vanrider

I have a fairly expensive bike which I feel highly uncomfortable leaving in the bike room at my apartment. I've been carrying it in and out via the elevator for the past week or so but it's a matter of time before I get a warning and a fine. Strata bylaws do not allow bicycles in the elevator. Do you have any suggestions on any bike bags I could use to place the bike in it when inside the elevator (before and after my rides)? I want something big enough (I ride a 54cm giant defy) so I don't have to take the wheels apart every time.

I've also found this and was wondering if anyone has any experience with this bag:
Bicycle Protector Bag - Rome Bike Bags

SevenTwentyNine

That's really weird. What state are you in. Here in NYC I've never seen anyone complain about me taking my bike up and down the elevator. I just wait for an empty one and say "sorry" if someone comes in on the way down. Never gotten anything worse than a smile and an "it's okay".

vanrider

Vancouver, B.C. Most of the condos have this policy. We have several bike rooms in the building that require a key to enter but I still don't want to leave my road bike there. My cruiser is parked there though. The bylaw is there to protect the building, which I can understand because it's a water front location with the seawall that goes around the city which means every unit basically has a couple of bicycles.

black_box 

It'll still look suspiciously like you're transporting a bicycle when you have a large bag that says "Bicycle" on it and you're wearing all of your gear too. How much is the fine? Try being extra nice to everyone you see (even when you don't have the bike), if other people are waiting for the elevator ask if you can go as well. Then just wait for them to 1) notice, 2) care enough to 3) file a complaint having, 3) enough info to identify you. Or start going to the condo meetings and get the rule changed to allow bikes. Do they allow dogs? You can use the argument that you're probably cleaner than a dog. Probably.

I've been doing this for ~7 years now. One woman mentioned something in the elevator about not having a problem with her bike stored in the garage area. I told her it was worth more than I was willing to risk.

PepeM

No service elevator?

SevenTwentyNine

Damn, that sucks. I guess it's time to put in some pre and post ride workout carrying your bike up those stairs.
I'd never leave my road bike in some bike room either. No, just no.

TobinH

I take mine up and down the stairs, but it's only 6 flights or so.

vanrider

I wish I could but it's 27 floors.

vanrider

So my plan was to spray paint the logo on the bag and to wear my jersey and bib but wear a shirt and shorts over it, carry my helmet and shoes in a back pack. So here how it goes: i get in the elevator with my riding gear disguised under my shirt and shorts and my other stuff (helmet and shoes) in a backpack + this huge black case which has my bike. Then, I take the elevator down to where my car is, get changed and put the case and backpack in the car and leave from the parking where I will reenter and do it all over again.

The joy of owing an apartment in this city is endless.

Edit:I try and be nice and polite in the elevators no matter what the situation, but we also have cameras (it's borderline like a prison now that I think of it). I also have a dog, a very big dog and they're ok in the lifts.

TobinH

Where are you going to keep the bag? I would think that once it's in the bag, you will get away with it.

vanrider

I'd leave the bike bag, backpack, shirt and shoes in my car which in the underground parkade. Then ride my bike out of the parkade where all the bike storage rooms are anyways. Then come back to the car after my ride, grab the backpack to put my shoes and helmet in, wear the shirts and shorts over my jersey again, and put the bike in the bag and take it up.

TobinH

Oh I see. That sounds like a bit of a pain, but then I once seriously considered buying a Ford Transit so I could just park my bike in that! I also thought about buying one of these: bikebox bike lockers | Reliance Foundry and placing it in front of my wife's car. I've found that many buildings will allow storage in parking spots, with conditions.

tagaproject6

You have a designated bike room in your building so that you don't have to bring your bike to your unit. Did you sign an agreement regarding the rules and your responsibility to bey them? You are knowingly and willingly breaking the bylaws that you agreed upon when you moved in? Sounds like too much of a pain just to get your bike up. How much is the fine? How many infractions before you get kicked out? Is it worth the pain and hassle?

However, if the bylaw is to protect the building (it is unclear how the "no bikes in the unit" law protects the building) from scuff marks from the bike, the bike bag should be a good enough measure to respect the spirit of the bylaw. I'd say just talk to whomever is in authority about your bike bag plans and see if that will be okay.

But, to answer the original question about the bag...it works well for the intended purpose of protecting the bike when traveling. And with a light bike, it is very easy to haul around.

hueyhoolihan

if i were contemplating all that, i think i would just buy a bear costume and if anybody objected i'd say the bike was part of my act.

prathmann

Instead of all that I'd just ride down to where the car is, pop off the wheels on the bike and put it in the trunk, then ride up in the elevator. My 60cm bike fits easily this way into the trunk of a Toyota Corolla so I'd expect most combinations of bike& car to also work ok, but it does depend on a trunk that keeps the bike hidden and not so much traffic in the garage that you would be suspicious of those who might see you stash the bike away.

nkfrench 

The Ford Transit is not a bad option.
You can probably do the same in a more mainstream vehicle with good cargo capacity.
My Honda Element accommodates a bicycle quite nicely.
You can tint the rear windows and cover the bike with an old blanket to obscure it from view.

At one worksite, the property management would not allow me to take my bike in the elevator or even carry it up the stairs to my cubicle on the 6th floor.
They did not want me to scuff up the elevator, get grease or mud on people or the carpet.
But they told me the bike was a fire hazard. The rationale was that I would impede others in case of fire by taking too long to carry the bike down the stairs.

My manager said that was silly and of course I wouldn't do that.

kraftwerk 

Tell 'em to MYOB. or move. this is crazy.

so_good

All of this sounds insane, but if you knowingly signed the lease agreeing upon the stated terms...

I too live in a mid/high rise condo building and have never had any issues taking my bike up/down in the elevators, but then again it's an older building and there aren't any rules in place stating that I can't do so. I can totally understand not wanting to keep your bike in the bike room(s), but I think the whole disguising your clothes and bike bag idea is a little silly.

How much are the fines and how many can you receive before it turns into a real problem for you to keep living there? I guess the other question is do you rent or own and if you do own, can you attend a building HOA meeting to try to get the rules changed/relaxed?

vanrider

I own the unit! One warning, then fines of $200. I know the idea is silly, but I don't care as long as I can have my bike in a safe place when I'm done riding and not be a nuisance to others. This is such a frustrating issue to deal with.

Soody

Have you got a car? Take the wheels off and keep it in there. Put a blanket over it or get tints.

TownieBoy

I suppose you can argue that the 'bike-in-a-bag' is actually now 'luggage' ... no different than a set of golf clubs! It's not going to scratch fixtures or walls ... & in inclement weather it's not going to 'soil' the carpets.

Stick to your plan ... & always wait for an empty elevator car (in both directions) ... & you should be fine. Extreme politeness goes without saying.

Sad that bike lockers never quite seem to work out ... there's always one sleazeball living in the building ... or one that 'sneaks in' ... to louse things up!

A storage shed at the front of your parking stall is an option, but needs to be built like a 'brick ship house' & heavily weighted at the bottom. I used a

metal garden shed that worked well 'til one night, co-incidental to my leaving some power tools in it, some drug-soaked S.O.B. just ripped it open enough to access

those tools ... about $1200 worth. Good luck! I hope all of this doesn't totally undermine your enjoyment of cycling.

CliffordK

That sounds like GREAT EXERCISE.

My rides always end with about 100 yards of hill climb, peaking at 17%, but 27 flights of stairs would certainly be a sufficient end after a flat ride along the seawall.

I've brought my bike in at work at times. I don't remember doing an elevator, but I would always carry my bike, so there were no bike tracks on the floor, and the only "spots" would be where I set it down at the end. If anybody ever complained, I was quick to point out that I was not rolling it across the carpet.

The bags look nice, and not a bad price. A bit big and awkward, but it shouldn't be too bad if the bike is light.

A couple of hardshell bike boxes showed up on Craigslist locally, but they would be rather unwieldy.

Pedal Pack Hard Shell Bicycle Travel Case
Trico Ironcase Bicycle Travel Case

Soody

In America at least, if you have a psychiatrist or a psychologist who will go along with it, you can get basically any animal registered as an 'emotional support animal' and then you can take it anywhere.

It is a legal grey area and you can get away with a lot- like a horse in a movie theater. (I'm sure animals have helped a lot of people through a lot of bad stuff though).

Maybe you could get your bike classified as emotional support which you need to function? I feel that way about my bike anyway... If you're polite, the other tenants won't mind, and with the piece of paper they'd have to let you bring it inside.

k_kibbler

I don't understand the purpose of this particular bylaw. Is it to prevent dirtying up the floor and walls? Are the lifts really tiny and/or are there only a few lifts serving >=28 floors and many apartments per floor?

Another suggestion would be to try to avoid peak lift traffic e.g. the 9-5 neighbors, if you can.

You have my sympathies nonetheless.

J708

this is a very interesting thread Amazing to see what you guys are willing to go thru for biking.

I am so lazy and willing to buy my comfort in a heart beat, I ended up buying a super stand to lock my bike under our staircase cause I didn't want to take my bike up 3 individual steps of stairs. yes. 3 steps of stairs.

Also removing my front tyre everytime i go cycling so it can fit in my 2 door jeep was out of the question. I actually considered buying a RAM truck around the same time I wanted to buy the bike. ended up buying the saris freedom spare tire rack for just one bike

Vanrider, keep us updated with what you decide to do as I must say there is a 20% factor of suspense to your story