Guest Posted June 24, 2012 Posted June 24, 2012 This is my first post...greetings!I am after some advice on a tricky parking situation. I recently bought my first bike (yup, I'm a new biker) and put little thought into how I am going to park it in my block of flats...so I've already dropped it once!Below is a photo of the space (with bike parked in it on centre stand) - the green arrow indicates where I come up from, this arrow is pointing uphill. The red arrows indicate the slope - the long red arrows are a steep downhill to the right, and the small arrows are a very gentle slope towards the bottom of the photo. I have a ground anchor in the space that was used by a previous tenant, this is located on the top right of the space, but in reality it's not an issue as I can use another chain to link to it if it is far away. My question is - how do you recommend to park the bike in this space?The way that it is currently parked works well, however, if the red car is in the space, then it is very difficult to shimmy the bike into position. http://i45.tinypic.com/iqx16u.pngThoughts and opinions are greatly appreciated. Many thanks! [/img] Quote
polecat Posted June 24, 2012 Posted June 24, 2012 If that is your space then I would put a bike shed on it with a level floor and put it in there (reversing in) Quote
Tango Posted June 24, 2012 Posted June 24, 2012 Welcome to the Forum mate....... I'd make a couple of little ramps to go against the kerb either side and ride the bike straight over the island bit...... Quote
iiisecondcreep Posted June 24, 2012 Posted June 24, 2012 Do you park a car in the space as well? If not I;d probably recommend parking the bike longways in the space. 2 winters ago when there was all that snow we just had one bike parked in our space it was parked like that, came home to find someone else had parked their car in our space- despite my bike being in it!!!!- the car was there for 2 days. Quote
Guest Posted June 24, 2012 Posted June 24, 2012 Thanks all. It is indeed my space (I'm the owner), I'm not sure about 'rules' surrounding modifying it though so I will definitely look into that. I had thought about getting it levelled out somehow (even just the furthest right portion then i can ride straight in).I would ideally like to park straight in, I'm just worried about the slope, would the best approach be to ride straight in and point the front wheel uphill (to the left in the photo)? Would that be stable enough on the side stand?Thanks all! Appreciating this forum already!!! Quote
Fast Eddie Posted June 24, 2012 Posted June 24, 2012 I always try and park my bike with the weight down hill so in your case i'd be on the side stand and have reversed it in. Theory being it's more likely to fall that way to if it's already leaning that way less chance of harm. The problem in your case is that there is another slope you'd then be facing down. how about parking it as you do at the moment but not so far back? less temptation for people to park in your space but but you can still reverse it against the kerb? regarding difficulty getting it in when the car is there, we have the same on our space (less the slope) and it's a pain but doable to turn them round.also regarding the bike shed, a decent size one may take up nearly the whole space. I'd love one for ours, but it would make it impossible for cars either side to use one door which wouldn't make you popular. Quote
Guest Posted June 24, 2012 Posted June 24, 2012 I always try and park my bike with the weight down hill so in your case i'd be on the side stand and have reversed it in. Theory being it's more likely to fall that way to if it's already leaning that way less chance of harm. The problem in your case is that there is another slope you'd then be facing down. how about parking it as you do at the moment but not so far back? less temptation for people to park in your space but but you can still reverse it against the kerb? regarding difficulty getting it in when the car is there, we have the same on our space (less the slope) and it's a pain but doable to turn them round.also regarding the bike shed, a decent size one may take up nearly the whole space. I'd love one for ours, but it would make it impossible for cars either side to use one door which wouldn't make you popular. Cheers Eddie. Isn't it more likely to fall if the weight is downhill though? The slope is steeper than the photo makes out - the one time I dropped it I was actually trying to park it just like that (although that wasn't a stand failure...was human error...) I'm not entirely sure on the theory of parking...obviously!I'm ok without a bike shed as its quite a private car park, we may even be getting gates soon, but I'm definitely interested in the prospect of getting it levelled out, I just have no idea how much that would set me back...I'm guessing not a massive amount as it would just require dumping some concrete in there?! Again, not my area of expertise. But any thoughts are welcome!! Quote
mealexme Posted June 25, 2012 Posted June 25, 2012 personally I would reverse it in and put it on the side stand leaving it in gear. Just remember to put it in neutral when you start it! Quote
mealexme Posted June 25, 2012 Posted June 25, 2012 well actually I wouldnt bother even reversing it in, I would drive over the curb and park it facing out. But that would wear away the grass and the rear wheel may slip in the wet, so I would be tempted to put down a paving slab or something. Quote
mattycoops43 Posted June 25, 2012 Posted June 25, 2012 I dont like parking on a side slope with the bike leaning either way. Not too stable in my opinion. I would reverse it in, so you can just roll it backwards in, and I would leave it diagonally across the space so it is pointing as straight up the hill as possible. Quote
Stu Posted June 25, 2012 Posted June 25, 2012 personally I would reverse it in and put it on the side stand leaving it in gear. Just remember to put it in neutral when you start it! do as above welcome to the forum by the way Quote
Joeman Posted June 27, 2012 Posted June 27, 2012 I dont like parking on a side slope with the bike leaning either way. Not too stable in my opinion. I would reverse it in, so you can just roll it backwards in, and I would leave it diagonally across the space so it is pointing as straight up the hill as possible. Reverse in, and put the side stand on a bit of wood (2" thick maybe?) pushed up against the curb. Quote
Bigralphie Posted June 27, 2012 Posted June 27, 2012 I would ride past ,roll back into your space so your back tyre is in the angle where the kerbs meet ,kickstand, in gear Quote
Harrydh3 Posted July 10, 2012 Posted July 10, 2012 I would reverse it in, so you can just roll it backwards in, and I would leave it diagonally across the space so it is pointing as straight up the hill as possible. Quote
Guest Posted July 10, 2012 Posted July 10, 2012 I would reverse it in, so you can just roll it backwards in, and I would leave it diagonally across the space so it is pointing as straight up the hill as possible. Would you care to expand on this? I'm still following this thread. Haven't come across a convincing solution yet!Thanks. Quote
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