Bike Security whilst camping

[Tangled Metal]

At work we.had a visit from local bike thief. He chose the two best bikes to nick. About 6 months later the police raided a few premises in the area and nabbed a Bulgarian bike thief ring. Well the thieves were English and the Bulgarians were the fences sending the bikes across Europe. They got over £80,000 of bikes from cheap to several grand. They took what was easy and could be sold quickly.That means a mixture of low/mid priced hybrids to several thousands of pound worth of bike.

[Bonefishblues]

You camp at work? I mean, I know we Brits do long hours, but that's ridiculous

[foxyrider]

also what do people do at the York Festival in a weeks time? The pictures I have seen show an open field with nothing to lock your bike to. I would have thought if there are any bike thieves around this would be a good time to come?

There are several 'lock up' areas on the field - steel barriers to lock your pride and joy to. As secure as leaving in town on a Sheffield stand, think they have security on site too.

[Ivor Tingting]

Am sure this has been asked before, on a campsite camp near a perimeter fence and lock to the fence... as I have only ever cycled camp with family the bikes are locked together. Sites would always be on out of the way sites / middle of nowhere... the chances of a targetted theft highly minimal, as would having a bike stolen from a wild camping site....
I for one am more concerned about places like youth hostels, many years ago we were looking at the bikes in hostel bike shed and reckoned with a van we could drive away with a tidy haul.. many not properly locked... hopefully these days security is better....

nope. Stratford upon Avon is pathetic a wooden hut near the car park hidden from view a tiny lock used to close a metal arm held by screws. Inside some long pipes to lock you bike to held onto the wall by a few base metal brackets. If I was so inclined I could have helped myself to a nice Rohloff Thorn when I was there last. Tanners Hatch dont really have any where to lock your bike up just an old lean-to where rubbish is stored, no door - on the other hand you do have to walk a mile or so to get there no cars allowed - I like camping there as can find a tree next the tent to lock bike to

I think there should be a thread detailing YHA lockup facilities ? So Stratford 5 out 10. Tanners Hatch 0 ( ) Berwick upon Tweed 9.

Glen Nevis YHA has a lockable shed but then you have to trust the other bike users not to nick your bike or leave the doors open allowing some one to take a fancy who shouldn't. I could imagine any one could go to the reception and ask for the key to the bike store and it would be given readily. I would avoid YHAs not just because their bike security is not great but because a good night's sleep in these places is impossible.

[Warin61]

I would avoid YHAs not just because their bike security is not great but because a good night's sleep in these places is impossible.

Ear plugs. 30dBA reduction.. I find the hexagonal ones the most comfortable.

[DarkNewt]

my bike is always tangled to my tent disturb my bike and disturb me - best security! not had a problem so far I also click my gears out of whack so anyone making a quick escape will just clatter

[crazydave789]

I don't know if they are still made but those bike tents that use your bike as the poles seemed a good idea when I saw them.

hope everyone at york was okay, it was one of the worst places for bike thefts when I lived there. a copper friend told me they had a call from a fella who caught a kid breaking into his shed for his cannondale, not only did the sprog get nicked but his own bike was stolen while he was trying to pinch that one - divine intervention I think, he hadn't locked it. I lost 4 and the missus 2, the gypsies used to pull up in vans, stihlsaw the locks off and be away with them in seconds. then a stolen van full of stolen bikes would end up at the other end of the M62 in exchange for a stolen car full of weed or laptops etc....

when mountain biking was new and expensive they would watch for you at junctions and follow you home over a few days then pounce, it became second nature to vary your route.

I'm new back on the cycling scene and still considering the security options, the bicycle touring pro lad - Darren rarely uses a lock going by his posts but I wondered about an axa frame lock with the cable option as a never leave home without it option, I've got a few oxford cable locks some of the motorcycle types, and a folding bar type lock but my trusty kryptonites are 20 years old and probably pickable with the biro trick.

has anyone tried those motion alarms that fit under the seat?

for luggage I have a pacsafe wire net thingy somewhere, I did consider fixing panniers to the bike even if just zip ties for the embuggerance factor. nobody seems to want to intervene nowadays if someone does start hacking at your kit, I used to fix motorbikes for people and nobody batted and eyelid at me turning up on a london street, work carpark or outside earls court and taking a different mbike to pieces to fix it. I completely stripped a mbike down in the bike park of terminal 5 once with nobody paying the slightest bit of interest.

So call me paranoid but living in York at one point they would take anything they wanted - bar ends, derailleurs, cranksets, stems, seats even the bolts for your bottle cages. one lad I knew got his bike and rode off into a car because someone had nicked his brake pads. York plod opened a fake second hand bike shop and got 2000+ stolen bikes in a couple of months.

[TerryField]

I have toured a lot in France and never had a problem. I always use a cable lock(wheels, frame and saddle) but the campsites are usually well off the road and unlikely to attract anyone of the opportunist persuasion. I might be a little more careful on a town centre municipal site but, frankly, if it is well locked up on a dark campsite the noise and light of an attempted theft is almost certain to wake you. Lock it up and sleep well!

Terry

[drossall]

I don't know if they are still made but those bike tents that use your bike as the poles seemed a good idea when I saw them.

Although, as someone pointed out, they'd not be so good when you wanted to nip down to the shops for a pint of milk.

[crazydave789]

I don't know if they are still made but those bike tents that use your bike as the poles seemed a good idea when I saw them.

Although, as someone pointed out, they'd not be so good when you wanted to nip down to the shops for a pint of milk.

years ago I stayed in someones garden to keep an eye on a scout expedition and the woman in the house ordered extra from the milkman for me. has anyone tried ocado when touring yet? we've managed to get morrisons and sainsburys to deliver when narrowboating.

[Sweep]

Congrats for thread drift crazydave. I think the idea is that on a bike you pedal to the shop for the minimal amount you can carry, then eat it pronto.

[honesty]

love the drift! I usually stop at the first shop I pass for food throughout the day, and then try and stop nearer the destination for evening meal stuff. In Britain at least you can usually get to a co-op or something. I pick milk up then and stick it in a thermos to keep it cool/fresh for the morning. Any remaining gets put back in the thermos with coffee for the day. Worked rather well last time I toured.

[mercalia]

love the drift! I usually stop at the first shop I pass for food throughout the day, and then try and stop nearer the destination for evening meal stuff. In Britain at least you can usually get to a co-op or something. I pick milk up then and stick it in a thermos to keep it cool/fresh for the morning. Any remaining gets put back in the thermos with coffee for the day. Worked rather well last time I toured.

I just find the local McDonalds - one nice thing about the MAP app in widows 8.1/10 it now shows them and I never pay mor ethan £1.99 for a BigMac and fries now as I learnt about the Survey trick on each receipt

Macdonalds in Elstree, London near the BBC is good

[DarkNewt]

I don't normally go with drifts on a thread but...... here goes... because it is related to bike security - when thinking about topic drift as they say - Six degrees of separation or as Dirk Gently (Holistic Detective Agency) says: "The fundamental interconnectedness of all things"

I dont' carry a lock with me when touring, if my bike isn't in a locked room I don't leave it. My favourite for touring shops is Ald/Lidl but Asda etc.. are also on the list, I actually push my fully loaded bike round (hence aldi and lidl as a favourite with wider isles) and on only one occasion have I ever been challenged and being very polite and asking to see the manager resulted in then locking my bike with the security gaurd while I shopped and then the manager taking me to the cafe to buy me a free coffee - this was on my longes tour.

So far no bike stolen, however whilst stood watching my bike at a shop - I had leant it up a window as I was paying in a very small shop a bunch of kids ran past and snatched my mascot, a woman shouted but I never saw it again.... My mascotts tend to be something I have rescued from the side of the road, currently a rabbit (I think it is) with one eye, one ear half bitten off - I believe was a dogs chew thing for a while, rescued completely sodden from a street in Edingburgh... (does anyone else talk to their mascotts when touring?)

[albal1]

On the odd occasion, where I am wary I remove the chain from the front chainring. Disconnect brakes, takes seconds. Never had a problem round UK.