Bike storage in loft

[iateyoubutler]

I think this has been done before, but are bikes ok kept in lofts?

I`m looking at moving house in the not too distant future, and am aiming for a bungalow, purely so I can have a decent loft space to kit out as a workshop/ pain cave etc etc. In my eyes it seems better to have my beloved fleet (which I don`t wish to part with btw) in the house with me where I know they are safe, than in the garage which could potentially be rich pickings for any passing skank that wanted to help themselves..................

 

[vickster]

Asgard in the garden few.
Although can't see why you couldn't keep in loft if you can be bothered to lug it up there

 

[newfhouse]

pain cave

Planning to chain up more than just the bikes then?

 

[slowmotion]

I think the loft would be a good place for your bikes if you are in a bungalow. It would be relatively easy to hoist them up there but you may need to enlarge the loft hatch. That's not a big job. Get a cheap electric hoist (about £70

) because it isn't easy to carry bikes up a loft ladder.

 

[ColinJ]

I think the loft would be a good place for your bikes if you are in a bungalow. It would be relatively easy to hoist them up there but you may need to enlarge the loft hatch. That's not a big job. Get a cheap electric hoist (about £70) because it isn't easy to carry bikes up a loft ladder.

I have a big cellar and thought about storing my bikes down there. It turned out that getting them down the steep stairs was a lethal exercise, probably akin to trying to get them up a loft ladder. I gave up on the idea.

A hoist to an attic room could well be a realistic solution (with the enlarged hatch).

 

[slowmotion]

I have a big cellar and thought about storing my bikes down there. It turned out that getting them down the steep stairs was a lethal exercise, probably akin to trying to get them up a loft ladder. I gave up on the idea.

A hoist to an attic room could well be a realistic solution (with the enlarged hatch).

The good thing about the loft idea in a bungalow is that you wouldn't have to lug the bikes up stairs in order to get to the loft hatch. It our tiny terraced house, I'd have to take them up two flights to get to the landing below our hatch.

 

[iateyoubutler]

I`ll get round the logistics issue one way or another. Will they be ok in that climate?

 

[iateyoubutler]

Planning to chain up more than just the bikes then?

No. Why??

 

[iateyoubutler]

I was thinking of removing the wheels to perform said task. Easy..............

 

[newfhouse]

No. Why??

I assumed, perhaps wrongly, that ‘pain cave’ was a typo and you meant to type ‘man cave’ instead. What followed was a weak attempt at humour* and was not intended to cause offence or be judgemental of less mainstream lifestyles.


* Crap jokes never survive close inspection or detailed explanation, do they?

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

I keep quite a bit of stuff in my loft, including spare bike frames and wheels, but be aware of the size of the timbers holding your bedroom ceilings up. You don't want flimsy stuff bending under the weight of any load and cracking your plasterboards! I've boarded the whole of my loft with skip salvage plywood, plus I've done a bit of local reinforcing here and there. I'm also very careful to place anything heavy directly above a load bearing wall. The climate seems fine as there's natural air circulation plus cover from rain. It can get pretty hot or cold up there, but doesn't ever feel damp.

 

[Sharky]

People have already mentioned the difficulty of getting them thru the loft hatch.

Also, it might seem that you have a large floor area, but if you have a sloping roof, you won't be able to stand upright until you are about 6ft away from the gutter line.

Climate wise, I've stored many wheels and a frame in our loft and have been OK when I got them down again.

Last comment - if you have lagging in the loft floor, the area above is going to be very cold and won't give a comfortable work/play area.

 

[slowmotion]

I'm not particularly hardy but it's not the cold in my loft that bothers me. It gets hotter than Dutch love up there in the summer. So much so that on a sunny day I feel quite faint after more than a few minutes. It's pushing 40C.

 

[steveindenmark]

I have 6 in my loft. I clean and oil them before they go up and they are fine.

 

[Kempstonian]

I have spray foam insulation in my loft. It used to be very cold up there because I had no lining under the tiles, but now the temperature is within 5 degrees of the rest of the house - and in the summer it doesn't get hot either.
I think I might start using it for easily carried items like wheels and boxes of bits etc. Maybe the odd frame or two as well, but getiing a complete bike up there would be a pain. I live in a bungalow too.