots of outdoor seating and plenty of room. My assumption is putting a restaurant there, they are expecting cyclists to stop in.

Rimmer

I almost always lock up outside, but I've taken my bike inside a few small family owned businesses without any problems. If it was very busy (sounds like it from people bumping into you), then I can understand the owner wanting it outside. The lack of bike racks is no excuse. There's always some kind of sign post somewhere. If it's out of eyesight, then get within eyesight after you order.

Mr. Beanz

You've been going there for 5 years, shouldn't you know? Seriously, have you ever seen bikes in there?

Not sure why you would not go there anymore. Sounds like you figure this will hurt his business. Hey, maybe the people you incovenienced are preferred customers that have been going there for 10 years.

DX-MAN

It's purely case-by-case. Some businesses I've dealt with have INVITED me in WITH the bike, others have said, "You can't bring that bike in the store." No matter who they are, if they say that, they've seen me for the last time.

My bike is, also, a 'mere' $2K. There are places I'll lock up outside -- and parts of town I won't even RIDE through! The finger-thick cable and one of my two U-locks tend to shoo off the opportunists, who make up 90+% of the bike theft problem here. So, wherever I would STOP, I feel comfortable locking up, although I'm pretty OCD about keeping the bike in view.

LarDasse74

I have had good luck pretending to misunderstand the clerk's instructions. I smile and act like they are apologizing to me. I say "Pardon me? My bike? Well, no need to be sorry! It's no problem!" Then continue into the store. If they protest again I continue smiling and say "no-no - it's all right" or some other thing that makes them think I am misunderstanding.

This only works when you are running in quickly for something. Not to sit and eat lunch.

bluegoatwoods

Don't overlook the possibility that some of these people who bump into your bike might claim an injury and hire a lawyer who will look to the proprietor for compensation.

The owner of the shop might have well more than $8000 bucks at stake. (Even if such a judgement is unlikely, defending against it would be a pain)

If the owner doesn't want to take this risk I'd be willing to respect that.

Nermal

I would also be concerned about leaving an 8,000 bike unlocked and out of sight. Heck, I worry about my 900.00 bike. Still, it really sounds like they would lose more business than they would gain, and you do say it is small.

SlimRider

I once saw a woman get refused service at an ice-cream parlor, because she was barefoot. I also saw a guy immediately get shown the exit, as he tried to enter a grocery store without a shirt.

Being warned about the future refusal of service, because of bringing a bicycle into a sandwich shop is small potatoes.

ljsense

Is it a 29er? That's what no one considers when trying to decide between a 29er and 26er. The niner's gonna be putting some tread marks on some lady's calves in the sandwich line. But if you tip the bike up on its back wheel, a 26er can get caught under the sneeze guard at the salad bar. Obvious plusses and minusses either way; you just gotta be careful not to eff yourself by thinking that full suspension is going to save some dude's burrito when you run it over.

hueyhoolihan

just what i was thinking.

Bill Kapaun

No, I don't have that problem.
I have more sense than to take my bike into a place of business and inconveniences other customers.
I don't have an $8000 bike, but since I rely on my bike or the city bus for my transportation, it's no less dear to me.

Digital_Cowboy

Maybe I missed something, but I didn't read anything in the OP's OP that indicated that he didn't have a lock with him. Just that there were no bike racks and that the nearest place to leave his bike would leave it out of eyesight.

The strip mall where the pizza place that I go to on a regular basis has a bike rack "next" to the pizza place. The problem is that it is out of sight of anyone in the pizza place and bicycles have been stolen from it and attempted to be stolen from it. When I go there I do NOT lock my bike to that rack, what I do is I park it right behind the open door where I can keep an eye on it through the plate glass window.

Digital_Cowboy

Sadly, there are those here who don't think that we should ever bring out bikes inside of stores/businesses. There is even a thread about an employee who took it upon themselves to remove a customer's bike from the store and then approached said customer asking them if they were looking for a bike.

Before bringing your bicycle inside a store or business you should get permission first. If they don't provide a bike rack to secure bikes to, and they won't let you bring your bicycle inside then let them know that you are going to take your business elsewhere and let them know why.

Digital_Cowboy

The lack of a bike rack is the result of piss poor planning on the part of either the developer or the property owner. True, but there may not always be a sign post within eyesight of where the person is going to eat, or shop or what have you. Sadly, that's not always possible. As other than a "doggy bag," there are some places that don't offer take out/to go service, you have to eat there in the restaurant.

Digital_Cowboy

I think that understandably, most of us are as protective of our "babies" when we have to lock them up.

contango 

I'd say the owner of the sandwich place has an absolute right to ask you not to take the bike inside. You have an absolute right to respond to his request by not giving him any more business and letting him know why he won't be getting any more business from you. If he loses enough business over his decisions he might relent, he might have a bike rack installed, he might come up with something else.

My thinking is much like yours, I'd rather take the bike inside than leave it where I can't keep an eye on it, even if it is secured with a brace of locks. But ultimately it's not the business owner's problem that you're on an expensive bike.

What I do find curious is when businesses don't want bikes inside but don't bat an eyelid at pushchairs. I was recently out on a ride with a friend and we stopped for a swift drink at a pub we passed. The barman didn't want us to take the bikes inside so we locked them to the fence outside (which didn't bother us, as we sat within about 50 feet of the bikes anyway). No sooner had we sat down than a couple walked in wheeling a pushchair, which left almost the exact same wet lines across the carpet that our bikes would have done.