I live in a 42 floor apt building in Manhattan.There is a bike storage room, but I keep my bikes in the apt. I think the storage room is primarily used for commuter bikes & not racing bikes.

1. Fellow residents & me have utilized the main elevators with our bikes, but we need to enter/exit the building via the service entrance.
2. No negative feedback on rollers, but our walls are fairly thick. I've ridden a decent amount around 9-10pm. No comments. I have a Cyclops Fluid2 trainer.
3. Service elevator in my building requires staff to operate, no access is offered for bike transport.

I'd check with the building manager/ or leasing coordinator before signing anything.

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Thoughts on being an Urban Triathlete

I live in a highrise in Chicago and our condo rules say no bikes in or out other than the storage locker in the garage. I dont abide by it since I have nice racing bikes and we have access to a service elevator and entrance so I use that. I have had only one complaint from some old lady in the service hallway that said "no bikes through here" but I ignored her- not sure what she was using that entrance for anyway... The building staff know I have them and dont care.

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Andy Mullen
Team Zoot

There shouldn't be a problem. Just watch your cleats on the tile floors walking in and out.

I lived in a downtown mid-rise for many years. (Have my own place now with a yard and a garage it's nice... never going back to an apartment.) No problems whatsoever bringing in bikes into the elevator and have often had to share the elevator with other residents. No one cared. They didn't have rules against it so YMMV. I did have a complaint about late evening trainer use once, but never complaints at daytime or weekend. This will obviously depend on who lives below you. If it becomes a problem just take the bike and the trainer to a lesser used hallway on the ground floor and ride there.

Every hotel I've ever stayed in was fine with bringing the bike through the lobby and onto the elevator too.

I live in a building like this in Portland(obviously relatively bike friendly) but I keep my bikes in my apartment and take them down one of the normal elevators(bank of 3 in my building) and out the lobby every time I ride. I've never had a problem, the elevators are spacious though, and I put the bike right up against the wall.

My walls,ceiling, floors are very thick concrete, so riding wouldn't be a big problem. I would just use your best judgement on the noise factor and you should be fine.

My girlfriend and I both live in high-rises in Chicago.

I live on the 18th floor of a 25-story building. We don't have a service elevator, nor a bike room. There are quite a few cyclists in the building and we all use the main elevators. As a courtesy to the doormen, when our bikes are wet, we tend to carry them through the lobby. They still drip some, but at least they don't have that solid streak across the foyer.

My girlfriend's building is a bit different. It's about 50-something stories and bikes are only allowed in through the garage and may only use the service elevators. Not a big deal, really. Except that dogs are also required to use the service elevator and one time a dog licked my water bottle tip when I wasn't paying attention.

I have another friend who lives in a building where bikes are not allowed in the apartments at all. I would never live in a place like that and this will be one of my first questions when I move. Total deal-breaker.

So, in short.. It really depends. I commute by bike to work most days, so I bring mine in and out a lot. Sometimes when the elevator is busy, I'll wait a few minutes and let the crowd go ahead.. Other than that, pretty easy, really. My girlfriend and I both have fluid trainers and have never ever had any issues with noise. High-rises tend to be a little solid than a smaller walk-up. Our floors are made out of thick concrete, while smaller buildings may have wooden floors.

Sometimes when there's a big storm coming that I don't want to get caught in, or when I just don't have the dang time to get outside, I'll even pop my trainer on the balcony. That's fun because it feels like I'm flying like the kid in ET. I probably look silly to my neighbors, but I don't care.

Good luck finding a place. In short, different places just have different rules. Just make sure to ask early-on and don't choose a place where you may have to keep the bike in a bike room and you should be all set!

I live in Toronto and it was an absolute horror movie getting bikes in and out. I had to put my bike in a bag to bring it down and up regardless of time etc.

I never was fined but they said they would and i did not want to deal with them.

Make sure to ask before you buy!!

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Ryan

I have an apartment on the 41st floor of a 62 story building in Chicago that I use intermittently throughout the year.

1. My building frowns upon it and tell cyclists to use the service elevator. However, if I go for a ride very early I'll take one of the normal elevators down and take the service elevator back up. The lobby staff don't mind.
2. I've asked the couple living below me a few times if they hear anything. They say they've never heard a peep. That said I keep a rubber mat under my trainer, I'm guessing ~1-2cm thick. Also this could vary from building to building.
3. The residents here have access to the service elevator 24/7 but we have to use a key card and occasionally the security room phones us to validate who we are.

Side note: a lot of 'twitchers here from Chicago living in high rises. I guess train low live high is all the rage these days.

Definitely ask before signing as it would have been a deal breaker for us.
We have on-site bike storage, but we don't use it. Our bikes are in our unit. We live in a bldg with two elevators. Neither of them are considered true service/freight elevators, but one does have a 'back door' opening that offers direct access from street level through a trash room and that's the entrance we use with our bikes. It was never intended to be an entrance for residents, but it does make it more convenient vs walking through main lobby and past concierge desk. Once in the elevator, we're pretty careful that the bikes do not touch the walls. Since it's a condominium, we all pay when things need repair or replacement, so it's in our best interest to be extra careful. As for riding rollers/trainers, so far no one has complained (thick concrete slab between floors)...but our unit is right beside the fire stairwell (no one uses them) and DH often sets his bike up on the landing for longer trainer workouts...just in case. I doubt it would be considered 'allowable', but it's convenient and quiet.

1: No... people look annoyed at times but it really isn't a big deal at all.
2: YES! I've been forced to do all my trainer rides in the fucking basement garage with all the cars because my neighbors hate me.
3: No... but it doesn't exist.

I just signed a lease for a high rise in Chicago and while going through the lease there was a boilerplate clause in there that bikes would not be allowed in the unit. I told my landlord that that would be a dealbreaker and we removed it from the lease.

As for trainers, most high rises are concrete construction, so vibration noise shouldn't be an issue, however I bought a trainer mat anyways which absorbs vibrations and keeps sweat off the floor. Also, I have the Rock n' Roll Kurt Kinetic, and I'd bet that a lot of the vibrations are absorbed by the thick rubber pads in the trainer. In my current building I'm allowed to bring bikes up and down the elevator, but not through the lobby, which is fine with me. I just use the service entrance

Depends entirely upon the building owner/property managers/real estate agents, etc. One of the very first questions you should ask flat-out is if bikes are allowed in the building. If the answer is a definite no, then you obviously don't want to live there. Maybe you can negotiate something, but it'll probably be a waste of your time. If the person selling you the unit is unsure or even if they say yes, get something in writing. Or, at least make sure the lease/building rules mention nothing about bicycles being banned from the lobby/hallways/etc.

I've been apartment hunting lately, and I've had to turn down some decent places I would otherwise happily occupy, simply because bikes inside were forbidden.

I live in an apartment building in Vancouver with a strict no bike in the elevator policy and no service elevator to use. Luckily I am on the ground floor and have street access to my place otherwise I wouldn't know what to do with getting my tri bike in and out of the building.

I lived in the top floor of a high-rise in Ottawa for a few years.. I didn't have any negative experiences but it wasn't ideal.
To answer your questions...
1- No.. never had any negative feedback at all. just a lot of small talk "that bike looks intense".. "...did you sell your kidney for that thing?"
2- Our floors/walls were solid concrete and we never had any issues re: noise.. never heard our neighbours and pretty sure they never heard us!
3- Nope.. I didn't ask though.. And it wasn't necessary

The only annoying thing was doing maintainance... Without an outdoor tap etc for washing it, or a garage, it was annoying to manage. But doable..

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Coaching - Future Endurance