For the second time in less than a year, someone has come over our wall and taken a bike from our back garden.

We are an end-of-terrace on a short cul-de-sac, with nothing behind us but a single block of small flats and the small, corresponding car park. It is definitely NOT an obvious target.

The thieves from last year were found and arrested by police, and while it could be the same people, I wouldn’t have thought so.

Our garden is surrounded by a 6-ft brick wall, with an additional 3-ft of wire fence lining the top precisely with a view to slowing down potential thieves. Our garden, meanwhile, has very bright motion-sensor lights that cover the entire area.

All of our bikes are double-locked to steel bike racks that are bolted into a stone wall separating us from our next-door neighbour. As far as I can tell, there is nothing more we can do.

The thing is, we don’t have a huge property, and so don’t have anywhere else to store the bikes. At the same time, there is no realistic way of trimming down the number that we have, so we really do have a storage problem. Consequently, I don’t know what to do. We clearly can’t sustain an annual theft!

So what I’m asking is: do you have any advice on how I can make our garden more secure? Or make our house less attractive as a target? Or something. Anything.

That sucks Saxon, hopefully it’ll turn up. In the mean time you could think about one, or more, of the following.

Asgard shed
Motion alarms in said shed
A dog, with beware of the dog signs (on gates, not dog)
Planting spike bushes along the wall (ideally the outside)
Cover bikes (can they be seen from the flats?)
Limit visibility of bikes when transporting them
Light gates with bing-bongers along walls (cats would set off though)

Hope you find something suitable :/ I’m still nervour since our old house got done over

You say you’re overlooked by a small block of flats, is that an adequate vantage point for someone to see into the garden from Including access/egress routes?

If so the best bet might be to ensure they’re out of any potential line of sight, could you construct a lean to/shed over the bike storage area to keep them completely out of sight? Any time a thief has to access a building/structure they can’t be sure what they’re going to find and that serves as a bit of a deterrent, plus it can be alarmed…

I don’t have a huge property either, I make room for them indoors.
Sheds, garages outdoors etc, they are as good as stolen already.

once they know you have something worth stealing they will come back. They expect you claim on insurance and restock the bikes. Not much help I know but that’s why they came back a second time. Build something in concrete block with steel door for bikes?

blank cartridge shotgun trip mines for the win, got 2 in my shed but there’s not much worth stealing apart from a power washer.

What? So they’ve scaled 6ft and then 3ft of wire fence and still got over… unreal!

So I’m guessing by this, the bikes were outside but well locked? And they got past those…. it’s so annoying! We’re getting an Asgard shed after having them stolen from a measly wooden shed

Are they in a shed or bolted to the wall ? ie on full display ?

Cops say round our way thieves go for easiest first so bikes on display is an open invitation.

Mine are in a shed inside filing cabinets (big ones) broken in to twice and they have never got near the vines the alarm has sent them running.

IMO too much security draws attention too as it proves you have something worth stealing.

Also unfortunately your on to a looser if you have had bikes nicked before they will come back, you actually need to wait until that generation of thief has grown up before you can leave bikes outside again

did the thieves cut your locks?

Really good locks that are bolt cutter proof work IME. I use the top of the range kryptonite one – cost over £100, weighs 2 kilos but has a shackle that is 18mm so bolt cropper proof.

How did the break the locks? Sounds like you have already done a lot

Build a shed.
Keep them inside.
Everything else it a waste of time really, I got a cheap shed, a lot of locks and hid it all.

bombers?

What locks did you have? Could you add barbed wire to your wire fence?

I use the top of the range kryptonite one – cost over £100,

Top of Kryptonite’s range perhaps, but probably not all that top of the range.

An Asgard is probably the best option

You could add some anticlimb paint to you upper fence sections

Yep and as said the best locks are simply something to slow down somebody who is prepared
https://www.nytimes.com/video/opinion/100000001423494/bike-thief.html

You’re screwed. You’ve told the world that you leave valuable things in your garden. Start looking for a new house. Good luck selling the old one – it looks like it has a security problem.

Grow some mean plants up your wall

Lots of very sharp things
Lots of very loud things
Little “chat” with certain local scrotes with an implicit warning……
Worked for me in the old house,

Good insurance. There’s nothing you can do to completely protect them, and you’ve already done a lot, so don’t waste any more time/effort/money on deterrents – spend it on good insurance and accept that its part of life. Get new for old cover and enjoy regular, if unpredictable, new bike day.

Some sort of CCTV? Fitted high up on the house looking down over the garden, so that it’s visible to anyone who looks at the house over the wall.

You have to assume its someone from the block of flats or somebody has seen you with your bikes. This cant be a passing burglar as it seems you have high walls/hedges etc. They went to all that trouble to get in to your garden so they already knew it was worth the hassle. As this appears to be the only place to house bikes i suggest you put in as much security as possible to either stop or delay them. If there is a failed attempt then change the security again as they will then know what tools they need so as not to fail again. I would suspect you could be in for many repeated attempts so build something around them or put them in something so at least anybody looking knows you mean business.

As far as I can tell, there is nothing more we can do.

Almax chains are an order of magnitude tougher than normal locks. Need an angle grinder to break.

Also alarms on the bikes. Or, build a wooden shed and alarm that. Don’t think you could get an Asgard shed in there without a crane. And CCTV – webcam types are cheap as chips these days.

The dog idea isn’t a bad one either.

Re sheds, you could build one from bricks and mortar perhaps, or some kind of concrete affair.

Another option is anti climb paint on top of the wall, like barbed wire you have to have signage up though

Aren’t the Asgard sheds built from flat Packs?

Go to a motorcycle shop and buy a concrete-in ground anchor and a chain so thick it dwarfs bolt cutters. Motorcycle Sold Secure Gold would be a good start this is a much higher standard than cycle Sold Secure Gold.

..and out of view.

I’d consider hiding the bikes under a tarp as well

We got a local agricultural fabricator to weld a storage container to my spec. Angle iron frame with plate welded on for sides and a door with an internal flange so it can’t be pried. Internally bolted to the floor. Its 8′ * 4′ * 4′ and fits 6 bikes if you try properly the cost was comparable to an Asgard but it’s got more space.

Aren’t the Asgard sheds built from flat Packs?

Sort of but very much not in the way IKEA furniture is.

For best results you want them bolted to the ground which means properly flat concrete and takes more space than you might think, but they’re really quite solid. You’re looking at powered steel cutting equipment to get in in any sort of reasonable time unless you’ve done something really silly with the lock.

I’m not sure if this is a feasible option, only came to mind after reading the thread this morning.

Scaffold alarm or a driveway/perimeter alarm with both siren and GSM mobile call function. They are fully weatherproof and designed to work in an open outdoor environment, it might be worth a bit of investigation?

After our bike theft a couple of years ago, I have an alarmed wooden shed with three different bolts on the door. I also have a cheap, but loud alarm on the door, should they get through the bolts.

Then I have an Almax chain running through the bikes and then through an old d-lock embedded in a bucket full of concrete.

After buying the Canyon Ultimate (which is currently leaning against our fireplace, and therefore making the fireplace redundant) I ordered an Asgard shed. Which surprisingly seemed to have a 6 week lead time, and should arrive in a couple of weeks.

We have an asgard bunker after two failed attempts at theft from our old place (£££’s of tools right next to the bikes in the shed, only after the bikes :roll:), bikes locked through a ground anchor sunk into the floor then shed built over the top.

Each layer of protection ‘should’ slow them down enough to make them think it’s not worth it. Make hassle for them, if at all possible, take a wheel out of the bike and store somewhere else. Sounds obvious but if they can’t ride the bikes away once nicked, they shouldn’t want to draw any attention to themselves carrying a bike with one wheel.

The only thing that could happen is if the bikes are locked up but accessible (even with a top of the range lock) then they may just cut through the frame instead.

Bit of a daft one but after a theft I was nervous about keeping mine outside. As a compromise with the good lady I took the front wheels and seat posts off my bikes and kept them in the house.

My reckoning was that if they could not ride the bikes away it might deter them and it’s not too much trouble putting the wheel/seat post back in when I wanted to use them.

Keep them in the house. Shed full of tools broken into and they only took the bikes. Arseholes.

Threads like this make me so glad I’ve got a Cellar.

Asgard’s biggest shed is £1300. Not bad considering how much wooden sheds go for at that size. I’d also want Almax chains inside and a ground anchor through the floor – can you do that?

Threads like this make me so glad I’ve got a Cellar.

How many bike thieves do you have down there? 👿

I don’t have a huge property either, I make room for them indoors.

+1 Got some racking taking up most of one wall in my small 2nd bedroom, takes 4 bikes + all my kit.

Not enough. Not until they are all down there.

Would it be possible to put a roof and three walls up around the racks/against the wall to at least get them out of sight? Added bonus, gets them out of the weather.

How many bike thieves do you have down there? 😈

None.

Yet.

But my 9 bikes are safe..