Bike Shifting in Vajarahalli

The Vajarahalli packers page is honest about doing it yourself: a hired tempo and a couple of friends is sometimes the sensible choice, and it's worth knowing when before you start rather than halfway through a Sunday.

The bike is where self moves most often go wrong. Furniture can be carried and stacked. A bike has to be lifted or ramped onto a tempo bed nearly a metre high, held upright, and kept upright through every pothole and speed breaker between here and the new address.

When does doing it yourself work?

When there's a proper ramp. Some tempo drivers carry a loading ramp. If yours does, with a ramp wide enough for a wheel and long enough for a gentle slope, the bike can be wheeled up by two people. Without one, it's lifted, and a lifted bike is a dropped bike waiting to happen.

When there are proper straps. Ratchet straps or cam straps, at least four, hooked to anchor points on the tempo bed. Rope tied to the side rails slackens, and the bike leans.

When the bike is light. A small scooter is manageable. A heavy motorcycle is not, for amateurs.

When the distance is short, and the roads are familiar. A few kilometres on decent roads is one thing. A run across the city through traffic and speed breakers is another.

Think about the tempo's bed, too. Some have a slippery steel floor that a bike's tyres slide on once it's tilted. A rubber mat or a folded gunny bag under the wheels helps them grip.

What goes wrong?

The plank. A plank of wood laid from the ground to the tempo bed is the classic improvised ramp. It's narrow, it bends, it slips. Halfway up, the front wheel goes off the edge.

The lift. Four friends lift a scooter by the handlebar, the seat and the panels. The panels crack, a mirror snaps, and someone's back goes.

The rope. Tied round the handlebar and the side rail, it stretches on the first bend. By the first speed breaker, the bike is leaning against the cartons.

The cartons, again. Even well packed boxes shift as the tempo brakes. Boxes stacked against the bike to keep it upright push on its panels and scratch its paint.

No cover. If anything happens on the road, nobody's insurance clearly covers a bike being carried informally in a hired tempo.

If you're going to do it yourself, do it properly: a ramp, four good straps, the bike tied at its frame, nothing leaning on it, and a slow drive.

Think about who's driving, too. A hired tempo's driver is paid to drive, not to load or secure a bike. If something shifts on the road, they may not stop to check unless you ask. Ride in the cab, and ask for a stop after the first kilometre to look at the straps.

And unload as carefully as you loaded. Coming down a plank or a ramp is harder than going up. Two people hold the bike back while a third steers.

Or book only the bike. Many people move the household themselves and book a carrier just for the bike. That's a small job, and it takes the hardest part off your Sunday.

Vajarahalli bikes are collected by our crew, with ramps and straps that are made for the job. After a short survey you get one written figure, and the bike is our responsibility from your gate.

Our Vajarahalli packers page covers moving yourself with a hired tempo. This page is about the bike, which is the hardest thing to put on one.

An electric scooter is heavier than it looks, because of its battery. Lifting one onto a tempo by hand is hard on backs and panels. If you move it yourself, use a ramp. Otherwise, book a carrier and tell us the model.