Bike Shifting in RMV 2nd Stage

Renovation is common in RMV 2nd Stage, where long owned houses get a new kitchen, new floors, rewiring or a full redesign. The family moves out for three or four months, the designer and the contractors move in, and everything comes back once the work is done. For the household, it's a move out and a move back. For the bike, it is the same, with one extra question: where does it spend those months?

Leaving the bike at the house during renovation is rarely a good idea. The porch or the car shed becomes a storage yard for cement, tiles, wood and tools. Labourers come and go all day. Dust from cutting tiles and sanding floors settles on everything. A bike left there gets knocked, covered in grit, used as a shelf, and sometimes moved around by people who don't know it. If the work involves the porch itself, the floor, the gate or the parking, the bike may have to be pushed somewhere awkward.

The designer's schedule matters too. Interior work usually follows a sequence: demolition, civil work, electrical, flooring, carpentry, painting. The dustiest and most crowded weeks are early, and the porch is often used for cutting tiles and stone. Ask the designer which weeks the porch and parking are needed, and whether any work is planned on the gate or the driveway.

So decide where it goes.

If the family's temporary home has parking, the bike can go there, and you keep riding it. That's the simplest answer for a bike used daily.

If the temporary home has no parking, or the bike is a second one that isn't needed for a few months, it can go into storage. We can collect it, store it, and bring it back when the house is ready. Tell us the expected duration when you book; storage is priced on the time.

If it is stored, prepare it the way you would any bike that will stand for a while: tyres pumped, battery disconnected or on a tender, a little fuel rather than an empty tank, cleaned and covered.

Then plan the return. Renovations often run late, so agree a return date with us that can move. Before the bike comes back, look at the parking. A renovation can change it: a new floor finish that marks easily, a new gate with a different width, a ramp rebuilt at a steeper angle, a charging point added or moved. Make sure the floor has cured fully if it was redone, and tell us about any new steps or narrow points.

Take a photo of the bike before it goes into storage and another when it comes out. Months in storage are uneventful for most bikes, but a clear record at both ends removes any doubt.

Ask the contractor to clear the porch completely before the bike arrives. Leftover nails, tile chips and wire offcuts are the commonest cause of a puncture on a newly renovated property.

If you're adding an EV charging point as part of the renovation, have the electrician place it near the bike's spot.

Our RMV 2nd Stage packers page covers handing a house to an interior designer for a few months. This page is about the bike during those months.

A renovation is a good time to add a proper charging point for an electric scooter, near the parking and on its own circuit. Plan it with the electrician. For collection and return, let us know the brand and its battery arrangement.