So, my 5-year-old has finally caught the cycling bug, and he needs a new bike. This means his current bike will be stored for the youngest, who will probably reach that stage in a couple of years given her progress. I already have three bikes in the garage and am hoping to offload two to make space for a mountain bike. This leaves my wife without a bike, and she’s considered doing family rides in the bush. All in all, it’s looking like we’ll have 5-6 bikes! I have no idea where to store them. With the garage already serving as my training space, workspace, and bike storage, there’s no room left. We have plenty of space outside to build a shed or some sort of storage solution, but I’m not sure what that might look like. I’m sure this is a rite of passage for many, and I’d love to hear from the hive mind about what you’ve done in this situation and share some ideas.
I think there was a thread on the EC Discord relating to this topic. Not sure if you’ve accessed the Discord? Search ‘Bike storage wars’ and you should be able to find it might give you some ideas
Good problem to have, I love taking mine out on bikes. One of the best bits of parenting!
We have seven bikes. The money we saved using basic hooks to store them will allow me to buy an eighth bike. That’s a win for me.
Currently 8 bikes (2 waiting to be sold) between me and my wife. OK, she’s got only 1 
Anyway: I’ve used rail for garage doors with carriages installed and park tool hooks installed on them. Thanks to that, I can bring bikes together when need space, and take them a bit further apart to take any of the ones in the middle out without damaging other bikes. Bikes hang by front wheel, rear wheel resting on a wall.
This also allowed me to install them in space which would conflict with cellar entry hatch - when I need to open it, I just slide all the bikes to the side. Rail extends over corrridor, so while I normally don’t want to block it, I can move them there when I need to access cellar.
Also all chargers are on the wall, so I can hook bikes up when they are hanging.
Typically one also sits in one of those shop stands (one I’ll currently use), and potentially one in service stand (if I’m doing some work on it).
I used park tool hooks for their M8 threads. Other hooks have “screw” threads, which won’t really work that easily with carriages I’m using. You can technically even 3d print carriages (saw them on printables), but since I have an ebike as well (and sometimes work on my parents ebikes which are also sometimes stored there), I wanted to make sure each carriage can support the weight without issues.
Any photos available? That would help me understand what sounds like a very functional & efficient solution!
How high are the ceiings in your house? I live in a smallish, one bedroom , top floor flat with three bikes, but because the ceilings are nearly 3m high I can hang bikes on hooks above head level. Many people don’t realise this is an option. You need to find walls with no radiators, bookshelves, or in places where doors aren’t going to hit bikes when opened, though. If you store your best bikes in the house they can even look cool.. 
This wasn’t the best financial move, but I years ago I found a local welder and had a custom rack welded.
Covered the hooks with bar tape (salvaged/sacrificed following a crash) to protect the rims. A few boards on top give an option for additional storage, and some small hooks screwed into the boards create some space for drying waxed chains.
I’ve been meaning to build a decorative bumper to protect the wall from the wheels, but haven’t gotten around to it yet.
Built a little wooden wall storage area for the electronics and installed a USB outlet for charging.
It has character, so I like it 
If I were to do it over again, I’d probably buy a set of steady racks and some garage storage solutions from a hardware store
Hmmm, our eleven steady racks were certainly not the cheap solution but they are fantastic.
When your bikes exceed the available space you need every bit of help you can manage.
So easy to run out of space with this hobby, especially as it becomes a family activity. Two things to consider with a shed is interior climate and security. I live in the US in a area that has hot summers and cold winters. It can be very humid too. I have a uninsulated detached garage with inadequate ventilation. Ferrous metals always rust and bikes are quickly destroyed.
If you build a bike shed be sure the floor has an adequate vapor barrier under the concrete slab. Insulate the walls, use exterior doors. Be sure the space is vented so you don’t trap heat and moisture.
Security is a challenge. Good locks, maybe a doorcam. Perhaps an alarm.
Or, could you offload other stuff that takes up space in the garage (yard tools, non-cycling gear, etc.) to the shed to dedicate the garage to bikes?
This was initial version. As you can see bike on the right would conflict with ceiling door, so I need to move them to the side for that purpose. On the left (out of the picture) is small hallway, which gets blocked if bikes are moved all the way to the left (rail extends 1m further left than what’s in the picture and about 75cm to the right.
Right now I’m putting 2 additional hooks. Also planning to add some spacers inside the rail, so that bikes can’t get to close to each other - right now if I push one on the side, it will crash to the next one - what I want is to be able to push all of them at the same time, while being able to space them apart to take middle ones out without scratching others.
Also there is some stuff on the wall behind the bikes now. Bike computer, chargers, ebike charger etc. On pic rail seems bent - it’s just the photo, it’s perfectly straight and solid. I can easily do push ups on that rail even with bikes on
Fun fact - both ebike to the right (orbea wild’23) and one in the middle (Orbea oiz ‘14) are L size - shows how much bigger bikes are now with 29 inch wheels etc. Pic is outdated - replacing some of the old bikes - changed ‘97 Cannondale Cad3 to ‘24 orbea orca and ‘13 oiz to ‘25 oiz.
