In London, space is at a premium. We are very fortunate to have a terrace at the back of our flat, that is not only quite private, but also pretty secure. Last winter we decided to look for a storage solution for our bikes that kept them dry, and meant our small flat wasn't always full!
We started by thinking about building some sort of structure that we could fit out bikes under, but would be really easy to remove/ fold away. We soon realised that for our budget of £50 this would be rather tricky. Also building something specifically for a rented place seemed like it could be waste of money if we were to move out sooner than planned.
Our next plan of action was to search online to find something more suitable, after much internet trawling we found bike tents! The perfect temporary shelter we were looking for!
We read loads of reviews and did a bit of measuring and eventually decided on this one! It was from ebay and at only £34.99 a bit of a bargain! You can buy it HERE although I think the seller may have made a slight error as it is currently on sale for £934.99!
Another model that we though looked quite good was THIS tent, at the time we were looking it cost around £50, but they seem to have lowered the price now to compete with other similar models, at £34.99.
We bought our tent in April 2013, and it is still working brilliantly! It sits in the part of our terrace that is quite sheltered, and we do not use much as it doesn't get loads of sun. As a result it has not been blown over by wind... yet! This tent also has a small hole in the back (bit by the wall) that has velcro to keep it shut, but if you have a loop concreted to the wall, or a railing to lock the bikes to, then you could use this to keep the bikes extra secure.
I believe it also came with a free LED push light which in very dark garden could be super helpful, but we have never really used. So far it has kept everything pretty dry, even in some quite extreme weather! We can easily store three bikes at a time in here, and we even stash tools, a hose, and spare tyres away here too- loads of space!! I am really pleased with it, money well spend I reckon!
How do you store your bikes? Traditional shed, or home made shelter? I would love to see your solutions!
