# trike insurance/security



## Chonker (16 Apr 2009)

Hello, I'm hopefully going to be buying my first recumbent soon, a trice Q. I'm a little nervous about the purchase as of course it's a damned lot of money and I'd definately want to insure it. 

I've not insured a bike before, could somebody point me in the right direction? Do regular bicycle insurers deal with these or are their specialist companies for these types of vehicles.

I'm also interested in how best to secure the trike.


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## Auntie Helen (16 Apr 2009)

In the end I have given up with insurance, having discovered my Trice Q is too expensive for the household insurance.

Instead I bought an Abus Granit 54 lock (1.8kg!) and if I'm going anywhere dodgy I use it on the trike.

There are two excellent fixing points for D-locks. The first is through the hinge for the rear suspension, there's a hollow tube and the D-lock can go through there. However the seat often gets in the way which means you can't fix to a lamp-post or something unless your D-lock is unusually long.

The second fixing point is from the chainring guard (an option extra, and an excellent one) that I have fitted at the front of the trike. It means I lock it nose-in to a fixing point. I tend to also have a thick wire through all three wheels ending up at the lock as well to make sure no-one has a laugh by removing one.

As for security at home, I have a shed that the trike goes in but it's not at all secure really (one padlock!) but we live in a low-crime area and I can't think of any reasonable alternative.


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## Andy in Sig (16 Apr 2009)

Auntie Helen said:


> As for security at home, I have a shed that the trike goes in but it's not at all secure really (one padlock!) but we live in a low-crime area and I can't think of any reasonable alternative.



If your shed has got a concrete floor you could fit one of those steel rings and into the floor and then use a heavy duty chain to anchor the trike.


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## byegad (16 Apr 2009)

My house insurance has all my expensive bikes and trikes added to it, under £250 is automatic.

The main thing is the relative rarity of a recumbent trike works in two ways. 

1. It is hard to sell one 'down the pub'. If I had one of my trike stolen and saw anyone in the area on a 'similar' model the chances are near 100% that it would be my trike. Thieves know this and stick to mountain bikes because of their anonymity on the street.

2. They are valuable enough to be stolen to order. This is rare, I've heard of just one case, but it can happen. This kind of specialist thief is rare as even at £5000 for the most expensive trike a car is a much more profitable target. 

If your house insurers do not want to cover a trike there are plenty of others who will.


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## Auntie Helen (16 Apr 2009)

Andy in Sig said:


> If your shed has got a concrete floor you could fit one of those steel rings and into the floor and then use a heavy duty chain to anchor the trike.


Sadly the floor is just paving slabs on grass.

Really ought to have a decent brick garage built to keep the trikes safe (who cares about the cars!)


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## byegad (16 Apr 2009)

For a grass/earth floor dig a good size hole and bury the middle of a large heavy chain in the hole using some concrete in the hole. Once set pack the earth down hard, discarding any spare earth. You now have two ends of chain each several links long sticking out of the ground to U Lock your trikes to. Thieves now need to attack your lock or the chain or dig it up and take the trike(s) plus chain plus concrete with them.


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## Andy in Sig (16 Apr 2009)

Auntie Helen said:


> Sadly the floor is just paving slabs on grass.
> 
> Really ought to have a decent brick garage built to keep the trikes safe (who cares about the cars!)



You could probably still consider one of those anchor rings then, especially if you (i.e. your husband) dug a bit of a hole, filled it with concrete and set the paving slab in that. It would make it a bugger of a job to try and nick the trike.

Ooops! Just read Byegad's post.


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## Fiona N (16 Apr 2009)

I think the closest I've come to someone nicking the Windcheetah was the parents of a small child who had arranged himself in the seat and, since his little legs didn't reach the pedals, promptly fallen asleep. The parents were very impressed at the soporific qualities and were all for just wheeling him away  
Around Kendal especially, I and the 'cheetah are fairly well-known so someone else riding the machine would tend to attract attention. If I lock it up, it tends to be to discourage the local youth from test-riding it. Similarly, I rarely lock the Speeedmachine for short stops, unless it's to keep it upright against the bike rack (it has to be said 2-wheel recumbents are awkward in this respect compared to an upright) as I doubt there are many sufficiently expert riders who could just jump on it and ride off.


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## Andy in Sig (16 Apr 2009)

Have you not got a stand fitted to your Speed Machine? I've got one on my Street Machine and wouldn't be without it.


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## Arch (16 Apr 2009)

There's a company that specialise in bike insurance, isn't there? They arrange the CTC deal...

Butterworth:

http://www.butterworthinsurance.co.uk/

Never dealt with them personally, but they seem to be a bit more clued up than the average house insurer...


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## byegad (16 Apr 2009)

Yes and the premiums on my six bikes would replace the most expensive in about two and a half years! Adding to the house insurance is a lot cheaper.


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## ufkacbln (16 Apr 2009)

I use an Abus Granit as well, but also a se of "Street Cuffs"







These work well for bike / trike booms esecially where there is no rear triangle such as the Trice. It is possible to place a piece of street furnitore, tight in the "angle of the crucifix" and then with one "cuff" on the boom, and one on the crosspiece which secures the trike quite nicely.

As for insurance all my bikes and trikes are covered as "named items" on my insurance.


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## Arch (17 Apr 2009)

byegad said:


> Yes and the premiums on my six bikes would replace the most expensive in about two and a half years! Adding to the house insurance is a lot cheaper.



Yeah, I seem to remember thinking it was a bit steep - but then none of my bikes have huge monetary value, more sentimental.


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## LeeW (18 Apr 2009)

Another recommendation for the ABUS granite 54, great lock, both for ease of use and security, the cross piece locks on both sides which means it just snaps on and also means to cut the lock off one needs to cut it twice.

When I leant a velomobile to a mate once, a relative saw it and phoned me to say someone else was riding my bike and wanted to know if it had been nicked.


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## TimP (19 Apr 2009)

Insurance - it is worth considering M&S contents insurance. You don't need to name your items or pay an excess until you get to £4k (on any one). Thatll cover almost all machines well worth it when the the garage contains more value than the rest of the house.


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## Chonker (19 Apr 2009)

Does household insurance cover the bike while out though? I might try using it for a commute but would hate for it to be stolen/damaged while parked at work. I'm pretty paranoid but then it's gonna be worth more than my car and a damned sight easier for some scummer to carry off!


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## TimP (19 Apr 2009)

Generally if a bike is locked up in the UK (and we've even found out it was covered when locked up in Europe when touring) it will be covered by your contents insurance.

Terms and conditions often apply, depending on locks and what you are locked to etc. Check the small print or phone your insurers to get their opinion.


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## squeaker (20 Apr 2009)

*Home or away?*



Chonker said:


> I'm also interested in how best to secure the trike.


At home? You might want to look here first  If someone really wants your trike they are likely to get it


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## spiro (12 Apr 2010)

Auntie Helen said:


> The second fixing point is from the chainring guard (an option extra, and an excellent one) that I have fitted at the front of the trike. It means I lock it nose-in to a fixing point. I tend to also have a thick wire through all three wheels ending up at the lock as well to make sure no-one has a laugh by removing one.


I was wondering about how to lock up my Trice T when out and this thread has given me a couple of ideas (already bought an Abus Granit) but I am not sure about using the chainring guard as it is only held on by 2 bolts.

I was planning to use the Abus about the frame and back wheel and use a long cable and padlock through all the wheels and around a fixed object i.e. lamp post. Is this good enough or do others have a better idea.


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## PalmerSperry (12 Apr 2010)

Andy in Sig said:


> You could probably still consider one of those anchor rings then, especially if you (i.e. your husband) dug a bit of a hole, filled it with concrete and set the paving slab in that. It would make it a bugger of a job to try and nick the trike.



The security item I used for several years was a moderately large bucket (from B&Q I think) which I'd filled with concrete, with a D-lock embedded in it[1]. Coupled with locking 2, and sometimes as many as 3, bikes to it with decent locks hopefully made it reasonably theft proof.

[1] And, IIRC, a brick through the D-lock also in the concrete to try and make the D-lock harder to remove by brute force!


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## ufkacbln (12 Apr 2010)

Auntie Helen said:


> Sadly the floor is just paving slabs on grass.
> 
> Really ought to have a decent brick garage built to keep the trikes safe (who cares about the cars!)



Even that is good enough.... carting the weight of the paving slab around is going to dissuade all but the most determined


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## ufkacbln (12 Apr 2010)

squeaker said:


> At home? You might want to look here first  If someone really wants your trike they are likely to get it



Beware of these videos, they optimise for the "thief" allowing maximum leverage and easy access to the links. 

An Abus Granit X54 secured to a rear triangle and a decent piece of street furniture is a far more difficult beast to destroy


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## CopperBrompton (12 Apr 2010)

Yet another vote for the Abus Granit 54. Sold Secure Gold, reasonably compact, not _absurdly_ heavy.

For insurance, my trike is a named cycle on my home contents policy - much cheaper than cycle-specific policies, and from an insurer I trust (Liverpool & Victoria) based on previous claims experience.


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