Can I carry my bike up and down these stairs every day?

[KLizotte]

Hi all,

I've viewed a condo that I really like unfortunately it requires going up a flight of stairs to get to it. On the plus side, the stairwell is inside my condo so I could mark up the walls as much as I want. The downside is they are narrow and the landing is basically non-existent (only wide enough for the door to swing through. I'm trying to think of a hanging solution that would prevent me having to haul the road bike up and downstairs but it is a very narrow space. I already know I'd have to take off my panniers every time I had to haul up and down. Anything else I should be aware of or consider? I absolutely love everything else about the condo but these stairs are a real stickler not only for the bike but carrying other stuff like groceries. Augh.

[kwarkentien]

Hi all,

I've viewed a condo that I really like unfortunately it requires going up a flight of stairs to get to it. On the plus side, the stairwell is inside my condo so I could mark up the walls as much as I want. The downside is they are narrow and the landing is basically non-existent (only wide enough for the door to swing through. I'm trying to think of a hanging solution that would prevent me having to haul the road bike up and downstairs but it is a very narrow space. I already know I'd have to take off my panniers every time I had to haul up and down. Anything else I should be aware of or consider? I absolutely love everything else about the condo but these stairs are a real stickler not only for the bike but carrying other stuff like groceries. Augh.

I can tell you from experience that it sucks to drag bikes up and down stairs every time you ride. In my case, those stairs were outside, which is worse than your setup, but neither would be fun. Just my two cents.


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[dasgeh]

Someone posted in women and bikes not to long ago with a contraption that stored a road bike flat against the ceiling. Would that be an option?

Or, would some sort of rail in the wall work - you would hook your bike (or a load of groceries) onto something that could glide along the rail, but didn't stick out more than the bannister when not in use

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[consularrider]

I have to carry my bikes up eight steps from our basement storage unit and it is twice as wide as the stairwell pictured in this thread. That's no real issue with the road and gravel bikes, but a real PITA with the fatty. Also what happens after a wet and/or muddy ride?

[anomad]

I lived in a setup like that once. It wasn't awful but it wasn't ideal. I'd leave my bike at the bottom of the stairs sometimes. It was a rental so I couldn't rig up a way to hang a bike or two down there. Inside I use that plastic cardboard to park on and catch most of the crud. Hard floors though makes cleaning up easy.

On the other end of the spectrum, I once lived on a 3rd floor walk up. That got old, I moved after my lease was up. Great view of Denver though. A couple times my old chocolate lab got sick and I had to carry his ass up and down to go potty.

[creadinger]

Aside from the hassle of carrying and messing up the walls each and every time, I think about how I'm always a hair's width away from tripping or losing my balance while carrying a big, awkward bike up or down stairs. I'm just bad at it and it's dangerous. And falling down a narrow staircase with a bike and all its point bits would not be pretty.

[KLizotte]

Aside from the hassle of carrying and messing up the walls each and every time, I think about how I'm always a hair's width away from tripping or losing my balance while carrying a big, awkward bike up or down stairs. I'm just bad at it and it's dangerous. And falling down a narrow staircase with a bike and all its point bits would not be pretty.

Augh. I didn't think of that which is ironic since I broke my ankle in my current apartment just from slipping on the floor. I absolutely love this condo, top floor, completely renovated with fireplace and deck. But these damn stairs!!!!

[Judd]

Augh. I didn't think of that which is ironic since I broke my ankle in my current apartment just from slipping on the floor. I absolutely love this condo, top floor, completely renovated with fireplace and deck. But these damn stairs!!!!

Do you still have the trike? I wouldn't want to carry that up anything.

[KLizotte]

Do you still have the trike? I wouldn't want to carry that up anything.

Yeah, the trike is gonna have to be sold. Despite the fact that I will be buying more sq footage my storage capacity in many decreases dramatically. I will lost a garage space and large bike room (where I store my trike). And why new properties don't have coat closets by the front door baffles me.

I was probably going to sell the trike anyway because my knees don't like it despite the adjustments I've made.

[KLizotte]

Anybody have any experience at the West Village of Shirlington. Nice huge condo but I'd have to go up an external flight of stairs (though they seem to have low rises) and two flights of wide stairs with two good size landings to break up the flights. The walls are brick so I don't really have to worry about getting into trouble for any damage I may cause.

Anybody know anything about their basement storage? The real estate agent wasn't able to get into the storage area today. There is a very small bike room in the building but I'm very hesitant to use a communal bike room (though accessible only by key) because of theft.

I wonder if I could convince them to install bike rails?! Probably wouldn't be allowed by code.

No elevators