How to keep your bike safe at home

Yannick Read

Bikes make loyal housemates, but they also need the right place to live. This guide shows how to store your bike securely at home – indoors, outdoors or in the shed – while keeping space, security and household harmony in mind.

8 Min

Cyclists are a resourceful bunch. We squeeze bikes into hallways, garages, sheds and back gardens. And inside our homes, many of us live with a permanent, occasionally eccentric, housemate. It never pays rent, it always takes the best spot in the hallway – yet we’d never be without it. Other members of the household? They might not miss it quite as much.

But whether your bike is a welcome companion or a tolerated lodger, some places keep it far safer than others. Here’s how to give your two-wheeled housemate a secure home without letting it dominate yours.

Garage and shed storage

If your bike were choosing its own room, it would probably pick the garage or shed. Tools share the space, and it can drip on the floor without anyone sighing. Even the bike’s room of choice needs house rules to stay safe.

A locked door is a good start, but thieves know garages and sheds often hide valuable kit. Treat the garage as shared housing: give your bike a lock of its own inside the building. A ground anchor stops it being wheeled out by uninvited visitors and a long chain is handy if you have a fleet.

A few house rules help: keep the garage door shut and consider cameras or motion sensors.

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If aesthetics matter as much as security, designer sheds like the ühut are a big step up. They offer sturdy timber frames, inward-facing hinges and skylights that flood the space with light – and do it elegantly. Choose from a range of sizes; most have plenty of room for racks, benches and overhead shelving.

Inside your home

For many riders, the best place for a bike is inside with them – the cycling equivalent of the penthouse suite. And while it may test the patience of non-cyclists in the household, indoor storage doesn’t have to mean tripping over handlebars.

Hooks and racks free up floor space and can turn your bike into wall art. And for those of us who don’t live in warehouse-style flats, some designs double as shelves, making the bike part of the décor.

DIY solutions

Sometimes your bike needs furniture of its own. At the Sundays office, we built a hybrid cupboard-and-bike rack to prove it can be done without taking over the room – or the budget. A few sheets of plywood (£120) and a local timber merchant who cut them to size did most of the work. A few hours with a drill took care of the rest.

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The design is only 33cm deep, so it could work just as well in a home without taking up too much space. If your household negotiations over storage are delicate, consider less obvious corners, too.

In my own house, a Cube mountain bike lives in the downstairs toilet, but at least it earns its keep by doubling up as a loo roll holder.

Squatters’ rights: my own bike is a sometime guest in the bathroom.

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For a less haphazard approach, Hiplok’s AIRLOK is both an elegant wall hanger and a Sold Secure Gold lock – ideal when security matters just as much as interior harmony.

Keeping bikes outside

Sometimes your bike can’t live indoors or in a garage. Maybe the people you live with have issued a “no handlebars in the hallway” restraining order. Fair enough. But if your bike has to sleep outside, remember it needs more care.

If your space or budget doesn’t stretch to a shed, take a look at the covers made by Bike Parka.

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Start by keeping it out of sight. Leaving a bike visible from the street is the equivalent of putting a sign in the window saying “valuable bike lives here.” Tucked round the back of the house is better, but always lock the frame and any quick-release wheels to something immovable with a high-security lock.

Aim for two layers of security: a locked door and a ground or wall anchor. These simple devices start at less than £20 and are easy to install if you have basic DIY skills. Brands offer clear instructions if you’re unsure where to start.

CCTV and motion sensors are a simple way to improve home security. Even a basic Ring doorbell can be enough to deter an opportunistic thief. And if someone does try their luck, you’ll get immediate alerts.

Multiple bikes

If one bike can be a handful, a whole collection is a full-blown house share. Give your storage some structure: wall hooks make use of unused space, while sliding racks are even more efficient.

And if you’ve run out of wall space altogether, lifting bikes off the ground is the next step.

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If you’ve got the ceiling height, a bike hoist is a neat option. B&Q sells a £45 ceiling-mounted lift that lets you raise a bike or e-bike safely out of the way. It uses rubber-coated hooks to protect the frame, a safety brake to stop anything slipping, and the whole thing is rated to 20kg. When it’s not in use, the rope system folds away neatly.

Insurance

Almost half of all reported bike thefts happen at or near home. Dedicated bicycle insurance softens the blow, covering theft whether your bike is indoors, in a garage, or locked outside. Sundays covers theft, accidental damage, custom parts, and includes e-bikes as standard.

Home and contents insurance may offer some cover, but exclusions, low limits and increased post-claim premiums can leave riders out of pocket. With home insurance, even a successful claim can push up premiums for years. Our guide on home-insurance and e-bike theft has full details if you want to check what your existing policy does, and might not, cover.

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Frequently asked questions

How do I store my bike indoors without it taking over?

Hooks and racks are the friendliest option. Hang the bike vertically to save width, or horizontally if you want to display it on the wall. When space is tight, consider the DIY route to combine shelving with bike storage.

Is keeping a bike indoors overkill?

Not at all. Indoors is the safest option and keeps the bike away from weather as well as thieves. A locked garage or shed is the next best thing – just remember to lock the bike inside it.

Wherever your bike lives, a little planning goes a long way. Good storage, a reliable lock and sensible home security drastically reduce the chances of theft, and help maintain a harmonious household too.