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Locking up bikes at home....

40 posts & 28 voices | Started 1 year ago by charlierevell | Latest reply from hilldodger

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security

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charlierevell - Member

Afternoon all!

I'm just about to move house and am looking at options to secure the bikes. Ive got 4 in total probably worth £14,000.
M&S will cover these and my expensive road bike (£7000ish), however id like to avoid claiming if I can!
Property has a garage, un alarmed with an up and over door, side window(not double glazed) and a side door which is pretty flimsy.
Its only a rental but the landlady has said I can up security if I wish.

Would you look at ground anchors, blanking windows, strengthen doors etc and a couple of £100 locks.
Or something like this... Asgard

Any other ideas would be much appreciated!
And No im not going to tell you where it is!

Posted 1 year ago #
crispedwheel - Member

however id like to avoid claiming if I can

Keep them in the house.

EDIT: I wouldn't keep anything worth that much in a garage, no matter what security you need to add to what sounds like a pretty flimsy garage at the moment.

Posted 1 year ago #
uplink - Member

A ground anchor & a lot of noise that can't easily be silenced

Posted 1 year ago #
TandemJeremy - Member

Serious locks and ground anchors ( several hundred pounds worth) and alarms - or keep them in the house

Posted 1 year ago #
jimmyjames - Member

I wouldn't keep anything worth that much in a garage, no matter what security you need to what sounds like a pretty flimsy garage at the moment

What, even a car?

Posted 1 year ago #
z1ppy - Member

For that investment in bikes, I'd be investing in an alarm for the garage, ground anchors, several big chains {so they can't just strip parts), extra security locks for the garage door, a more secure side door (with extra security bolts) and grates to cover the window to start with....

Check out these threads:
http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/tags/security

EDIT: the asgard bike locker is a great idea, but if they can get into your garage and out of sight, they might have time to work on it's lock without being disturbed. I'd happily use one but would still want to secure the garage better too.

Posted 1 year ago #
crispedwheel - Member

What, even a car?

Not relevant in my case.
OP - what percentage of the £21k worth of the bikes are you prepared to spend to secure them?

Posted 1 year ago #
oxym0r0n - Member

Get some window frosting that is security rated:

I *think* this is where I got mine from:

http://www.windowfilmfactory.com/index.htm

Posted 1 year ago #
doof_doof - Member

Just got a 16mm chain and anchor from these guys:

http://www.pjbsecurity.co.uk/chains-and-padlocks-for-motorcycles/

Posted 1 year ago #
spooky_b329 - Member

In the house. Failing that, beef up the garage security but don't make it obvious from the outside. Rags or mirror film over the side window to hide any bars or grid behind it, and use several different types of locks and secure the bikes to stuff like the lawnmower. Ground anchor, lock the garage door down from the inside etc. And dont parade the bikes home on top of the car or leave the garage open to the street whilst working on the bikes.

Posted 1 year ago #
40mpg - Member

All the above plus keep your angle grinder and bolt croppers in doors, not in nthe garage.

Posted 1 year ago #
muppetWrangler - Member

Given that it's a rented property and you're not likely to want to make expensive permanent or non portable changes I would do the following:

Asgard bike store (or similar) kept inside the garage. Keep all cutting tools either inside the asgard or preferably in the house.

Position the asgard so that it cannot be in plain view from the windows, so that at a casual glance it is not easily identifiable.

Set a ground anchor in place below the asgard (you may need to cut a whole in the base of the asgard) and use a 19mm security chain to lock the bike inside the unit.

If the garage has power try and isolate that and get in the habit of not leaving power to the garage when not in use. It's not unknown for thieves to break into neighbouring sheds and garages to nick tools so there is no need to supply them with the electricity to use them.

Finally fit a shed alarm.

If it were not rented I would also look at changing the garage door and adding bars to the inside of the windows.

There is no way to stop a determined thief that specifically want what you have but you can deter a large percentage by making it so awkward and time consuming that they will move on to a softer target.

Posted 1 year ago #
Nicknoxx - Member

It's going to be expensive and pointless to prevent determined people getting into the garage so you've got to prevent them nicking stuff when they do. You need a decent ground anchor, chains and padlock. Almax is the king of chains and they supply (other peoples) ground anchors and padlocks too. An alarm wouls be a good investment too. You'll be able to take it all with you when you move again (except the anchor).

Posted 1 year ago #
FuzzyWuzzy - Member

+1 for Almax stuff, probably worth getting a decent alarm as well (although I've not bothered yet). I did try a cheapy shed alarm but couldn't be bothered with the batteries so would advise a mains powered one if you can. Some people also use baby monitors but not bothering with that myself.

Posted 1 year ago #
carlos - Member

+2 for Almax. My anchor came with me, took 15 mins hard very noisey work with a Hilti percussion drill to get it out mind. Lobbed some post mix from TP into the hole to neaten it up. A new 19mm allen key anchor fastener and refitted it at new house.

Posted 1 year ago #
ross980 - Member

What, even a car?

Yeah, because a car can be picked with one hand and thrown in the back of a Transit

Posted 1 year ago #
molgrips - Member

a couple of £100 locks.

Forget those, go with Almax.

I saw the pictures and wondered how they could be so good, they just look like chain. Well when they arrived I realised that what the pictures lacked was scale. They are about 5 times the size of normal bike locks. I bought 2x2m and they were hard to lift...

We have a monitored alarm with police response. Good for peace of mind.

Posted 1 year ago #
MrTall - Member

I have all my bikes in my integral garage and they are all locked up with a variety of locks. About 4 decent D-locks and 2 decent chains (plus a few cables through the forks etc and a few cheapish combination locks). Chained up at least 3 deep to make it harder to carry them out/ strip parts from etc.

The up and over doors are not great from a security point of view but i have additional padlocks inside on each corner of mine to hopefully beef up the security although i don't know if it could be ripped up from the middle?

I hate the thieving scumbags out there as i spend so much time locking up and unlocking my bikes on a nearly daily basis. I have no ground anchors but i have two in the garage wall but they are not particularly heavy duty, but it all helps i guess.

Posted 1 year ago #
charlierevell - Member

Thanks for the replies.... the 7k is included in my 14k total.
Id be looking at the asgard under the window (So they cant see it so well!)
Putting dead locks into the frame of the main garage door to stop it being pealed.
I'd also put a bit more bulk on the side door and add some better locks.
Have thought about putting my work bench in front of it too.
Will put film on the windows. I want the bikes anchored inside the asgard as well, already have 2 d locks but one of those big almax chains would be a good idea.

Cant to much about the neighbours as they're all of the mooing variety! Its a lodge house with no other houses for 1km ish. However its next to a fairly busy main road.
Main tools would go in the asgard too and id be tempted to try and alarm the unit and the garage.

Posted 1 year ago #
molgrips - Member

although i don't know if it could be ripped up from the middle?

Mine was. Bolting the corners will not help you.

Posted 1 year ago #
midlifecrashes - Member

Work on upping the security of the side door and the roof. Get some medium density blocks and brick up the main door on the inside, cheaper than locks and not that hard to get rid of when you move.

Posted 1 year ago #
RealMan - Member

my expensive road bike (£7000ish)

pics?

Posted 1 year ago #
muppetWrangler - Member

and don't post pictures of your bikes or of the finished security arrangements.[edit] You might as well just ride around the local area shouting "look at my very expensive bicycle"[edit]

I did an experiment once to try and find out where forum folk lived in about 75% of cases I could get the full address in around 15 minutes just by doing a few searches.

Posted 1 year ago #
MrTall - Member

Thanks Molgrips.

More sleepless nights for me now......

Posted 1 year ago #
jimjam - Member

Reading this thread with interest as I've just moved into a new house with a garage and was considering a ground anchor and chain to secure the bike. Then I watched this video. Eye opening stuff. Presumably there are ways to get through U locks easily too.

I currently keep my bike in the house but worry about going away at weekends etc, it's only a broken window away from being nicked.

Posted 1 year ago #
molgrips - Member

Almax have a video on their site showing someone trying to crop their chain. The biggest boltcroppers (which are apparently hard to get hold of) and a huge bloke could not get through. They are simply massive.

Posted 1 year ago #
SiB - Member

If a determined well equipped scumbag wants to pinch your bikes theres a good chance they will be successful, its the 'novices' that will be deterred by all security systems mentioned above. Its sad the world is like this. Its like if a burgular wants to get in to your house they will do eventually.

Fingers crossed for you with all that lovely bling, I know I would chain myself to said bikes at night time and buy a guard dog to keep in garage during the day.

Posted 1 year ago #
SiB - Member

Loft space? Big hassle to get up there but if it means your bikes are safe......

Posted 1 year ago #
molgrips - Member

Supposedly the only way through an Almax chain is with an angle grinder.

I live in a quiet but densely populated cul-de-sac.

Posted 1 year ago #
toys19 - Member

Just got a 16mm chain and anchor from these guys:

http://www.pjbsecurity.co.uk/chains-and-padlocks-for-motorcycles/

Or get an almax 19mm chain. I have 2.5 metres and lock all my bikes together with this, there is no possible way they will get the whole bundle out if the door.

Posted 1 year ago #
Ming the Merciless - Member

Another +vote for Almax

Posted 1 year ago #
jd-boy - Member

Spare bedroom is were the bikes live I thought

Posted 1 year ago #
Nicknoxx - Member

Although Almax chains are excellent, (I recommended them up there) they can be defeated with hydraulic croppers. All you can do is make it difficult enough so they go elsewhere.

Posted 1 year ago #
molgrips - Member

How many crooks have hydraulic croppers?

Posted 1 year ago #
saladdodger - Member

Perhaps the best security is not to gob off about what you have in public

Posted 1 year ago #