Bike Shifting in Sarakki

The Sarakki packers page is about the television: the most expensive item in most living rooms and the one most often damaged, not by dropping but by being laid flat with something resting on it. A bike on the same lorry raises the same kind of question. Where does it stand, and what touches it?

Putting the bike on the household lorry is often the right choice for a move within Bangalore. One vehicle, one trip, one arrival time. It costs less than a separate bike carrier and keeps everything together. But a lorry packed for a household isn't arranged like a bike carrier, and the bike can't simply be squeezed in at the end.

Here's how it's done properly.

The bike gets its own strap point. It stands upright, near the front wall or a side wall of the lorry body, tied at its frame to anchor points on the lorry, not to the furniture. Its stand is down or a chock holds the front wheel. It is a fixed object, like a heavy wardrobe, not something wedged between cartons.

Nothing leans on it. Cartons, mattresses and flat pack panels are stacked so that none of them rests against the bike's mirrors, panels or seat. Soft items like rolled mattresses go elsewhere, not draped over the seat to fill a gap.

It leans on nothing. In the same way, the bike's handlebar, mirrors and footrests don't press against the television box, a glass table top or a wardrobe door. A turned handlebar against a TV carton is exactly how a screen cracks on the road.

The television stands well away. The TV, in its box or padded, travels upright and secured on its own, ideally at a different side of the lorry from the bike. Glass, mirrors and screens are kept clear of anything with a handlebar.

Load order matters. The bike usually goes on early and comes off late, or goes on last and comes off first, depending on the layout. We decide at the survey, because the bike shouldn't be climbed over or moved around mid-load.

Mirrors folded, stand checked. Mirrors are folded in or removed, and the side stand is secured so it can't flip down during the journey and scratch whatever is beside it.

Fuel low, as always. A bike on a household lorry travels with the tank run down to reserve, because a fuel smell in a lorry full of sofas and clothes is unwelcome, and a leak is worse.

Sarakki household moves with a bike on board are loaded by our crew, who plan the lorry layout around the bike and the screens. We survey, fix one figure on paper for the household and the bike, and answer for both on the road.

Our Sarakki packers page covers the television and how screens break. This page is about the bike that shares the lorry with it.

When a separate carrier is better. If the bike is heavy, if the lorry will be packed to the roof, or if the bike is going to a different address from the household, a separate bike carrier is cleaner. We'll say so at the survey.

At the new home, the bike usually comes off before the furniture goes in, so it isn't trapped in a corner of the lorry while the household is carried upstairs. Park it out of the crew's path for the rest of the unloading.

An electric scooter on a household lorry travels upright and tied like any other, with its charger packed in a labelled carton. Keep the scooter clear of the TV and glass, and don't stack anything on its seat. Name the EV's model when booking.