A teammate and dear friend recently got married on a mountaintop and, last weekend, threw a celebratory party at his house. He lives on a couple of acres, in an “old” farmhouse that he completely remodeled. To call it a remodel is probably an understatement because everything is new and state of the art – including his bike room. When designing the remodel, he pretty much started with a bike room and reconstructed the house around it. With winter weather upon us and daylight more scarce, I thought it would be a good opportunity to share some details and give it a review.
The room is located in the basement and easily accessible from his basement entertainment room, complete with a bar and two always-active beer taps. Of course the bike room also has its own exit – a heavy door with key code access from the outside, at the bottom of a wide staircase. With what he has in there, security is a must, but he also doesn’t want to have to carry keys around. Outside, at the top of the stairs, he has a bike-wash station so he can clean his dirty whip before bringing it inside. The floor of the room is finished concrete with a central drain – just in case. When entering from outside, his bikes are hung efficiently on a rack which is anchored to the wall and big enough to accommodate ten of his thirteen-bike fleet. (5 Eriksen, 2 Moots, 2 Specialized, an Independent Fabrication, a Gary Fisher, a Don McClung, and a Surley). Just to the left is a work stand and a full work bench with a peg board and drawers housing a complete set of Park Tools and a wide array of spare parts. Beyond that to the left is a shelf which holds several helmets (mostly spares for out of town visitors like me). Past the bike rack on the right are several plastic bins holding more spare parts and accessories to cover pretty much any eventuality.
Straight ahead is his Tacx smart trainer pointed towards a 48-inch flat screen on which to bring up Zwift, TrainerRoad, or any cycling race he wants to watch. Below the screen sits his wide selection of spare wheels. Right next to that, along the right wall, is a leather couch. To the left of the screen is a row of shelves holding all of his gloves, knee warmers, arm warmers, and any piece of winter clothing that you could think of. Just past that is a closet dedicated to all his jerseys and bibs, as well as a top shelf for shoes and extras. Just beyond that is a cycling-dedicated washer and dryer. Opposite that is a sink as well as a counter and bench that holds his many bottles as well as a variety of hydration and nutrition options.
I have seen this room many times and I have tried to think of things he missed or details I would have added, and I have yet to come up with what that might be. The only thing, in his case, is that he underestimated the size of his fleet so he does have three bikes leaning against walls. Also, I should probably talk to him about having an air compressor available and ready at any time. Of course he has one in his garage, but why have it all the way out there when you can just as easily have it right in your bike room? Ultimately, though, he did it right. Such a room is certainly not for everyone, but for those of us that can relate, it definitely checks all of the boxes. Now go set yours up – and enjoy!
Trent Newcomer is a veterinarian and the franchise owner of Velofix Colorado, a mobile bike shop operation that serves the Front Range, from Fort Collins to the entire Denver metro area. Book a bike service appointment and have them roll up to your home or business at velofix.com.
