Bike Poncho
Does your bike spend a lot of time being stored outside or subject to potentially harmful conditions? Hopefully not, but if so then a Bike Poncho™ can help you (and your bike) out. It’s designed to protect your bike while parked on work/campus, traveling on the back of your bike rack, or while being stored outside at home (heaven forbid).
Lucky for me, my bikes are only outside when I’m out there riding them….but there was a time when the Bike Poncho was exactly what I was in need of. It was back in October 2009 and I was living in Canada. My Family and I were heading off to spend a couple months in Austin, and driving the 3,000kms in our Jeep Liberty to get there. Of course, my road bike was coming along and it was happily sitting behind us on my hitch mounted bike rack.
Generally speaking, that time of year is totally free from the cold and snow….but not that year. We took off on the journey and were faced with snow, slush, and ice all the way until somewhere around Nebraska. It was nasty enough to drive in, and you can only imagine how I felt about my bike being back there. It was no longer so happy to be along for the ride. I can still remember checking into the hotel for the night and having to thaw my bike out in the bathtub and clean off all the slush and dirt. It still makes me cringe thinking about it.
Anyway, while I was in Austin I met Mary from Bike Poncho who was displaying her product at the Livestrong Challenge Village. I told her my horrid story of traveling with my bike and she gave me a poncho to use for our trip back home. The weather home was far nicer and we didn’t encounter the same nasty conditions, but if they would have come…I was totally prepared this time.
I’ve been friends with Mary ever since, and feel the Bike Poncho is a great protector for many bikes out there that are subject to the elements. I’m sure there are also more than a few “clean freak” cyclists who could also use a poncho to help keep their bikes ultra clean and dust free.
I invite you to learn more about the Bike Poncho, where to buy one, and more at www.bikeponcho.com.
Win a Bike Poncho
Mary would like to give away a couple of Bike Poncho’s to those of you who could really use one. In the comments section below, let us know your story and why a Bike Poncho is needed to come to your bike’s rescue.
We’ve selected two winners who will each receive a Bike Poncho…..Congratulations to Mpalileo and Mike Neifert. But we’re leaving this one open….keep your comments coming in as to why you need a Bike Poncho and we just might have more to give away in the future.
I just started riding a road bike in December 2012 and have quickly beconme a lycra nut. I’m doing a 10-day ride in a few months – Cycle Queensland – where we have to leave our bikes out in the open overnight and when we are not riding. A Bike Poncho would be brilliant to protect my new bike. Alos, as I’m spending most of my time (when I’m not doing my PhD, or working in my part-time day job) on my bike or getting to my next ride a Bike Poncho would be so handy and would get so much use.
Hi Mary, thanks for your comment. I’ll talk to Bike Poncho and see if they can send you one off. They might not want to ship to Australia, but if you have friends or relatives in the States or Canada it could be sent to them so they can bring it to you. Let me know.
Darryl
My wife and I have a property west of Brenham Tx. We have a long dusty dirt road to get to our place. We take our bikes there as often as possible because the nearby roads are great for riding, they only problem is by the time we get them to our place they drive trains look like pottery. Its this incredibly fine sandy clay that gets into everything and I can imagine the wear on the components that results. I would LOVE a poncho like this. it really seems like a great product.
Will it work w a Saris bones rack? in my odd way of commuting I leave my car at work, ride home that night then ride in the next day. I have to leave my bike on my car during the day. Would love to have the Bike Poncho to protect my bike.
I need to get one or two for my hubby. Can you say obsessive-compulsive? He thoroughly cleans the Felt & Trek after every ride (yes, even the ones to the grocery store less than 2-miles away)…doesn’t want to risk build up of dirt and other corrosives etc. Or as he has said time and time again “they need to know they’re loved!”…i know it’s because riding became his savior as a child, his form of escape and release and his bikes are a reminder of discovering that first love 😀
Would love to ride to work every day, but the boss refuses the bike in the office (no room, fire hazard, looks ugly to customers etc), so it gets to sit either in the garage under the building which routinely gets robbed, or outside in the rain where i can see it. I have just stopped cycling to work on wet days :/
That’s really too bad, Liz. I wish more employers understood the benefits of having employees riding their bikes to work. I’ve actually come across a few companies where the entire staff rides to work….that is awesome. I hope your employer eventually sees the light….and good luck in winning a bike poncho through our contest.
I know right? I tried explaining the benifits of cycling, less traffic on the road, less parking problems, fitter healthy employees … nope, not interested!
That is much better than the one I have.
i’d love to have one for when i travel. i always take a bike with me on vacation.
I’ve never seen those before, but have been looking for something like that to cover my bike at work when I commute. If I don’t win one I am going to buy one most definitely.
My poor bikes ride in the back of my truck or on the roof of my car, subject to smog, bugs, and all weather can throw at them. Over time the weather takes its toll, little pits and bits of rust develop. I live on a rural road, where the pavement ends, so my bikes are always living in a cloud of dust or dodging the mud slinging off the tires. I’ve tried other covers, but they only provide a small amount of protection. I’d find one those ponchos useful for keeping the bike from harm. BTW, do they make it big enough to cover a Kona Ute?
My husband is obsessed with his bike, he’s constantly cleaning it. I need a bike poncho because my husbands pay more attention to his bike than me! I need quality time…
I keep my road bike stored inside, but my mtb is outside most of the time. I would actually like to try something like this to keep the grime off my bike because I don’t have a garage or shed to keep it in.
To know me is to know I go overboard with my bicycles and their cleanliness. They are cleaned after each ride, and waxed (yes waxed) regularly. Road bikes, mountain bikes does not matter. I do get them very dirty, but always give them a detailed cleaning afterwards. With this kind of, well lets just call it what it is, OCD, I could use a product like this. My plans of traveling with my bikes this year are quite extensive, as i have registered for races and rides all over the country. And I have already spent a lot of time on what I need to do to protect them from the elements while on the road. This Poncho looks like something made personally for me.. and my OCD issue….
I love how you look after your bikes so well….that’s awesome. If Mary makes it back to Texas again sometime, I’ll have to introduce you to her. She’s awesome.
One word. Colorado
I would love to see a picture of it from the other side when it is on the rack. Their site and even the YouTube video make it extremely hard to decipher how the grommets work and are located.
I also wonder how it increases drag on the car. And, will it cover too many lights to even be legal for a car bike rack?
Hi Justin, I’ll see if I can get you a better picture to check out. The grommets are at the bottom so the Bike Poncho can be synched up to completely cover the bike. I believe the primary use for the Bike Poncho is for storage off of a bike rack, but I can tell you that I traveled over 2,000 miles with it on the back of my Jeep (from Austin to Saskatoon, Canada) and never had a problem. You do have a point about covering the lights and that could be an issue. One thing I noticed when I had it on my Jeep was my license plate was partially covered, but luckily I never got stopped.