Putting bicycle parking at the front of a house

RHemmings

Hi. Does anyone have experience of putting bicycle parking at the front of a house?  

I believe that putting up a bike shed will require planning permission, which sounds a real business. 

I'm considering something like these, but just one for parking one cycle. (And only one as it would be close to a wall and only usable from one side. 



It would be a relatively cheap bicycle, not a very expensive one that would be a disaster if stolen or vandalised. And, it might get parked up during the day, but bought inside at night etc. But, being able to quickly lock up would be useful. 

Any other experiences and/or advice about parking bicycles by any method in front of a house would be appreciated. 

Section62

RHemmings said:

Hi. Does anyone have experience of putting bicycle parking at the front of a house?  

I believe that putting up a bike shed will require planning permission, which sounds a real business. 

I'm considering something like these, but just one for parking one cycle. (And only one as it would be close to a wall and only usable from one side. 

It would be a relatively cheap bicycle, not a very expensive one that would be a disaster if stolen or vandalised. And, it might get parked up during the day, but bought inside at night etc. But, being able to quickly lock up would be useful. 

Any other experiences and/or advice about parking bicycles by any method in front of a house would be appreciated. 

If near a wall and not a valuable bike then consider using one of these with your normal bike lock.  It isn't ultra secure, but probably enough to stop a casual thief grabbing the bike and running off with it -

https://www.toolstation.com/chain-plate/p31142

You could make it a little more secure by using security screws.

Similar, but more secure, anchor points are available if you think you need something less basic.

The various types of hoop (as per your pictures) rely on being securely anchored in/on the ground - there's no point going to the expense of getting one of them if you won't be able to secure it properly.

You are correct that a bike shed in the front garden will almost certainly need planning consent.

Eldi_Dos

What type of ground is it in front of house.

RHemmings

Eldi_Dos said:

What type of ground is it in front of house.

It's soil covered with gravel. It's two levels at the front, with a bit for a car (don't have one) carved out, and concrete(?) slabs retaining walls supporting the higher level. I could put a ring as suggested by @Section62 into the concrete retaining wall. Or anchor a 'toast rack' bike thing into the ground. Or .... ?

chrisw

The ring in the retaining wall would seem to offer the best cost/risk ratio. The weak point is likely to be the bike lock anyway with bolt cutters or angle grinders.

RHemmings

chrisw said:

The ring in the retaining wall would seem to offer the best cost/risk ratio. The weak point is likely to be the bike lock anyway with bolt cutters or angle grinders.

Thank you. And: yes. I'm aware that no bike parking is 100% secure. I can't install the ring myself, so it may go on a list of things that I build up for a DIY person. I did wonder if I could install a 'toast rack' thing myself, which would reduce the cost and be some practice DIY. I was thinking of digging a trench, filling it full of concrete, and sticking in the toast rack. I can't drill into concrete-ish retaining slabs. 

Eldi_Dos

A cheap and cheerful solution could be,dig a hole at where you want to park the bike,drive in a metal rod then get a suitable length and thickness of chain and drop some links over metal rod then backfill hole with concrete to within 50/75 mm of surface and when set cover with soil or gravel.
You may want a cover for the chain.

If you have not got a suitable piece of rod a old screwdriver put through a few links and driven into bottom of hole would suffice.

Be very careful where you site it, take into account any pipework or services that are in the ground.

Herzlos

RHemmings said:

chrisw said:

The ring in the retaining wall would seem to offer the best cost/risk ratio. The weak point is likely to be the bike lock anyway with bolt cutters or angle grinders.

Thank you. And: yes. I'm aware that no bike parking is 100% secure. I can't install the ring myself, so it may go on a list of things that I build up for a DIY person. I did wonder if I could install a 'toast rack' thing myself, which would reduce the cost and be some practice DIY. I was thinking of digging a trench, filling it full of concrete, and sticking in the toast rack. I can't drill into concrete-ish retaining slabs. 

If you can deal with concrete to fit a toast rack, you can bolt a ring into a wall (or the ground). Mark the 4 holes, drill, wall plugs, screws, done. They usually come with ball bearings to hammer into the screws to prevent it being unscrewed again.


But realistically, a bike can be chained to anything that's fairly solid, your goal is mostly to prevent someone just grabbing it and running off as any lock can be overcome given enough time.

Or just take it into the house between uses.

RHemmings

Herzlos said:

RHemmings said:

chrisw said:

The ring in the retaining wall would seem to offer the best cost/risk ratio. The weak point is likely to be the bike lock anyway with bolt cutters or angle grinders.

Thank you. And: yes. I'm aware that no bike parking is 100% secure. I can't install the ring myself, so it may go on a list of things that I build up for a DIY person. I did wonder if I could install a 'toast rack' thing myself, which would reduce the cost and be some practice DIY. I was thinking of digging a trench, filling it full of concrete, and sticking in the toast rack. I can't drill into concrete-ish retaining slabs. 

If you can deal with concrete to fit a toast rack, you can bolt a ring into a wall (or the ground). Mark the 4 holes, drill, wall plugs, screws, done. They usually come with ball bearings to hammer into the screws to prevent it being unscrewed again.


But realistically, a bike can be chained to anything that's fairly solid, your goal is mostly to prevent someone just grabbing it and running off as any lock can be overcome given enough time.

Or just take it into the house between uses.

Thanks. Not being experienced at DIY, I must admit that the idea of filling a trench with concrete seems simpler than drilling into a concrete wall. Especially since I don't have a power drill. But, it's definitely something to think about. 

Currently I'm taking the bike into the house. But, given the two-level geography of the front of my house, it would be better to have the option of locking it in front, at the lower level. 

Slinky

Do you have a tree in the front garden? Could you chain it to that?

RHemmings

Slinky said:

Do you have a tree in the front garden? Could you chain it to that?

Unfortunately there is nothing in the front garden that I can chain the bicycle to.