giffenf

...and so far, I'm the only one who signed up to use it. And unless your employee badge is authorized to open the door, you don't get in, so I've got the place to myself. Hanging racks, double-decker racks, wishbone racks, lockers, a pump and tool station, this is just plain cool.

Korina

Darth Lefty 

They certainly are trying everything, aren't they?

wsgts

#jealous

caloso

Wow.

Jim from Boston

My Office Built A Bike Room

Quote:

Originally Posted by giffenf

...and so far, I'm the only one who signed up to use it. And unless your employee badge is authorized to open the door, you don't get in, so I've got the place to myself. Hanging racks, double-decker racks, wishbone racks, lockers, a pump and tool station, this is just plain cool.

Nice. I am about the only cycle commuter to my work place of 100s, and I found an undisturbed spot within the building, a few yards from my office with a direct door opening to it. I posted to this Commuter Forum:“May I show off my work's bikeparking?”

Quote:

Originally Posted by epdarks

We have a separate entrance which leads to dedicated bike storage, there's a bike washing station (not pictured), as well as free air, tools, and a vending machine that sells tubes/water bottles/etc. Then of course a full locker room with showers and lockers.

Anyways, I hope you guys don't mind me showing off, I figured it might be of interest to the forum.

Quote:

Originally Posted by blakcloud

Very nice and it must be good to work for an organization that can be this progressive.

stormpeakco

really nice...wondering if the fastening bolts are merely drilled into the concrete and might not be that tough to remove should someone actually gain illegal entry into the secure facility?
(became a bit O/C over bike security during this past summer when my Wife observed some would be thieves, eyeballin' my custom outfitted carbon fatbike and her Rad Rover E-fatty, locked on the hitch mounted 1UpUSA rack on the back of our RV in the Whole Foods parking lot while we were shopping)...strange company names like Pragmasis, Laclede, Squire, Cisa, Assa Abloy and terms like "Irwin bolt croppers", "shrouded shackle", "the lockpicking lawyer" & "Rockwell Hardness Score" are common vernacular.

02Giant 

Someone spent some $$$

Looks like you tried most of the racks, which one is the bikes favorite?

giffenf

I took all the stuff I usually take off my bike when I get to work (headlight, seat bag, cyclocomputer, water bottle, etc.) back down and put it back on my bike this afternoon. That saves about 10 minutes right there, not having to re-attach everything. As far as security, yes, the studs are just drilled into the concrete and the equipment is bolted to it, but anyone who wanted to do that would likely make a racket and draw attention. That said, even though there is a plexiglass shield over the slats around the door, it wouldn't be hard to slip a coat hanger in and pull the inside handle down and open it. On the other hand, the room is right next to the executive parking area, which has a camera on it, and the door to the bike room has a camera on it, and there's another in the walkway to it, and building security monitors them. Plus it's a decent neighborhood so I'm not too concerned. If there were just an electrical outlet, I could leave my headlight down there to charge for the ride home, but I'm not complaining.

As for which rack I like best, for now, it's the wishbone. My bike leans up against it easily, I don't have to lift it, and my Kryptonite lock slips right through it and I'm good to go. The hanging racks are easy to use, especially if I rode my Tarmac, which is much easier to lift. The double-deckers are OK, but my bike's too big to fit in the top one, the bottom one would be fine, but for now, I'll stick with the wishbones.

We used to have a gym with showers in this building when I worked there for my former employer (long story, but they moved and I got a job with another tenant in the same building), but it closed, so as a courtesy to my co-workers, I don't do the 15.5-mile ride in anymore (so as not to walk around sweaty and smelly all day). I can take a train to within 6 miles of work (no sweat involved in that ride, especially this time of year) and then ride the 15.5 home after work (the absolute highlight of my day, even in L.A. traffic).

There's one other guy in the building who rides regularly (more regularly than I can) but he wasn't there today, but I bet he'll sign up once he sees that they ripped out the old bike rack. He and I are the only two who ride to work, I've seen one bike there besides ours, but only once.

I wish my garage looked as nice as this room does.

OmegaWolf

The one cheap little rack at my workplace is currently buried in a snow bank. I'll have to dig my way to it to try to lock my bike to it tomorrow morning.

alan s 

Looks like someone had a budget to spend and kind of threw everything in there, including at least 28 lockers. Field of Dreams?

tim24k

Very cool. I’d like to see more of this from employers.

joelcool

Sweet.

Harhir

This looks awesome. Someone spent some money. No specific bike room here. But we have bike racks in the parking garage and a brand new gym with locker rooms and showers. And the bike trail is running by the office. But only 4-5 people out of 500 use the bike.

Darth Lefty 

Bet you they get a tax write-off or carbon offset credits or something. Still, they've been thoughtful. Was there any kind of survey? It's likely to get more use in the spring.

giffenf

The entry/parking/elevator badges are all interconnected, and everybody in building management, parking, and security seems to know I'm the bike room guy, because they've all said to me "Hey, you're the guy who signed up for the bike room, right?" in the last two days.

The other guy who rides regularly is here today, but they ended up leaving the old bike rack up for now, so he's parked there. I asked and they said he still hasn't signed up, so the room is still mine, all mine, Bwaahaahaa!

Korina

Sweet!! We got a hanging rack in the staff "lounge", which was removed to install new carpeting and never returned. I didn't like it, so I'm quite happy to simply park my bike in the same space, as it's right next to my office. We only have 13 staff and 30-odd clients, so it's quite secure. I just wish we could afford to encourage staff to ride and bus to work rather than drive, as it's just me.

davei1980

Still cheaper than a parking garage, the massive cost of which no one ever questions! LOL

keithdunlop

That's pretty awesome! We provide a locker room and showers, and my office is more than big enough to store my bike, but for those who work in a cubical, this is a great benefit.