Every October the bike suddenly has nowhere to go: it blocks the hallway, the rain gets it on the balcony, and in the shared basement half the building walks past it. If you are working out how to store a bike for winter, only three things really matter: the height and door of the unit, frost and the e-bike battery, and how many months you take the unit for.

Below: how to prepare the bike, which unit holds one bike and which holds the whole family's, what to do with the battery, and what it costs as of 22 September 2026.

Prepare the bike first

A winter in storage does a bike no harm if it goes in clean and dry. Mud and road salt on the frame and chain keep working all winter while the bike stands still, and in spring you pay for it with a new chain.

• Wash it and let it dry. Frame, wheels, chain and chainrings. Never put a wet bike into storage, the moisture stays under the cover for months.
• Oil the chain and cables. A thin film stops rust. Wipe off the excess, or the chain will collect dust.
• Pump up the tyres to the pressure printed on the sidewall. A bike that spends the winter on flat tubes needs new tyres in spring.
• Take off anything that drains or goes missing. Lights, bike computer, bags, bottle. Take the electronics home.
• Cover it with fabric, not plastic. An old sheet or a cloth bike cover is fine, plastic film is not: condensation collects underneath.

A bike needs height, not floor

A bike stood up on its rear wheel takes very little floor, but it needs height. So when you choose a unit, look at its height and at whether it has a ceiling of its own.

The indoor units at Holíčska 7 and Tomášikova 50D have no ceiling of their own. Their walls are 2.60 m high and the hall above is more than three metres, so a bike stood upright fits even the smallest of them. Free on 22 September 2026, for example:

• T57, Tomášikova, 1.20 m², floor 1.20 × 1.00 m: one bike upright.
• H17 and H22, Holíčska, 1.82 and 1.85 m², floor 1.46 and 1.48 × 1.25 m: one or two bikes upright, with helmets, shoes and a rack next to them.
• H43 and H44, Holíčska, 2.25 m², floor 1.25 × 1.80 m: the bike can also lie down, as long as it is not longer than the wall.
• H13, Holíčska, 3.20 m², floor 1.23 × 2.60 m: a long, narrow unit, bikes one behind another.

Watch out for the cheapest boxes at Holíčska. They start at 28€ a month, but they are only 1.01 to 1.20 m high with a 0.80 × 1.00 m hatch, so a bike will not go in. They suit helmets, cycling clothes and bags. How height works in our units is covered in the article on high ceiling storage, and the price of every free unit is on the storage unit price list.

The bike also has to get through the door. Indoor units have 0.80 × 1.95 m doors, containers 0.80 × 2.00 m. You wheel the bike in beside you, and wide mountain bike handlebars only need a slight turn. Measure your bike from wheel to wheel at home and compare it with the unit's inside dimensions, which are listed on every unit page.

The whole family's bikes: a container

When the whole family's bikes need a winter home, a 3.60 m² container works out cheaper than two small indoor units. It is 2.40 × 1.50 m inside, 2.60 m high, with a solid steel ceiling. The bikes stand upright along the long wall and there is still room in front of them for child seats, scooters and boxes of winter things. Our services page files it exactly here: the 3 to 5 m² size is for bikes, skis and tyres.

• P9, P13 and P14, Pionierska in Nové Mesto: ground floor, and you can drive right up to the door.
• D47 and D53, Dúbravka, Polianky 15: first floor by the stairs, and the car can drive onto the site.

Carrying a bike up a flight of stairs is easy, so the first floor at Dúbravka is a sensible choice for bikes, and on a one-month term it is a euro cheaper. If your bikes have lived in a basement so far and you wonder whether a unit of your own is worth it, the comparison is in the article on cellar storage rental in Bratislava.

E-bikes: the frame into storage, the battery into the warm

Containers are not heated. The frame and motor of an e-bike come through a winter there just like an ordinary bike, but the battery suffers in frost. You have two options:

• Take the battery home and leave the bike in the container. At home keep it at room temperature, partly charged and never completely flat, and check it now and then.
• Battery cannot be removed? Choose an indoor unit at Holíčska or Tomášikova. They are inside buildings that stay at a comfortable temperature in summer and winter, so the whole bike can spend the winter there.

The same rule applies to e-scooters, and it is covered in detail in the article on storing electric scooters in winter. An expensive e-bike also deserves higher insurance, more on that below.

A motorcycle waits for spring too, but not in a container: we put motorbikes only into the indoor units at Tomášikova and Holíčska, where the 0.80 m door and the room from the door inwards decide. The details are in our guide to motorcycle storage in Bratislava.

How many months: winter is half a year

The bike goes into storage in October and comes out in March or April. We rent for 1, 3, 6, 9 or 12 months, or exactly to a date you choose, so you do not have to pay for a whole year. The longer the term, the lower the monthly price. For unit H22 on 22 September 2026:

• 1 month: 54€
• 6 months: 48€ a month, 288€ in total
• 12 months: 43€ a month, 516€ in total

For a winter the six-month rate is enough. A year pays off when the skis, sledges and winter tyres go into the same unit for the summer. How shorter rentals work and when they are not worth it is explained in the article on short-term storage rental.

What it costs as of 22 September 2026

Prices change every day with the occupancy of each location, and you always see the exact price before you confirm the order. Monthly price for a 1, 6 and 12-month term:

• T57, Tomášikova, 1.20 m²: 56€, 50€ and 45€.
• H17, H22, Holíčska, 1.82 and 1.85 m²: 54€, 48€ and 43€.
• H43, H44, Holíčska, 2.25 m²: 70€, 64€ and 59€.
• H13, Holíčska, 3.20 m²: 83€, 73€ and 63€.
• D47, D53, Dúbravka, 3.60 m² container on the first floor: 74€, 64€ and 48€.
• P9, P13, P14, Pionierska, 3.60 m² container on the ground floor: 75€, 64€ and 48€.

With the first payment you pay a deposit of one month's rent, returned within 5 working days after the unit is properly handed back. Insurance of your things up to 2 000€ is included. For an expensive e-bike you can add cover up to 5 000€ for 4.50€ a month, up to 7 000€ for 7.50€ or up to 10 000€ for 12€.

Common mistakes

1. The cheapest box for a bike. Boxes from 28€ are 1.01 to 1.20 m high with a 0.80 × 1.00 m hatch, a bike does not fit.
2. Hooks drilled into the wall. The terms forbid drilling into walls, ceiling and floor. Use a free-standing bike stand or simply lean the bike against the wall.
3. A wet bike under plastic. Condensation builds up under the film all winter and the chain is rusty in spring.
4. A battery left in the frost. An e-bike battery suffers in an unheated container, take it home.
5. Flat tubes. Tyres that stand on flat tubes for months lose their shape.
6. A forgotten phone number. The gate opens for the phone registered in your account. If someone else will fetch the bike, add their number in advance.

When a different unit suits you better

• One bike and nothing else. You do not need a container, the smallest indoor unit where the bike stands upright will do: T57 or H22.
• Only the gear. Helmets, shoes, clothes and racks fit a box from 28€, and the bike can stay at home if you have the room.
• You ride all winter. Keep the bike at home and store what gets in the way more: summer tyres, garden furniture, the bike your child has outgrown.
• Only until spring. Do not take a year, six months or a rental exactly to a date is enough.
• The battery is built in. An indoor unit instead of a container, so the whole bike winters in the warm.

How to go about it

1. Measure the bike from wheel to wheel and count how many bikes and how much gear will go into storage.
2. Decide by the battery: an e-bike with a built-in battery goes to Holíčska or Tomášikova, everything else can go into a container too.
3. On the location page compare the height, floor and door of the free units.
4. Choose the term: 6 months for the winter, or exactly to the date you want the bike back.
5. Fill in your details and pay by card, bank transfer or QR payment. The contract is concluded with the first payment and the access details arrive at once, the whole thing takes about 10 minutes.
6. In your account add the numbers of anyone who will come to the bikes with you.
7. Prepare the bike, bring it in and lock the unit with your own padlock, the sealed padlock is our gift.

What TOP SKLAD offers

We run six locations in Bratislava and one in Nitra, 527 units in total, 71 of them free on 22 September 2026. The indoor units are at Holíčska 7 in Petržalka, tram 3 to the Pajštúnska stop and a 230 m walk, and at Tomášikova 50D in Nové Mesto. The containers are in Dúbravka, at Gessayova, Kaukazská, Pionierska and in Nitra.

Access is 24 hours a day, every day of the year, so if February brings a warm Saturday you can take the bike out without asking anyone. The gate opens with a call from the number in your account, and the building at Holíčska with a personal code. The sites are fenced and covered by recorded CCTV, and there are no staff on site. We do not do transport, but you can ask for a paid partner when you order.

Frequently asked questions

How much does winter bike storage cost in Bratislava?

On 22 September 2026 the indoor unit H22 at Holíčska costs 48€ a month on a 6-month term, so 288€ for the whole winter. A 3.60 m² container for the whole family's bikes costs 64€ a month for six months. Prices change with occupancy.

Will a bike fit into the smallest unit?

Not into the boxes from 28€: they are 1.01 to 1.20 m high with a 0.80 × 1.00 m hatch. Into the indoor unit T57, floor 1.20 × 1.00 m, yes, if you stand the bike on its rear wheel: the wall is 2.60 m high and the unit has no ceiling of its own.

Can I leave an e-bike in storage with its battery?

Do not leave the battery in an unheated container, take it home for the winter. If the battery cannot be removed, choose an indoor unit at Holíčska or Tomášikova, where the temperature is comfortable in summer and winter.

Can I hang my bike on a hook in the unit?

The terms do not allow drilling into the walls, ceiling or floor. Use a free-standing bike stand, or stand the bike on its rear wheel against the wall, which is easy with 2.60 m of height.

Are bikes in storage insured?

Yes, insurance up to 2 000€ is included in the rent. For expensive bikes you can add cover up to 5 000€ for 4.50€ a month or up to 10 000€ for 12€ a month.

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• indoor units at Holíčska 7