Home Improvements - For Bikes!?

I was thinking right? (yes, THAT's what that noise was!)
With all that home improvement rubbish on TV, what
would cyclists do if they had to design a house, given
unlimited funds?

I'm talking about cycling related design ideas and
improvements only!

To start the wheel rolling, the first design feature
of my new house would be double-width doors
and hallways!
Why? Because I am sick to death of banging my
bikes into door frames, doors and walls!

So, does anyone have any nifty ideas for making
a cyclist's dream home that little bit better?

hippy

> To start the wheel rolling, the first design feature
> of my new house would be double-width doors
> and hallways!

How about a ramp up the middle of the extra wide staircase, for riding up or
down. Of course for variety you have the option of riding the rough line.
;-)

Iestyn.

"Iestyn" <not@home.com> wrote in message
news:1dj1b.51181$bo1.11892@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
> > To start the wheel rolling, the first design feature
> > of my new house would be double-width doors
> > and hallways!
>
> How about a ramp up the middle of the extra wide staircase, for riding
up or
> down. Of course for variety you have the option of riding the rough
line. ;-)

Of course, landscape gardening would be taken to new levels, with
gardeners struggling to come to terms with "berms", "doubles" and
"the flow"...

Unlimited funds eh? How big is a velodrome again?

hippy

hippy wrote:

**snip**
> hippy

I live in a gound floor apartment with tiles on the floor. I just throw
my bike in the door .. no worrying about carrying it upstairs, or down
the hall past various flatmates' piles of garbage.

But my dream home for my bike: A garage, with a heater and a good
security system. The ute can live outside. Unfortunately such a setup is
hard to come across in the inner city. Except the ute living outside bit.


--
Cheers
LB

(Hey Hippy - is my snipping improving?)

hippy wrote:

> "Iestyn" <not@home.com> wrote in message
> news:1dj1b.51181$bo1.11892@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
>
>>>To start the wheel rolling, the first design feature
>>>of my new house would be double-width doors
>>>and hallways!
>>
>>How about a ramp up the middle of the extra wide staircase, for riding
>
> up or
>
>>down. Of course for variety you have the option of riding the rough
>
> line. ;-)
>
> Of course, landscape gardening would be taken to new levels, with
> gardeners struggling to come to terms with "berms", "doubles" and
> "the flow"...
>
> Unlimited funds eh? How big is a velodrome again?
>
> hippy
>
>
I used to have a cement velodrome 100m from my house in Camperdown. The
council knocked it down about 2 years ago.
Always good for a post-pub, 4am ride on our various homemade bikes,
until you hit a broken longneck some miscreant had left on the track
earlier in the evening.

--
Cheers
LB

"Andrew Swan" <news@NOSPAMandrewswan.com> wrote in message
news:rpl1b.377$Ca5.6940@nnrp1.ozemail.com.au...
> Hmm, let's see...
>
> A garage with room for a bike rack so I don't have to hang them up
> alongside the car (yes, I have a car, shock horror).

How about a conveyor belt bike parking machine?

> A retinal scanning opener for the garage door so I don't have to fish
> around in my pockets for keys or a remote control while juggling bike,
> mail, helmet, etc.

THIS is what I'm talking about! You've watched me try to open my
door before haven't you!? :-D

> A spare room for the (nubile Swedish) masseuse and bike mechanic to live
> in (this could be one person or two).
> A spa, sauna, and massage table (see above).

Drool.

> An air-conditioned training room with rollers, huge video display, and
> that funky computrainer (?) system that simulates countryside and fellow
> riders. If it's good enough for Jan Ullrich (or "Ullrish", if you're
> Stephen Hodge) to train in one, it's good enough for me. This room could
> double as a Tour de France viewing lounge once a year.

Just say home theatre.. you know you want to! I'll excuse that because you
have a computrainer in there! :-)

> A fully-equipped bike workshop for me to use once my partner has got rid
> of the mechanic/masseuse.

hehe..
I just though of another nice addition. Voice controlled compressor
to rapidly pump tyres up to the vocalised pressure.

Instead of the Internet Fridge, how about an Internet workshop that lets
you know when you are nearly out of grease/tubes/tyres/etc?

hip

"Luther Blissett" <lutherblissett20@buggeroffspammers.mailhot.com> wrote in
message news:bi4ogi$9a3
> I just throw my bike in the door .. no worrying about carrying it
upstairs, or down
> the hall past various flatmates' piles of garbage.

My problem is the "throw bike in the door" bit. I tend to connect bike
to door frame. Of course, I _could_ try turning on some lights in the
morning.. nah!

> But my dream home for my bike: A garage, with a heater and a good
> security system. The ute can live outside. Unfortunately such a setup is
> hard to come across in the inner city. Except the ute living outside bit.

I work on my bikes inside my unit. The shed contains a car (damn I
wish I could sell that!) and is freezing! The carpet is also quite dodgy
inside so I feel no need to be careful with oil/grease/parts.

> (Hey Hippy - is my snipping improving?)

Tis!

hip

hippy <NOSPAMsbirnie@NOSPAMbigpond.com> wrote:

> "Iestyn" <not@home.com> wrote in message
> news:1dj1b.51181$bo1.11892@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
> > > To start the wheel rolling, the first design feature
> > > of my new house would be double-width doors
> > > and hallways!
> >
> > How about a ramp up the middle of the extra wide staircase, for riding
> up or
> > down. Of course for variety you have the option of riding the rough
> line. ;-)
>
> Of course, landscape gardening would be taken to new levels, with
> gardeners struggling to come to terms with "berms", "doubles" and
> "the flow"...
>
> Unlimited funds eh? How big is a velodrome again?

I heard of a guy who was building his own track on his rural property
near Perth. A standard 250m track needs too much banking (~45 degrees)
for a DIY'er to handle I think, but the Midland track is 400m, bitumen
and looks to be about 5 degrees banking, (which is plenty for
sprinting). 400m track goes around a football field, needs about 1.6
hectares of land. You should do that

"Luther Blissett" <lutherblissett20@buggeroffspammers.mailhot.com>
>
> I live in a gound floor apartment with tiles on the floor. I just throw
> my bike in the door .. no worrying about carrying it upstairs, or down
> the hall past various flatmates' piles of garbage.
>


Great. I too live in a ground floor appartment, with a no-step entry to the
kitchen. I have hardwood floors, which I find equally convenient. Just make
the kitchen door a bit wider so I can roll in easily with the child trailer.

There is a "bedroom" that is used for bike storage and maintenance. I would
add a grille and a water drain underneath so the snow can melt off the bike
without any interference or problem. Right now, I use a rubber mat and wipe
if a few times while snow melts. When it snows outdoors, I pick up anything
from 0,5 L to 5 L of water which comes from snow melting off tires, rims,
brakes....

BTW, this comes from a Canadian who likes these ideas, but who lives in a
real 4-season climate. It's now +30 C, but this Winter, we might go down
to -30 C. Great for cycling!

Regards,

Michel Gagnon

"hippy" <NOSPAMsbirnie@NOSPAMbigpond.com> wrote in message
news:I0j1b.51167$bo1.8066@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
> I was thinking right? (yes, THAT's what that noise was!)
> With all that home improvement rubbish on TV, what
> would cyclists do if they had to design a house, given
> unlimited funds?
>
> I'm talking about cycling related design ideas and
> improvements only!
>
> To start the wheel rolling, the first design feature
> of my new house would be double-width doors
> and hallways!
> Why? Because I am sick to death of banging my
> bikes into door frames, doors and walls!
>
> So, does anyone have any nifty ideas for making
> a cyclist's dream home that little bit better?

I'd have the back entrance (with ramp, as needed) open into a large area
with space and equipment for maintaining and storing my bikes (as well as
coats, boots, etc).

On 22 Aug 2003 06:51:07 -0700, Luigi de Guzman <luigi12081@cox.net> wrote:
> A lot of houses have them--garages. Pity they're usually full of
> automobile...

I've never seen a garage full of automobile. They're
always full of other stuff.

> "In Manila," he said, "the thieves will cut through a wall like this
> to get inside."

I've always wondered why thieves don't do that here.
We put heavy steel locks on doors, then leave the wall
right next to it made of the following layers:
Plaster or wallpaper or paint
Sheetrock / drywall
2x4 or 2x6 studs every 16 inches
Insulation, wiring, plumbing inside
1/2" plywood
Siding -- Vinyl, wood, etc.

Seems to me, under a minute with a cordless
reciprocating saw, or 20 seconds with a sledgehammer,
and you've got a hole you can reach in and unlock the
door.

At my house, we have a deadbolt that uses a key on
both sides instead of having a handle on one side;
when that's locked, you'll have to break a window to
come in. Like that's so hard to do...

> So for maximum home/bike security, I'll go with solid brick or stone
> walls....

A brick veneer over the first floor of a standard
stick-framed house ought to suffice. Those stone
veneers sure are pretty, though...

http://www.dukeconcrete.com/images/D...Veneer%202.jpg


> -Luigi
> practical pig
--
Rick Onanian

"Gary K" <ocean1@removeiinet.net.au> wrote in message
news:1g043zc.1vk5bzq3jirygN%>
> I heard of a guy who was building his own track on his rural property
> near Perth. A standard 250m track needs too much banking (~45 degrees)

Wow, I never knew they were that steep!
I should go watch a track race somewhere!

> for a DIY'er to handle I think, but the Midland track is 400m, bitumen
> and looks to be about 5 degrees banking, (which is plenty for
> sprinting). 400m track goes around a football field, needs about 1.6
> hectares of land. You should do that

$10mil later (urgh.. don't need reminding about land prices!)
Don't know any inner city Melbourne warehouses going cheap
do you? One of them would be perfect for my lifestyle!

I still haven't built up the Raleigh frame with fixed-gear parts. I'm
finding (well _not_ finding) that track parts are not exactly easy
to acquire unless you a) buy a whole bike second hand or b) buy
new (and expensive) parts. Grr.. stupid costly hobbies...

For the house:
- 3 fridges: 1 food, 1 beer, 1 tools ;-)
- In the middle of the velodrome a nice little skate park setup
for "trick" practice.
- A "dishwasher", but for degreasing bike parts
- Cable tv for tour coverage and well stocked DVD/Video
collection for mtb stuff.
- All rooms should be rideable and interconnected allowing bike
travel all over the house.

hippy

hippy <NOSPAMsbirnie@NOSPAMbigpond.com> wrote in message
news:I0j1b.51167$bo1.8066@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
> I was thinking right? (yes, THAT's what that noise was!)
> With all that home improvement rubbish on TV, what
> would cyclists do if they had to design a house, given
> unlimited funds?

Just having an easy back entrance to the yard would be a bonus. One you
could unlock with one hand, and still be easy enough to get in and out of,
even with a trailer or a tandem. Having a back laneway for test riding would
be a bonus too.

Seeings as we have unlimited funds, I would bulldoze every speed hump in the
area that didn't allow for cyclists to fly through too. Technically this is
not part of the house, but anyway...
---
DFM

hippy <sbirnie@NOSPAMbigpond.com> wrote in message
news:bi593j$15hc$1@otis.netspace.net.au...
> "Gary K" <ocean1@removeiinet.net.au> wrote in message
> news:1g043zc.1vk5bzq3jirygN%>
> > I heard of a guy who was building his own track on his rural property
> > near Perth. A standard 250m track needs too much banking (~45 degrees)
>
> Wow, I never knew they were that steep!
> I should go watch a track race somewhere!
>
> > for a DIY'er to handle I think, but the Midland track is 400m, bitumen
> > and looks to be about 5 degrees banking, (which is plenty for
> > sprinting). 400m track goes around a football field, needs about 1.6
> > hectares of land. You should do that
>
> $10mil later (urgh.. don't need reminding about land prices!)
> Don't know any inner city Melbourne warehouses going cheap
> do you? One of them would be perfect for my lifestyle!

One recently sold for about $900,000 in North Melbourne, near Errol St. It
had a huge open space about 40 metres by 50 metres. I had a few mates living
in it, and they would ride trikes around from one side to the other. Winter
was obviously a ***** there.

That place would have been my dream home if I could have gotten my hands on
it. Now it's gonna be turned into yuppy townhouses, dammit.
---
DFM

Rick Onanian <spamsink@cox.net> wrote in message news:<oprua8pl1iw8gzvw@news.east.cox.net>...
> On 22 Aug 2003 06:51:07 -0700, Luigi de Guzman <luigi12081@cox.net> wrote:
> > A lot of houses have them--garages. Pity they're usually full of
> > automobile...
>
> I've never seen a garage full of automobile. They're
> always full of other stuff.
>
> > "In Manila," he said, "the thieves will cut through a wall like this
> > to get inside."
>
> I've always wondered why thieves don't do that here.
> We put heavy steel locks on doors, then leave the wall
> right next to it made of the following layers:
> Plaster or wallpaper or paint
> Sheetrock / drywall
> 2x4 or 2x6 studs every 16 inches
> Insulation, wiring, plumbing inside
> 1/2" plywood
> Siding -- Vinyl, wood, etc.
>
> Seems to me, under a minute with a cordless
> reciprocating saw, or 20 seconds with a sledgehammer,
> and you've got a hole you can reach in and unlock the
> door.

Trouble is, of course, that sledgehammering a wall is so damn *noisy*.
Although given the sparseness of some suburban bedroom communities,
especially around mid-morning, it may just be feasible.....

Apparently, troops operating in urban areas use a similar means to
enter houses--I'm heard it's called "mouseholing"--so that they don't
have to pass through doorways, which are presumably booby-trapped
and/or covered by gunfire. In attached-housing situations, they move
from house to house in this manner...

-Luigi

"You generals all and champions bold
that takes delight in fields
That knocks down churches and castle walls
but now to death mustyield
We must go and face our daring foes
and with a sword and shield
I often fought with my merry men
but now to death must yield"
-"Lord Marlborough," Trad.