Shed bike security

MB Lacey

Advice welcome.
I have a breeze block shed with concrete floor to house 4 bikes (Good bike, commuters x2 and winter bike).
Shed was broken into in the week and Good bike was stolen.
Time to Up security. House too small to keep bikes indoors.
I was thinking of getting 2 Sheffield stands fixed to my concrete floor, I have the space and will always have bikes.
Would this be a good idea?
They cost £35 avg in UK but €85 here.
Any alternatives? I've attached pics of the space in my shed. Thanks in advance.

07Lapierre

A BIG Dog! and Keep him hungry!

Can you link your Shed to your house alarm?

MB Lacey

07Lapierre wrote: »

A BIG Dog! and Keep him hungry!

Can you link your Shed to your house alarm?

They have a yapper of a dog next door who yaps at everything except the lads who stole the bike.
They took the bike whilst we were in the house, even heard them, but it was bin night and we thought that's what the noise was. So house alarm was off and always is when we're in the house. Have thought about alarm for shed but at the moment I'm wondering about best way of securing the bikes as much as poss whilst in the shed.

Yogi81

A few Master wall anchors plus Kryptonite locks & cable should be sufficient with the shed linked to the house alarm

josip

Sheffield stand isn't a bad idea, but I've seen them cut through and once inside your shed thieves may be prepared to spend a few minutes getting what they came for.
Our wooden shed was broken into and a bike stolen last year.
Since then I've installed decent sensor lights in the back garden and put a better (plate) lock on the shed door in the hope/belief that they'll be reluctant to spend additional time exposed in the bright trying to gain access and will instead go elsewhere.
Maybe just get 1 or 2 ABUS Gold rated U-locs and lock all 4 bike frames together?
They'll never be able to leg it with 3 or more bikes being awkward

MB Lacey

Yogi81 wrote: »

A few Master wall anchors plus Kryptonite locks & cable should be sufficient with the shed linked to the house alarm

The Sheffield stands seem more secure than the master wall anchors? Was thinking I wouldn't have to invest in new bike locks with Sheffield stands. Just treat it same as locking bike up my bike in town etc. Those wall anchors are generally quite small and would only fit a kryptonite lock (and involve me buying new locks), unless you're thinking of bigger wall anchor.
Wall anchors I saw were in B&Q and were small.

Yogi81

http://www.ie.screwfix.com/master-lock-wall-floor-anchor-steel-large-160mm.html

There are larger ones available.
Plenty big to get a U-lock or decent sized cable through

MB Lacey

josip wrote: »

Sheffield stand isn't a bad idea, but I've seen them cut through and once inside your shed thieves may be prepared to spend a few minutes getting what they came for.
Our wooden shed was broken into and a bike stolen last year.
Since then I've installed decent sensor lights in the back garden and put a better (plate) lock on the shed door in the hope/belief that they'll be reluctant to spend additional time exposed in the bright trying to gain access and will instead go elsewhere.
Maybe just get 1 or 2 ABUS Gold rated U-locs and lock all 4 bike frames together?
They'll never be able to leg it with 3 or more bikes being awkward

Yes am getting new sensor light fitted and new round locks for shed door. Volts instead of screws etc.
Want the bikes to be independent of each other as 3 of them are heavily used. So don't want to lock them together. Would also like to avoid having to buy extra locks. Sorry your bike was taken.

Corca Baiscinn

The Sheffield Stands would be a bit unwieldy in a shed. Since your floor is concrete can you install ground anchors instead set into the concrete. I was also going to suggest a motorcycle chain but see you don't want to lock the bikes to each other. What about those battery powered shed lock alarms since linking to house alarm obviously not practical when house is occupied?

07Lapierre

MB Lacey wrote: »

They have a yapper of a dog next door who yaps at everything except the lads who stole the bike.
They took the bike whilst we were in the house, even heard them, but it was bin night and we thought that's what the noise was. So house alarm was off and always is when we're in the house. Have thought about alarm for shed but at the moment I'm wondering about best way of securing the bikes as much as poss whilst in the shed.

B*stards! really sorry to hear that.

Our garage is linked to the house alarm..the garage has a movement sensor in it. Its switched on via a Key at the garage door. this means that even if were at home and the house alarm is off, the garage is still armed. Might be worth looking into.

I suggest you hang the bikes on the wall and then lock the bikes to the Hook or a specific wall mounted anchor :

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/accessories/locks/product/review-abus-wba100-ground-anchor-09-35287/

mossym

ground anchor into the concrete. i have one like this:
https://www.ultrasecuritycentre.co.uk/vehicle-security/bike-ground-anchors/bull-point-anchor

then a heavy chain and decent lock. even allows me to leave the bike on the turbo and lock it without moving it. long chain and you can also lock a second bike without them banging against each other.

heavy duty screws into the ground, ball bearings then put into the hex heads with plastic resin and allowed to harden. if they get through that nothing is going to stop them and they are going to take the bike anyway.

Cabaal

Get a motion sensor shed alarm and then stick up a sign,
If they break in the alarm will go off and alert you atleast if your at home

cheap and its another thing to put people off....as well as locking up everything

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Control-Adjustable-Mounting-Included-Caravans/dp/B014U19CB2

JBokeh

I'd stick a few of them Rawl bolts into the ground with the eyes on them, and give them a lick with the welder so they can't be undone, chain the bikes to them then.

Can see you've already got electricity in the shed, so you could get one of them PIR halogen lights with the wee camera that takes an SD card. Stick it on the wall across from the door, and wire it nice and tidy into a switched spur hidden somewhere, that way you know when you open the door not to look at the light, and just to go for the switch and knock it off

tomasrojo

I've two floor anchors in the concrete floor of the shed, one for each bike. One bike has as its main everyday lock a long motorcycle style chain anyway (bakfiets) so I use that through the anchor for that bike. For the other bike, I ran two old u-locks through the anchor so I can raise and lower them off the ground like a hinge, and I secure the bike by looping that bike's main everyday lock (a Faghgettaboudit mini) through the space behind the bottom bracket and through the two old u-locks. Both bikes have stands, which makes this much more convenient.

To cut a long story short, I don't need extra keys. I use the same locks in the shed as I do outside.

terrydel

My neighbours 10st rottweiler is all the security I need.
Seriously, a dog is your best bet.

I give him digestives as a thankyou when we meet, hes the friendliest giant of a dog ever, so long hes not behind his gate defending his turf!

Hunterbiker

you can use a baby monitor (Depends on range / distance to house) But this would pick-up noise (and the better ones give video too). So if in the (likely ) event they have another go you will hear them.

A good place for shed security tips would be the Motorcycle forum or motorbike forums in general.

If you go with a solid anchor point to chain the bikes to make sure the chains and padlocks are up to the job and will resist twisting attacks (where they use a lever to twist the chain until it breaks) and freeze spray attack (you can get spray cans of gas that you use to freeze water in a pipe as an emergency way of stopping a leak while you repair a pipe. This stuff, when sprayed onto chains, can make some chains brittle and you can hit it with a lump hammer of sledgehammer to break the chain.

Make sure there is no slack in your chain and make sure the lock isn't on the floor / easily moved to a position where it can be levered. So if it's awkward to lock / unlock your bike it will be awkward to attack the lock too.

Good luck

moonshadow

Like most premises the weak point is the door.. You can have a five point locking system as many have (typical front door set up ) but the thre hinges on the opposite side can be busted in about 10 seconds... Never mind the standard lock.
I'm guessing it wasn't locked as most people feel secure but even a padlock is useless so don't feel too bad as most sheds have this set up.
Get yourself a proper steel door and frame , anchor bolted to the wall internally with a large push bolt lock covered with an anti cut box like you would see on storage site containers.
The box prevents grinders, bolt cutters etc from being used and a barrel lock is the recommended lock in this situation.
Sorry I can't copy the image but Google strorage container lock box images...

Lusk_Doyle

There are doors you can get that will not be gotten through unless they have an angle grinder and a few hours...

Edit: These doors typically have multiple sets of triple bolts on each side incl top and bottom. You ain't getting through this door!

tomasrojo

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/article/bike-shed-security-part-1-21131/

Some good advice there.

I have to say, I don't think your main utility bike should be absolutely Fort Knox-ed. You'll end up using it a lot less than you should if just retrieving it is a protracted exercise. Maybe locking up with a very good lock to a floor anchor somewhere out of sight is sufficient, unless you're going away for a few days.

Really expensive bikes are another matter though.

MB Lacey

Thanks everyone for all suggestions, all very helpful and lots to think about as I'll be starting from scratch so would like to get it right in the first instance.
I've been travelling and replying from phone so apologies for typos.

Because I travel frequently a dog is unfortunately not an option.

The majority of you are suggesting anchor locks to the floor- with 4 bikes in a small shed wouldn't I have to place a bike against each shed wall so they are supported?
With each wall taken up by a bike everything else would have to be stored in the middle of the shed, which would then make movement of bikes in and out of the shed awkward.

If anyone has the time or inclination to pop up a photo of their set up I'd be very grateful. I can't visualise how 4 x anchor locks on the floor could be more secure or more practical than 2x Sheffield stands.
I get that the stands can be cut through, but as someone said if they're going to come prepared to cut through a Sheffield stand they're going to take the bike whatever the set up.

Small sensor alarm suggested by two people is a good idea - thanks for the link to the amazon one.

I did ask my carpenter/builder friend about fitting a metal door and the costing, said she would get back to me, if anyone knows approx cost for a standard door and frame (33"x78")? I'm guessing very pricey - but maybe worth it.

The Garda fingerprint guy also suggested the metal lock someone was trying to describe, it's like a lock in a square metal plate, impossible for bolt cutters to get at the lock, he said they cost about €50 from B&Q.

I read the bike radar link thanks.
I had considered the hanging bikes from wall hook thing, it would involve removing lots of useful shelving from a wall if I were to hang the 4 bikes.
Could rejig things for that to work I guess. That option would also take up only one wall space in the shed and would allow for independent and easy insertion and extraction of bikes from shed which is good. 4 x wall anchors for each bike and new locks to fit into each of the anchors..

I don't know, it's not just because I'm stubborn, but the 2 x Sheffield stands still seem simplest option. I know someone said they'd be unwieldy in the shed, but I don't think it's something that would bother me.
I think they're in my mind as the solution because I'm so familiar with them, there's no extra bike locks needed and no new keys to think about.
I tried to look up images of floor/ wall anchors in use as bike security but didn't succeed very well, will try again.
Costing wise, one of the anchors someone linked was £17, which is pretty cheap and would allow then for costing of 4 new locks.

Many things to think about - which is just what I wanted to reach a thought out decision- many thanks all.
Hopefully useful to anyone else having to look over this thread in future.

Also bit of good news. I am insured with Allianz and had listed my Good bike as a specified item under my house insurance contents.
I called to see how much excess I'd have to pay if I were to claim and they said €0.
They offered me full price of bike - 6% per year depreciation.
My no claims is going to drop, but it was quite high anyway, so claiming does actually work out well this time.
Just a heads up that if you list your bike as a specified item there's no excess with Allianz. Though I've also had my house insurance with them for 10 years and never claimed so maybe that's why claiming was so easy.

terrydel

Lusk_Doyle wrote: »

There are doors you can get that will not be gotten through unless they have an angle grinder and a few hours...

Edit: These doors typically have multiple sets of triple bolts on each side incl top and bottom. You ain't getting through this door!

And cost more than the bike!

josip

What grade of Sheffield Stand are you getting?
Is it hollow aluminum, solid titanium or something in between?

Also, one to watch for at public stands in case people haven't seen it before.

http://www.cyclechat.net/threads/beware-of-gaffer-tape-on-sheffield-stands.196673/

tomasrojo

MB Lacey wrote: »

The majority of you are suggesting anchor locks to the floor- with 4 bikes in a small shed wouldn't I have to place a bike against each shed wall so they are supported?
With each wall taken up by a bike everything else would have to be stored in the middle of the shed, which would then make movement of bikes in and out of the shed awkward.

Yeah, fair point. My bikes have stands, so I just stand them over the floor anchor. It's recommended to put floor anchors in corners or at edges to minimise attack opportunities, but as you say, you can't really put everything else in the middle of the shed.

If you have room for the Sheffield stands, maybe it's the best option. One my neighbours has one outside his house, so it's not unheard of having one at home.

Lusk_Doyle

MB Lacey wrote: »

Also bit of good news. I am insured with Allianz and had listed my Good bike as a specified item under my house insurance contents.
I called to see how much excess I'd have to pay if I were to claim and they said €0.
They offered me full price of bike - 6% per year depreciation.
My no claims is going to drop, but it was quite high anyway, so claiming does actually work out well this time.
Just a heads up that if you list your bike as a specified item there's no excess with Allianz. Though I've also had my house insurance with them for 10 years and never claimed so maybe that's why claiming was so easy.

6% yearly depreciation on a bike? That's a new one for me. How did they arrive at that?

mrcheez

If you want real secure sheds try the Asgard range, but might be out of your budget (also you need to get a courier to send them here)

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