Cycling UK Forum

I've recently purchased myself a road bike to commute to work as the weather is nice. I've always done MTB for like 10 years on a regular basis and I feel in good shape, this is why I decided to ditch the car and save some money by cycling everyday.

I chose a fairly cheap road bike to break me in as I am used to mountain bikes, I was advised to start with a basic 14 gear road bike, I got a brand new road bike for £245 which I think is a good price. My daily commute is 8 miles to and from, it takes me about 20 mins each way. I modified the bike a bit, installing pedals with cleats and shwalbe lugano tyres. The bike looks more expensive than is, so this is where my question of security comes in.

I have a heavy duty armoured cable lock and a kabrus alarmed D lock, I use the both, the kabrus is installed through the back wheel to the down tube of the frame and the cable lock is through the front wheel around the frame securing it to the post of the bike lockup. The cable lock is 1.5 metres and about an inch thick, I wrap it twice around the frame so the bike is tight against the post. Is this adequate security to be left for 8 hours a day?

Sounds ok but your sure to get somebody messing with it when they notice its there all day every day, can you not take into work somewhere.
Best bet is for employers to provide really secure storage for bikes and receive tax allowances from the council for doing so.
BTW I never leave my road bike where I cannot see it, if I was to commute I would try and get the ugliest looking bike I could find
Rob

Depends where it is - my 'bent has alot less direct security than that, and is worth a significant amount more.

I do acknowledge that is is under CCTV, behind a 12 foot fence with 2 factor authentication to get in - so not exactly easy to get close.


But then I also leave it outside ASDA (other supermarkets are available) with less than you - although it's in a heavily trafficked area, so I don't feel too bad.


So - is it in a nice quiet place, visible from a low traffic public space?

FromDirt2Road: just for our own pathetic childish amusement please can you tell us:

(a) the weight of your bike
(b) the combined weight of the two locks you are using

Thank you

I ccommute to work everyday on my bike.

The company put up some bike lock ring on the outside wall of the office inside the car park. The rings are covered by CCTV and so thought that it would be a safe place to put the bikes.

They have now given us a room inside the building as the security guards got fed up with going out to chase theives away. They would enter the car park one day check out the bikes and the locks and then come back the next day to actually take the bikes away. The CCTV did nothing to deter them at all.

The more traffic that goes past your bike whilst it is locked up the better. The car park at my office is down a back street and has little or no passing traffic.

The locks you mention sound sensible but have a think about where it is parked.

I think if someone's experienced with unlocking locks (I've seen videos on how easy and fast it is), it doesn't matter what sort of lock you have; they'll get it open.
Locks are mainly to deter thieves from trying. So if you (as you already do) secure your bike to a solid pole, with frame and back wheel and also secure your front wheel to the frame and/or pole, you should be fine.

I have a massive chain (those used for motorbikes) and a shutter padlock to close it, as well as a u-lock for my racer.

On one occasion, and until today I have no idea how that happened, I put the lock around my (back then MTB) frame, but not around the railing (though planned) I leaned it against. Hours later, and very drunk, I came back from the pub and found out that my bike was apparently so bad that nobody even wanted it for nothing. Lucky me. I still have it.

Consider having it insured. Most insurers will insist that the lock meets certain Sold Secure standards (bronze, silver or gold) depending on the bikes value and that it is locked to "an immoveable" object. Some will only cover it for a certain length of time (mine is 12 hours) if left unattended.
The fee you pay will be based on the bikes value and where you live. You might also be able to cover accessories.

The amount of protection you give your bike all boils down to what it is worth to you, both financially and personally.
Mine is irreplaceable.

@Horizon the weight of the bike according to the paperwork is 9.2kg and both locks combined weigh just under 2kg, it feels very lightweight and I don't frame mount the locks, I carry them in my camelbak when riding.

For everyone else, where I store the bike is literally in the middle of the city centre, there is a lot of CCTV around and I see a lot of better bikes than mine with less security. I feel it is safe and with the 110db alarm, a thief would get a lot of attention if it went off as it is very loud. Has anybody used the kabrus alarm lock before?

@IrishBill how much would insurance be? And what company insures bikes?

I believe most folk do it through their home contents policy and I think it's cheaper that way too. Personally I don't have home insurance so I went with Evans. I didn't really shop around much when I did mine so there may well better options out there, but they've quoted £29 per annum/£2.79 month for a £300 bike in the Bolton area. It'll probably vary a bit depending on where you live.
http://www.evanscyclesinsurance.com/hom ... de=&affid=

I've just added bikes to the value of about £3,000 onto my home insurance for £45 - covered for theft at home and away from the house.

FromDirt2Road wrote:@Horizon the weight of the bike according to the paperwork is 9.2kg and both locks combined weigh just under 2kg, it feels very lightweight and I don't frame mount the locks, I carry them in my camelbak when riding.

Thanks FD2R. I had small chuckle but it was actually very interesting. I completely sympathise with your (IMV justifiable) paranoia - 2 kg of lock isn't too much. Nevertheless you can see the point - lightweight bikes with heavy locks. BTW I agree with others who say location, location, location - then lock it.

Rabbit wrote:I've just added bikes to the value of about £3,000 onto my home insurance for £45 - covered for theft at home and away from the house.

That sounds pretty good. Are there any conditions attached about the quality of the lock you use? Which company is it?

Rabbit wrote:I've just added bikes to the value of about £3,000 onto my home insurance for £45 - covered for theft at home and away from the house.

what's their depreciation rate as well?