Bike Shifting in Puttenahalli

Puttenahalli sits around a lake, and some of its streets and apartment entrances sit low. The packers page is about the monsoon move: rain doesn't stop a move, it changes one, and the damage happens on the ground between the door and the vehicle.

For a bike, that ground is the path from where it's parked to where the carrier waits. After a heavy evening downpour, the low points in that path fill: a dip at the gate, the bottom of a basement ramp, a stretch of lane by the storm drain. By morning, some drain away. Some don't.

Rolling a bike through a puddle does little harm once, but it has costs. Water splashes onto the brakes and the chain. A scooter's low exhaust can take water if it's pushed through deep enough. And a crew member slipping on a wet ramp while holding a bike is how bikes get dropped.

So after heavy rain, plan the collection a little differently.

Book mornings in the wet months. Rain in Bangalore tends to come in the afternoon and evening. A morning collection gives the night's water time to drain and avoids the next afternoon's storm.

Check the route twice: once at dusk and once at first light. Follow it from where the bike stands, out through the gate, to where the carrier will pull up. Note any water, mud or slippery tiles.

Tell us what you see. If there's standing water at the gate, we'll agree a slightly different meeting point, or wait an hour for it to drain. A phone call on the morning saves a wasted trip.

Watch the storm drains. Many lanes here have open or loosely covered drains along one side. In heavy rain they overflow, and afterwards their edges hide under muddy water. Keep the bike's wheels well away from the drain side when wheeling it out.

Check the basement ramp. Water collects at the bottom of ramps. If your bike is in a basement, look at the bottom of the ramp before the crew arrives. A wet, slimy ramp needs two people and care.

Dry the bike before it's strapped. A bike that has stood in the rain overnight should be wiped down, especially the seat, the tank and the brake discs. Wet straps on wet paint can mark it.

Leave the bike where it is if the water hasn't drained. Don't move it to higher ground through the puddle at night yourself; a fall in the dark on a wet tile is worse than a delay. The crew can wait or work round it in daylight.

Cover it the night before. If the bike lives in the open, put a breathable cover on it the night before collection.

In the rainy months, the crew who come to Puttenahalli bring absorbent cloths and plan for wet ramps. A survey or call sets one written figure, and we look after the bike from the moment it leaves its spot.

Our Puttenahalli packers page covers the monsoon move. This page is about the few metres of wet ground between the bike and the carrier.

Think about the lake road itself. After a very heavy storm, some low stretches near the lake hold water for longer, and traffic backs up as cars slow to cross. If the carrier must use one of those stretches, an hour's delay can follow. A slightly later start, once the road has cleared, is sometimes quicker than an early one.

And keep your papers dry. Seal the photocopies that ride along in a zip bag rather than leaving them loose under the seat.

At the delivery end, the same applies. If the new address has a low gate or a ramp, ask whoever is receiving the bike to check it after rain.

Rain itself is fine for an electric scooter; deep standing water is not. Don't push one through water that reaches the motor or battery area. Wait for it to drain, or agree another route. Mention the EV's make at booking.