Bike kept outside

markhewitt1978

I've been for about a year now trying to find ways of going cycling at lunchtimes at work and the conclusion is the only way is to keep a bike chained up outside the office.

Being that it's going to be outside in all weathers what sort of things should I be doing with the chain etc to prolong their life a little?

I'm probably going to get a cheap second hand bike, then ditch it once the weather gets too cold.

daniel_b

When I commuted to a place that only had a fence to lock it to, I bought a cheap cover from Amazon or ebay for about £4, and hacked that about a bit to get it to 'fit'
I then concentrated on keeping the saddle, chain, and handlebar tape dry, and let the front wheel get wet - this seemed to work pretty well.
I kept it in my drawer - so would rock up, lock the bike with one portable lock, jog upstairs as much as you can with carbon soles, get my proper lock and the cover, return with these, and that was it for the day.

beanpie

Maybe a silly question but....as I shop for a second bike I'm under pressure to keep at least one of them outside. This coincides with an impending shed purchase. So is there anything I should look for in a shed, to minimize the chances of my steel/alloy machines rusting if left to languish for a few weeks or even months at a time?

UndercoverElephant

A roof will help.

daniel_b

beanpie wrote:

Maybe a silly question but....as I shop for a second bike I'm under pressure to keep at least one of them outside. This coincides with an impending shed purchase. So is there anything I should look for in a shed, to minimize the chances of my steel/alloy machines rusting if left to languish for a few weeks or even months at a time?

My recommendation would be not to get a metal shed, as they love condensation.

DrLex

Daniel B wrote:

My recommendation would be not to get a metal shed, as they love condensation.

True, but one can take steps to minimise the issue.
(On the verge of moving to a property without outhouses, so investigating bike sheds)