Carrying the bike in the car and storing it inside a small flat: practical answers for tight spaces and for the seasons...
Plenty of bikes sit unused for one reason: moving them is tiring and storing them upsets the house. And a child who needs a parent's effort before every ride ends up riding far less.
Solving those two problems raises the ride count more than any amount of encouragement.
1. Real dimensions before any decision
- A 16-inch bike runs about 115 cm long, 80 cm tall and 43 cm wide, weighing around eight kilograms.
- A scooter is roughly 66 by 81 by 32 cm folded, at two and a half to three kilograms.
- A cargo tricycle is the widest of the lot, and may not pass a standard hallway without tilting.
Measure the space before buying, not after. Five minutes with a tape saves shuffling a bike between three corners of the house.
2. The car boot: what fits and what does not
Twelve and fourteen inch bikes slide into most mid-size boots untouched. Sixteen and above needs one of three things: folding the rear seat, removing the front wheel, or an external rack.
One trick that always helps: turn the handlebars ninety degrees so they line up with the frame. That alone cuts ten centimetres or more off the width, and sometimes it is the whole difference.
3. Removing the front wheel in a minute
- Turn the bike over onto saddle and bars, with a cloth underneath to protect the bars.
- Release the brakes if they are rim type, since the pads block the tyre.
- Undo both axle nuts with the right spanner and lift the wheel out.
- Put the nuts in a small bag taped to the frame. A nut lost in a car boot ends the outing before it starts.
- On refitting, check the wheel sits centred in the fork before tightening, then close the brakes and test them.
4. Protecting the car and the bike
A chain leaves an oil mark that does not lift easily out of car carpet. Lay an old blanket first, then load the bike chain-side up and away from the upholstery.
Strap it down. A bike rolling loose in a boot scratches itself and the car, and repeated knocks can bend a stabiliser.
If you move it weekly, an external rack saves more time than dismantling every trip. A rear rack suits children's bikes better than a roof rack, since lifting a bike overhead daily gets old fast.
5. Three ways to store vertically
- A wall hook. The bike hangs by its front wheel, taking up no more than fifty centimetres of width.
- A floor stand. It grips the rear wheel and holds the bike upright with no drilling — good for renters.
- Leaning at an angle. Simplest and least demanding, provided you put a cloth between pedal and wall.
The best spot in a flat is usually behind a door or in a corridor corner nobody walks through. Under a staircase is excellent if it is ventilated.
6. Places that look suitable and are not
An open balcony. The worst choice in this climate. Sun degrades plastic and cracks tyre sidewalls, humidity rusts chain and bolts. A year on a balcony ages a bike by three.
Inside a parked car in summer. Leaving a bike in a closed car under the sun softens grips and damages tyres.
A damp storeroom. Without ventilation, a film of rust forms on the chain within weeks.
7. Long seasonal storage: what we advise at Baby Story
- Inflate the tyres fully before storing. An empty tyre deforms under the bike's weight at one point.
- Lift it off the ground on a hook or stand, or turn the wheels a quarter turn every fortnight.
- Oil the chain before parking it. The oil film keeps rust off during the idle spell.
An electric ride-on adds a fourth condition: charge the battery to about half, never store it flat, and top it up monthly. Details sit in electric motorbikes for children.
Tricycles are their own case. The rear axle is too wide to stand upright or hang, so the best spot stays a fixed floor corner under the stairs or behind a door. Footprints across the tricycles range vary a lot, so measure before you commit the space.
8. Why we suggest scooters at Baby Story for tight spaces
The comparison is not really fair. A scooter folds in two seconds, fits a cupboard, sits behind a door, and a child carries it into the lift themselves.
In a flat with three children, three scooters occupy what one bike occupies. Which is why so many families keep both: a scooter each, and one bike that comes out for weekend rides.
9. Lifts and stairs
On a high floor with no lift, the weight of the bike decides the ride count rather than your child's enthusiasm. An eight-kilogram bike comes down once a week, not daily.
Ask about weight before buying if that is your situation. The gap between six kilograms and nine looks small in a shop and large on four flights of stairs.
What we tell parents in store
Measure the space before buying, turn the bars ninety degrees before giving up on the boot, and learn to take the front wheel off. Store vertically in a flat, and keep the bike off an open balcony.
To pick a size that suits your space as well as your child, browse bikes with training wheels or kids bikes and bicycles at Baby Story. For larger sizes that need more storage planning, see 24 and 26 inch bikes.
