Secure outdoor bike storage?

Frannybobs

I have 2 bikes, a mountain bike worth £400 and a hybrid worth £650. The hybrid lives in the house but up till now the mountain bike has lived in my small backyard (I have no garden) in a thing called a "bike tent". It's just basically a semi-circular canvas tent, a bracket is screwed into the wall with anti-theft screws (so can't just be unscrewed out without a special tool) and then my bike is secured to that in the tent with an armoured chain lock.

This morning the zip on my bike tent had been yanked open in the middle, effectively breaking the zip. They hadn't took the bike or anything else for that matter (nothing in there of any value other than the bike), I suspect they were opportunists and when they saw it wasn't just a quick smash and grab they went......for now.

I will in the short term keep both bikes in the house. I live on my own in a 2 up 2 down terrace, I don't especially want my dining room to be permanent bike storage, as that;s the first room people come in to. I have no utility room or vestibule. When I'm not using it for long periods the hybrid goes under the stairs, but it's a pain to get in and out if you're using it several times a week. I also want to get a road bike next year (if the Cyclescheme is still going) so I definitely don't want THREE bikes in the house!!!

What do other people have? I'm thinking of a shed or lean-to - but they could easily get broken into as well I suppose - but I could put a motion sensor alarm in there. But if they do it when I'm not there I wouldn't hear it and nobody else would know what it was.

Any suggestions gratefully received :-)

Yahweh1

Always bring front wheel inside if you have to store it outside.

Frannybobs

I've just seen Asgard metal bike storage units

http://www.asgardsss.co.uk/detail.php?pro_code=Add2

Looks pretty good and might be well worth the money if it saves bikes being nicked and the hassle of claiming off insurance etc etc

Frannybobs

Thanks Snow, that would be good too. And good idea with removing the front wheel Yahweh - I've had a bike stored outside (always my cheaper one) in that tent for 3 years and never had any hassle...but now it's obviously been clocked by some local charmers I need to think a bit smarter!

cloggsy71

I've just seen Asgard metal bike storage units

http://www.asgardsss.co.uk/detail.php?pro_code=Add2

Looks pretty good and might be well worth the money if it saves bikes being nicked and the hassle of claiming off insurance etc etc

They do Asgard stuff at Halfords; if you're a 'British Cycling' member (£24 per annum), you get an additional 10% off their prices...

Worth a look: http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/SearchCmd?storeId=10001&langId=-1&catalogId=10151&categoryId=273915&action=listrefine&mode=list&constraints=||sor||Price||0

Frannybobs

I've just seen Asgard metal bike storage units

http://www.asgardsss.co.uk/detail.php?pro_code=Add2

Looks pretty good and might be well worth the money if it saves bikes being nicked and the hassle of claiming off insurance etc etc

They do Asgard stuff at Halfords; if you're a 'British Cycling' member (£24 per annum), you get an additional 10% off their prices...

Worth a look: http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/SearchCmd?storeId=10001&langId=-1&catalogId=10151&categoryId=273915&action=listrefine&mode=list&constraints=||sor||Price||0

Oooo thanks Cloggsy, I am a British Cycling member....but you can only get the discount in-store can't you?? Might give them a call because it does say you can Reserve & Collect, but not quite sure how you can do that if you are paying for them to deliver & install it too (extra £125 mind you - but there ain't no way I can build that on my own and my dad can't really do that sort of thing anymore)

katozdad

Whatever you choose to cover your bike, I would suggest you think about how you can anchor your bike/bikes to the ground. Years ago my Dad had a garage built for his Harley and as part of the build I arranged for the engineering company that I worked for at the time to have a steel tube mounted on top of a stalk with four protruding steel spikes at the base. All but the tube were sank into the concrete when the concrete floor was laid, which allowed him to thread a heavy duty chain through the tube to secure the bike which was parked above. The welder who put it together said the result was bomb proof and the weld would withstand a drop force of about three tons. Sounds like a bit overkill, but when you consider you will be securing over £2000+ worth of bikes if you include accessories too, it does sound too unreasonable.

The cost was barely anything, a few odds and sods from an engineering company and a bit of welding should easily be supplied with plenty of change from £50.

Interested to see how the bike tent works, did you have any problems with leaving the bike in the elements untouched for a while? Thinking about rust here.