Cycling UK Forum

Dear Cyclists

I am the chair of a newly formed BUG, although the acronym didn't sit well with me being in the NHS, hence we call ourselves Health Park cycling user group [40+ NHS cyclists to date]. Of the several issues that our user group is looking into, mainly improved provision of Cycle Shelters, Cycle parking and Access. The question of Cycle security has risen.

A recent spite of thefts has led to queries regarding to Cycle Security. I am aware of the line of thumb, that 10%-20% of the cost of your cycle should be allocated to cycle security, but could anyone advise on a line of security products?

I have booked a local Police PCSO to come onto the Hospital site during Bike Week 13-21st June, to offer Free Security engraving to our cyclists. (yes fully aware this doesn't stop thefts but it does help the police return stolen cycles promptly and makes it more of an inconvenience to the thief).

The following question has been Raised how do you mark a Carbon Graphite cycle?

I have also been asked if your bike gets stolen at work would it be covered by Household insurance?

Can anyone advise on procedures or policies available to cover this event, as its another area that I currently get a little flummoxed on when asked?

apologies for all the questions especially on my 1st post on the forum, so thank you for your time and look forward to your advice /comments?

Alex

I myself ride a 4 year old battered Reliegh Metro GLX commuter bicycle, although in last Monday's Guardian newspaper 10/05/09 it recommends to Fit a Wicker basket to the front of your bike as it makes it look uncool and hence unattractive to cycle thefts..

Just one very broad point. The biggest, strongest, heaviest, poshest bike locks will only resist a determined, well-equipped thief for a few minutes. They may well deflect them onto somebody else's bike. This means that something which might work against a casual thief when a bike is randomly outside a shop for a few minutes may not work in a location where a number of bikes routinely are stored for entire shifts, especially if they're in the typical secluded 'keep it out of sight' location. Anything less than a lockable store or purpose-made lockers, preferably under the nose of the security staff, is going to be a permanent source of trouble, for which you don't need the blame. Employers may baulk at this but it's only a tiny fraction of what's spent on car parking.

thirdcrank wrote: Anything less than a lockable store or purpose-made lockers, preferably under the nose of the security staff, is going to be a permanent source of trouble.

We have a lockable store but it has recently been broken into at night and our pool bikes stolen and/or vandalised. To give access to staff the lock is a combination lock but obviously the code had been broken. Does anyone have ideas for a better, more secure system?

I don't suggest for a moment that just calling something a 'cycle store' or similar will improve matters. The problems with commuters' bikes are that they are there for hours at a time, shift starting and finishing times are often predictable and any official storage arrangement concentrates all the bikes in one place.

Law-abiding people look at the size of their lock - baddies look at the weaknesses of its surroundings. (Eg, a large industrial site near here was recently vacated and to prevent so-called 'travellers' using it as a campsite, huge concrete blocks were dumped across the gateways. The perimeter fence consisted of chain link fence. Rather than mess with the concrete, the inevitable campers just drove through the flimsy fence next to them.)

Unless you can have a really top-notch secure store, you are better opting out of any communal arrangements, make friends with the security / janitorial staff, and get them to let you keep your bike in a nice warm boiler-room or similar, where you can also dry your togs. (I do like boiler-rooms. )

If I'm leaving the bike for any length of time (i.e. not just nipping into a shop for a couple of minutes) I use 2 locks, of different types.
The low-life that comes with bolt croppers rarely has a bottle jack, and vice-versa, so D-lock and cable trumps any single lock.
I also try to park with a group of less well locked bikes.
It's a bit like the group being followed by a lion - you don't need to outrun a lion if you can keep ahead of the rest of the group!

These days, at a work cycle parking area, security should include cctv, lockers, or (preferably) both, in an access controlled area.

You can get a special tag like the ones fitted to dogs for bikes. Better for a carbon bike than engraving.

chris667 wrote:You can get a special tag like the ones fitted to dogs for bikes. Better for a carbon bike than engraving.

DataTag is the best known system for this:
http://www.datatag.co.uk/
Dealer: http://www.chickencycles.co.uk/index.php?cat=14&ord=2
£25 per bike.

As nobody has tackled the insurance question yet, I'll provide an answer - check your policy, they differ! Most of them will cover cycles under contents insurance, up to £200, sometimes £500. They have to be locked with a Thatcham Gold rated lock, and locked to something solid, like a lampost or decent Sheffield stand.

The combination lock should be replaced with a secure keyed padlock - each person who wants to use the locker should pay a deposit equal to the cost of getting a new key cut. My work uses padlocks on all our sites. Each region, covering 250+ sites and thousands of employees uses the same keys, and we have few security problems.