How to securely store a bike outdoors?

[nmh]

I?ve always stored my bike in the front room of the house but owing to a new arrival (baby) and storage limitations my other half is ?strongly advising? I store my bike in the small front porch/garden space. The same front space that almost all ED terraced houses have.

I?ve been using the same bike for 20 years and can pretty much guarantee that however I store the bike outdoors - it?ll be stolen.

Has anyone managed this successfully or am I just being negative?

I know about very strong d - locks, ground anchors, sturdy Asguard like sheds etc. but they all get broken into. I spoke to an Asguard shed owner yesterday and he said thieves levered the roof off and didn?t have to break the (very sturdy) padlock!

Bike hangers seem like an open buffet for bike thieves. And clearly get cleared out regularly.

Also - if my bike?s only worth say ?300, why spend up to ?400 on a shed? Plus all the extras.

My current thinking is a ground anchor in the front garden concrete, 2 x d -locks round the frame, a visible outdoor security camera and the bike stored under an open lean to (to protect from the worst of the elements). My thinking re this is that thieves can see what they?ll be having to go to the bother of stealing (a not very expensive bike). So they?ll have to weigh up 10 mins of angle grinding under the gaze of CCTV in the front porch for the sake of a ?300 bike.

Just wondering if anyone has deployed a system that seems to be holding up without a theft.

[Rockets]

I think the reality is, unfortunately, that if someone wants your bike enough they will get it. I am looking at an Asguard bike store at the moment but it seems from most forums that they will only slow the thieves down or might deter them if they think it will make too much noise. Ground anchors seem to be good to slow them down and definitely worth doing if you go for something like an Asguard.

There is also an argument that something like an Asguard attracts thieves as they presume an expensive bike is stored within it.

Bikes are very attractive to thieves at the moment. A friend of ours had a cargo bike stolen and, as they had it property marked, when they go it back (it was found in a shipping container with hundreds of other bikes), it still had the tracking sticker on it that the thieves had stuck to it. Apparently they stick them on the bikes to be able to follow them to where they are stored and then go to steal them.

[pablogrande]

We are looking at this too, it's worth checking your insurance as a lot seem to only cover bikes in front of houses if they are locked into ground anchor and as Rocket says it seems that Asguard units seem to attract thieves as much as protect.

I've decided to build something myself, the main thing is additional steel across that will be locked in place and solar lights that will be light up the inside really brightly whenever opened so hopefully this would at least slow anyone down.

good luck

[Sally Eva]

what did the tracking sticker look like? Would be worth keeping an eye out for them and taking them off if you find them on your bike.

[Greedy Girl]

If your home has high ceilings maybe you could try a wall mounted bike rack in a hallway inside? That would keep it safe and out of the way.

[peckman]

We have two bikes hanging off the wall in the hall. Much better option . And my work bike is in a bike hanger which I pay a small monthly subscription for. But I think best mantra is . If you are too attached to it for it to be nicked..dont leave it outside whatever the lick . Hang it high up in hallway and then you will have room for the buggy

[alex_b]

Could you store it in the back garden/shed? We have ours hanging vertically in a very narrow shed which keeps them dry and secure. Depending on what you use your bike for, would a folding bike work for you possibly cheaper than spending money on ground anchors etc?

[tomszekeres]

peckman Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> We have two bikes hanging off the wall in the

> hall. Much better option . And my work bike is in

> a bike hanger which I pay a small monthly

> subscription for. But I think best mantra is .

> If you are too attached to it for it to be

> nicked..dont leave it outside whatever the lick .

> Hang it high up in hallway and then you will have

> room for the buggy

Yeah that's what I did, and the critical thing is to D-lock it to the bracket too.

This one is the one I use:

https://cycloc.com/ps/

Both of my downstairs neighbours' (more expensive) bikes got stolen from our shared hallway, but mine got left - it was locked to wall.

[nmh]

I?ve currently got the bike on a vertical hanging thing in the front room - I?ve actually got a nicer (non commuting)bike on the bottom part of this. I?ve managed to negotiate keeping the more expensive bike in the front room! The hallway isn?t an option because it?s very narrow indeed and there?s no room out the back of the house.

I was actually thinking of a folding bike but they?re not cheap (even second hand) and you have to take them everywhere with you I.e theatres, pubs, restaurants etc. I?ve never seen a folding bike locked up outside in central London. Presumably because the owners carry them everywhere. But I?d find that a major inconvenience.

[flippit]

@rockets

I'm fascinated your heads-up on the tracking stickers. But to work surely they would need to transmit some sort of signal by a device that required a power source and would that not be easily seen. If they work them I want one for my Ribble then if someone takes it, I want to find it.

[Sally Eva]

I have locked my folding bike up (I agree such a thing is not seen often). When I locked it up folded, I found sosmeone had locked their bike on top of it and it was very difficult to disentangle them and take mine away. Locking them up unfolded would seem to work though.

Our Asgard has not been touch in 15 yrs except for children jumping on the roof. The bikes in there are not worth a lot of effort though. A friend of mine spray-painted her bike, loudly and unprettily, to discourage thieves and that seemed to work

nmh Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I?ve currently got the bike on a vertical hanging

> thing in the front room - I?ve actually got a

> nicer (non commuting)bike on the bottom part of

> this. I?ve managed to negotiate keeping the more

> expensive bike in the front room! The hallway

> isn?t an option because it?s very narrow indeed

> and there?s no room out the back of the house.

> I was actually thinking of a folding bike but

> they?re not cheap (even second hand) and you have

> to take them everywhere with you I.e theatres,

> pubs, restaurants etc. I?ve never seen a folding

> bike locked up outside in central London.

> Presumably because the owners carry them

> everywhere. But I?d find that a major

> inconvenience.

[Rockets]

flippit Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> @rockets

>

> I'm fascinated your heads-up on the tracking

> stickers. But to work surely they would need to

> transmit some sort of signal by a device that

> required a power source and would that not be

> easily seen. If they work them I want one for my

> Ribble then if someone takes it, I want to find

> it.

I got the impression from our friends that these were something the thieves targeting bikes had created rather than them being available (I will ask them though - I believe it had been stuck on the bottom of the frame so was out of sight). You can get GPS tracking devices for bikes but they are deliberately large so they could not be hidden.

[Greedy Girl]

A ceiling bike rack might work? Possibly not the most aesthetically pleasing look for a living room, but would keep it out of the way https://www.barriersdirect.co.uk/secure-bike-parking-c1017/bike-racks-c1195/bike-ceiling-hoist-el-greco-by-delta-p21387?shopping&ppc_keyword=&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIra2TvoDP8AIV2IbVCh1wOAP3EAQYASABEgJBHPD_BwE

[jim_the_chin]

Motorobike chains and wall anchors are your best bet, as above though depends how badly someone wants it

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/152595602861?hash=item2387681dad:g:pPwAAOSwV7ZeoAom

[exdulwicher]

It's a reasonably commonly discussed topic on here, there's another thread here which has some useful links in it (as well as links to older threads):

https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?5,2130678,2130695#msg-2130695

Note that Asgard at the moment have about a 3-4 month wait on delivery of many their products.

The problem with security is that you reach a point where you spend so long locking and unlocking the bike that it becomes a total pain!

There are plenty of decent indoor storage options that'll keep the bike at least mostly out of the way:

https://www.cyclist.co.uk/buying-guides/4550/best-bicycle-storage-smart-solutions-for-your-bike

There are other options for making a bike considerably less attractive to thieves like painting it with Hammerite or otherwise making it look very undesirable but you have to accept that you've wiped out 95% of the resale value in one fell swoop doing that!

[KidKruger]

The obvious solution seems to be being missed.

A children?s home should sort the contention once and for all !

[ech]

Rockets Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I think the reality is, unfortunately, that if

> someone wants your bike enough they will get it. I

> am looking at an Asguard bike store at the moment

> but it seems from most forums that they will only

> slow the thieves down or might deter them if they

> think it will make too much noise. Ground anchors

> seem to be good to slow them down and definitely

> worth doing if you go for something like an

> Asguard.

>

> There is also an argument that something like an

> Asguard attracts thieves as they presume an

> expensive bike is stored within it.

>

> Bikes are very attractive to thieves at the

> moment. A friend of ours had a cargo bike stolen

> and, as they had it property marked, when they go

> it back (it was found in a shipping container with

> hundreds of other bikes), it still had the

> tracking sticker on it that the thieves had stuck

> to it. Apparently they stick them on the bikes to

> be able to follow them to where they are stored

> and then go to steal them.

We've had our Asguard for years without any probs - ground anchor, motorbike chains etc etc. It got broken into 2 weeks ago - they barricaded the front door with the bins to stop us going out if they disturbed us and used hydraulic bolt cutters for the outside locks and straight through the ground anchor. In and out in 5mins.

We thought we were covered insurance wise as sheds are specified but turns out these are exempt and classed as temporary structures.

Beware!

[Blah Blah]

Definitely bike on wall hanger inside is the best solution. You can switch the pedals for folding ones and go for a drop handlebar to keep it compact.

[ianr]

Commiserations, ech. If it's the case that your insurer's decision is a generic one it might just be worth checking the Asguard website and online brochure, just to see whether your particular model does have any kind of external accreditation or approval (I guess an LPCB one would be the best) that might serve as useful ammunition. I found it a very vexing website, making it difficult to converge on the limited set of approved models, but it should be easier if you know which type yours is.

ETA I also wonder about the "temporary structure" characterisation, given that the Asguards are made to be bolted to the ground.

Btw, I see that Asguard do have a page of 'high security' category sheds listed at https://www.asgardsss.co.uk/high-security-sheds; though I'd still want to check the specific page listing of any particular shed, of any or no stated category.

[Sally Eva]

London Cycling Campaign on how to lock up your bike: basically "two good locks including both wheels"

https://www.lcc.org.uk/advice/bike-security/

Make sure the D-locks can't be got to the ground, where it is easier to jemmy them off. Two sorts of locks. Somewhere where people are around and there isn't lots of debris from past thefts, indicating that theft is easy.