My shed will be built this week. Got 3 bikes to go into it.

Already got alarm, security screws and clasps for the doors.

What would you buy? I’m thinking of buying a BBB parking lot to stand the bikes up then securing back of bikes to ground anchors, get a baby monitor and maybe even put another layer of wood on the inside.

I know if someone wants to get in they will, just could do with some advice. Also I’m not exactly loaded aftre christmas!

I assume the shed will be in the garden? good idea to get decent security lights. Good deterrent as nobody wants to be seen. Some say it just helps them see to break in which is wrong as they most likely will have a torch.

What ground anchors and chains will you use?

Blank shotgun cartridge tripwire alarm. Wakes the dead and scares the willies out of whoever trips it (they also go deaf for a few minutes).

To be honest I’m not entirely sure, one reason for posting this is to see if people can recommend any that don’t cost the earth.

I’ve heard of filling a garden trough with cement and mounting anchors in that is a good way of doing it in a wooden shed.

I’ve currently got 2 D-locks and a pretty decent chain too.

Also got a shed alarm too.

Make sure you are properly insured.
Make sure the door is properly secure.
16mm minimum Chain and closed shackle padlock (squire). Try and make sure there is no chain loose on the floor so croppers can not be used stood on for leverage.
Maybe a shed alarm, an extra alarmed padlock (think lots of noise).
Line the inside with chicken wire / sheep netting to hinder cutting through the shed. Beef up the structure so you can’t just lift up the shed or lift the roof.

Mine is chained in the garage using:

19mm Bike chain (cannot be bolt cropped
Squire heavy duty padlock
Ground anchor bolted and cemented into the ground.

I think you have the right idea regarding security, and if they have to be in a shed then thats fine.

I second the recommendations made by cloudnine, make sure you have correct insurance and that they cover for the locks you use.

Get a flood light 🙂

May I recommend again the re-enforcing the shed with rebar.
Very cheap. The 8 by 6 foot grids usually dropped into cement. Screw it to the inside of the shed walls and roof.Connect together with anything from jubilee clips to weld.
Stops the smashing the wall in or the favorite around here the lifting the roof off.
Side effect you have lots of points to high or clip tyres, bars etc.

Like this?

http://www.wickes.co.uk/Wickes-Galvanised-Steel-Reinforcing-Mesh-115mmx20m/p/224683?CAWELAID=120135120000011753&CAGPSPN=pla&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=&utm_campaign=Google%20Shopping%20-%20Building%20Materials&tmcampid=&tmad=c&tmplaceref=&tmcustom=mkwid|s_dc|pcrid|43364522812|kword||match||plid|&gclid=CLSHxbeC_MkCFcoaGwodRv0D0Q

Whatever the insurance company stipulate.

I was talking to a mate who’s a police man about burglary’s in my area. He said they can’t keep up with them as its gotten ridiculous. These idiots know they have a minimum of 5 mins before the police can get there.
Because of this they don’t even care what time of day it is. If they think your out there turning up in daylight and chucking a paving slap through the patio door and taking what they want..for example.

Personally I don’t believe a wood built shed will give the determined and issues pinching some valuable bikes.

Best security is to make sure you don’t advertise what you’ve got. There can be random break ins of course. But many are the product of researching bike, club, forums and Facebook pages.

howabout a concrete sectional shed instead of timber

No,
This stuff Rebar

Already got the shed pretty much built.

Totally understand what people are saying, and I know if someone wants to get in they will, just trying to learn from what others have done.

My cousin lined his shed with a iron railing and gate, it just looks like a wooden fence on the outside. He also has geese

But many are the product of researching bike, club, forums and Facebook pages.

Could you share your evidence for this?

A big dog who sleeps in the same place as your bike.
A friend of mine has the following alarm. Wireless, battery operated sensors (last a min of 2 years and indicate when running low), control panel can be located (anywhere) in house (and plugged into mains/telephone line to phone you when triggered and set remotely via phone), alarm box fitted high up on house and makes one hell of a racket. I helped him fit it and was ridiculously easy. They even do a mouseproof PIR.
http://www.screwfix.com/p/yale-premium-wireless-alarm-kit/54473?cm_sp=Search-_-SearchRec-_-Area1&_requestid=82222#_=p
Make it as difficult as possible for them, to slow them down, and noisy while they’re trying, to broadcast their presence. A shed’s not going to stop a determined thief.

(You have to buy the mouseproof PIR separately, because the ones that come with it are ordinary ones)

1st break in.
Pulled the hasp locks off. We re-enforced by putting additional wood as spacers/washers on the inside of the door & wall bolted through.

2nd break in
Smashed the roof in:
Amusingly they also stole the ground anchor after digging it out of the floor.
We got a new shed due to the damage. Lots of additional screws (cheap fix) Used lots of drilled flat bar to connect all the walls and floor and roof (cheap fix)
Paneled the inside in the re-enforcing grid (cheap fix)
Had a door bar put on the shed door. Home made 4ft long bar which slides through loops both sides of the door with a protected lock.(filaw made)
Additional sensor added from house alarm (wireless and cheap)

3rd break in . Tried to lift roof off. Failed. Very little damage.

We have no other choices for storage and whilst I understand the limitations of shed security it’s our best option.

Not sure about a big dog, got this…

https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xtp1/v/t1.0-9/12391121_119162495123946_8838134340596243269_n.jpg?oh=f8e779d3c672d94fc25d4d20b38091c6&oe=5720B391

Could you share your evidence for this?

A few years ago Bristol MTB club had a weekend skills course. Only advertised on our forum. I went to the Saturday session. That night the guy giving the skill course (well known MTB skills coach) stayed with our president. Someone broke in that night and stole all their bikes.

Also we had a spate a few years ago of white vans turning up at chainreaction and bike fest late at night. Reported leaving early in the morning by security who hadn’t challenged them. Result many bikes taken from tents etc.

These are ones I personally went to and saw the aftermath. I live locally so didn’t stay overnight before the event.

Well worth checking that you aren’t leaving a trail of information that can lead to your bike. They also know that expensive bikes are likely to be replaced via insurance so often hit the same place a few months later.

I personally don’t subscribe to the follow them home theory. But an interesting exercise is put yourself in the thieves shoes. How would you find out about your bike and then steal it?

My bike goes in my car but often MTB as well from home. The area you live in or lose to might also increase the likelihood of a break in.

If your shed or garage from the outside looks like Fort Knox I would think you had something worth stealing and worth further investigation.

Steel mesh screwed to inside of shed then clad with plywood or OSB, internally,

Steel mesh and curtains over any windows,

baby monitor, covert cctv,

Builders band over roof and fixed internally,available from toolstation or screwfix

Bolts through hinges 3 hinges and reinfrorce door on inside,

Decent padlock and hasp ,

oh and secure floor to walls with builders band, heard of a shed being tiped on its side and floor ripped off.

The side where the hinges are i’ve got a few lengths of chain before {top and bottom of the door } and anchored each end to the door and shed , so if they prise the hinges of the shed the chain stops the door from opening out , if you get my drift .
Anything that slows the scum bags down all works .

I would do the best you can, and invest in good insurance above all else.

A few years ago Bristol MTB club had a weekend skills course. Only advertised on our forum. I went to the Saturday session. That night the guy giving the skill course (well known MTB skills coach) stayed with our president. Someone broke in that night and stole all their bikes.

Also we had a spate a few years ago of white vans turning up at chainreaction and bike fest late at night. Reported leaving early in the morning by security who hadn’t challenged them. Result many bikes taken from tents etc.

These are ones I personally went to and saw the aftermath. I live locally so didn’t stay overnight before the event.

Well worth checking that you aren’t leaving a trail of information that can lead to your bike. They also know that expensive bikes are likely to be replaced via insurance so often hit the same place a few months later.

I personally don’t subscribe to the follow them home theory. But an interesting exercise is put yourself in the thieves shoes. How would you find out about your bike and then steal it?

My bike goes in my car but often MTB as well from home. The area you live in or lose to might also increase the likelihood of a break in.

If your shed or garage from the outside looks like Fort Knox I would think you had something worth stealing and worth further investigation.

It’s something I’ve puzzled about a lot too – especially after being burgled myself not long after joining Strava and wondering whether the events were linked.

In the end I decided I’d never know – and I think there’s probably a tendency to overestimate the sophistication of burglars’ methods. I’ve certainly never seen any solid evidence of them using Strava, forums etc. – just newspaper stories where someone’s been burgled and then says “they found me on Strava”, which somehow gets taken as gospel.

I suspect it does happen but is the exception rather than the rule. Most burglars appear to be more random, probably feeding a drug habit.

It’s whoever is buying the many, many stolen bikes that we really need to find out about anyway IMO.

chakaping – Member

I suspect it does happen but is the exception rather than the rule. Most burglars appear to be more random, probably feeding a drug habit.

It’s whoever is buying the many, many stolen bikes that we really need to find out about anyway IMO.

IMlimitedE, most junkies flog their stolen wares at Cash Converters and you’d think that any quality mountain bike would stand out in that fine establishment. 🙁

Not sophisticated and random? You have to have a market to sell on this sort of stuff. We’re not talking about the odd random bike. £14M worth of bikes

http://road.cc/content/news/111262-£100k-reward-offered-after-£14-million-bikes-and-stolen-after-london-bike-show

Here are the other links

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/bike-thefts-at-events

Not random but targeted. The thieves are quite capable of doing their homework and have a buyer otherwise they would be doing it.

Agree random junkie can grab a bike etc.

The first stage is to stop them before they reach the shed. Garden perimeter; fence / hedge, PIR lighting etc and hopefully they move on
Second stage is the security of the shed, as above ^^
Third stage is the security of the bikes inside, ground anchors, etc, and your tools (inc garden tools) so that they can’t be used against the house and bike locks

My shed is at the side of the house.

It has a motorcycle chain which is used as a ground anchor. It is impossible to get out of the ground as it runs under a board with 100 nails in it and concrete underneath that.
There is a D-Lock from the motorcycle chain going round the frame of each bike.
There is an alarm which alerts a siren inside the house, so if someone does get in the shed, the alarm will alert me and there is no way they’d be able to get through that chain or D Lock any time quickly.
Basically it is impossible for them, unless no one is in the house. But they come round during the early hours of the morning so I’ll always be in.
I’ve also put nails down behind the shed as I’ve known thieves to lift fence panels up to get in. Imagine how overjoyed I was to find that one morning the fence panel had been lifted and one of the nails looked like it had been stood on!! (it had been pushed right through the other side of the wood)! The thieves don’t always win.

always get the biggest anchor you can afford

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNGTOf8DqNU[/video]

Anyone seen any decent chains/locks in the sales?

Hinge bolts are a cheap way of securing the door. My experience is that sheds generally have flimsy hinges and once they are levered or cut through the door can be lifted off. Hinge bolts stop this. Also bolt the hinges and use a ply pattess behind so the don’t pull through the door if they are pryed.

Big bucket of concrete with bent reebar loops buried in is saved my mates bike.

http://www.toolstation.com/m/part.html?p=30917

There have been a spate of bike thefts in the Scottish borders, seemingly random all high end bikes. There is however a link neither facebook nor strava. Police are on the case.

Does anyone use the garden trough filled with concrete and a ground anchor installed in this method? I’ve just had my bike nicked (as well as house burgled) – stupidly I was using a crappy galvanised boat hook thing as an anchor.

I reckon the big lump of concrete on the shed floor with the bike shackled to it with a decent chain and anchor will put off all except specialist bike thieves?

Other than this my only other option is to install the anchor on the side of the house or through a patio and use a tarp to protect the bike from the elements.

Any advice gratefully received – my options are limited (as is my DIY ability).

This is exactly what I’m thinking of doing Danny, seems cheap and effective and I don’t have to be making any holes in the shed either.

I’ve got a few days off after tomorrow and will be looking at securing the shed, I shall report back.

Mate uses an old land rover engine block as an anchor (chain through one of the bores)

It’s also got a vice mounted on it ……

I wouldn’t use a garden trough a bucket would be a much better bet as it weighs more.

I have mine locked with two D-locks to a Sheffield hoop.
Garage has PIR alarm
Outside PIR light
Down a driveway between two houses with no other access.
A couple of cheaper bikes in the garage not locked up, hopefully they will go with the easy option and take them.

I’ve got 3 bikes all stood up on their back wheel so was thinking a trough would cater for all 3?

This is exactly what I’m thinking of doing Danny, seems cheap and effective and I don’t have to be making any holes in the shed either.

I’ve got a few days off after tomorrow and will be looking at securing the shed, I shall report back.

I got a garden trough, ground anchor (ordered) and 4 bags of postcrete yesterday. Given that I will need to use at least three bags of postcrete plus water, I reckon it will end up weighing something in the region of 80-100kg. It will also be shackled with a quality lock to the bike. Either they’re going to have to break the block or cut the chain/anchor, or they are going to have to carry the lot. Neither of which seems worthwhile (it is only going to have one steel hardtail locked to it).

Hopefully this will do the biz. 😐