Bike Storage: How Many Bikes Fit in a Bike Shed?
Written by Matt W on 31st Jul 2026.
A low-level bike store holds one bike per 300mm of internal depth, with handlebars staggered front to back. Our 2-bike store gives 734mm of depth behind a 2040mm opening; the 3-bike version gives 900mm. Walk-in bike sheds start at 1814mm wide. Prices run from £464 for a compact apex shed to £765 for a 3-bike timber store.
Key takeaways
- Measure the wall you have, not the bikes. Store width is the limiting factor.
- A 2-bike store needs 2140mm of width; a 3-bike store needs 2142mm and more depth.
- Stagger bikes nose to tail so handlebars pass each other rather than clash.
- Low stores sit at 1270mm high, so they clear most fence panels and windows.
- Home insurance treats an outbuilding as a separate, far smaller cover limit.
- A ground anchor bolted through the base is what actually stops a theft.
Installer's note: Everyone asks how many bikes a store will take. The honest answer depends on how you load it. Wheel every bike in facing the same way and you will fit fewer than the box says. Turn every second one round so the bars sit opposite each other. A 900mm-deep store then swallows three adult bikes without a fight.
- Matt W, Garden Shed Stores
How many bikes fit in a bike shed?
Count the internal depth and allow roughly 300mm per bike. That figure comes straight from the geometry of a low-level store. The bikes lie side by side along the width, so depth is what limits the count.
Work it through on two real stores. Our Chipping Small gives 2040mm of width by 734mm of depth, rated for two adult bikes. That is 367mm each. The Chipping Large keeps the 2040mm width and deepens to 900mm, taking three bikes. That is 300mm each. Both are 1060mm high inside, which clears the handlebars of a standard adult bike lying against its stand.
The 300mm figure only works if you alternate the bikes. Handlebars are the widest part of any bike, and two sets side by side will not sit within 300mm. Turn every second bike to face the other way and the bars pass each other. Riders reach the same conclusion from the other direction. One advises readers to "stagger them opposite to one another... so you only really need it as wide as two handlebar widths".
What size bike store do I need?
Start with the wall or fence run you can give up. Width is almost always the constraint in a small garden. The table sets our range against the space each one needs.
| Bike store | Footprint (W x D) | Height | Holds | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6ft Wide Apex Bike Shed | 1814mm x 712mm | 1948mm ridge | 1 to 2 bikes, walk-in | £464 |
| Power 6x3 Apex Wooden Bike Shed | 1814mm x 1002mm | 1948mm ridge | 2 bikes plus tools | £450 |
| Power 6x4 Pent Wooden Bike Shed | 1214mm x 1902mm | 1686mm ridge | 2 bikes, deep plan | £505 |
| Garden Village Chipping Small | 2140mm x 804mm | 1270mm | 2 bikes, low profile | £699 |
| Garden Village Chipping Large | 2142mm x 970mm | 1270mm | 3 bikes, low profile | £765 |
There are two shapes here and they suit different gardens. The low stores at 1270mm high sit below most fence panels and ground-floor windows, so they keep sight lines open. The walk-in sheds are taller but let you store bikes upright alongside a mower and tools.
Note how the pent sheds run deep rather than wide. The Power 6x4 Pent is only 1214mm across the front but 1902mm deep. That suits a narrow side return where a wide store would never fit.
Matt's Pick: Garden Village Chipping Large Bike Store
Best for: a family with three bikes and no garage
Why we rate it: 2040mm by 900mm of usable space, a floor, a waterproof roof and a shelf for helmets. Pressure-treated FSC redwood pine on a 50 x 50mm frame, with a 10 year no-rot guarantee. At 1270mm high it does not dominate a small garden.
Price: £765
Why is outdoor bike storage so hard to find?
Because demand has run well ahead of the supply councils can offer. Lambeth in south London had 13,989 people waiting for an on-street cycle hangar in June 2026. The council had 828 hangars, holding six bikes each. A subsidised space costs residents £30 a year, and the queue is several times the total capacity.
The wider picture is the same. Office for National Statistics analysis found one in eight British households has no access to a private or shared garden. In London that rises to more than one in five. Meanwhile the UK cycling market returned to growth in 2025 at just under £1.9 billion, up 5%, with the e-bike category up 10% by value according to the Bicycle Association. More bikes, more expensive bikes, less space to keep them.
That is why a compact store earns its keep. A unit 2142mm long against a boundary fence solves what a waiting list cannot.
Do I need planning permission for a bike shed?
Usually no, because bike stores are small and low. In England, an outbuilding sited within two metres of a boundary must not exceed 2.5 metres in height to stay within permitted development. Every store in the table clears that comfortably. The low stores stand 1270mm tall, the pent sheds 1686mm and the apex sheds 1948mm.
Rules differ in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and listed buildings and conservation areas have their own conditions. Check with your local planning authority before you build if any of those apply to you.
Is a bike shed secure enough for insurance?
Treat the store and the lock as two separate purchases. The shed keeps weather and casual eyes off the bike. A ground anchor and a chain are what defeat a determined thief.
This is where owners get caught out. Home insurance normally covers outbuilding contents under a separate limit. That limit sits far below the headline contents figure. Bikes may then be excluded or capped again on top. One rider documented a claim after two bikes were taken from his shed. The insurer first applied the outbuildings limit, despite the bikes being listed separately, then accepted its assessor had erred. The lesson stands: read the outbuildings section before you need it, not after.
Some policies also specify the lock. Riders report insurers asking for a closed-shackle padlock, or a five-lever mortice deadlock to BS3621 on the shed. Some also want a Sold Secure rated chain on the bike inside a locked store. Check the wording, then buy to it.
Watch out: where you put the ground anchor. Fitting it in the middle of the floor feels sensible and is a mistake. Set it against the back wall so the parked bikes cover it. Experienced riders are blunt about why. As one put it, "The only people who will ever want easy access to your ground anchor are thieves." An anchor you can kneel over freely is an anchor a thief can attack with a grinder.
Can you store an e-bike in a garden shed?
Yes, and fire services increasingly suggest it. Essex County Fire and Rescue Service gave this advice in April 2026: "Consider storing your e-bike or e-scooter in a shed or garage, and install a heat or smoke alarm." The reasoning is straightforward. A lithium battery fire inside a hallway blocks the way out of a house. The same fire in a detached store does not.
The scale is why this advice keeps coming. London Fire Brigade recorded 206 e-bike and e-scooter fires across London in 2025. Of those, 171 involved e-bikes. There were two deaths that year and five since 2023. That is a record for the capital, averaging roughly 17 fires a month.
Three habits make shed storage sensible rather than risky. Keep the battery out of direct sun. A closed store in full sunshine gets far hotter than the garden around it. Charge only with the manufacturer's charger, and never overnight or while you are out. Fit a heat alarm in the store, as Essex advises, so a problem is detected rather than discovered.
We stock timber bike stores rather than thin steel boxes because of how people actually use them. A timber store takes a ground anchor bolted through a real floor. It holds its shape when you lean a bike against it. It does not turn into an oven on a bright afternoon. Pressure-treated frames and a 10 year no-rot guarantee keep it working long after the bikes are replaced.
- Matt W, Garden Shed Stores
Frequently asked questions
How many bikes fit in a 3-bike store?
Three adult bikes in 900mm of internal depth, bars staggered. Facing them all the same way cuts that to two.
How much space does one bike need?
Allow about 300mm of store depth per bike. Handlebars set the real width, so alternate the direction of each bike.
Will a bike store fit down a side passage?
Yes, choose a pent model that runs deep instead of wide. Our 6x4 pent is 1214mm across the front.
Are wooden bike stores secure?
Secure enough as a shell, but the anchor does the real work. Bolt a ground anchor through the floor and chain the frames.
Does a bike shed need planning permission?
Not usually, as all our stores are under 2.5 metres tall. That is the England limit within two metres of a boundary.
Can I keep an e-bike battery in the shed in winter?
Store the bike outside the house, but bring the battery indoors. Charge it inside, supervised, and never overnight.
Does a bike store need a base?
Yes, it needs the same flat, level base as any shed. A ground anchor also needs something solid to bolt into.