Cyclist
Best bike covers 2024: Keep your bicycle dry outdoors
If your bicycle needs to live outdoors, you’ll keep it in much better shape with one of the best bike covers. Rain can quickly corrode your chain, leaving you with a high-friction, creaky, unsightly component that will make your ride that much more difficult. Over time, other components such as headsets and wheels can suffer too. Keep your bike under a cover and you’ll shelter it from the worst of the weather.
Of course, keeping your bike indoors is better still, but even with the best bike storage solutions, that may not be practicable. The best bike chain lubes and water displacing sprays can help, but are likely to get washed off over time.
So if you’re going to keep your bike outdoors, here are our top recommendations for the best bike covers to help it survive the weather.
Best bike covers at a glance
- BikeParka Stash
- Oxford Aquatex
- Topeak Bike Cover
- VK International Bike Cover
- Evoc Bike Rack Cover
- Scicon Road Bike Cover
- Decathlon Bike Cover
- Pro Bike Tool Bike Cover
- Halfords Bike Tent
- Challenge Bike Cover
Why trust our advice?
Here at Cyclist, riding is a way of life. We’re constantly out reviewing the best road bikes, plus we regularly ride our own bikes into the office or for errands.
That means a lot of bikes to store and we don’t always have space for them all. So a weatherproof bike cover, along with one of the best bike locks, is an essential for when one of our own bikes needs to live outdoors for a while.
The 10 best bike covers 2024
BikeParka Stash
£39.95 | View offer
BikeParka makes a wide range of covers to suit everything from kids’ bikes to cargo bikes. The Stash is its standard cover and adjusts to different frame sizes. Fitting is just a case of pulling it backwards from your front wheel, while a toggle on top will take up the slack, so it shouldn’t blow around.
Made from ripstop fabric, the BikeParka is repairable and the Stash is available in five colours, including camo. It comes with its own stuff sack, so you can keep it out of the way when not in use, or carry it with you.
Oxford Aquatex
£22.99 | View offer
Oxford’s bike covers are a popular choice; you’ll frequently see the motorcycle version around. There’s a range of bike covers including double, triple and cargo bike options, as well as heavier duty Pro versions. The cover is held in place by an elasticated lower hem and the fabric is double PU coated to keep out water.
As with the BikeParka and most of our selected products, there’s a storage carrier option when not in use.
Topeak Bike Cover
£47.99 | View offer
Topeak is a maker of everything bike-related, from multitools to bike boxes and, in this case, a bike cover. It’s designed specifically for 29er MTBs, but should work equally well for flat bar commuter bikes. Made of nylon, it weighs a claimed 330g and packs into its own stuffsack.
VK International Bike Cover
£17.99 | View offer
Dutch brand VK’s covers come in a range of colours and designed to fit a range of bike styles, including tandems, e-bikes and cargo bikes, as well as pairs of bikes. Made with super-durable woven materials, VK claims that its covers will last an average of seven years before needing replacement, with some designs offering more. The Classic cover has eye loops to allow you to lace it down or to the bike. At 425g, it’s a little heavier than some other bike covers.
Evoc Bike Rack Cover
£149.99 | View offer
The Evoc Bike Rack Cover is designed specifically for use when transporting your bike on a car bike rack, but would also serve for at-home use. It’s designed to completely enclose a road bike, with zipped closures over the wheels and straps to stop it from flapping when you’re driving. It’s made from durable, water resistant fabric that should provide good water protection too.
Scicon Road Bike Cover
£55 | View offer
A brand with a big presence in bike bags for transport, as well as furnishing Pogačar’s eyewear, Scicon also sells bike covers. There are separate designs for road and mountain bikes, which are lightweight, with a claimed 300g weight for the road cover. It’s also durable and waterproof and folds into its own built-in pocket.
- Buy now from BikeInn (£38.99)
Decathlon Bike Cover
£19.99 | View offer
As you’d expect, Decathlon makes a low-priced, functional bike cover that works for a range of bikes. Available in one or two-bike sizes, the cover has an elastic hem to help keep it in place and is secured around the bike’s frame by Velcro. The cover comes with its own storage bag; at 580g, it’s heavier duty than some options here, but on the downside Decathlon doesn’t claim that it’s waterproof and it will only protect your bike from light rain.
Pro Bike Tool Bike Cover
£29.99 | View offer
Not the Shimano sub-brand, but sold via Amazon, the Pro Bike Tool cover is available in three sizes, to fit up to three bikes. It’s made with ripstop fabric and heat-sealed seams make it waterproof. Adjustable for a secure fit, there’s a front hole for a lock and reflective loop handles that fit over the handlebars and make it easier to take the cover off.
Halfords Bike Tent
£50 | View offer
The Halfords Bike Tent avoids the need to stretch a cover over your bike by providing a rigid structure with loop poles, guy ropes and wall anchor points within which you can store up to three bikes. It’s waterproof and UV resistant and has a built-in groundsheet, as well as folding into its own storage bag. It would be a good option for travelling, as well as for home storage. Halfords also sells more conventional bike covers for one or two bikes.
Challenge Heavy Duty Bike Cover
£15 | View offer
The Challenge bike cover is sold by Argos, making it widely available throughout the UK. It’s sold in one bike and two bike sizes. It’s a fairly simple PVC sheet design, with elastic at either end of the hem and held in place by a strap under the bottom bracket.
- Buy now from Argos (£15)
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