Leaving bikes on roof rack over night?

General cycling advice ( NOT technical ! )
LittleGreyCat
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Leaving bikes on roof rack over night?

Post by LittleGreyCat »

If I was touring just with a bike I would make sure that the bike was locked up in a safe place overnight, such as a garage or shed or if necessary in my room.

However with a car and two bikes on the roof the equation may be different (assuming that they can be allowed to get wet).

I have a Thule roof rack which locks to the roof and has clamps which lock to the bike frame.
I also have a very tall vehicle.
So it seems reasonable to leave the bikes on the roof locked to the roof rack.

Does anyone else do this?
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Paulatic
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Re: Leaving bikes on roof rack over night?

Post by Paulatic »

I’d of thought it very dependent on where you are parking up.
Outside my house? Yes
Where I worked? Yes
A motorway services? No
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mattsccm
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Re: Leaving bikes on roof rack over night?

Post by mattsccm »

Small Scottish village yes. Anywhere else I wouldn't be relying on any built in lock. They are for snatch thefts only. BIG cables and chains to something solid may wrok. The roof bars are not solid. Why not just pop them in the car. a minute too drop the wheels and one across the front seat and another in the back.
roubaixtuesday
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Re: Leaving bikes on roof rack over night?

Post by roubaixtuesday »

I've exactly the same set up and have done it many times.

On a couple of occasions I've put a cable lock around the bikes for a bit of extra hassle to thieves.

They're maybe more at risk from vandals or the entire car being nicked.

There are for sure some locations I wouldn't risk it.
PH
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Re: Leaving bikes on roof rack over night?

Post by PH »

You might also want to check your insurance, car and bike. I know someone who had two bikes stolen from the rear rack of their car, neither the car insurance or their home insurance (Which normally covered the bikes away from home) would pay out. A very close reading of the policies revealed neither were obliged to.
Bmblbzzz
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Re: Leaving bikes on roof rack over night?

Post by Bmblbzzz »

I wouldn't leave a bike in a car overnight, let alone on top of it. Not round here, that's for sure.
ratherbeintobago
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Re: Leaving bikes on roof rack over night?

Post by ratherbeintobago »

Thule locks will only really deter casual thieves, I think. I’m not sure how well they would respond to a big screwdriver, never mind anything more heavier duty.

Is there no way they can be brought in overnight?
wirral_cyclist
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Re: Leaving bikes on roof rack over night?

Post by wirral_cyclist »

A mate of mine trusted his Thule rack and locks - only the once mind! Bikes went Oh and the rack went! Bristol if it matters.
Another mate lost his (empty) Thule towbar rack locked to his car (Sandhills Station Liverpool so it was a given!)
Put them somewhere safe!
Bmblbzzz
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Re: Leaving bikes on roof rack over night?

Post by Bmblbzzz »

You can leave your car empty in Bristol and it can still get broken into; at least as easily in the 'nice' areas as the rougher ones. Thank goodness car glass doesn't tend to cause punctures or I'd have two a week.
pwa
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Re: Leaving bikes on roof rack over night?

Post by pwa »

I'd make sure the car was in a pretty low risk location with plenty of lighting, and even then I would prefer the bikes to be inside the car rather than on a rack. At motorway services it has been known for caravans to be stolen! Lock broken, caravan unhitched and towed away. Inside the car, laid flat with a sheet over the top is my preference for bikes, and ideally with the car backed up to a wall or something that makes opening the boot difficult.
Nigel
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Re: Leaving bikes on roof rack over night?

Post by Nigel »

As others have said, check the insurance policies very carefully. Stuff on outside of car likely to be excluded. Stuff inside car might be included, but if its visible there may be exclusions on that as well.

The roof bars and bike carrier locks are not secure, the locks are only good to stop a "quick grab and go", not enough to stop anyone with a few standard car maintenance tools. I put my tow-bar rack in the boot of the car after unloading it of bikes. Protects from theft, and vandalism (jumping up and down on the rack could be so much fun for a teenager.....).
simonhill
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Re: Leaving bikes on roof rack over night?

Post by simonhill »

My bike, via household policy, specifies locked to immovable object.

I questioned my insurance company about my bike locked to back rack of my VW camper and they were happy it was an immovable object.

There was also a bit in the policy about anything of value in a car had to be kept out of site. Again, they agreed the rack was OK as keeping the bike out of site isn't feasible.

Obviously, not all policies are the same. Best to always check and note down date and time of any conversation as they record all calls.
fastpedaller
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Re: Leaving bikes on roof rack over night?

Post by fastpedaller »

Good advice above. From my observations over many years(others may disagree) any security devices usually give more inconvenience to the legal owner than they do to the thief. A little story.... a neighbour used to work in the H store at one of our local holiday destinations, and during the summer there would be a constant stream of visitors asking if he could match up keys because they'd closed their roof boxes and left the keys at home. Mostly he was unable to find matching keys, and the owners then discovered how easy it was to get into their roof boxes without a key!
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hondated
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Re: Leaving bikes on roof rack over night?

Post by hondated »

This is during the day.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFVew9lztqs
Unbelievable
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TrevA
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Re: Leaving bikes on roof rack over night?

Post by TrevA »

Like Simon, I lock my bike to the rack of my VW Camper and leave it there overnight. However, I will actually be sleeping in the camper and it’s usually on a reasonably secure campsite. I often use an additional couple of U locks to lock it to the rack, and I only travel with my not so expensive winter, touring or Alu road bike. I wouldn’t leave an expensive carbon bike locked to a rack.
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