Advice on how to maintain a bike when living in a flat.

[Racing roadkill]

Good morning,

As it is a flat I would assume it is leasehold and some may say that I am being paranoid. :-)

Check the lease vary carefully for terms that prohibit the storage of bicycles within the flat, if they exist and you ignore them they can be grounds for lease termination.

It is true that it is incredibly rare for domestic leases to be forfeit for violations but it is legally possible and if the freehold owner does invoke such a clause legal bills would get terribly expensive very quickly.

If the the flat is in a block where the lease holders also own part of the freehold then such issues may be less likely, if the flats are run by a management company then enforcing the lease terms may just be policy.

If nobody complains then all will be fine, but one tenant with an anti-bike stance may make it an issue and the management committee/company would be obligated to act.

You say that that the new build will have a cycle store, this makes a clause such as "Bicycles must be stored in the cycle store" quite likely, rather than or in addition to a clause that says "Bicycles, motorcycles and similar may not be stored within the property"

Bye

Ian

If it is a lease / rental, make sure you’re careful not to leave anything around during ‘inspections’ ( the landlord has to inform you when they are happening, well in advance) and stash the bike(s) in the bike shed / outside, when the inspections happen.

 

[currystomper]

I believe baby wipes are a useful way to get a bike a quick clean

 

[lane]

I know someone who lived in a flat and cleans the bike off with a jetwash at the garage.

 

[Pat "5mph"]

All of our local bike hubs have a weekly fix your own bike evening.
You don't have to go to fix anything, you can use their stands, water and tool to clean and adjust.
Some have a hose outside, with a pump and some tools, that can be used anytime.
Maybe your local bike hubs do similar?
I live in a garden flat, with a hose outside.
Still, due to our freezing, ever drizzly weather, I end up cleaning the bikes in the spare room, with old bedding to protect the flooring.

 

[numbnuts]

No garages to rent in the area ??

 

[ColinJ]

Always enjoy your..... 'i hate anything new or modern'...... posts.

I know what you mean, but a lot of cheaper modern houses ARE like that! When my sister got married her new house was almost a bloody shoe box. When I visited I used to sleep on the sofa bed in their lounge. The room was so small that there was only about 18 inches behind the sofa and my feet almost touched the opposite wall when it was made up into a bed!

I was looking at the outside of some new-build properties near Clitheroe a couple of weeks ago and they were a similar size. Even as a single person, I would not want to live in a house that small, but these were (presumably) intended for young families.

And I have been in modern houses with walls so poorly sound-insulated that I thought the person in the next house was talking to me...

 

[Smudge]

I know what you mean, but a lot of cheaper modern houses ARE like that! When my sister got married her new house was almost a bloody shoe box. When I visited I used to sleep on the sofa bed in their lounge. The room was so small that there was only about 18 inches behind the sofa and my feet almost touched the opposite wall when it was made up into a bed!

I was looking at the outside of some new-build properties near Clitheroe a couple of weeks ago and they were a similar size. As a single person, I would not want to live in a house that small, but these were (presumably) intended for young families.

And I have been in modern houses with walls so poorly sound-insulated that I thought the person in the next house was talking to me...

Yup, i've had experience of new builds. They aint the best and you have to put with months of trying to get the builder to finish what they call 'snagging'.

 

[ChrisEyles]

I've done quite a bit of bike maintenance in the kitchen over the years (top tip - don't leave oily fingerprints all over the sink if you're co-habiting with someone who doesn't share your passion for oily bits of bike). TBH I prefer it to most of the small, poorly lit sheds we've had in various places!

I use a bucket & water (with a squirt of degreaser) to wash the bike, dry with an old tea towel (for the frame) and some blue paper roll (for the chain and other fiddly bits), and then give the chain a mickle clean. Can easily be done in the street outside your flat/house if needs be.

The only thing I'd struggle with would be remove bottom brackets or screw-on freewheels, which usually require a vice solidly mounted to a bench. Everything else can be done with the bike either leaning against a wall/kitchen unit (old tea towels to prevent marking), or upside down on the floor.

 

[Slow But Determined]

I keep a bike at our apartment in Portugal (posh word for a flat) but due to the cracking weather have never had to clean it yet!!

Would echo what others have said though I would not like to live in an apartment full time, a balcony no way compensates for a back garden.

 

[MontyVeda]

I live in a first floor flat and usually do it in the lounge... but i've just redecorated the lounge and put a new carpet down, so the bikes not going anywhere near it! In future I'll have to do it in the kitchen, which is also my shed (not literally). If the bikes particularly muddy, I've spray it off outside with one of these...

...which is ideal providing the mud is still wet.

If the mud/road matter is dry, I don a pair of these and give the frame a good rub...

The gloves go in the wash and all the dusty stuff on the lino gets swept up.

Other maintenance (replacing brake blocks, lubing the chain, etc) shouldn't be that messy so not really a problem, proving you don't have a narrow galley kitchen, then the problem is lack of space.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Work on the bike on the parking place.

 

[Blue Hills]

The only thing I'd struggle with would be remove bottom brackets or screw-on freewheels, which usually require a vice solidly mounted to a bench.r.

Have never used a vice, let alone a bench mounted one, to extract a bottom bracket. Just turn the bike over. If you need a vice i reckon whoever put it in did something wrong or you haven't periodically taken it out to clean and degrease the threads. If things are that bad I would take the bike to a bikeshop.

 

[ChrisEyles]

I think I've had maybe one or two which have come out using a spanner/socket wrench. The rest have all been bench vice jobbies! To be fair they have mostly been on cheaper bikes I've bought to do up and I'd be amazed if any of them had the BB touched since they were new (ie 10 - 60 years ago depending which bike).

 

[Globalti]