Security measures against theft

[cyberknight]

Can the OP put the bike in the car when not driving ?
I have had a bike in the back seat foot well without wheels , assuming you have a tarp to keep the seats clean .I know a thief can probably see it and if they were determined they could smash the window and take it but its more work for them than just cutting a rack off the car , you could even use a lock around some anchor point like under the seat .

they are all chained together so you'd need to cut the (big fat, designed for motorcycles) chain

It's not that secure I grant you, but then all five together cost me £113, and £60 of that was for the kid's bike (and she never rides it!)

Mine are secured with a ground anchor in the concrete floor you cant get a spanner on with motorbike chains as well .At work its inside a locked bike shed with a d lock and cable lock along with cctv and on site security , barrier-ed car park that is only open at shift change .On club runs its next to bike up to 19 times the price and mines the only one with a cafe stop lock .

 

[cyberknight]

You can get insurance although bikes can be named as special items on a household policy assuming you meet some requirements with regards to locks etc .Inside the house would be best if you have the space .

 

[slowmotion]

I put five feet of sisal matting in our narrow hall. That's where the bike lives at night. It's insured on our Home Contents policy. A couple of bikes get £1500 of cover for about £22 pa. The policy doesn't have stupid weasel-word exclusion clauses either. I suspect that "bike specific" insurance is a bit of a rip-off.

 

[fairyhedgehog]

I've just got a new bike, a Specialized Ariel Sports Disc, and I'm used to a tatty old bike that probably didn't look like it was worth stealing. At home it's in the shed, locked to a table leg, so I need to do something a bit better there. Maybe if I lock all the bikes (three of them) together it will be a deterrant.

I saw the Immobolise scheme and they're selling an immobitab that you drop into the seat post to mark it with an RFID. Is that a good idea, or is there something better?

I can add it to the household insurance, and I always chain my bike up when I'm out, but I'm thinking with a new bike I ought to be a bit careful.

 

[cyberknight]

I've just got a new bike, a Specialized Ariel Sports Disc, and I'm used to a tatty old bike that probably didn't look like it was worth stealing. At home it's in the shed, locked to a table leg, so I need to do something a bit better there. Maybe if I lock all the bikes (three of them) together it will be a deterrant.

I saw the Immobolise scheme and they're selling an immobitab that you drop into the seat post to mark it with an RFID. Is that a good idea, or is there something better?

I can add it to the household insurance, and I always chain my bike up when I'm out, but I'm thinking with a new bike I ought to be a bit careful.

You could get a D lock set into a bucketful of cement as an anchor to chain the bikes to if you cant install a ground/ wall anchor into something solid , i cut a hole in the floor and installed a ground anchor into the concrete hard-standing then used abus / motor bike chains + padlocks.

 

[S.Giles]

Just for the record (see my post on page 1 of this thread) my bike was actually stolen. I was able to find a replacement at Halfords though, a discontinued hybrid with hydraulic brakes. It wasn't such a bad deal after all - a considerable upgrade for £200 total cost.

I still hope no good comes of the thief though.

 

[sykes179]

if you fold the rear seats down will it not fit in the back of your car?

 

[steveindenmark]

Most thefts are opportunist thefts. They will take it if they dont have to mess around with locks or alarms. In my experience, thieves hate noise.

To that end lock your bike to something that doesnt move or at least another bike. Just locking a wheel is of no use if they can pick the bike up, move it 100 yards and come back for it later.

Fit a simple, cheap, movement alarm to the bike. You can get them on e Bay.

Go one step further and add a more expensive tracking system.

When I read reports of stolen bikes I am always surprised as to how brief the write ups are. It could help other owners if they are told what locks were used, how was it locked, the sort of location etc.

What sort of bike carrier does the OP have? My bikes are locked to the carrier with a cable and the carrier is wired to the tow bar. You cannot steal the bikes or the towbar.

 

[sidevalve]

Beware of the cheap m/cycle chains - they are easy to cut especially if the crook is hidden in a garage and has a little time to wield a big bolt cropper [always easier to do if the chain is on the floor - you can just bounce on the cropper handles]. If you park in a car park with the bikes on the back park in the most obvious place there is - It won't stop them but it might deter them. Thieves hate publicity and they don't know which of the people milling around might be you and a bunch of friends. Finally cables can be tricky to cut unless the cutters used are new and the blades meet closely [try cutting those brake cables with an old pair of cutters] and the cheaper [and more common] rat tends to use the same old croppers for a while.

 

[lpretro1]

All of ours are done using the uv Datatag - once on it is invisble except under uv light - it is easy for Police to look for it as all it requires is a cheap uv torch. Not many of Police forces are able to read the chip type tag as special equipment is needed

 

[jefmcg]

Just for the record (see my post on page 1 of this thread) my bike was actually stolen. I was able to find a replacement at Halfords though, a discontinued hybrid with hydraulic brakes. It wasn't such a bad deal after all - a considerable upgrade for £200 total cost.

I still hope no good comes of the thief though.

I've never been sadder to be right. How did you lose it? From home, or locked in the street?

Still, nice deal from Halfords!

 

[RichardB]

It is locked to the carrier but to be honest anyone with a penknife could cut the carrier away and off they go. Not ideal if I have to stop at services etc

Is this the type of carrier with nylon straps? I bought a length of plastic-coated cable with loops at each end from Aldi/Lidl. It's about 2m long and I use it to secure the bikes to the towball carrier (carrier is locked to the car). But you could just as easily wrap it round the bikes, feed the ends of the cable through the hatch/boot opening and slam the boot on it. It would appear to be secured and might deter an opportunist thief. Better if you could padlock it to something inside the boot of the car, but more hassle. Good enough for a quick coffee stop, I would have thought.

 

[Globalti]

Thanks folks. My bike is in the house overnight and when I'm out I never stop for water or coffee etc. I'm more concerned for when I travel to work (I work 2 week shifts away from home) and it's on the cycle carrier on the car. It is locked to the carrier but to be honest anyone with a penknife could cut the carrier away and off they go. Not ideal if I have to stop at services etc

Why don't you take the wheels off and put the bike inside the car? It will save fuel and protect the bike from road salt, theft and damage.