SE23 Forum

Apologies if this is not the right place...just wondering what fellow residents do about bike storage when you don't have a garage? Any advice/ experience welcomed.

After a spate of birthdays, and resolutions to improve fitness, we now have 5 bikes cluttering up the living room, and this is not a long term solution that works for me (husband however can't see the problem!). We have a teeny back garden already cluttered with playhouse, garden furniture, sand table...if we put a bike shed in the back, there'll be little garden left! We have space in our front yard for a bike store/ shed of some description, but when I mentioned this to a neighbour who is also Neighbourhood Watch, she said "a shed in your front garden is an open invitation to be kicked in".

Is she right? Am I being too twitchy? Would it be naive to have a shed in the front garden? It would be behind a wall,running alongside the pavement, so you'd have to walk up our drive to notice it. But then again, once up our drive, you could break into it with a sledge hammer and no one could see you from the street.

Any tips/ suggestions would be gratefully received.

We only have 4 bikes parked around our place, but got one of these a while back, and it looks a bit cool as well as allowing you to put a bike halfway up the wall (and therefore one underneath). Also has a space for gloves, lights, lock etc. Quite pricey but worth it if you dont like the idea of the less asthetically pleasing alternatives.

Cycloc bike storage

Thnx for that - look very cool!

Won't say where we live but we have a shed in our front garden for many years now (there is a lock on it - which does not work!!!) and delighted to say up until now it has never been touched.
I store toys - prams etc - and to be honest to the naked eye it is somewhat obvious that it is not very secure.

I have one of these: Trimetals bicycle storage

They're not cheap, but if you pay the extra for the four lock version and buy four very solid padlocks - I went to a locksmith and got four locks pinned for the same key for ease - I'm sure you'll find it strong enough for the front garden.

Mine is secured to the concrete below it with eight Rawbolts, so it can't be lifted and anyone who wants to get inside has four locks to cut off. I'm sure it could be done but it would involve some tools, time and a lot of noise. Not something that your average burgalar is going to want to do, especially in a front garden.

It holds three bike easily, four at a push, if you twist the handlebars.