Bike storage: a missing link in Britain’s cycling revolution

There’s more to cycle infrastructure than bike lanes.

For a country supposedly on the cusp of an active travel revolution, we’re surprisingly quiet about where people are meant to store their bikes. For many of us, cycling isn’t a hobby – it’s how we get to work, school or the shops. Yet keeping a bike secure, whether at home or in public, is often treated as an afterthought.

Take the humble front garden. You’d think that if you’re lucky enough to have one, storing a bike there would be straightforward. But under current planning rules in England, even a modest bike shed technically requires planning permission. Most people quietly go ahead anyway, but if you live in a conservation area – or have a neighbour who takes issue with your shed – you could find yourself tied up in red tape.

There may be hope. The government has consulted on new rules to allow bike sheds in front gardens without the need for planning permission, as long as they stay within specific size limits (2m wide, 1m deep, 1.5m high). It’s a step in the right direction. Unless, of course, you own a cargo bike. Or an adapted cycle.

Even if you have a shed, theft remains a concern. Sheds are prime targets for thieves – often treated like vending machines for unlocked bikes. Many insurers respond with onerous requirements: double-lock your bike inside the locked shed, or risk no payout.

Here at the ETA, we take a more pragmatic approach to cycle insurance. We cover bikes stored in locked sheds without requiring them to be locked inside. If your bike is visible through a window, just throw a sheet over it – it’s the cycling equivalent of drawing the curtains.

We also cover bikes stored in front gardens, as long as they’re locked through the frame to an immovable object and checked on every 18 hours – think of it like tending to a needy houseplant.

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This kind of good cycle insurance is extremely useful, but if we’re serious about getting more people on bikes, secure storage needs to be part of the wider infrastructure conversation. That means housing developers including bike storage as standard – not as an afterthought that ends up full of bins. It means councils investing in on-street bike hangars – not just in the leafier bits of town, but wherever people live.

Public cycle parking: BYO lock – and luck

Storage is a problem not just at home, but in public. Bike parking is often woefully underthought. Ever rolled up to a stand and realised you’ve forgotten your lock? It's a sickening moment – and one that could be avoided.

The idea of built-in locking at public bike stands feels obvious – and yet, it’s rarely seen. Done properly, it could be a game-changer. Locks integrated into racks could foil even cordless angle grinders. So why don’t we see more of them?

In cities like Amsterdam and Copenhagen, secure, convenient bike storage is baked into the transport network. Tokyo goes even further with fully automated underground garages that wouldn’t look out of place in a sci-fi movie.

And it doesn’t always have to involve major infrastructure. In Canada, Project 529 pioneered community-led valet parking schemes and lock-loan programmes that help riders park with confidence. And in The Netherlands - rightly held up as the gold standard for cycling infrastructure but in the dense cores of Dutch cities, it’s perfectly normal to see hundreds of bicycles locked to basic Sheffield stands on the street. Most are humble Dutch town bikes: tough, simple machines designed to withstand the elements and the rough-and-tumble of everyday use. A pragmatic approach to city cycling and storage.

Cycle Rescue is free with ETA bicycle insurance

If you suffer a breakdown (including punctures, or even a flat e-bike battery) while out cycling, our 24-hour Cycle Rescue team is on hand to arrange transport for you and your bicycle to a safe location. The service is included for free with ETA cycle insurance, along with:

• Theft, accidental damage & vandalism
• E-bike battery theft cover
• Cycle Rescue
• No devaluation of your bike over time
• £2m third party PLUS £20,000 personal accident cover
• Shed and garage storage
• Low standard excess of 5% (£50 minimum)
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Can I get insurance if I don't have storage for my bike?

If you don’t have the luxury of a garage or easily accessible shed, you don’t need us to tell you how tricky it can be to safely store a bike.

Whatever you ride, you’re far more likely to cycle if getting to your bike isn’t a massive faff. So it's unfortunate that many cycle insurers have strict rules about how and where you can store your bicycle at home.

By contrast, here at the ETA we’ve always been more sympathetic towards these storage challenges.

Front gardens

If you store your bicycle or cargo bike in a front garden that’s accessible to the public, we’ll cover it against theft and vandalism on condition you secure it through its frame to an immovable object using the appropriate standard of lock, and you’re able to check on the bike at least once every 18 hours. It’s important to  note that when you store your bike in this way, a higher ‘overnight excess’ of 20% (min £100 and capped at £500) applies because it’s been  left in an area where access can be achieved without force.

Back gardens

If your garden is secured by a locked gate and isn’t overlooked, we simply ask that it’s secured through its frame to an immovable object using the appropriate standard of lock. If the garden is more easily accessible or overlooked, we’ll still cover it, but you’ll need to be able to check on it at least once every 18 hours (and the higher excess applies).

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Sheds and garages

Your shed or garage will need to be locked, but unlike other cycle insurance providers, we don’t specify what type of lock you use. And once your bike is inside, we don’t require you to lock it to anything. However, if it’s visible through a window you will need to cover the bike with a blanket or similar. When you store your bike in this way, the standard excess of 5% applies.

On the street outside your house

If you ride a cargo bike, or are short on space, your only storage option may be the street where you live. ETA cycle insurance will cover you if you secure your bike through its frame to an immovable object in your street as long as you follow our lock requirements, are able to check on the bike at least once every 18 hours, and understand that a higher excess applies.

If you have any questions, please get in touch.

The ethical choice

The ETA was established in 1990 as an ethical provider of green, reliable travel services. Over 30 years on, we continue to offer cycle insurance , breakdown cover and mobility scooter insurance while putting concern for the environment at the heart of all we do.

The Good Shopping Guide judges us to be the UK's most ethical provider.

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