Dmiller email me on the email in my profile for some advice.
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How can I secure my bikes in a wooden shed?
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Posted 2 years ago #
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Where are you guys from, the Bronx?
Moodiesburn - or as a few of mates call it "The Ghetto!". Its just next to Glasgow / Cumbernauld but comes with a G69 post code. Which I'm proud off... Its actually not that bad, its a big council estate and quite poor but the people are 99.999% cool. Even the junkies will stop and have a chat to you in the street etc. Most crime here is pretty thievery of stuff thats easy to nick and drugs violence as the junkies have a pop at each other. Junkie fights are really funny as they are all talk and then dont want to get hit. Nothing funnier than two people slowly backing away from each other giving "come here so I can hit you!", "no you come here so I can hit you!" etc. If they actually do get it at usually the builder built like a tank (seriously strong guy, all muscle) will come out in his boxers (dunno why - always in his boxers) and sort them out.
So I dont need a armed guard and 4" thick walls, just enough to discourage them.
Anyway - Im hoping that if the bikes are to hard to pinch if anyone does have a pop at the shed they will be happy with just the lawnmower (sitting right by the door for ease of thieving)
Project - email sent thanks!
David.
Posted 2 years ago # -
If some one wants to get your bike they will.
All you can do is try and slow them down, and make as much noise as possible.
I will be putting bikes in a shed again after a couple of years in a cellar.
The exterior of the shed will not look any different to any other. However the area around the lock inside will be reinforced, I'll fit an alarm to the door. Theyre pretty cheap £10. Then I will make a hole in the floor and put a an anchor in place. Finally I will leave other stuff in the shed ie ladders & BBQ's all to make it more of a pain to get to the bikes.
The tirck is not to leave anywhere where the thief can get leverage, thats what makes it easier for them.
When I went through a spate of bike thefts a few years back the Police said that it tends to be either kids (who only go for the easy opportunist stuff) or professional scumbags who will either follow you home, or watch for you cleaning bikes etc.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Send me your e-mail, mines in profile and I'll throw in my 2p's worth
Posted 2 years ago # -
Thanks for all your suggestions!
I like the Shed Shackle the best but at close to £60 for it plus the cost of bolts etc that will need to wait a bit until I can afford that.
I came up with my own solution that cost me £15 all in - I bought:
- Hole cutting set for drill - £5. Meant for installing down lighters in plasterboard but cut through wood okay.
- Bolts, nuts, big washers, metal hoop on a metal plate - £5
- Premixed concrete stuff - £5Stage one was to build the "ground anchor". It needed to be tall enough to sink into the concrete and have enough shape to it to grip into the concrete once it dries.
It looks smaller in the pictures than in real life - the washers are at different heights to let the conrete flow around it. The bolts are round headed so you cant remove them.
Stage two, cut a hole in the shed floor, put a asda blue rubble sack down it, push the bag out so its much wider than the hole. This works well for me as my shed is only on a slab in each corner (wasnt me that put it up!). Stick some concrete into the bag and push it as far out and round as you can. Place the ground anchor in the hole and pack around it with concrete. Use gloves as concrete will annoy your skin.
Strage three, wait a bit and then tidy the hole.
Stage four, make a neat top plate to cover the hole. Mine has a smaller hole than the one I first cut as I think that is neater. Recess the screw holes and file the big hole so its neat. If you pre-drill the screw holes it helps stop the wood from splitting.
Stage five, screw the neat top in place, I also filed the corners slightly to round it off.
Job done - rock hopper secured!
I will of course use a better lock than that and plan to get some chain soon from a mate.
All the pictures are here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cenjui/sets/72157622320682370/
Thanks to every one for the help - including Paul who emailed me a good list of help full hints! Thanks!
Posted 2 years ago # -
Dmiller, you're having a laugh that ground anchor is worse than useless.
Posted 2 years ago # -
is how to do it, you could have got it made up for not much more than you paid for that junk hardware.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Good plan and well executed only issue I'd have is the anchor looks poor quality.
Posted 2 years ago # -
A for effort,however i reckon a Hamster could eat through the lock in about 3 mins !
Posted 2 years ago # -
Certainly the loop in dmillers looks pretty easily choppable with minor bolt cutters. One of the major hints suggested by chain manufacturers is to make sure the lock doesnt rest on or near the floor so that you cant get the force on the bolt cutters that you usually would when using bodyweight. And 40mm rebar is thick enough to pose a problem to pretty much anything other than an anglegrinder or shape charges
Posted 2 years ago # -
Squire ground anchors secured into a 6 inch thick concrete pad with extra reinforcing wires. Then the best and heaviest chain I could find. I think it's 11mm tungsten carbide hex, which is pretty hard to cut.
Posted 2 years ago # -
IanMmmm - thats pretty much what I wanted when I started - very neat as well!
BallsofCottonWool - yeah the anchor is the weak point I think. However I have used that type of loop before with expansion bolts into concrete walls for livestock and the bolts have sheared before the loop broke. I dont know how easy it would be to cut it with bolt cutters? I think the picture makes it look thinner than it is.
I like the rebar idea - Im planning to move house in a year (or so) so will be building my own shed then and may just use that idea! Thanks.
Thanks for the comment on flickr - I had a cheeky look through your pictures and DSCF7675 looks like you were having fun. Love cycling in the snow myself.
Oh and that crap asda lock was there for the picture. Stronger lock going on tonight and chain on the way from a mate in the merchant navy that has swagged a small bit for me.
David.
Posted 2 years ago # -
[To make a shed anchor to fix to the wall, use someof thes, posibly double up and bolt through from outside of shed, can also be used to cover the hinges.Just hammer flat, also double nut it on the inside with some large washers.
Posted 2 years ago # -
This has got me all worried, all my bikes hang from the ceiling unchained, and the garage door, has an old internal lock badly fitted by me, only the petrol mower is chained down and thats to the rowing machine, My bikes are not exensive, but they are the only ones i have and not insured seperatley from house/contents. Will be busy at the weekend I think...
Posted 2 years ago # -
"One of the major hints suggested by chain manufacturers is to make sure the lock doesnt rest on or near the floor so that you cant get the force on the bolt cutters that you usually would when using bodyweight."
Yup. But it's complete cobblers, part of the snake oil the lock industry peddles tbh, just designed to make you feel like you're doing more to secure the bike than you are (and also because it's a handy getout if your chain gets cut). I'm always a wee bit wary about mentioning these videos, because of the source, but if you check youtube for "captain cropper", you'll see a wide variety of chains cropped with hand tools, both on the ground and in the air. Zanx (who made the videos) reckons it's easier to cut a chain in the air... But, you do have to be aware that the videos were made by Almax, a lock manufacturer, so not exactly unbiased!
Posted 2 years ago # -
where do you get rebar from? how would you bend rebar into that shape? or get it cut to length?
Posted 2 years ago # -
look up steel reinforcing or concrete products and supplies in your local Yellow pages.
i used
http://sitebuilder.yell.com/sb/show.do?id=SB0001838476000020They'll cut and bend it to shape for you using big scary machines!
we had it bent to shape 98
Posted 2 years ago #
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