Bikes in garden shed...

Fender76

The Mrs wants more room in the house so I've been ordered to move my bikes outside to the shed..
Obviously I'm a bit wary of leaving them there, what with all the recent bike thefts etc..
For those of you who leave yours in the shed what kind of security do you suggest..? I was thinking maybe lock them to the lawn mower.. but they'd probably just take the LM too...

ZiabR

Attic out of the question? Take the wheels off and they easily fit.

MugMugs

Only one bike of mine lives out in the Shed and that's my MTB.

She's chained to a tumble dryer with a Kryptonite lock and then chained again to a Kayak.

The most important part of my protection however was placing her a Specified item under my All Risk House Insurance with no excess. This is something that Allianz did for free.

My road bike however, she lives in hallway and god help any woman who say's otherwise !

davmol

A neighbour of mine had a wooden shed and the theives mut shave known that he had 3 bikes all worth a few quid in it.Anyway,all 3 were taken one night.The scumbag had literally cut a hole in theback of the shed and kicked the rest in when they had cut enough.His shed is in a long back garden so he didnt hear anything.

I paid alot for my bike and wouldnt risk leaving it in a shed unless it was a very secure facility.Mine also resides in my hall.

If it comes to a toss up between the wife or the bike....i will miss her cooking terribly.

Leroy42

davmol wrote: »

i will miss her cooking terribly.

Maybe on her time in the shed she could learn how to cook:D

quozl

If you absolutely have to then a ground anchor in concrete combined with a motorbike chain would be my suggestion.

Mine live indoors, as is right and proper!

[edit]Would any of those wall hooks for hanging bikes help placate her? If your bikes were flat on the wall somewhere in the house would that save enough space?[/edit]

tomasrojo

My shed has a concrete floor, so I drilled two holes and put in a Oxford Brute Force floor anchor. I locked an old ulock through the anchor and left it there permanently as a hoop to lock to with my main lock, a Fahgettaboudit mini-ulock (happens to fit through the gap behind the bottom bracket). My bike has a stand, so I just park it over the hoop and lock.

It was the best I could afford at the time, but it actually seems reasonably secure, on top of the locked shed and locked garden, and very convenient: I just use the key I was carrying around anyway for the Fahgettaboudit.

Cape Clear

Can't believe we are still having this issue in 2015. Bike were not made for the shed simple as!

beauf

Cape Clear wrote: »

Can't believe we are still having this issue in 2015. Bike were not made for the shed simple as!

Did some tech invention happen to replace the garden shed in 2014 then

Pinch Flat

Iock 2 bikes to a ladder - lock I use is an abus heavy duty one. If they cut through this they've come well prepared with an angle grinder - there's not enough space / leverage to use s bolt cutters

fat bloke

Either ground anchor or a steel shed or something. Those wooden sheds aren't worth a boll0x. Crims are having it all their own way lifting nice bikes out of crappy garden sheds.

But if the bike is up to or over 1000 euro, then indoors and upstairs is the place for it.

NeedMoreGears

For what it's worth...

I had a bike nicked out of a wooden shed (they just broke the simple lock). They're not all that secure.

I now have a metal shed and I keep the bike chained to a heavy lump of cast-iron from and old garden bench. If you have power in the shed, it might be worth keeping angle grinders and the likes in the house.

07Lapierre

In a concrete garage which is locked alarmed and covered by CCTV.... Currently looking at anchor points for the concrete floor so I can lock the bikes!

not yet

Only place for a bike is indoors, preferably upstairs..

beauf

NeedMoreGears wrote: »

For what it's worth...

I had a bike nicked out of a wooden shed (they just broke the simple lock). They're not all that secure.

I now have a metal shed and I keep the bike chained to a heavy lump of cast-iron from and old garden bench. If you have power in the shed, it might be worth keeping angle grinders and the likes in the house.

Good idea about power tools. Also an idea to have a cut off for power to the shed in the house. Though if you have power its handy to have some form of alarm or security light on the shed. A lot of Sheds are very lightly built. Its a good idea to re-enforce the locks, by bolting them through the frame of the shed and even adding some metal re-enforcement behind mounting points.

But yeah not the most secure places by default. If they have an angle grinder they'll cut though almost any lock. But it will be noisy. Expensive bikes I'd keep inside or the attic.

TonyStark

Cape Clear wrote: »

Can't believe we are still having this issue in 2015. Bike were not made for the shed simple as!

No room in mine... Fill it with junk so you don't have room for a bike.

Faith+1

I've mine locked to a ladder in the shed with a kryptonite chain. I know they can hacksaw through the lock if they really want the bike but at least I'll make the b*stards work for it.

De Bhál

Yeah but they'll probably just hacksaw through the ladder and take both bike and chain.

NBar

Get one of these
http://www.topeak.com/products/StorageAndDisplay/Dual-TouchBikeStand

And maybe if she put her shoes/handbags or vast amount of clothes into the shed there might be more room.

Hunterbiker

Rig up a baby monitor if you want to be alerted to noise when you are home.
paint the inside of the door white (so you might notice if its open when it shouldnt be...)
A wooden shed is a target cut back plants that grow / obscure your view.
Blank out windows....

If you want to reinfirce your wooden shed consider adding:
steel reinforcement rods for concrete horizontally and former mesh (cant be cut with a chainsaw and the mesh fouls the blades) make the rods different thicknesses and do floor and ceiling and line it with marine ply.
A friend in London did this to his shed (for his motorbikes). He considered it investing in peace of mind. Its an investment in time and money but its a secure building and he couldnt afford to replace the shed he had.

Pinch Flat

De Bhál wrote: »

Yeah but they'll probably just hacksaw through the ladder and take both bike and chain.

Ah yeah fair enough but some scumbags are lazy feckers - opportunists maybe with limited tools to cut through the odd cable lock. If they've come properly armed they'll have your bike no matter what

crosstownk

The kids bikes, the wife's bike and my hybrid reside in the shed. The road bike stays in the house because 1) it's safer and 2) I like to look at it every now and then

The road bike will never be stored in the shed - no matter what the Mrs says.

bazermc

crosstownk wrote: »

The kids bikes, the wife's bike and my hybrid reside in the shed. The road bike stays in the house because 1) it's safer and 2) I like to look at it every now and then

The road bike will never be stored in the shed - no matter what the Mrs says.

Ha, that's gas. I do the same thing every night. Checks on the kids. Check on my bike. Sleep peaceful.

Unknown Soldier

This is an ongoing battle in our household.

I'm winning, marginally.

Luckily I keep offering to put her Pendleton bike in the shed.

Wishbone Ash

I have a snowball's chance in hell of being allowed to bring the bikes into the house. All 4 bikes in shed. I'm even under pressure bringing a tube into the kitchen to repair it.

logik wrote: »

Attic out of the question? Take the wheels off and they easily fit.

Bit awkward for the daily commute!

lennymc

just in case it's not too obvious, I am not sure if discussing the security preventions you take, on an open forum, where people's locations could be identified by their strava routes is the best idea.

For any criminals watching, I have 6 rottweilers and Brett 'The hitman' Hart watching over my bikes. Which are no where near my shed. Or are they?......

smacl

For those with a wooden shed over grass, one thing I've seen used is to place a ground anchor in large bucket, then filled with post-fix cement. Secure the bike to this with a good motorbike chain, and you've got something that takes some serious effort to get through or move.

Lumen

De Bhál wrote: »

Yeah but they'll probably just hacksaw through the ladder and take both bike and chain.

I have a ladder UNDER the shed, with a heavy chain around the ladder, joist, coming through a small hole in the floor, and up to the bikes. This means they have to cut through the floor, joist and ladder to get the bike out.

If only my shed weren't full of tools....

magicbastarder

any time i'm leaving the house for more than a few days, i leave the bikes in the house and deflate the tyres, but take the front wheel off and leave it in the garage, and leave the pump in the shed. so if someone wants to take it, they'll want a van.
you're never going to prevent a burglar from stealing things - the game is about making it take too long so they'll head off to find lower hanging fruit.
as the saying goes, you don't have to outrun the lion, you just have to outrun your friend.

beauf

magicbastarder wrote: »

...you don't have to outrun the lion, you just have to outrun your friend.

+1

Jawgap

Obvious solution is the wife goes in the shed.......

Anyway, have two in the house and two in the shed - the two in the shed are locked to each other and to a ladder and a cast iron water pump.

Plus they're at the back of the shed - the wife's bike is the first one anyone will meet if / when they break into the shed - hopefully that'll satisfy them.

M.J.M.C

Don't be under any illusion that your bike being in your house is completely safe.
I've heard plenty of stories of people breaking into houses for bikes that aren't locked.

Some great advice here for people who HAVE to use a shed, ground anchors etc.
I would also ad motion sensor lights and CCTV if possible.

beauf

I wonder what broadband speeds I'd get in the shed. Might move in there myself.

smacl

Jawgap wrote: »

Obvious solution is the wife goes in the shed.......

Anyway, have two in the house and two in the shed - the two in the shed are locked to each other and to a ladder and a cast iron water pump.

Wow, that's a lot of wives, you're a more patient man than me. Do they not mind being locked to ladders, pumps, etc...

Jawgap

smacl wrote: »

Wow, that's a lot of wives, you're a more patient man than me. Do they not mind being locked to ladders, pumps, etc...

I don't know to be honest.

They seem happy enough in the shed- the food bowls come back empty each day and the laundry gets done.

The only problem at the moment seems to be one of them has gone a bit feral so I can't get in to get a bike!

The two in house are grand - as long as you let them out for an hour or so each day, they're happy enough just lying around indoors

You can't let them out the back though - they just go and antagonise the ones in the shed.........:D

happytramp

Okay, before this thread gets any weirder. Serious question.

A lot of people feel fairly unsafe leaving their bikes in a bog standard wooden shed without ground anchors etc. Would the same reservations apply to a mid terrace house where a thief would have to jump through several houses either side to get to my shed or break in (and then out again) of my alarmed house to gain access to it. There's a similar row behind mine with no side access anywhere. Just about to get a shed for my bikes and wonder what I need. Cheers

lgk

happytramp wrote: »

...Would the same reservations apply to a mid terrace house where a thief would have to jump through several houses either side to get to my shed or break in (and then out again) of my alarmed house to gain access to it.

Mid-terrace house a few doors up from me was broken into from the rear a couple of years ago. They had to get through a min of two other gardens to get to it, so it does happen.

BremoreDave

lgk wrote: »

Mid-terrace house a few doors up from me was broken into from the rear a couple of years ago. They had to get through a min of two other gardens to get to it, so it does happen.

Same with a neighbour of mine a couple of weeks ago. Most burglaries I have heard of seem to be more opportunistic and generally only seem to be for cash and gold . Items that can be easily gotten rid of.
The usual deterrents do tend to work , alarms ,security lights, barking dogs will all work to put them off if there are easier targets.

uphillonly

I've been using this metal bike shed for a couple of years now.

http://www.asgardsss.co.uk/bike-cycle-storage/bike-storage-x4



Comfortably holds 3 adult hybrids. Not sure about the 4 advertised.

Lock system is quite clever & hard to access for anyone wanting to break in. On the theory that a lot of theft is opportunistic it's obvious that these would be a quite a pain to break in to.

The shed has survived one house move so is very sturdy and no sign of rust.

Might be up for sale on boards if we've ever get round to building a bike garage.

RonanP77

I keep all 3 bikes in the garage, it has an alarm so they're safe.

magicbastarder

unless they're specifically breaking into your house for bikes, i suspect they won't take them.
a colleague had a flatscreen TV stolen in a break-in a year ago, and the garda were surprised they took something so cumbersome - as mentioned above, most breakins are for cash or jewellery or similarly high value/low size items.

billyhead

I keep the 2 roadbikes in the boxroom. Not to worried about the hack/run around bike which is left in the back garden. The only problem I have with the bikes in the house is that they drip oil the odd time when there carted up and down the stairs and leave spots/patches on the carpet.:P

mossym

uphillonly wrote: »

I've been using this metal bike shed for a couple of years now.

http://www.asgardsss.co.uk/bike-cycle-storage/bike-storage-x4



Comfortably holds 3 adult hybrids. Not sure about the 4 advertised.

Lock system is quite clever & hard to access for anyone wanting to break in. On the theory that a lot of theft is opportunistic it's obvious that these would be a quite a pain to break in to.

The shed has survived one house move so is very sturdy and no sign of rust.

Might be up for sale on boards if we've ever get round to building a bike garage.

Was just reading a site online at a site that sells ground anchors. They had a page describing how easy it is to get into those bike boxes. Even before reading it I wouldn't have trusted a box like that alone for my bikes

irishrover99

Anyone ever use the shed Alarms they have in argos. Both mine are in the sitting room but it becomes a pain bringing them in and out and putting one in the shed while I use the other for work

BrianHenryIE

Dublin City Council, as a trial, have installed a bike hangar in Dublin 8 (on a residential street near Christchurch):

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.771020739638929.1073741828.268600796547595&type=1

https://dubcitybeta.wordpress.com/2014/08/14/bike-hangar/

ABEasy

uphillonly wrote: »

I've been using this metal bike shed for a couple of years now.

http://www.asgardsss.co.uk/bike-cycle-storage/bike-storage-x4



.

Well you look quite happy with it.:pac::pac::pac:

RobertFoster

ABEasy wrote: »

Well you look quite happy with it.:pac::pac::pac:

His grass is pristine too!

pob1

I have one of these anchors put into a bucket of concrete.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/ie/en/oxford-terra-force-heavy-duty-ground-anchor/rp-prod8496

It was under the floor of the old shed until i had to move to a new one.
It now sits beside the cranks of the bikes with about 3 thick chains going through and the whole lot weighs about 70-80 kgs .

uphillonly

mossym wrote: »

Was just reading a site online at a site that sells ground anchors. They had a page describing how easy it is to get into those bike boxes. Even before reading it I wouldn't have trusted a box like that alone for my bikes

Without wanting to advertise on here how they can be broken into, I'd be surprised if it was easy. You can't get at the lock & the shed weighs over 110kg before you put the bikes in.

You can smash anything with enough force but there's a lot of effort to get at these.

Having said all that, we only put our commuting bikes in. Road bikes are kept indoors, wouldn't want them to get too cold.

bbolger

pob1 wrote: »

I have one of these anchors put into a bucket of concrete.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/ie/en/oxford-terra-force-heavy-duty-ground-anchor/rp-prod8496

It was under the floor of the old shed until i had to move to a new one.
It now sits beside the cranks of the bikes with about 3 thick chains going through and the whole lot weighs about 70-80 kgs .

Some cycling insurance policies insist on the bike being locked to an immovable object when stored in a shed. I think this would probably qualify.

A ground anchor through a wooden shed floor into the concrete blocks underneath is another good option

stecleary

I use these to keep the bikes in the shed safe

the one on the right look small and useless but i dont think you'd get past it too easy