Bike security in outbuilding advice
Discussion
Hi
Like many I've taken to cycling for exercise over lockdown and am now addicted. Over the last few months the household has accumulated 3 bikes and I need to sort out storage; at the moment they are in the house! They'll be another bike being added to the collection as soon as I can find one in stock.
I have a solid block/brick built outbuilding with upvc doors and windows at the back of the garden, approx 120ft from house.
I'm in the process of changing the handle and euro cylinder on the door to high security versions. Also looking at an alarm of some variety.
But I need a plan to actually secure the bikes inside the building. It's approx 4.5m by 2.8m, and I need to bikes to be secure, easily accessible (ie not all 4 bikes have to be moved around to get one out) and some space left over for an exercise bench.
The most obvious answer seems ground anchors and high security chains. However this will be very expensive as I'll need 4 anchors (best ones are £60+) and 4 chains/locks (?£100 each!!) And this still doesn't give anything to stand the bike up against so they'll be propped up against walls.
I don't want to use one massive chain and lock for all bikes as it will be unwieldy and difficult for me children to use.
I could buy something like a sheffield stand/stands bolt them to the ground and then I have something to lean the bikes against and secure them to.
So my question is, is a good quality anchor/chain set up anymore secure than a Sheffield stand/chain set up?
If they came with a battery powered angle grinder then they could cut any chain anyway. Anything less than an angle grinder and I assume they can't get through the Sheffield stand?
Any thoughts appreciated. Thanks
Like many I've taken to cycling for exercise over lockdown and am now addicted. Over the last few months the household has accumulated 3 bikes and I need to sort out storage; at the moment they are in the house! They'll be another bike being added to the collection as soon as I can find one in stock.
I have a solid block/brick built outbuilding with upvc doors and windows at the back of the garden, approx 120ft from house.
I'm in the process of changing the handle and euro cylinder on the door to high security versions. Also looking at an alarm of some variety.
But I need a plan to actually secure the bikes inside the building. It's approx 4.5m by 2.8m, and I need to bikes to be secure, easily accessible (ie not all 4 bikes have to be moved around to get one out) and some space left over for an exercise bench.
The most obvious answer seems ground anchors and high security chains. However this will be very expensive as I'll need 4 anchors (best ones are £60+) and 4 chains/locks (?£100 each!!) And this still doesn't give anything to stand the bike up against so they'll be propped up against walls.
I don't want to use one massive chain and lock for all bikes as it will be unwieldy and difficult for me children to use.
I could buy something like a sheffield stand/stands bolt them to the ground and then I have something to lean the bikes against and secure them to.
So my question is, is a good quality anchor/chain set up anymore secure than a Sheffield stand/chain set up?
If they came with a battery powered angle grinder then they could cut any chain anyway. Anything less than an angle grinder and I assume they can't get through the Sheffield stand?
Any thoughts appreciated. Thanks
Are you in an extremely high crime area?
Are the bikes expensive?
If "no" to either / both, I think you're maybe overdoing this.
You're suggesting more security than my mate has on his Panigale V4S Corse that he spent €25k on, but for bicycles.
Make a note of the frame numbers, and ensure they're insured.
Put them in the "outhouse" and lock the door.
Are the bikes expensive?
If "no" to either / both, I think you're maybe overdoing this.
You're suggesting more security than my mate has on his Panigale V4S Corse that he spent €25k on, but for bicycles.
Make a note of the frame numbers, and ensure they're insured.
Put them in the "outhouse" and lock the door.
Can you use the wall?
I have wall hangers with one anchor bolt into the side wall the bikes are then daisy chained with U locks so one can be removed and the chain maintained when the other bike is out.
You mention kids getting them out. Are they so valuable that they need Maximum protection.
Are they insured? What do they say. Normally it’s a gold standard lock usually £50 + each.
It’s difficult to provide ease of acces and good security it has to be difficult to get them out that after all is the point.
I have wall hangers with one anchor bolt into the side wall the bikes are then daisy chained with U locks so one can be removed and the chain maintained when the other bike is out.
You mention kids getting them out. Are they so valuable that they need Maximum protection.
Are they insured? What do they say. Normally it’s a gold standard lock usually £50 + each.
It’s difficult to provide ease of acces and good security it has to be difficult to get them out that after all is the point.
My brother had his bike stolen from what you would think was an incredibly secure storage space i.e. secured with two super-duper padlocks and chains to a metal bar inside a storage cell, which was itself inside a gated garage with key fob only access. And the entire place was covered by 24x7 CCTV and a “security” team.
Unfortunately all of that couldn’t prevent theft by two blokes armed with sledgehammers and circular saws.
Sadly, if they want it enough, there’s little that can be done to prevent the theft.
Unfortunately all of that couldn’t prevent theft by two blokes armed with sledgehammers and circular saws.
Sadly, if they want it enough, there’s little that can be done to prevent the theft.
I have heard of the following method as a cheap method of securing bikes in sheds.
Get a bucket, fill with ready mix concrete and whilst wet set a bent piece of rebar , an old d lock or ground anchor into it.
Place next to bike and secure with a d lock or motorbike chain lock.If you can’t afford a kryptonite the bulldog locks are meant to be good.
Not quite as good as an anchor into wall or floor but a lump of concrete secured with a d lock is going to be a good deterrent.
Get a bucket, fill with ready mix concrete and whilst wet set a bent piece of rebar , an old d lock or ground anchor into it.
Place next to bike and secure with a d lock or motorbike chain lock.If you can’t afford a kryptonite the bulldog locks are meant to be good.
Not quite as good as an anchor into wall or floor but a lump of concrete secured with a d lock is going to be a good deterrent.
Alfa Pete said:
I have heard of the following method as a cheap method of securing bikes in sheds.
Get a bucket, fill with ready mix concrete and whilst wet set a bent piece of rebar , an old d lock or ground anchor into it.
Place next to bike and secure with a d lock or motorbike chain lock.If you can’t afford a kryptonite the bulldog locks are meant to be good.
Not quite as good as an anchor into wall or floor but a lump of concrete secured with a d lock is going to be a good deterrent.
D lock: filled with pressurised lighter fluid, it's frozen, hit with a hammer... The lock is off..Get a bucket, fill with ready mix concrete and whilst wet set a bent piece of rebar , an old d lock or ground anchor into it.
Place next to bike and secure with a d lock or motorbike chain lock.If you can’t afford a kryptonite the bulldog locks are meant to be good.
Not quite as good as an anchor into wall or floor but a lump of concrete secured with a d lock is going to be a good deterrent.
I've had it done to me.
My bike and my sons bike are stored in a small shed that doesn't have a lock. what i do for now is to use my LiteLok gold cable to tie them together. My thinking is that it would be a nightmare for a thief to try and extract them from such a small place without cutting through the lock.
RC1807 said:
Are you in an extremely high crime area?
Are the bikes expensive?
If "no" to either / both, I think you're maybe overdoing this.
You're suggesting more security than my mate has on his Panigale V4S Corse that he spent €25k on, but for bicycles.
Make a note of the frame numbers, and ensure they're insured.
Put them in the "outhouse" and lock the door.
I could well be overdoing it, I do have a tendency to become tunnel visioned. The bikes are reasonably expensive, mine is about £2k, the two boy's bikes are £650 each and I'll buy a MTB soon which will also be in the £2k region.Are the bikes expensive?
If "no" to either / both, I think you're maybe overdoing this.
You're suggesting more security than my mate has on his Panigale V4S Corse that he spent €25k on, but for bicycles.
Make a note of the frame numbers, and ensure they're insured.
Put them in the "outhouse" and lock the door.
It's not an extremely high crime rate area if you mean is it a dodgy part of town. It's a nice area but it therefore attracts scrotes trying to steal the nice things that people have around here. I was thinking of doing what you said, ie just locking the door (and a simple alarm) and claim on the insurance if they get stolen. The problem is that at the moment bikes are in short supply, if they were stolen I might be without a bike for months.
Thanks
Laka have a list on their website of the cheapest gold secure locks: https://laka.co/gb/marketplace/sold-secure-gold-lo...
Why not just daisy chain three of these - one frame to the next one. Theoretically someone could carry them all away but it would be really hard to do and inside a locked shed I think you should be fine.
Why not just daisy chain three of these - one frame to the next one. Theoretically someone could carry them all away but it would be really hard to do and inside a locked shed I think you should be fine.
leyorkie said:
Can you use the wall?
I have wall hangers with one anchor bolt into the side wall the bikes are then daisy chained with U locks so one can be removed and the chain maintained when the other bike is out.
You mention kids getting them out. Are they so valuable that they need Maximum protection.
Are they insured? What do they say. Normally it’s a gold standard lock usually £50 + each.
It’s difficult to provide ease of acces and good security it has to be difficult to get them out that after all is the point.
I can use the wall however the internal skin is thermalite block. I was told by somebody that because they are aerated they aren't very good for secure fixings.I have wall hangers with one anchor bolt into the side wall the bikes are then daisy chained with U locks so one can be removed and the chain maintained when the other bike is out.
You mention kids getting them out. Are they so valuable that they need Maximum protection.
Are they insured? What do they say. Normally it’s a gold standard lock usually £50 + each.
It’s difficult to provide ease of acces and good security it has to be difficult to get them out that after all is the point.
I'm trying to imagine the set up you have but am struggling. If you might have time to post a picture I'd be very grateful.
Thank you
magpie215 said:
Ultimately all you can do is prevent an opportunist or slow down someone intent on taking them.
Cctv Ground anchors and wall hook storage was my approach....so far so good.
HiCctv Ground anchors and wall hook storage was my approach....so far so good.
Do you mean the bikes are up on hooks but secured via a chain onto an anchor on the floor?
Thanks
loskie said:
why don't you just chain all the bikes together?
This is what I did. A few 14mm chains and similarly sturdy padlocks. You’ll get through an angle grinder’s disc before you get through the chain. Mount the bikes upright on the wall and thread the chain through the frames. You might find someone nicks all of the wheels, but that’s no that likely. There is no chance of anyone making off with four bikes chained together, plus chain plus padlocks. 272BHP said:
My bike and my sons bike are stored in a small shed that doesn't have a lock. what i do for now is to use my LiteLok gold cable to tie them together. My thinking is that it would be a nightmare for a thief to try and extract them from such a small place without cutting through the lock.
Getting two or maybe even three bikes out of the outbuilding wouldn't be difficult because it has double doors (like patio doors). However after that, you're right, they wouldn't be able to two bikes chained together over fences etc to escape.Thanks
BlackWidow13 said:
This is what I did. A few 14mm chains and similarly sturdy padlocks. You’ll get through an angle grinder’s disc before you get through the chain. Mount the bikes upright on the wall and thread the chain through the frames. You might find someone nicks all of the wheels, but that’s no that likely. There is no chance of anyone making off with four bikes chained together, plus chain plus padlocks.
Thanks. When you say upright on the wall do you mean with both wheels sitting on the wall?I recently fitted one of these £15 wall anchors from Screwfix to secure my bike in a detached garage https://www.screwfix.com/p/smith-locke-ground-wall...
The supplied fittings seems very secure, and I use it in combination with a motorcycle lock.
Ultimately a well equipped thief who’s come prepared with a disc cutter and is prepared to make a lot of noise whilst attacking it will eventually get through it, but I think a random scrote breaking in to sheds and garages would be deterred.
The supplied fittings seems very secure, and I use it in combination with a motorcycle lock.
Ultimately a well equipped thief who’s come prepared with a disc cutter and is prepared to make a lot of noise whilst attacking it will eventually get through it, but I think a random scrote breaking in to sheds and garages would be deterred.
Gassing Station | Pedal Powered | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff