Not everyone has the luxury of being able to store their bicycle in a secure garage.
It makes no sense to shell out a lot of £££ on your bicycle and then keep it in a risky location where it’s bound to get stolen.
Not everyone wants to store their bicycle in the house, even if you do have the space. Yes, bicycles look great when hung on walls, etc. but then in these glamour photos, the bikes are always brand-new. You try it with a commute-hardened bike that’s covered in grime.
Garages and sheds are the next best thing for those of us who don’t want to store our prized possessions inside the house, but they can still be at risk.
In this guide we discuss all the different storage options available to you and we share our thoughts on the best types of bicycle storage and the additional steps you can take to improve your bicycle storage security.
Table of Contents
Options for storing your bicycle outside
When parking your bicycle at home, safety, weather protection, and convenience should be your top priorities.
Any storage arrangement should be supplemented with a strong lock, preferably both a bike lock and a closed door. But even with decent security, it’s worth ensuring you have insurance. Any lock, even the best ones, might be broken.
In short, your security needs to work. However, you don’t want a thief breaking the door to your shed and taking your bike. It shouldn’t rust outside in the rain. And you don’t want to fight every morning to get it out and ready to ride.
The Garden Shed
A wooden shed gives adequate weather protection but poor security, regardless of whether it is the standard garden version or specifically made to keep bikes, like the ShackUpTriDoor. The hasp or staple can be pried out of the wood even if you padlock the door. Either drill a hole in the ground and place the shed over it – or buy a ShedShackle. This gives the shed a wide-ranging anchor point that is bolted to it; to steal it, a criminal would essentially have to demolish the shed.
A Bike-Specific Store
In terms of security, bike bunkers are a step up from sheds. They may be bolted to the ground and are constructed of galvanised steel, which won’t decay like wood. There will be mounting places for padlocks if they lack an integral lock. You can also include floor anchors occasionally and bike locks.
Cycle-works, Cyclepods, Trimetals, and Asgard are popular brands. There are many sizes available, but the majority are made to fit two bikes comfortably or three in a pinch with room for a few extras. Bunkers are smaller than sheds that you stand in since you have to lift the bike in from the outside. The price is the sole drawback; budget more than £500. Although it seems expensive, it’s less expensive than a garage.
Outside
The last option is to leave your bike outside because doing so invites rust and theft. Install a wall or floor anchor so you can lock your bike with a D-lock or a large chain. If the eye of the expander bolt is large enough to suit your lock, it will function as intended; bring that to the hardware store.
Since they employ several, tamper-proof fittings and are larger, dedicated floor or wall anchors from companies like Squire or Abus are more secure. It is also simpler to connect a D-lock or chain through them. Install locking skewers from Pinhead or Pitlock on your bike to stop thieves from stealing the wheels or seatpost from a locked bike.
Use a PVC or nylon bike cover to shield your outside bike from the rain.
Options for storing your bicycle inside
Garage
Forget about storing your car there—a garage makes a great workspace and storage area for your bicycles! But making the most of your available space doesn’t mean leaning your bike—or bikes—against the wall.
OK, jokes aside, the cars and your bicycles can share the space!
Using hooks is the least expensive technique to move the bike up and out of the way to where it won’t get damaged and it won’t take up all your floor space.
The bike can be hung either horizontally with the top tube held in place by two hooks or vertically by the front wheel with both wheels resting against the wall.
You don’t need anything fancy. Large plastic-coated hooks from DIY stores (for vertical hanging) or large shelf brackets wrapped with used innertube are two DIY solutions (for horizontal hanging). However, specialist bike hooks are available. They are more likely to be sturdy, and often look better too.
For further security, adding a wall anchor and lock is worthwhile. Garage doors that open up and over aren’t exactly Fort Knox.
You can hang your bike from the ceiling of a high garage. One possibility is a hoist which you can raise and lower to get access to your bike. The Saris Glide Ceiling Mount Storage is an alternative for lighter bicycles.
Inside your home
If you store your bike inside your home or apartment, you won’t need to worry about a lock because it will already be behind a secured door, which is acceptable for insurance coverage. The possibility that your bike could leave traces of oil, grease or soiled water, damaging carpets and wallpaper must be taken into account.
Your bike(s) could live inside your flat there if you have an understanding partner and a spare room. That might also be your workshop, who knows?
Your bike will probably need to share space in another room. Leaning on the wall could cause it to topple down or get knocked over. Additionally, the handlebar and pedals will be at the ideal heights to jab midriffs and bark shins, respectively. Lift it up and move it aside. You could make use of ceiling hoists or wall hooks as in a garage.
There are other solutions if you don’t like that sort of industrial appearance or if your lease prohibits drilling holes.
One last alternative is a folding bike. A Brompton is compact enough to fit behind a door, beneath a desk, or even in a downstairs cupboard.
Bicycle storage: the questions you need to ask
Before you go and buy the first shed you see, read the questions below and think about the answers. You don’t want to buy a shed and realise that it won’t fit your bikes, or it is hard to access or doesn’t provide the security you need.
Where can I locate my bike shed?
If you live in a flat, you’re unlikely to be able to install a shed of any type on the communal land. However, if you have a garden flat or access to communal space, you might be able to set up a temporary shed (often plastic) with the permission of your board.
If you own a house, you need to think about access and visibility. This means you need to consider the size of your shed, how you’re going to get to it and whether or not it’s visible to potential thieves.
If your shed is a pain to get to, or hard for you to get your bikes in and out of, you’re unlikely to use it and therefore your security won’t be improved by the shed.
What size bike shed do I need?
When it comes to building a shed, a little extra space makes all the difference. There’s not a lot of point in building a shed that just about squeezes in your bike and a few bits of bike kit.
It’s critical to take into account how many bikes you’ll be storing when choosing the size of your bike shed.
You can buy a shed that just about stores your bike but if you went a foot larger in each direction you’d comfortably have enough space to work on your bike or store other household stuff like garden tools and all that other stuff that we all have cluttering up our lives (sports equipment, tins of paint, etc!).
Rough guidelines for bike storage size requirements
The worst thing you can do it buy and assemble a shed only to find it doesn’t fit your bike, or it fits but it’s a real paint to get it in and out. Therefore it’s crucial to get a shed that fits your needs while providing enough room.
My recommendation for the minimum internal dimensions for a bike shed are as follows:
One bicycle: approximately 6′ x 2′ (180 cm x 60 cm) for parallel storage or 5′ x 3′ (150 cm x 90 cm) for diagonal storage.
Two bicycles: approximately 6′ x 3′ (180 cm x 90 cm) for parallel storage or 5′ x 4′ (150 cm x 120 cm) for diagonal storage.
Three bicycles: approximately 6′ x 4′ (180 cm x 120 cm) for parallel storage or 6′ x 5′ (180 cm x 150 cm) for diagonal storage.
It’s also worth noting that a little extra space makes all the difference. If you have a couple of bikes, you don’t always want to be untangling pedals from spokes and handlebars from brake cables. With an additional foot in each direction, you can comfortably install a bicycle stand to keep your bikes upright and free from damaging each other every time you get one out.
If you want to be able to have a little workshop area in there and be able to put up shelves to store additional kit, then I recommend you add a foot in each direction, i.e 2ft longer and 2 foot wider. Don’t forget about the height – you need to be able to stand upright in there!
What materials should I go for?
This question is mainly about costs but also about how long you’re going to use your shed and how simple you want it to be to construct.
Check the weatherproofing claims of any shed you buy if you want it to be watertight. The more expensive bespoke bicycle sheds, be they metal or wood are often waterproof.
However, even a basic wooden shed is fairly water tight. The good news is you can improve a wooden shed’s waterproofing for a little additional cost, just by using silicone sealants and waterproofing solutions like wood treatment and waterproof membranes. This guide is excellent and shows you how to build your own bicycle shed
Once you’ve constructed a wooden shed, it’s hard to take down (and then reassemble). So if you’re in rented digs, a plastic or – even better – a metal shed is a better solution.
Do I need additional security?
This depends on the type of bicycle storage you go for. Most bicycle-centric sheds come with a decent level of security built-in and the ability to further improve this by using better quality padlocks.
If you fit a typical garden shed, you need to eliminate the basics. For example if you have windows these are easily broken but if you want to work on your bike in your shed, you need lights if you do away with the windows. If you keep the windows, you need to be able to cover them up (I have a basic bit of ply mounted with two top hinges which I can raise or lower from the inside and it is secured with a basic latch). You could as easily use opaque window coverings, which cost a few quid and can be stuck on in minutes.
You can beef up a typical wooden shed with shed bars, better locks, and high-strength hinges. You can also bolt your shed down into the ground to prevent it from being tipped over.
Plastic bicycle stores are harder to beef up but are generally easy to assemble and water tight.
What tools do I need to construct a bicycle shed?
Generally speaking you’ll only need a few bits of equipment for any bicycle storage, be it a wooden shed, bespoke metal storage or a plastic bicycle store.
I’d recommend you have access to the following tools.
- A power drill
- Hammer
- Hacksaw
- Screwdrivers
- Spirit level
- Screws, nails, washers
- Tape measure
- Pencil
- A cup of tea
- A handy helper
How can I make my bike shed more secure?
- Improve the lock
- Improve the hinges
- No windows
- Shed bar
- Flood light / sensor
- Boltt he shed down
- Improe the roof strentgh
- Fot a ground anchor
outdoor bike storage solutions uk
halfords bike storage
bike storage for small garden
cheap bike sheds
asgard bike storage
wickes bike shed
keter bike storage
bike storage container
secure outdoor bike storage
Secure Bicycle Storage FAQ
Will bikes rust in a shed?
They will weather slightly faster than they would inside but if your shed is waterproof, your bicycles shouldn’t rust.
Should you hang your bike by the wheel?
It might appear like you’re putting a lot of strain on your bike’s wheel but hanging it by its wheel is perfectly safe. Your bike only weighs 10-15kg and it’s designed to carry well over 100kg!
Does a bike shed need a floor?
Yes, ideally a concrete floor although you can get away with building it on a base of gravel. It’s better to lay a hard standing as you can secure your shed to it and seal your shed against the elements, so water doesn’t creep in.
What is the most efficient way to store bicycles?
How can I protect my bike storage outside?
Is it OK to leave a bike outside?
How can I store my bike outside without a shed?
Is it bad if my bicycle gets rained on?
What happens if you don’t use your bike?
Will a tarp protect my bike?
Do bikes need to be stored inside?
How do I stop my bike from rusting in my garage?
How do I choose a bike shed?
How big does a shed need to be for bikes?
Can I put a bike shed in my front garden?
Are Asgard bike sheds secure?
Sources
Thanks to the following websites who helped us write and research this guide to the best secure bicycle sheds:
UHPD: Securing your Bicycle – University of Houston
Bicycling for Transportation at UofL — UofL Sustainability (louisville.edu)