Psyclist
Über Member
- Location
- Northamptonshire
JUST A FEW FACTS BEFORE YOU READ THIS GUIDE:
-A Bike Is Stolen Every 71 seconds in England alone with 440,000 thefts reported in the last 12 months.
Watch this video, you'll see that you can;t always depend on the public eye to look after your bike:
-TOP 10 CYCLE HOTSPOTS FOR PUBLIC BIKE THEFT IN 2006
1.Central London
2.Kingston-upon-Thames
3.Cambridge
4.Bristol
5.York
6.Oxford
7.South West London
8.Brighton
9.Portsmouth
10.Nottingham
-A Survey Shown
1.6 Million U.K Households Were Victim Of Theft From Their Gardens In 2 Years
__________________________________________________________________________________
-A GUIDE ON BIKE SECURITY-
Hello and welcome to my guide
This guide will guide you to the best ways to keep your bicycle safe and secure from the hands of bicycle thieves.
In this time a high majority of people are buying expensive mountain bikes for sports of high value anything from £300-£8000.
These bikes are an eye candy for thieves a two wheeled alternative of what brand named cars like Ferrari and Porsche are, high value and a money maker for criminals who can sell them on.
Thieves find them an easier target as bikes are easy to steal from a shed or garage, and as they have no engine they do not wake the owner up when they are stolen,also they are easy to transport for a thief to a safe spot by riding down back streets and alleys instead of main roads in which car criminals tend to do.
Common theft of bicycles are from towns when an owner leaves their bike outside a shop for example for a few minutes.
But not all people know (only victims like myself) that another common crime of bike theft is from private property.
I hope you take notice of this information on the website, I have done this to help my fellow bike riders prevent their pride and joy being stolen as I am a mountain bike rider myself.
__________________________________________________________________________________
HOW THIEVES KNOW WHERE YOUR BIKE IS
You may have your bike stolen from a public place or from your property.
This guide contains information for both home security and public security.
If a thief spots you riding your bike they will follow you to your home to see where you live taking their own precautions for you not to spot them, they then come back to your property late at night to steal your bike.
This is how many bikes are stolen from property as the owner is unaware they have been followed to their property.
It has been seen in many cases during my observation on peoples forums on bicycle owners websites.
Some of which are very shocking stories and which show what levels thieves will go to steal a bicycle.
One of the most shocking stories I had witnessed were thieves who broke into a garage with a crowbar then smashed the car window in the garage to move the car into the driveway to break the locks on the bike.
ALL THIS WAS DONE WHILST THE OWNERS SLEPT!!!!!
__________________________________________________________________________________
YOUR SHED
The last place you want to put your bike is in a shed, whether you have good padlocks on a shed, thieves will simply unscrew the screws on the latch to get in or use other methods to get into sheds.
Your shed will always be a target for thieves whether or not the thief knows your bike is in your shed.
Thieves target sheds in random burglary's as they know many people keep expensive gardening machinery (e.g Rotivators) and bicycles in their sheds.
Sheds are very easy to break into as they are made of wood and as sheds are commonly placed a distance from the house it is easy for a thief to make little noise if they should break into the shed.
There are shed alarms which you can buy, but these still will not be good security.
Also read how to toughen up your bike shed.
__________________________________________________________________________________
YOUR GARAGE
Your Garage is safer to keep your bike in but not all are alarmed or secure than others.
If you keep your bike in your garage, it is best to have a heavy duty chain and padlock and u-lock and chain the bike round something secure NOT a heating pipe or weak material.
The best thing to secure you bike to is a ground anchor.
Beware that thieves will find it nearly as easy to break into your garage as a shed if they want your bike.
__________________________________________________________________________________
YOUR HOUSE
Your House is the best place to keep your bike and is always a priority even if you live in a small flat or cramped home it is worth it in the long run.
Common bike theives DO NOT burgle houses as most are known as petty theives.
In the case of burglars, it is best you chain your bike around a radiator or something securely built into the house like banisters.
If you would like to know more about burglary prevention simply click on the below picture,which wil take you to the website.
THE BELOW PICTURE SHOWS HOW TO LOCK UP YOUR BIKE IN YOUR HOUSE
__________________________________________________________________________________
QUICK RELEASE AND PUBLIC PLACES
Never leave your bike chained to a fence in a discreet place like a park for example.
If the theif can't have your bike they will take any quick release parts off your bike like your wheels or your seat.
Never leave it in a place such as the above mentioned for a long period of time, the thief may come back and cut the chain with bolt croppers or a saw.
__________________________________________________________________________________
SECURITY CHAINS AND LOCKS
It is best to have a heavy duty chain, Combi Lock and U-Lock when you take your bike to town, and secure it somewhere., and for when you secure it in your home.
One chain is not secure enough and should not be advised, it is best to have a Almax security chain as your number one chain and a u-lock & combi lock for extra security.
The best locks available are the Thatcham Approved Almax Security Chains they are near enough impossible to break with bolt croppers and other tools.
Non-Almax Security Chains (although Thatcham Approved) are easy to break such as Kryptonite chains.
Cheap U-Locks on their own are not to trust as seen as in this below video:
Almax Chains may be heavy to carry but they are very sure to be un-breakable and your bike will not be stolen.
I have an Almax Chain & Squire Lock, ok so it's £125 - £55 for the Squire lock and £69.95 for the chain, but for a reason.
These are locks you want to avoid:
View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VC3hFr8p2ck
And this is why the Almax Series 3 is good:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozppzywsLsk
__________________________________________________________________________________
GROUND ANCHORS
A Ground Anchor is a number one priority if you store your bike in a garage or next to a wall outside it can only be fixed into a concerete floor. It is simply secured into the concrete floor and is impossible to remove.
Also a list of other Ground Anchors:
http://www.sportsbikeshop.co.uk/ground-anchor.
__________________________________________________________________________________
ELECTRONIC TAGGING DEVICES
Tagging Devices are a priority, they are placed on the inside of your bicycle and if your bike is ever stolen it can be recovered.
The ImmobiTag Electronic Cycle Protection Kit is an easy-to-fit device thats embedded into the bike frame and is almost impossible to remove.
There is also ChipNTrace who do a similar Electronic Tagging Device ChipNTrace offer a return service if your bike is found and they also have people going round to shops and trails and are actively trying to stop crime at the trails, shops and centres. They to are involved with the police and have an active watch list that gets updated on their website for all to see.
There is also a device which uses chemical etching and includes 1000 microdots for minor components on sportsbikeshop.co.uk useful for placing on all parts of your bike incase it is taken apart and sold as parts.
__________________________________________________________________________________
LOCKS
If you're looking for a good bicycle lock the following will tell you all you need to know.
How to choose a good bike lock
Security rating – in the UK there is the Sold Secure rating system. This classes bike locks as Gold, Silver or Bronze. The three different levels represent how long it will take a bike thief to breach the lock. If you have bicycle insurance then getting a Sold Secure lock is usually part of the terms and conditions.
Size – a lock with a bigger locking diameter will mean you can secure it against a wider range of objects. The downside is this gives the thief more space to try and use a leveraging bar to break the lock.
Weight – obviously this is something you need to carry around with you often and any additional weight on the bike means additional pedalling effort. Usually a better bike lock will also be heavier.
Maintenance – you should use WD40 to keep the locking mechanism working well and not seizing up especially during cold weather.
Spare keys – there is nothing worse than losing your keys just as you are about to set off to work. Most bike locks come with at least two spare keys but a third is often very useful.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Cable locks have a bad reputation for security. They are far easier to cut through than D-Locks. As a secondary lock however they can be a good choice. Steel cable locks will be a better deterrent and also make a thief take longer to cut through if you have one of these with your other lock.
D-Locks/U-Locks are a better security option over cable locks and are rather strong depending on how much you pay. However they can be broken open with a jack device if a thief is well equipped.
Chains & Security Locks are the best option when it comes to security. But it all depends on what you buy
__________________________________________________________________________________
Abus Steel-O-Flex Granit 1000/800mm would be the best cable lock, I wouldn't recommend anything other than this lock. However not as your primary lock.
Kryptonite New York 3000 NYL is the best U-Lock/D-Lock you can get and is Gold Sold Secure it may cost a lot but it is sold gold secure and will hold up a lot of abuse to be broken.
(Review Here)
Almax Series III is near enough invincible and has took it's test in which it has passed in strength against bolt croppers. It ranges in price from £125-£200 depending on which package you buy but is worth it.
(Review Here)
Thanks for reading, and I hope you take note of this as I made it to help.
-A Bike Is Stolen Every 71 seconds in England alone with 440,000 thefts reported in the last 12 months.
Watch this video, you'll see that you can;t always depend on the public eye to look after your bike:
-TOP 10 CYCLE HOTSPOTS FOR PUBLIC BIKE THEFT IN 2006
1.Central London
2.Kingston-upon-Thames
3.Cambridge
4.Bristol
5.York
6.Oxford
7.South West London
8.Brighton
9.Portsmouth
10.Nottingham
-A Survey Shown
1.6 Million U.K Households Were Victim Of Theft From Their Gardens In 2 Years
__________________________________________________________________________________
-A GUIDE ON BIKE SECURITY-
Hello and welcome to my guide
This guide will guide you to the best ways to keep your bicycle safe and secure from the hands of bicycle thieves.
In this time a high majority of people are buying expensive mountain bikes for sports of high value anything from £300-£8000.
These bikes are an eye candy for thieves a two wheeled alternative of what brand named cars like Ferrari and Porsche are, high value and a money maker for criminals who can sell them on.
Thieves find them an easier target as bikes are easy to steal from a shed or garage, and as they have no engine they do not wake the owner up when they are stolen,also they are easy to transport for a thief to a safe spot by riding down back streets and alleys instead of main roads in which car criminals tend to do.
Common theft of bicycles are from towns when an owner leaves their bike outside a shop for example for a few minutes.
But not all people know (only victims like myself) that another common crime of bike theft is from private property.
I hope you take notice of this information on the website, I have done this to help my fellow bike riders prevent their pride and joy being stolen as I am a mountain bike rider myself.
__________________________________________________________________________________
HOW THIEVES KNOW WHERE YOUR BIKE IS
You may have your bike stolen from a public place or from your property.
This guide contains information for both home security and public security.
If a thief spots you riding your bike they will follow you to your home to see where you live taking their own precautions for you not to spot them, they then come back to your property late at night to steal your bike.
This is how many bikes are stolen from property as the owner is unaware they have been followed to their property.
It has been seen in many cases during my observation on peoples forums on bicycle owners websites.
Some of which are very shocking stories and which show what levels thieves will go to steal a bicycle.
One of the most shocking stories I had witnessed were thieves who broke into a garage with a crowbar then smashed the car window in the garage to move the car into the driveway to break the locks on the bike.
ALL THIS WAS DONE WHILST THE OWNERS SLEPT!!!!!
__________________________________________________________________________________
YOUR SHED
The last place you want to put your bike is in a shed, whether you have good padlocks on a shed, thieves will simply unscrew the screws on the latch to get in or use other methods to get into sheds.
Your shed will always be a target for thieves whether or not the thief knows your bike is in your shed.
Thieves target sheds in random burglary's as they know many people keep expensive gardening machinery (e.g Rotivators) and bicycles in their sheds.
Sheds are very easy to break into as they are made of wood and as sheds are commonly placed a distance from the house it is easy for a thief to make little noise if they should break into the shed.
There are shed alarms which you can buy, but these still will not be good security.
Also read how to toughen up your bike shed.
__________________________________________________________________________________
YOUR GARAGE
Your Garage is safer to keep your bike in but not all are alarmed or secure than others.
If you keep your bike in your garage, it is best to have a heavy duty chain and padlock and u-lock and chain the bike round something secure NOT a heating pipe or weak material.
The best thing to secure you bike to is a ground anchor.
Beware that thieves will find it nearly as easy to break into your garage as a shed if they want your bike.
__________________________________________________________________________________
YOUR HOUSE
Your House is the best place to keep your bike and is always a priority even if you live in a small flat or cramped home it is worth it in the long run.
Common bike theives DO NOT burgle houses as most are known as petty theives.
In the case of burglars, it is best you chain your bike around a radiator or something securely built into the house like banisters.
If you would like to know more about burglary prevention simply click on the below picture,which wil take you to the website.
THE BELOW PICTURE SHOWS HOW TO LOCK UP YOUR BIKE IN YOUR HOUSE
__________________________________________________________________________________
QUICK RELEASE AND PUBLIC PLACES
Never leave your bike chained to a fence in a discreet place like a park for example.
If the theif can't have your bike they will take any quick release parts off your bike like your wheels or your seat.
Never leave it in a place such as the above mentioned for a long period of time, the thief may come back and cut the chain with bolt croppers or a saw.
__________________________________________________________________________________
SECURITY CHAINS AND LOCKS
It is best to have a heavy duty chain, Combi Lock and U-Lock when you take your bike to town, and secure it somewhere., and for when you secure it in your home.
One chain is not secure enough and should not be advised, it is best to have a Almax security chain as your number one chain and a u-lock & combi lock for extra security.
The best locks available are the Thatcham Approved Almax Security Chains they are near enough impossible to break with bolt croppers and other tools.
Non-Almax Security Chains (although Thatcham Approved) are easy to break such as Kryptonite chains.
Cheap U-Locks on their own are not to trust as seen as in this below video:
Almax Chains may be heavy to carry but they are very sure to be un-breakable and your bike will not be stolen.
I have an Almax Chain & Squire Lock, ok so it's £125 - £55 for the Squire lock and £69.95 for the chain, but for a reason.
These are locks you want to avoid:
View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VC3hFr8p2ck
And this is why the Almax Series 3 is good:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozppzywsLsk
__________________________________________________________________________________
GROUND ANCHORS
A Ground Anchor is a number one priority if you store your bike in a garage or next to a wall outside it can only be fixed into a concerete floor. It is simply secured into the concrete floor and is impossible to remove.
Also a list of other Ground Anchors:
http://www.sportsbikeshop.co.uk/ground-anchor.
__________________________________________________________________________________
ELECTRONIC TAGGING DEVICES
Tagging Devices are a priority, they are placed on the inside of your bicycle and if your bike is ever stolen it can be recovered.
The ImmobiTag Electronic Cycle Protection Kit is an easy-to-fit device thats embedded into the bike frame and is almost impossible to remove.
There is also ChipNTrace who do a similar Electronic Tagging Device ChipNTrace offer a return service if your bike is found and they also have people going round to shops and trails and are actively trying to stop crime at the trails, shops and centres. They to are involved with the police and have an active watch list that gets updated on their website for all to see.
There is also a device which uses chemical etching and includes 1000 microdots for minor components on sportsbikeshop.co.uk useful for placing on all parts of your bike incase it is taken apart and sold as parts.
__________________________________________________________________________________
LOCKS
If you're looking for a good bicycle lock the following will tell you all you need to know.
How to choose a good bike lock
Security rating – in the UK there is the Sold Secure rating system. This classes bike locks as Gold, Silver or Bronze. The three different levels represent how long it will take a bike thief to breach the lock. If you have bicycle insurance then getting a Sold Secure lock is usually part of the terms and conditions.
Size – a lock with a bigger locking diameter will mean you can secure it against a wider range of objects. The downside is this gives the thief more space to try and use a leveraging bar to break the lock.
Weight – obviously this is something you need to carry around with you often and any additional weight on the bike means additional pedalling effort. Usually a better bike lock will also be heavier.
Maintenance – you should use WD40 to keep the locking mechanism working well and not seizing up especially during cold weather.
Spare keys – there is nothing worse than losing your keys just as you are about to set off to work. Most bike locks come with at least two spare keys but a third is often very useful.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Cable locks have a bad reputation for security. They are far easier to cut through than D-Locks. As a secondary lock however they can be a good choice. Steel cable locks will be a better deterrent and also make a thief take longer to cut through if you have one of these with your other lock.
D-Locks/U-Locks are a better security option over cable locks and are rather strong depending on how much you pay. However they can be broken open with a jack device if a thief is well equipped.
Chains & Security Locks are the best option when it comes to security. But it all depends on what you buy
__________________________________________________________________________________
Abus Steel-O-Flex Granit 1000/800mm would be the best cable lock, I wouldn't recommend anything other than this lock. However not as your primary lock.
Kryptonite New York 3000 NYL is the best U-Lock/D-Lock you can get and is Gold Sold Secure it may cost a lot but it is sold gold secure and will hold up a lot of abuse to be broken.
(Review Here)
Almax Series III is near enough invincible and has took it's test in which it has passed in strength against bolt croppers. It ranges in price from £125-£200 depending on which package you buy but is worth it.
(Review Here)
Thanks for reading, and I hope you take note of this as I made it to help.
