Real costs for real gardens
Featured project: Replace or add a shedSearch guides and tools

Practical guide

Bike stores: size, security and access

Measure the bike and the manoeuvre into storage.

Edited by Kieran Simpson · Researched · checked 2026-09-19 · Stage: Decide

For bikes you ride regularly, prioritise a wide opening and a layout that lets you remove your bike without unloading the others. Choose the store around your largest bike, including its handlebars and accessories. A claimed bike count is a starting point, not a floor plan.

Make a floor plan with your bikes

Measure each bicycle from its furthest points in the position you intend to store it. Mark handlebar width, overall length and the highest fixed accessory. Use those rectangles as a starting point, then test the real manoeuvre in a clear space. Try the arrangement with the real bikes: handlebars are awkward neighbours.

Decide whether every bike must be removable independently. If one person leaves early each day, needing to unload three other bikes can be a practical failure even when the closed store contains all four.

Include the open store in the measurement

Check the doorway, any ramp or threshold, door swing and raised-lid height. For example, Trimetals lists a 2.08m open-door height for its Bicycle Store. That is an operating clearance, not the closed height. Asgard explicitly qualifies the Access E Plus bike count by the size and style of the bikes. Trimetals dimensions; Asgard capacity notes.

Plan the security installation

Ask your insurer what it requires for these bikes at this address. Identify the exact lock and anchor, its installation instructions and whether the chosen base can accept it. A floor included with the store is not necessarily the structure into which the anchor must be fixed.

Keep battery charging a separate decision

A shed marketed as electric-ready does not establish a safe charging arrangement. Use the battery manufacturer's instructions and compatible charger. Government guidance says not to leave charging unattended or while asleep. Read the charging guidance.

Your next step

Compare bike-store layouts and packages

Sources and method