Public Service Announcement: Wash Facility at Cycle Lab Bike Park in Bryanston

[NeilTheNoob]

Hi guys,

 

Apologies if this is not the correct forum to post this (or if similar has been posted before), but I wanted to share a quick warning on leaving your bike in the care of wash bay staff at Cycle Lab Bike Park in Bryanston. 

 

I am a member and regularly use the bike wash after a ride. While it's by no means a thorough clean, it's good enough to get most of the dirt off before loading up and heading home. The issue is that there is no owner verification in place at the facility. When you handover your bike you do not receive any token to indicate ownership to hand back at collection. This means its entirely up to the wash bay staff to link owners with bikes during collection. Definitely a tough ask given the amount of bikes they would see pass through the wash bay in a day.

 

After a recent ride on 29/12/2021, myself and a friend handed in our bikes at the wash bay and headed over to the canteen for a coffee. When we got back to the wash bay our two bikes were missing. It turns out that some other riders assumed they were rentals and took them into the park. While we got our bikes back, it was a very upsetting/frustrating experience because:

1. Our private property was taken without our permission and effectively treated like a public rental.

2. Instead of being taken into the park by other riders, the incident clearly demonstrates that our bikes could easily have been taken out of the facility and stolen. 

3. The management staff at Cycle Lab Bike Park refused to take any responsibility and insisted that if the bikes have been damaged we would need to sort that out with the persons who took our bikes as it was not up to the staff at the wash bay to verify ownership.

 

I haven't taken a look at the membership contract fine print, but I'm assuming if our bikes had been stolen or damaged there would be a clause indemnifying Cycle Lab Bike Park. Please keep this in mind when leaving your (often very expensive and hard earned) bike at the wash bay.

 

Keep safe,
Neil

[RocknRolla]

1) Don’t let your bike leave your sight

2) I don’t trust anyone to wash my bike, other than me. 
 

 

[Castolian]

I would argue here that if your bike is stolen or damaged while in the care of Cyclelab, because they handed it out as rentals then they would be responsible for it, rentals are giving out by cyclelab employees to the riders renting them, you cannot just walk in and grab a rental and off you go. Your bike is suppose to be in their wash bay as well, so not were anyone of the public can just grab it, so in my opinion Cyclelab bike park was negligent here, and would be held accountable, no matter what a clause says, clauses doesn't indemnify if their is negligence on the companies part.

[RobertWhitehead]

Hang on, wait what? People actually still hand over the "imaginary keys" to their ride after riding the trails. 

Edited January 1, 2022 by RobertWhitehead
Spelling

[Steady Spin]

That park is a hole at best. This level of service is standard there so no surprises. 

 

[117]

Standard is being generous Johan

[SwissVan]

Im unfamiliar with this concept of someone else other than the owner washing bikes at a bike park, the few I’ve been to in euro land they provide hoses but you have to DIY

Is this bike wash for free or a seperate service you pay for?

Good on the OP for posting this, a reminder to never let your precious property out of your sight 🤟

 

 

Edited January 1, 2022 by SwissVan

[madmarc]

I would never let my bike out of my sight especially at a bike park or have it washed by those wash guys. - I don't even leave it on my bike rack after a ride when we go smash a coffee afterwards, it leans against the table I sit at. With so many people and bikes about, its very easy for anyone to simply walk off with your bike and no one would ask questions. For me, the local bike bike parks and race events are the highest risk of getting your bike stolen.

Not even at stage races did I allow them near my bike with those HP washers.

Like SwissVan says - If bike parks wanna offer a bike wash facility they should offer a few wash bays with hoses/buckets and brushes, Huddle Park & the old Mankele did it and you washed your own bike.

[TheoG]

Never been there but will for sure think twice now.  Will never trust them with my bike after this report.  Thanks for heads up Neil 👍