alr

I am wrecking my back carrying by bicycle down to its basement storage area, and I am contemplating trying bicycle storage outside under a porch and under a cover. Ideally, I would ride it every day to work and back, if I did not injure myself by carrying it down very steep stairs with low overhead clearance. If I did store it outside, say under a porch, and under a quality cover such as this one: https://bikejacket.com/index.html, will I ruin the frame? Storage inside my apartment is not an option, and I don't have a garage, so please don't suggest this as an alternative. I live in Seattle, where it is definitely wet and moist this time of year, so this is why I worry. My bicycle as I found it this year was nearly rust free despite it being about 25 years old, and I would like to keep it that way, but I also would like to ride it as much as possible.

EjustE

If water and salt does not reach the bike, I think that you might pull it off with a cover under a roof. Make sure that you tune it up at least annually and get rid of the rust at first sight (water will probably slowly get in through the zipper or some place else).

Ivandarken

If it is a good bike...no. The weather will get it, or someone will steal it, especially if there is a quality cover.

If it's okay for it to get wet and dirty and start to oxidize...no problem. But it's a slippery slope, you get lazy over time and accept less and less protection. Remember, you USED to carry it up and down the stairs.

You know, once I designed an outdoor bike "garage" with plywood and paint, just as big as the bike itself. Never actually built it, but the concept would work for anyone with your particular problem. Cinderblocks to raise it off the ground, and neatly constructed with a hinged and locked door: it would in theory be a dry and secure place to store the bike. Small foot print, painted to be unobtrusive. No one would expect to find a bike in it.

Mmm.... maybe I need to market this. I'm sure Rubbermaid is listening in....

alr

Yeah. I like the idea of an outdoor bicycle cubbie: kind of like the bicycle lockers at my work and at transit places. The cost of those is however prohibitive to the individual I think. If a decently priced locker were available to land in my car parking spot at home, I would definitely be interested.

Oh, and my bicycle is not super special to the general population, but special to me: a 1982 Nishiki Olympic 12 mixte

Since this photo, I have added honjo fluted fenders and a rear steel rack. I love it.

Mike Mills

Use Framesaver on the frame.

Several companies are already marketing bicycle enclosures. We have mini-garages at work for bicycle storage. The "garage door" locks.

I think the main threat is riding in the rain/snow. The water gets everywhere, so does the road salt. A leather saddle can be destroyed in one downpour if not taken care of.

To me, that cover looks like a ROYAL PITA. Personally speaking, I wouldn't buy one.

alr

Since I have full coverage fenders, damage from riding in the rain is mostly mitigated. My fenders and my riding the bike protect my leather saddle. It is parked under a covered parking at work. We have very little to no salt applied to the streets here, and I don't live near the sound so salty air is not likely to be much of a problem either. Could you elaborate more on the "garage door"?

cudak888 

No.

And don't trust any company that advertises its "bike jacket" by putting a Huffy inside it.

-Kurt

Panthers007

Call a friend - or rent one. Get it indoors if you have wet weather in the winter. Getting the rust off and doing an overhaul in the Spring is worse. Too heavy? Take off the wheels. And the seatpost/saddle. Your shoulder is your friend.

randyjawa 

No!!!

bigvegan

Listen to everyone that says no. Bikes should only be stored outside when they're by the curb waiting for the garbage man.

(Maybe I'm just bitter because I rolled some rusty old MTBs into the dumpster today, because they weren't worth saving, even for parts, whereas if they'd been stored inside, they'd have been perfectly fine.)

Totaled108

Unlike the midwest, and east coast, no salt is used in these parts on the roads. Well not in Oregon, and I'm pretty sure not in Washington. So unless you live RIGHT on the ocean there in Seattle, you should be fine.

Wash it down every so often, and use lube in all the right places. Though in your climate, NOT covering it when its already under a roof might be better. The moisture (if you just finished riding in the rain) won't be trapped under the cover, allowing the bike to dry. Or, get a beater bike, and keep the vintage bike down stairs.

Both of my older bikes (see sig), hadn't been used in MANY years when I received them. One was stored in a basement since the late '70s, and the other was used, abused and put away wet. No rust on the bike but for the chain and spokes. All the fasteners came off with ease, after brushing the cob webs off. I even was able to true the front wheel, the rear was replaced with a flipflop hubbed wheel.

I'm not saying its going to be perfect, I'm just saying, your lucky to be on the proper coast to leave a bike outside. Just lock it up well.

onfloat

I think they were...
https://www.theyhaveit.com/servlet/th...2-SLIDE/Detail

Or something like this?

https://www.ameribike.com/catalog/bik...ages/301v.html

wahoonc

I kept my daily rider Raleigh 3 speed locked up under the stairs at my apartment for years. It got hosed off a few times a year as needed and wiped down with an oily rag. I never bothered with frame saver, though that would be a good idea. It would go from there to work where it was parked outside on a rack in the weather or sometimes locked up in a corner of the big generator shed when the weather was particularly ugly. They do use salt and sand on the roads in NC so hosing it off when the weather warmed up was a necessity, other than that it got maintenance when it needed it. Do what you need to do, though a small compartment built under the porch wouldn't hurt.

And FWIW garages are all they are cracked up to be, I have seen plenty of bikes destroyed by salt and water that dripped off of the cars that were parked next to bikes stored in the garage...just saying. The Dutch leave bikes outside all the time and from what I gather the average age of their bikes is around 35 years old!

Aaron

cycleheimer

If that's what you are going to do , keep the chain very well oiled and lubricate any bike part that moves. Putting a heavy duty car wax on it might help too. Most importantly, take it out on the road and ride it.

randyjawa 

Good idea, but does that fall into the outside category? Out of the weather and out of sight are two fundamental issues, neither of which is possible with a bicycle stored outside, exposed to the elements and within view of the person who needs your bike to get somewhere on.

Just my opinion, of course.

Mr IGH

There is a school of thought that worries about temperature cycling one's car or bike. The theory is that it's better to keep your vehicle frozen rather than allowing it to warm up to room temp, next to be subjected to cold temps, then warmed again, a couple times per day. When I bring my bike in from the cold it does get condensation all over it, I'd hate to think H2O was accumulating inside my IGH and frame tubes because I was trying to protect it from the cold.

roccobike

You beat me to it! I gave my son a Trek 800 when he went to college. It was stored outdoors. We waxed the frame, used oil on the chain (not chain lube), used clear laquer on chrome parts, waxed the spokes. The only parts that rusted were the adjustment screws on the brake levers, because I forgot to protect them. However, we did not care if the paint faded or if rust eventually did claim this bike because we looked at it as a beater.
To the OP. Buy a beater and store it outside after treating it as stated above. Keep your good bike in the basement and only take it out when you want to ride your best bike.

nlerner

I usually have one bike kept outside under a tarp all year round here in the Boston area. Previously it was a Bridgestone CB-1, and now it's a Specialized HardRock MTB (I don't have a garage, have other regular riders in the front porch, and have access to the basement through a bulkhead door). The Bridgestone definitely suffered some abuse from that treatment--the headset grease seemed to freeze up after an extended cold snap, and any scratches on the frame became more and more corroded over time. I haven't had the Specialized out there long (it's under a foot of snow, currently), but I expect something similar to happen. I built this bike with the intention of treating it this way, so it's not a problem, but I agree with the sentiment that if it's a bike you want to preserve in any significant way, keeping it outside, even if under a cover, will take a toll.

Neal

wrk101

+10: NO!

And that mixte is a nice bike, one that will continue to go up in value. And you don't need road salt to do a number on the bike either.

cudak888 

^
A good explanation, and sage advice.

-Kurt

Grand Bois

Bikes need to be stored in a heated space.

Chombi

Moisture is the steel bike's worst enemy. Storing a steel bike outside will expose the bike to moisture not only from rain and fog, but just the temperature fluctuations from day and night that causes moisture to condense on surfaces. Keeping the bike inside your house or even just in the inner areas of your garage, away from the door, will minimize temperature fluctuations.
Although parking your bike(s) in your garage is still much better than parking it outside, quite a bit of moisture can still migrate through the concrete slab. Best yet is to find space inside your house (in spaces above grade level) where this is minimized. A basement space will also not be the best place to store/park a bike becuase the moisture situation in most basements, specially in older houses that do not have modern moisture barriers built into their slabs, will be similar to what it is in a garage.

Chombi
84 Peugeot PSV
85(?) Vitus Plus Carbone 7

Bioflamingo

+1 getting a beater bike to lock up on your porch. I keep most of my bikes stored inside what is basically a large garage with no heat or insulation, and I've had 0 problems with rust. However, I like to keep 2 bikes at home since the garage is 8 miles away. My nice bike stays in my room, but I keep the beater on the front porch. It's been getting snowed on all winter so far and there's no oxidization yet, but it's been below freezing most of the time so there was no real moisture getting on it. In Seattle I imagine leaving a bike on the porch will rust it no matter how much protection/cover is on it, so leaving your nice bike outside will only result in sadness. Locking it in your basement for the remainder of the season would be much more humane.

TejanoTrackie 

Something else to consider is that older bicycles are less able to deal with inclement weather than modern ones, which have sealed bearings, plastic lined cable housings, etc. So, if you choose to use your older bike in wet conditions, it's going to inevitably suffer wear and damage unless you are continously maintaining it. You need to decide how special you consider your bike to be, and accept the fact that you can't have your cake and eat it too.

As to your original question, I agree with others here that the cover you are considering is about the worst thing you could do. It would just trap moisture and optimize corrosive conditions.

retyred

I agree,100%. Rust never sleeps.