Do you know what’s better than driving to your local gym? Cycling there! Not only will you arrive all warmed up and ready for your intense workout routine, especially if you’re training legs, but you’ll also increase your cardiovascular fitness, improve joint mobility, strengthen your bones, and decrease stress levels which are all essential things for a fitness lifestyle. However, Cycling to the gym comes with its own risks. With over 180,000 bicycles reported stolen each year in the United States, the chances of your bike getting stolen too isn’t that far out. So it’s probably a good idea to correctly secure it before accessing any facility. But do gyms offer these security services? More particularly, does Planet Fitness have bike racks?
The majority of Planet Fitness locations have bike racks outside their facilities where you can secure your bike. However, it’s a good idea to contact the club for more direct information and to check for their availability.
In this article, we’ll talk about if Planet Fitness has bike racks as well as the things that you need to watch for while securing your bike.
Table of Contents
Does Planet Fitness Have Bike Racks?
Planet Fitness is known for many things, but one thing for sure is that it provides all its members with the best customer service that will leave them satisfied as soon as they enter their facility, or in this case, before they even enter.
Almost all Planet Fitness locations have bike racks available for members to use and where you can store your bike safely without worrying about it ever getting stolen.
However, depending on your location, this service may be unavailable so it’s always best to contact your local gym for information on this matter, either directly or through their website.
Here’s how you can do the latter one:
- Go to Planet Fitness’ official website
- Click on “contact us” (or click here)
- Select your location
- Fill in your personal information and your query (in this case, it will be “Do you have bike racks?” and they should get back to you in no time
I used to own a membership there, would occasionally cycle to the gym, and secure it at the bike rack that was available near their entrance. Here’s what they look like:
Just safely secure your bike using a u-lock (more tips in the next section) and you should be good to go.
Things to Watch Out For Before Leaving Your Bike Outside
Before considering leaving your bike outside the gym, you just need to keep in mind that it’s a place commonly targeted by thieves so your best option is to make stealing the bike too risky or not worth the effort, and there are a couple of ways how you can do that:
Efficiently Lock Your Bike
Always make sure that your bike is locked in an efficient matter. The best way to do that is by getting a good u-lock and using it to lock the rear wheel and frame together along with the bike rack that’s available at Planet Fitness. You can also use an extra lock that goes through your front wheel just to make sure.
It’s better to avoid using cable locks since they’re pretty worthless against competent thieves that come prepared.
Use a Beater Bike
Most of the time, even if you efficiently secure your bike and there is no way for it to be stolen, there is still a chance that you’ll come back to it and notice stolen parts since there is no way to secure those. To top it off, even if nothing gets stolen, some people just like to damage random bikes for no apparent reason.
The best way to avoid any kind of theft is by making it not worth the time. In order to do that, use a beater bike that doesn’t look like it’s worth something so that the thieves ignore it.
Ask if You Can Put it Inside The Gym
Even if there are bike racks outside the gyms, if you’re not comfortable with leaving your bike outside, you can just ask the staff at Planet Fitness if you’re allowed to bring it inside. This way you’ll be 100% sure that it won’t get stolen. I’m confident that if you ask nicely, they won’t have a problem with it.
Conclusion:
As you can see, Planet Fitness does have bike racks available outside their premises that all members can use for free. However, there are things that you need to watch out for before leaving your bike there:
- Make sure to efficiently secure your bike
- Use a beater bike that won’t grab the attention of thieves
- Ask the staff if you’re allowed to bring the bike inside the gym