Where do you store your bicycles?

[foxinsocks]

We don't have a garage and I am very hesitant to leave my bike (or the children's bikes) out in the rain. Soooooooo at the moment, the bikes are all piled up against the wall in the dining room (obviously not ideal!).

I'd like to keep them outside but need something to go over them. We only have a yard out the back and I looked into some wooden storage devices but they all cost a fortune. Thought I might get a plastic cover (like the ones that go on motorbikes) but wanted to find out what everyone else did with theirs.

Is This Too Expensive?

got the same problem as you, foxinsocks!
looked at those little shed things in B&Q but v pricey...
will watch this thread with interest

ooh that's quite nice actually.

Do you have to put it together? Dh is DIY incompetent (and won't help anyway, he'll come up with an excuse not to do it!) and it looks a bit complicated.

have you got that one, fimbo? how many bikes can you get inside?

Sorry I don't have one. There are testimonials further down - which seem to give it good reviews. I was browsing that website as I want to buy my dc a shed and tart it up rather than one of those custom made playhouses which cost a fortune.

I am hoping Lidl will do a rip off of this, in due course

It looks really good (and would be my perfect solution) but I'm a tiny bit concerned at having to build it but that would fit quite nicely out the back.

Does anyone else use plastic covers?

would you put that outside then Filly?

no

probably in the side passage to the pantry of my victorian mansion

thats what I'm thinking, anyway. Or do you think the scullery would be better?

oh the utility room darling, surely?

mmm it is somewhat pleasing to know others have the same dilemma

yup
we use a great big tarpauline (sp?) on 2 adult bikes and dd's little bike. It's plenty big and they aren't rusting - tha ti know of . woulkd like to build something but just don't have the room

We havent got a garden or a shed but they are outside under a massive fabric sheet, that is made for cars, against the wall to keep out of the rain (Dp had screwed a big thick plank on wall and drilled the plastic onto the plank and the sheet cover it to the floor with bikes underneath it)

The bedroom. Not a very large bedroom either.

Two mountain bikes.

We live in a flat so if anybody has any ideas, please....

there are other devices that you can fix to the wall (similar to Filly's one) justaphase. Some of our friends who live in flats have them in the hallway as you go into the flat (iyswim)

our house is also teeny tiny and the bikes really can't fit inside for much longer

I think we have spotted a gap in the market! Could do with an affordable bike storage unit, easy to put up and rainproof.

If such a thing existed I would be thin

so please get onto it

Argos do a bike cover. I bought mine off ebay which were cheaper, but are probably not as thick as the Argos ones.

had a quick look at Argos but most of their stuff seemed quite big (i.e. shed size) or very expensive. Haven't looked at ebay now that you mention it (but I'm a bit ebay phobic tbh)

let's go into production Filly. We'll corner the market and make millions

I bought these here and this seller was v.good, got them quickly.

yes

I am sure that there is a massive market here waiting to be tapped

have you visited oxford? it is full of these oh so cute front porch bike shelters. practically every house has a bike shelter. they are lovely

and lots of cheap secondhand bike shops so if your bike gets nicked you can go and buy it back from the cheap bike shop.

ours go in the garage which is both locked, secured with floor bolts and an alarm. to be honest im not sure i'd have a bike without proper security. Does your house insurance cover them?

now I have some exciting news that I know you've all been waiting for

went to Tescos this week (don't normally go there - it's a huge sort of multistorey one) and they had bike covers very cheaply (about £4 I think). SO - the bikes are now outside in the yard, covered with these big grey plastic things. They seem quite sturdy.

It was really either that or getting something that required a lot of building or fixing something into a wall.

Our bikes are outside under the Argos plastic covers (£4.99) because our shed is really difficult to get to and they would never get ridden if we had to drag them out of there. They have been fine for the last 2 years, just a little bit of surface rust that I rub off with rust remover now and again. Mind you, they are in a very sheltered spot.

One thing that really helps is putting an old blanket over the bike before you put the plastic cover on if you are not going to be uncovering it for more than a few days. I think it stops condensation or something.