Let us set the scene, you have just bought your dream bike and everything feels great, you get home and realise your bike looks very vulnerable in your garage or shed and could be easily picked up and taken away by an opportunistic thief. Not Great. You head over to the internet and find a mind field of locks to choose from, shackles, chains, combi, which leaves you confused and conflicted.
So how do you choose or more importantly how do you know what to buy to get the best security for your new/current bike when locked at home?
This is where we can help with this little guide.
One of the first tasks you should implement for bike home security is finding an area in your garage or shed away from windows.
An opportunistic thief is less likely to target your property if there is no bike to be seen in the first place.
If you can’t keep your bike out of sight, we recommend placing a bike cover over your bike/s.
By fitting a ground anchor to (such as the Oxford anchor 14) to an immovable object you are instantly decreasing your chances of having a bike stolen by professional thieves.
The better the barrier the better the protection for your bike
Using a chain such as the chain 12 to loop around your frame, back wheel and anchor point is a great start, but by adding an additional cable or D lock through your front wheel (especially if they are high value wheels) will allow for greater security by making your bike an unattractive target
An additional tip would be to keep your locks i.e., the shackle area away from the ground. By doing this you are going to make it harder for a professional bike thief to cut your locks as they have nothing to place their tools against.
By making sure your locks are tightly fitted against your frame, also means that cutting or breaking tools can’t get enough clearance unless they want to risk breaking the bike and devaluing it.
Nothing strikes fear more into a person than a loud alarming sound that notifies the owner that something is going on.
Investing in a D lock or padlock that can emit a very loud sound is an additional good investment to make in your home security set up.
Thieves usually want to avoid scenarios which puts them at a higher risk of getting caught so they look for quick and quite opportunities and will want to stay away from something that will notify owners or neighbours of their activities.
Sold secure is ‘The UK’s premier testing and certification house for security products’ so it is imperative that to get the best protection for your bike you purchase a lock with one of the following ratings.
Sold Secure Bronze:
Sold Secure Gold:
Sold Secure Diamond:
Minimise the amount of bike content you post online such as making sure to hide your finish location on a Strava ride, helpful link here.
Register your bike on the police register. This means that should your bike be recovered; it can then be traced back to you.
• Insure your bike! Insuring your bike is the best practice you can do to make sure your investments are secured.
