Comments on: Cold weather bike storage: Indoor or out?

By: siouxgeonz

siouxgeonz — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 18:31:11 +0000

My garage is a reasonable compromise (it’s unheated, tho’ seems a bit insulated since that water bottle was still rolling the first really frigid day… and still frozen when things outside had thawed). Still, if I have to do something like ductape a headlight on, I pull it in and stick it in the kitchen, and cry about the crap all over the vinyl and toss that sheet I was going to make a rag out of anyway underneath and laugh at what the guy coming to paint my ceiling will think when the bike is gone and the floor has those odd stains and there’s a completely nastified sheet in the kitchen corner.
Tonight it’s back to the garage… tomorrow it’s down to the bike co-op where I”ll clean it up a bit.

By: David

David — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 22:06:51 +0000

I live in the Washington DC Metro Area (Alexandria, VA). Right now, I toss by Schwinn commuter in the back of my Ford Explorer when I arrive home. At work, I lock it up in a standard unheated underground office parking garage.

So, is there a consensus on this issue? Would it be better to leave my bike outside all the time, rather than having the bike exposed to alternating inside/outside elements? It would seem that with a steel bike, in particular, you would not want to leave that outside.

By: Chris

Chris — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 18:51:08 +0000

I’m in Chicago, and the bike goes in a semi-heated condo building garage at home but unfortunately stays outside all day at work. Like Nicole wrote, the main problem I’ve had with temperature is my lock becomes temperamental. Otherwise, just watch out for ice, and winter riding is fine.

By: Fritz

Fritz — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 17:43:52 +0000

Mike in MPLS — I’ve gone as low as -20, but not on a regular basis and only for very short distances. I’m comfortable for moderate distances with my gear down to about zero degrees F / -20C

By: Demetri

Demetri — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 17:11:56 +0000

My wife & I in Brooklyn New York keep our bikes under the stone entry steps in front of our townhouse. It is unheated but totally protected from precipitation. It also has a strong steel gate which makes it well protected. It is also on ground level so we don’t have to carry the bike up stairs; we are lucky.
We don’t get as much snow here in NYC as you MN folks and occasional thaws usually melt accumulations within a few weeks. The winter here has temperatures varying from comfortable (45-35) to very cold (0-15 degrees) with occasional warm days (50 and up). My wife is a MN native and my understanding is that once it gets cold there, it stays cold all year.

By: Nicole

Nicole — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 17:04:14 +0000

At home my commuter lives in an outdoor unheated bike shed. At work it sits outside.

The only problem I’ve had with the recent cold temps (around -10F Mon. and Tues. of this week) is the lock on the shed freezing up. The bike itself continues to tick along fantastically.

By: dan

dan — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 16:54:29 +0000

first off, i store my bikes in the barn, they stay cold all the time.

another negative of storing bikes warm, then riding outside:
if your bike is warm, and its snowy out its really common for the snow to stick to the rims, then melt on the rims, then freeze when the bike chills. then you have a nice layer of ice on your braking surface rendering yer brakes useless! another reason to ride fixed gear in the winter.

By: Scott R.

Scott R. — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 15:07:46 +0000

This is my first winter commuting. My employer provides outdoor, but covered wave bike racks with a security camera nearby. At home I park the bike in my unheated garage. So far, my bike’s never been rained on unless I was riding it, and will never get covered with falling snow.

I got to use my studded tired this morning in Omaha with a few inches of snow on the streets. It’s amazing how well those work. It was well worth the investment.

By: xcskimt (Robert)

xcskimt (Robert) — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 13:25:15 +0000

More snow today in Green Bay WI and 2 degrees F. I park my bike in the unheated garage and park it in the bike rack at work. I try to brush and frozen debris away at the end of the ride. At the end of the week the bike comes in for a wipe down of the frame from all the salt and grit.

By: WheelDancer

WheelDancer — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 13:01:46 +0000

welshcyclist lays out why I put on studs early and leave them on late. I was terrified to ride when ice was a possibility and now I look forward to riding and don’t have any fear of ice wipe outs (and don’t have any either!)