Protecting Against Theft

[gopherhockey]

There have been a few threads lately about car theft, bike theft etc.

I thought I'd start a new thread to get suggestions and information on how to better protect ourselves.

If anyone has spoken to their insurance lately or has good ideas on how to secure bikes (in a vehicle, at home etc.) post up.

I'm currently curious how to best secure bikes in a garage or basement. You often hear about bike locks that can be picked with a pen... so I'm kind of wondering what to do.

My gut tells me to use the same kind of cable I'd use on the back of my car but find a way to anchor it to something in my garage. Perhaps drill an anchor into concrete? I'm not sure something into the wall would work.

I'm guessing any theft is going to be a quick attempt and they aren't going to fool around long. If they have the time to mess around probably nothing will work, but if its a quick hit than I would think anything that locks it into place would work fairly well.

Also, does anyone use those bike registration web sites? I think they have them where you register your bike s/n etc. and it gets put into a large database etc.

[bigwheel]

Slightly off-topic, I wonder how difficult it is going to be submitting a claim when are bikes were put together in pieces, rather than buying an off-the-shelf bike.

Regarding locks, maybe the thing to do is screw a heavy lag bolt into the garage ceiling, and lock the bike to the ceiling. That would make it difficult to pick or cut the lock.

[Nickel]

I talked to my insurance agent about this because I wasn't sure if the bikes were covered under an apartment theft policy (they are -- at least through AllState). Everyone should definitely check as they may list them under a different sporting goods policy. I have detailed lists of each bike & parts & pictures of everything plus receipts. It's harder to have receipts for me because I buy so many used parts but I'm just hoping for the best there.

I hang my bike from a hook in the wall and you could easily lock the bike to it. If I had a garage, I would put in another on the ground to have another locking point.

[biking_stickman]

Way off topic but relevant...Is there a way to post things anonymously on this forum? I'd like to share some of my thoughts on this but I don't feel real comfortable giving away where I store my bikes, how I secure them, and other info on a public forum.

[Magic]

Slightly off-topic, I wonder how difficult it is going to be submitting a claim when are bikes were put together in pieces, rather than buying an off-the-shelf bike.

Regarding locks, maybe the thing to do is screw a heavy lag bolt into the garage ceiling, and lock the bike to the ceiling. That would make it difficult to pick or cut the lock.


I asked this same question to my insurance agent Bob and he told me as long as I have pictures or a video tape of my bikes, then they will cover them. Take pics of the fork, brakes, frame and whatever you feel will help. Also if I have any receipts from my build to keep them handy for the insurance man. I'd call your insurance man to find out what they will need. I had to ask, since I build all my bikes from the frame up.

[gopherhockey]

Way off topic but relevant...Is there a way to post things anonymously on this forum? I'd like to share some of my thoughts on this but I don't feel real comfortable giving away where I store my bikes, how I secure them, and other info on a public forum.

Interesting. If you want, email me your thoughts and I can post them to this thread without a name. Then again that doesn't deter me from taking your bike - I'm not very trustworthy ;)

Or, post that a "friend" of yours does this certain thing with "his" bike... :p

[biking_stickman]

I asked this same question to my insurance agent Bob and he told me as long as I have pictures or a video tape of my bikes, then they will cover them. Take pics of the fork, brakes, frame and whatever you feel will help. Also if I have any receipts from my build to keep them handy for the insurance man. I'd call your insurance man to find out what they will need. I had to ask, since I build all my bikes from the frame up.

When I asked my insurance guy about covering bikes, he informed me "we even cover expensive bikes - like those $700 ones."

[Don Youngdahl]

My local police say that virtually all thefts from garages in New Brighton occur when the garage door is left open. It's hard for me to remember to close the garage door when I'm in the back yard mowing, or in the house for a few minutes to get a tool or use the bathroom, but keeping the garage door closed is the biggest single theft prevention measure for the home.

[trogolodyte16]

My local police say that virtually all thefts from garages in New Brighton occur when the garage door is left open. It's hard for me to remember to close the garage door when I'm in the back yard mowing, or in the house for a few minutes to get a tool or use the bathroom, but keeping the garage door closed is the biggest single theft prevention measure for the home.

Ya - my brother and a friend each lost one bike apiece from their open garages near Yuptown.....:mad:

[TML]

My local police say that virtually all thefts from garages in New Brighton occur when the garage door is left open. It's hard for me to remember to close the garage door when I'm in the back yard mowing, or in the house for a few minutes to get a tool or use the bathroom, but keeping the garage door closed is the biggest single theft prevention measure for the home.

It's just so much handier to leave the garage door open when you're home. It sucks that we should have to worry about the possibility of theft.

[Heuy]

The biggest problems with having the garage door open is that anyone can drive by and see what you have stored in your garage. Most thieves are "shopping" for something in particular. If they're in the market for a high-end bike they will try to find one then steal it. If you keep your bike somewhere where it can't be seen that should help out immensely.

[tedsti]

Just found out a friend had a laptop stolen from his car at Southtown Lanes in Bloomington this weekend.

I have often thought about locking the bikes even when they are in the garage. Might have to make that happen with everything that is going on.

[crux]

Slightly off-topic, I wonder how difficult it is going to be submitting a claim when are bikes were put together in pieces, rather than buying an off-the-shelf bike.

Based off my recent experience I just had a few photos of fully built up bikes and an excel spreadsheet detailing part and serial numbers. Thought that I was going to be hung out to dry, but my insurance covered everything. One important clause that i had in my policy was for "Replacement value". Meaning if a bike got taken they would replace the bike with the same, or similar if no longer in production. Very nice feature to have.

Regarding locks, maybe the thing to do is screw a heavy lag bolt into the garage ceiling, and lock the bike to the ceiling. That would make it difficult to pick or cut the lock.

Know several people who have gone this route and have not had a problem since. Using 1, 2, 3 heavy lag bolts and a long cable strung thru the frames seems to be standard. Depending upon the # of bikes and location found that it is best to have at least two lag bolts one each side of the bikes. If your lucky to have really high garage celings then you can hide the bikes above the garage door with a set of pulleys. Door can be open and all the outside world sees is an empty garage. This is kind of a pain to setup, but thought that this was really creative.

[Ish]

Keeping the garage door closed also keeps the neigborhood teenagers from raiding the beer fridge in the garage.

[manual63]

The locks that can be picked with a pin or pen are two types. The older Kyptonite style lock with the cylinder type key could be picked with a pen cap. Basically by jamming the cap into the rounded slot. The plastic was soft enough to mold itself to the key and then easily opens the lock. Kyptonite recalled or did some sort of replacement on these. Now they make a normal style key hole to prevent that.

Locks that can be picked with a pin, or any similar long thin device (keep comments to yourself...:)), are the cylinder combo locks that don't protect the slide hole. Basically on those a theif just insert the pin into the slide hole and turns each cylinder until the pin moves forward. You do this for each cylinder (usually 4) until the last one matches. Then you just pull the lock open.

I see a lot of cylinder type combo locks, but most of them now have a flange on the male end that covers the slide hole so you can't get a pin in there to decode it. Basically, it's the cheapo ones at department stores that are easy to pick.

I have all my bikes in my living room. Then again, that's the only room I have at my place besides the Kitchen and bathroom.....:)

[steef]

I just put a new clasp and Lock on the garage at the new place. Most of my bikes are down here at the shop anyways, but there's a couple of them in the garage, now, due to moving.

[manual63]

As much as it sucks to do, it's a good idea to lock your bikes in the garage or basement if you keep them there.

Also, if you live in a condo or apartment and put them in a storage unit, lock them. I plan to modify the wall of my storage so I can lock them to the wall inside. Nothing is 100% secure, but you can at least not make it easy for them.

Honestly, I think some of us get lazy sometimes. I know I do. I have left my bike in the back of the car or even on the bike rack before. It's usually because I just don't want to deal with taking them out and bringing them up to mara's or my place. But I decided not to be lazy anymore......why take the risk? Even if I am dead tired and want to get to that beer sooner, I will take the extra time to make sure my bikes and other stuff are secure.

[crux]

Few people have sent a pm asking for an example format
for keeping records of their bikes. To reduce the size I cut out all additional tabs for multiple bikes, parts, tools, and photos.

Still think that avoiding a theft is much easier than having to go through the process.

[Beau]

Few people have sent a pm asking for an example format
for keeping records of their bikes. To reduce the size I cut out all additional tabs for multiple bikes, parts, tools, and photos.

Still think that avoiding a theft is much easier than having to go through the process.


Thanks Andrew! :banana:

[steef]

As much as it sucks to do, it's a good idea to lock your bikes in the garage or basement if you keep them there.

Also, if you live in a condo or apartment and put them in a storage unit, lock them. I plan to modify the wall of my storage so I can lock them to the wall inside. Nothing is 100% secure, but you can at least not make it easy for them.

Honestly, I think some of us get lazy sometimes. I know I do. I have left my bike in the back of the car or even on the bike rack before. It's usually because I just don't want to deal with taking them out and bringing them up to mara's or my place. But I decided not to be lazy anymore......why take the risk? Even if I am dead tired and want to get to that beer sooner, I will take the extra time to make sure my bikes and other stuff are secure.

I think I got you beat for Laziness, but I was performing a social experiment. Last fall I built up a winter beater SS MTB that spent many nights on a porch at one of the busiest intersections in the Wedge. Was it too awful looking for anyone to steal? I don't know. It made it through the winter, though.

[ebrandel]

Few people have sent a pm asking for an example format
for keeping records of their bikes. To reduce the size I cut out all additional tabs for multiple bikes, parts, tools, and photos.

Still think that avoiding a theft is much easier than having to go through the process.

I updated the spreadsheet to do the standard adding and multiplication. So, it totals everything up for you. It'll make things a little bit easier. Basically, the values in gray shouldn't be messed with. Enter values in the white areas only :)