It appears to me that there are a lot of posts about bikes being stolen and can riders keep their eyes open for bikes if you’re in ‘x’ location, and it occured to me – does anyone not lock their bikes up in their garages or sheds? I’m guessing that bikes kept in the house are a slightly different case but bikes in sheds or garages are slightly more vunerable.

In my group of friends I know people who don’t lock their bikes at all and others who use 3 locks and have their shed alarmed, and a variety between too. So far I don’t know anyone who has had their bikes stolen and hopefully it will stay that way for some time to come.

Would you say that people who don’t use locks on their bikes whilst in storage are asking for trouble or is it all just bad luck and if a theif wants to get in an steal a bike, then nothing will stop them?

I live in a top floor (3 up) flat. I’ve had a GT BMX stolen whilst it was chained up! I think what happened was that thief lifted the ballestrade up and slid the lock over the railing.

I now lock my bike to the ballestrade! I also have the bike revolution/Kryptonite security QR codes on the frame and they will be getting a coat of clear lacquer over the top to prevent them being removed. It won’t prevent it being stolen obviously, but it make it harder for thieves to sell it on, and should help recover it.

Steve

I guess that’s something similar to the ‘datatag’ system. should help recover the bike(s) but probably wont actually prevent them being stolen. certainly something that more riders should be thinking about having.

I don’t lock mine up when it is in the garage and I don’t know anyone that does. If they are out of sight then a thief won’t go to find it. And even if someone did break in they are bound to steal something even if the bike is locked up. They would not break in and go away empty handed. The only times I’ve heard of people getting their bikes stolen is when they leave it unlocked outside a shop or locked up in town for a long time.

I generally don’t leave a bike anywhere vulnerable unlocked, that said, when I forget my lcok the bike has been at work and outside the (small local co-op) supermarket clipped to something with the helmet straps.

Lots of folk on here have had bikes stolen from sheds/garages, even houses.
Currently mine are in my kitchen and locked together, but when i renovate they are going in the shed. I don’t think the shed is that secure being mainly wooden, so i’m going to buy one of those security cabinets. Ok, £500 but they are solid steel, weigh 20 stone, bolt to the concrete floor and come with shielded locks.
It’s expensive, but if you bike is merely locked to a ground anchor they can take parts like forks, wheels, shocks etc. How? Well, they are in your garage, unseen and have tools around them, not difficult to dismantle a moderm bike with 3 or 4 different sized allen keys.

PeaslakeDave – Member
I don’t lock mine up when it is in the garage and I don’t know anyone that does. If they are out of sight then a thief won’t go to find it. And even if someone did break in they are bound to steal something even if the bike is locked up. They would not break in and go away empty handed. The only times I’ve heard of people getting their bikes stolen is when they leave it unlocked outside a shop or locked up in town for a long time.

Dave that a daft attitude, have you actually spent any time on here?
Stolen bike reported in the last week:
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That wasn’t even a througher search or exhaustive search of the forum posts.
No not all of them from garage/sheds but enough from secure locations that I won’t be leaving mine unlocked.

In my current house (croydon), I have 2 sheds, both padlocked. Inside both of these are ground anchors, bikes are D-locked together with cables running through the wheels and to the ground anchors.

one of the sheds has been broken into twice, probably just by kids… first time they didn’t take anything, second time they took some cheapy lights and the frame fit pump from my road bike.

If they hadn’t been locked, I expect they would have had them away.

The new house (cheltenham) has a big man-cave, which will have its doors locked firmly and ground anchors and chains used.

Dave

I have the most valuable bikes heavily chained up to the ceiling/beams. The cheap bikes have a sacrificial role.

i always lock mine to the floor of my shed , have 2 alarms 5 padlocks on the door (live in portsmouth) and if i ride to work it comes in with me , better safe than sorry

my bikes are locked up inside the house. and i keep the curtains drawn at all times in the bike room to stop anyone getting ideas. paranoid? maybe but between me and my lodger there is probably 10k of bikes in that room.

My bike is either inside with me, or being ridden.

Occasionally, it may be on the back of the car outside a petrol station, but only for a couple of minutes, and usually in plain sight.

On holiday is sometimes tricky, but I’ll do everything I can to secure it.

I had 3 MTBs nicked in the mid 90’s. Locking them in a stairwell just does not work, sooner or later they will be nicked. I’d be very wary about sheds as well, bolted and locked or not. Secured alarmed brick garages maybe more or less ok.

I don’t lock my bike when it’s in the shed, but this shed is brick, not wood. Currently waiting for delivery of ground anchors and some flexi locks to lock the bike into the floor for when i’m not about.

As for locking the bike up, i never lock my road bike up at work, just leave it in the bike stands outside of reception. (But it’s a secure site with records of who is on site, tag in and out of every room etc, so security is high). When i ride my mtb to work though, that gets locked.

Only time lock my bike up is outside of shops, or when i’m leaving my bike on the back of the car when i’m in a shop or someones house etc.

I had mine locked in my garage and they broke into the garage and cut the lock with a gas axe.

Bike gone, molten pool of metal where bike was.

I now keep my ‘best’ bikes indoors and my ‘other’ bikes in the garage all locked together with 3 ‘D’ locks and an Abus chain. The only problem I have is the time it take to get my bike out to go for a a ride.

It’s a proper pain in the arse

locking a number of bikes together is a good start… it isn’t very easy to make off with 6 bikes all locked up together, whereas it is very simple to run off with just one.

my preferred course of action is to have a ground anchor set into a large concrete block with a hefty security cable running through all the bike frames.

a determind thief would need a huge set of bolt croppers to cut through the cable, whereas all they would need for a d-lock is a bottle-jack which can easily be hidden in a jacket pocket.

Keep them in your house and don’t leave them anywhere locked or unlocked and the chances of your bike getting stolen are pretty slim.

It amazes me how many people keep bikes in sheds and garages, then moan when they get stolen. Would you leave 2k cash in your garage or shed?

I live in a block of flats in central Manchester… on the 9th floor, and I still lock my hardtail to the structure of the building outside on the balcony. The way I see it is, i’ve got the lock I might as well use it.

A question I have is I’ve started using my Thule 591 on the roof with locking bars and the locking ratchet for the carrier, how secure is that and should I be sticking another lock on there when i’m away for more than a minute or two?

It amazes me how many people keep bikes in sheds and garages, then moan when they get stolen. Would you leave 2k cash in your garage or shed?

It amazes me how many people think everyone lives in a house/flat big enough to accommodate multiple bikes, not to mention understanding partners.

Slightly off topic but…
One of the big problems with D locks is that, as mentioned, you only need a car jack to break them and cables can be cut. Is there anything on the market like the disc brake locks for motorbikes but big enough to go through the rear rotor and around a seatstay (almost like a long padlock)? That way any thief would have a high probability of damaging the very thing they want to steal if they used a gas torch/ cutting equipment.

My garage is pretty secure with an alarm, side bolts and loads of crap piled against the up and over door and a steel clad side door.
If someone can get past that they can get past anything else I put in and I’m insured so why create a faff by locking them up inside. Especially they do get in and then damage the bikes trying to get chains and locks off which may then not be covered by the insurance.

Wozza, do NOT rely on the lock on your thule! I had mine locked on top of car and the little scrotes managed to force the bike out quite easily! I was lucky i got my bike back though! I always put a big abus cable lock around the roof bars, back wheel and chain now but someone still tried ragging it off though last week, they tried taking the rear maxle out to take the bike without the locked on back wheel but think they struggled and left it!

Had my suspicions that it wouldn’t be the most reliable shaggmiester.

What do we recommend? Cable them together and lock to the cars rails?

and I’m insured so why create a faff by locking them up inside.

because your insurance says your bikes must be secured to an immovable object for them to pay out? Worth checking your small print as I’m pretty sure mine says something similar, I have a “chain” of bikes all locked to each other, locked to 2 motorbikes, one of which is alarmed.

We don’t lock the house, nevermind the shed.

Yes, basically, ideally use a long thick cable lock around roof bars and frame and into wheels, or two smaller locks, one around roof bars and back wheel, then another around frame and the other lock, and still keep it in sight! Would,nt even bother with thule lock! Once bitten twice shy!!! 😐

It amazes me how many people think everyone lives in a house/flat big enough to accommodate multiple bikes, not to mention understanding partners.

😆

What do you live in, a cardboard box?

Grow some balls and tell the Mrs its tuff shit, or put her most valuable item in the shed see how she likes it.

I keep them in the (brick) shed, and lock my bikes together and then have an addtional one which locks one of the frames to a huge gas bottle.