# Locking bike while camping



## barnesy (5 Apr 2009)

Ive asked a few questions before about my upcoming first tour round Ireland and i have most things in. I never really need a lock for my bike as i store it in the office in work. I have a combination lock from halfords, roughly £30 lock.

Im planning to use this whenever i run into shops or cafes but what about at nighttime?

Are campsites fairly trusting or wold i need a sturdier lock? Ive spent a good bit of money on the bike and would hate it to go missing hundreds of miles from home.

Also while im asking, i bought a bar bag from wiggle (Dhb) and i cant fit it to the bars because its a flat bar bike and the brake levers get in the way, should i ditch the bag or get a bar extender or move the breaks so the bag fits? (This would mean the brakes pointing close to straight up or straight down.)

Thanks


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## samid (5 Apr 2009)

FWIW - on my only tour so far, I used a Kryptonite U-lock, and locked my bike to a tree or fence for the night. Gave me some peace of mind even though I didn't like the weight of the lock. And, you have to make sure you don't lose the key when the bike's locked


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## vernon (5 Apr 2009)

I don't think that bike thieves routinely target camp sites. Touring bikes are not that attractive to them and the market for s/h touring bikes is pretty limited.

More often than not I didn't lock my bike when camping here in the UK or in France and when I did, it was with a cable lock with a cable diameter of 1cm or so. Not enough to prevent theft via bolt croppers but enough to dissuade the opportunist thief. 

Seek to pitch your tent near to an immovable object and secure your bike to the object e.g. tree, bush, fencing.


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## andym (5 Apr 2009)

I try to hide my bike.


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## ufkacbln (5 Apr 2009)

Have a chat!

Often campsites have "groundsmens sheds" wher they keep maintenance equipment snd you can use.

Otherwise I simply carry a "Dog lead anchor"







Place in ground and lock bike to it. Bike cannot be removed without roating it round which is a little obvious.

Trees and fences are better, but as a last resort.


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## snorri (5 Apr 2009)

I don't think of camp sites as being high risk for cycle theft, but it might ease some of your security worries by lying the bike on its side with one of the wheels under the tent fly sheet which would allow you to check its presence through the night without opening the tent door. 
You could tie a string between bicycle wheel and your toe, but that might be taking things a bit far.


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## spandex (5 Apr 2009)

Cunobelin said:


> "Dog lead anchor"
> 
> 
> 
> ...




You beat me to it But you can use a kite anchor as well. 

I put my anchor under the outer sheet of the tent and run a cable out.


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## barnesy (5 Apr 2009)

Thanks for your replies

I was considering buying another lock, a decent U lock but i didn't want to carry that extra weight. Its good to know that campsites aren't likely to be targeted (lets hope no would be bike thieves decide to read this thread)

So my ordinary cable lock would be okay, locked to say a picnic table or fence?

I was considering tying one of the tents guy lines to the bike so if someone tries to walk off with it without realising its tied town i might be woke, does anybody do this?


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## Gerry Attrick (5 Apr 2009)

I think Irish campsites will be much much safer than in the UK.


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## andym (5 Apr 2009)

barnesy said:


> So my ordinary cable lock would be okay, locked to say a picnic table or fence?



It depends on the lock. Unfortunately there's a real trade-off between weight and security. A lightweight cable lock may only be of use against a casual thief - and if someone is going to sneak into a campsite looking for a bike to steal then the chances are they'll probably have some basic tools.



barnesy said:


> I was considering tying one of the tents guy lines to the bike so if someone tries to walk off with it without realising its tied town i might be woke, does anybody do this?



I always wondered about this, but the downside seems to me to be that you could end up waking up in a collapsed tent which you'd first have to extricate yourself from before you could tackle the thieves (assuming that's your intention).


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## Joe24 (5 Apr 2009)

Some campsites will be high risk. 
Columba(right spelling? maybe not) Park campsite is very high risk for theft. The people on the caravan site dont lock the bikes up, and theivs just come on and take a load of bikes in the night without anyone really noticing.
When i go on campsites my bike is locked to the caravan wheel lock, and to the floor with one of them dog spikes on a wire loop thats cropper proof(apparently) and a D lock.


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## Davidc (6 Apr 2009)

Quite a while since I camped! Have a look on ebay for a cheap and cheerful but loud alarm. If anyone moves your bike it'll go off - may not be popular with everyone else if it does at 2am but will probably protect their kit as well!

it would be very effective combined with the giant corkscrew dog thingy.


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## snorri (6 Apr 2009)

I have often thought about what I would do if I became aware that my bicycle was being tampered with in the middle of the night, but have been unable to form a complete plan of action. 
My plan so far is to extricate myself from sleeping bag and unzip tent doors, and clamber out in to the half light. Assuming the thieves have not already ran away, I'm standing there naked confronting two of the toughest, roughest blokes I have ever seen. Not exactly a strong stance for negotiation. Can anyone help with the next stage please?
I think we just have to take basic precautions and hope for the best.


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## rich p (6 Apr 2009)

I've only camped on the continent and have never felt unsafe in terms of bike theft but lock it to a tree or fence, as others have said.


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## just jim (6 Apr 2009)

The folding Trelock FS400 lock got a favourable review in the CTC mag.


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## Percy (6 Apr 2009)

Never had any problems in UK or abroad, always just use whatever's to hand (tree, fence, lamppost etc.) with a d-lock and have even just left the bike on the ground next to the tent, locked through both wheels and frame with d-lock and cable.

If you were particularly concerned about a place looking/feeling dodgy and there wasn't a tree nearby, I'd just ask the campsite owners if there's a shed/garage/somewhere a bit more secure you can lock it.

I have heard of people tying guy ropes to the bike or even a thin cord from bike to body (fingers/toes) to ensure any tampering awakes the owner but it seems a little over the top to me.


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## simon_adams_uk (6 Apr 2009)

In the past, I've taken to erecting my tent with one of the poles running through the main frame triangle before being located in the groundsheet eyelet in the normal way. 

If someone wants to steal the bike the tent has to be partially dismantled beforehand! It's not ideal but works as a reasonable bodge.

HTH,
S


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## samid (6 Apr 2009)

Here's the right way to protect your bike while camping


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## spandex (6 Apr 2009)

samid said:


> Here's the right way to protect your bike while camping




I will have to try that one


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## MessenJah (6 Apr 2009)

LOL!

I'm gonna have the same problem, and the above solution wont even work for me because I'm gonna be using a gelert Solo tent. I won't even be able to fit my panniers in the tent, never mind the bike!


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## spandex (6 Apr 2009)

Well then your bike lives in the tent


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## Joe24 (6 Apr 2009)

spandex said:


> Well then your bike lives in the tent



Exactly. Some people just arent serious enough cyclists


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## spandex (6 Apr 2009)

Joe24 said:


> Exactly. Some people just arent serious enough cyclists




See you know what I mean


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## MessenJah (6 Apr 2009)

The bike is too big to fit in the tent!


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## spandex (6 Apr 2009)

Make the tent bigger or....... get a smaller bike


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## spandex (6 Apr 2009)

I know get a folding bike that will work

Im good me


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## JackE (7 Apr 2009)

Has anyone used the 7ft long Kryptonite 10mm cable lock? I'm seriously considering one as it would easily secure two bikes together or a single to a tree or other (large) immovable object. I've seen one on the net for under £10.


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## Crankarm (7 Apr 2009)

vernon said:


> I don't think that bike thieves routinely target camp sites. Touring bikes are not that attractive to them and the market for s/h touring bikes is pretty limited.
> 
> More often than not I didn't lock my bike when camping here in the UK or in France and when I did, it was with a cable lock with a cable diameter of 1cm or so. Not enough to prevent theft via bolt croppers but enough to dissuade the opportunist thief.
> 
> Seek to pitch your tent near to an immovable object and secure your bike to the object e.g. tree, bush, fencing.



My first post here, so be gentle, although on this topic one I have some forthright views but they are born out of bitter experience.

Campsites are magnets for opportunist thieves. When I worked on campsites in France, Italy and Germany in the mid 1990s bikes were always going missing and no one ever heard or saw anything untoward. Then it clicked. Quite a few thefts always seemed to occur early in the mornings when people checking out were quietly sneaking out. Anyone with a caravan or motorhome just lifted unsecured bikes and put them inside as they were about to depart and no one was any the wiser until the owners discovered their bikes had gone several hours later when they awoke.

I wouldn't touch cable locks with a barge pole. Too easy to cut through. For me a D-lock every time and a substantial one at that. I also wouldn't touch Kryptonite as I had a Brompton stolen in 2005 locked up with a Krptonite New Yorker D-lock. Absolutely bl00dy useless it was. So now my bike(s) are secured with x2 Abuse Granit X Plus 54 long D-locks every time on the front and rear wheels attached to something very solid indeed.


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## samid (7 Apr 2009)

Crankarm: was that Kryptonite unlocked or cut? was it perhaps the old model with the "ring" keyhole that apparently could be opened with a Big pen cap?


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## rich p (7 Apr 2009)

Crankarm, most people (well, me anyway) are reluctant to carry as much weight as that on a touring trip. 
I have never felt my bike was vulnerable in France or Germany but perhaps I'm naive!


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## andym (7 Apr 2009)

samid said:


> Crankarm: was that Kryptonite unlocked or cut? was it perhaps the old model with the "ring" keyhole that apparently could be opened with a Big pen cap?



Had to be. The Kryptonite New York (with the flat key) is probably the best d-lock on the market.


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## Bodhbh (7 Apr 2009)

Crankarm said:


> I wouldn't touch cable locks with a barge pole. Too easy to cut through. For me a D-lock every time and a substantial one at that.


Last week a flatmate had an 10mm cable lock he'd lost the keys too he wanted getting off his frame. I have a set of boltcroppers, not the massive ones, they're perhaps 14-15inches long . Anyhow, took about a second to snip it off, I braced myself but there was not even much resistance.

I suppose they do stop someone just throwing an unlocked bike in the back of a van at 5am tho. I've been using a single cable lock up to now and not bothered about the front wheel, but starting to wonder if it's worth lugging something a bit more secure about. Those folding locks seem okay, I used one on my first tour that came with the rental bike - would need power tools or a non-trival amount of hacksawing/drilling to break I would think. The one I used was an Abus one and folded up to something the size of a jumbo Mars bar which strapped direct to the frame.


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## psmiffy (7 Apr 2009)

When I first started touring in europe I carried a D lock but it did not take me long to suss out that most of the immovable objects on campsites (ie trees) were too big for the dlock. I now carry a 10ft cable lock which unless the hairs on the back of my neck disagree or I am going to be away from my tent for a good while does not get used (someone did nick the combination lock in sardinia when I stopped to look over a cliff - my bike is obviously not something that anyone would want to be lumbered with) - most european campsites nobobody is very interested in bike - the dutch and germans leave loadsa much nicer bikes than mine unlocked all over the place - Ive always thought the risk of getting mugged on the road is probably greater - however if I toured more in UK I would probably go back to carrying the dlock - does that say something


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## Crankarm (7 Apr 2009)

andym said:


> Had to be. The Kryptonite New York (with the flat key) is probably the best d-lock on the market.



It had these round keys with crinkly edges. D-lock was not cut but opened. Totally ******g useless. Will never buy kryptonite again. It was doubly gutting as 2 weeks before I had taken the bike on a touring holiday on the Eurostar and TGV 1st class down to Biarritz to cycle the major Cols of the Pyrennees the Aubisque, Soulor, Tourmalet, Aspin and the Louvre in Paris.

On the campsites it was often the large motorhomes of germans, dutch and belgians that were suspected of being Madehoffs.

WRT weight the D-locks are a bit.....weighty but once you get used to cycling with them no problem. You don't need a turbo trainer, one in each pannier.Great for building cycling legs.


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## andym (7 Apr 2009)

Crankarm said:


> It had these round keys with crinkly edges. D-lock was not cut but opened. Totally ******g useless. Will never buy kryptonite again. It was doubly gutting as 2 weeks before I had taken the bike on a touring holiday on the Eurostar and TGV 1st class down to Biarritz to cycle the major Cols of the Pyrennees the Aubisque, Soulor, Tourmalet, Aspin and the Louvre in Paris..



I'm sorry for the loss of your bike and the holiday. I know it's no comfort for you (and if anything I'm rubbing salt in the wound) but Kryptonite did a major programme to recall and replace these locks in late 2004/ early 2005.



Crankarm said:


> On the campsites it was often the large motorhomes of germans, dutch and belgians that were suspected of being Madehoffs



Another reason to steer clear of campervanners.


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## samid (7 Apr 2009)

Yes, having a bike stolen sucks majorly. Been there  (not due to any lock's deficiencies though - left it in a garage with the door open).

I also had one of those Kryptonite D-locks with round keys - and Kryptonite replaced it with a new one, with a flat key, during that recall program andym mentioned. And maybe I'm a bit paranoid but I did take it rather than a cable lock on tour. Somehow I always managed to find a suitable tree or fence. A cable "lock" is too easy to cut.


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## Crankarm (8 Apr 2009)

Unfortunately I didn't hear of the recall , but my insurance paid for a new bike which I have indirectly paid for in the subsequently increased premium and loss of NCD. Perhaps I should present Kyptonite with the bill for replacement bike? My bike was stolen in July 2004. I still have the lock, why o why I don't know.


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