Safe "parking" for your bike

[Gail-force]

Hi all, I'm considering taking a bike away with me this year on my France trip (never taken one away with me before) and I was wondering what you do with the bike once you've reached your destination? I assume you find a sturdy lamp-post and shackle the hell out of it?? Any advice welcome, Thanks G

 

[A S R]

Put it inside the van. That’s where my emtb lives permanently.

 

[sbbots]

Hi all, I'm considering taking a bike away with me this year on my France trip (never taken one away with me before) and I was wondering what you do with the bike once you've reached your destination? I assume you find a sturdy lamp-post and shackle the hell out of it?? Any advice welcome, Thanks G

I have an expensive e cargo bike, I chain it to something solid using a heavy duty motorbike lock, plus a d lock. I remove the battery. In addition I velcro a hidden alarm to the underside of the frame. The alarm is movement activated and very loud. I am not paranoid, I'm just trying to make things too difficult for a opportunist thief.

 

[Puddleduck]

Battery and saddle removed (or folded up with handlebars folded down so it looks unrideable) although usually one of us stays with the bikes.

 

[coopc]

You end up being a bit paranoid about where to lock it etc
I ended up getting a couple of cheap electric fold up bikes off Amazon
Ok £600 is not that cheap but compared to a Brompton
We still use d locks and chains and a disk lock alarm but it’s a faf
Can’t stop being paranoid even with cheap kit !
But if the bikes do go. Cheap to replace
They work very well to my surprise
HITWAY Electric Bike 250W Foldable
£509 at the moment according to Amazon as there is a £100 discount code

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[Treefitter]

I’m pleasantly surprised but in the eu I have not fell insecure having my BMW scooter with us. I always felt safe. However in the uk it’s another story! Lock your bike to your van it will be fine.

 

[Gyro]

Take a really cheap old one so nobody wants to nick it
Anything worth having will be a target for thieves.
Phil

I realise your comment is probably tongue in cheek but it’s of no use whatsoever!

 

[Gyro]

I have an expensive e cargo bike, I chain it to something solid using a heavy duty motorbike lock, plus a d lock. I remove the battery. In addition I velcro a hidden alarm to the underside of the frame. The alarm is movement activated and very loud. I am not paranoid, I'm just trying to make things too difficult for a opportunist thief.



View attachment 853070

Most sensible

 

[Fulham Dave]

We have been travelling with our 2 electric bikes for over 3 years, visiting 16 countries.

When in a town centre we secure them to a permanent structure, railings, tree, bike racks etc. with two D locks and an interlinking cable.

We have never removed the batteries or felt the need to. We always place them in a busy place, where other electric and push bikes are.

Both bikes are insured and stored in the garage when travelling.

 

[Mick Kennedy]

I realise your comment is probably tongue in cheek but it’s of no use whatsoever!

I'm sure his comment was a bit tongue-in-cheek, but it's also true, unfortunately. I've had two electric bikes stolen in the past despite them being chained up with Oxford ''monster locks''. So now, when I got my latest bike, I have sprayed it with a manky-looking matt paint to try to make it look less tempting. As somebody said earlier, MOST bikes aren't pinched, but some defo ARE - normally the most expensive or fancy-looking, I suspect.

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[Twitters]

Usually there are some bike places in towns to park your bike, we always take the seat off the bikes and the cable goes through both the wheels and frame, when parked up we always secure to a tree or keep them on the van usually with a very long cable with a good lock, although our bikes are old it could spoil our holiday if they were stolen. Good luck with the bikes you choose.

 

[Hymerboy]

Usually there are some bike places in towns to park your bike, we always take the seat off the bikes and the cable goes through both the wheels and frame, when parked up we always secure to a tree or keep them on the van usually with a very long cable with a good lock, although our bikes are old it could spoil our holiday if they were stolen. Good luck with the bikes you choose.

It occures to me that it does not matter how long your cable is, it only has to be cut once ?

 

[Gail-force]

Thanks folks for all of your replies TBH I’m reconsidering getting a bike now, just useShanks’ pony or the local bus/taxi… I love the idea of cycling along a beautiful (flat) country lane but the stress I’ll probably feel when I leave it anywhere… possibly not worth it

 

[Barchetta47]

Thanks folks for all of your replies TBH I’m reconsidering getting a bike now, just useShanks’ pony or the local bus/taxi… I love the idea of cycling along a beautiful (flat) country lane but the stress I’ll probably feel when I leave it anywhere… possibly not worth it

If I was you I wouldn’t worry to much.

The perceived risk is always much greater than the real risk. A few months ago I ran a thread on how many people had had e-bikes stolen off their bike racks in Europe. I was intrigued because of the fact that most people on here are very pro bikes in garage and anti bikes on racks because of the perceived risk. In the end after many replies I think there were only 1-2 on here who had e-bikes stolen off their rack plus a couple of others who had witnessed someone else having had their e-bikes stolen.

So all in all the risk of your e-bike being stolen I would suggest is very low. Plus if you’re meeting the insurance requirements you can get a new bike at the next store!!!!

I know this thread is about securing your bike when out and about but I suspect the same level of risk applies.

 

[Nanniemate]

Also need to be shackled to a permanent structure so not sure a bike rack on the back would count.

It does surprisingly I have it in writing from my insurers but every policy needs checking carefully

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[alasdairandannie]

Hi all, I'm considering taking a bike away with me this year on my France trip (never taken one away with me before) and I was wondering what you do with the bike once you've reached your destination? I assume you find a sturdy lamp-post and shackle the hell out of it?? Any advice welcome, Thanks G

We probably fret about this more than securing the van! Lots of good advice below. We travel with a Whyte Bike and a Cannonade Gravel bike so that we can enjoy getting out and about and I also had the option of donning my lycra and going off somewhere.
1. We use Gold class locks (Abus and Kryptonite; both heavy but Mrs has them in a bag on the Bike) which is a requirement of our insurance in any case.
2. On site we keep them in the garage and if we're uneasy, we also lock them together so if anyone tries to nick them it would be noisy and more difficult than if they were loose.
3. Out and about we use public places, ideally where there are other bikes and photograph them once we lock them up (where possible to an immovable object). 1-3 locks depending on how we feel the area is.
4. I guess that our rule of thumb is the same as parking the van; if uneasy, look for somewhere else.
5. We don't move the bike battery as it isn't light but we could. I also don't really want to get into removing saddles, pedals etc but could I suppose.

It's not nice having to worry about this but bike theft is prevalent in most large towns and cities. I wish more spots were like Padstow where they have a manned secure storage shed for I think £1.50.

Good luck and safe travels

 

[Soycd]

We probably fret about this more than securing the van! Lots of good advice below. We travel with a Whyte Bike and a Cannonade Gravel bike so that we can enjoy getting out and about and I also had the option of donning my lycra and going off somewhere.
1. We use Gold class locks (Abus and Kryptonite; both heavy but Mrs has them in a bag on the Bike) which is a requirement of our insurance in any case.
2. On site we keep them in the garage and if we're uneasy, we also lock them together so if anyone tries to nick them it would be noisy and more difficult than if they were loose.
3. Out and about we use public places, ideally where there are other bikes and photograph them once we lock them up (where possible to an immovable object). 1-3 locks depending on how we feel the area is.
4. I guess that our rule of thumb is the same as parking the van; if uneasy, look for somewhere else.
5. We don't move the bike battery as it isn't light but we could. I also don't really want to get into removing saddles, pedals etc but could I suppose.

It's not nice having to worry about this but bike theft is prevalent in most large towns and cities. I wish more spots were like Padstow where they have a manned secure storage shed for I think £1.50.

Good luck and safe travels

Interesting what you said about Padstow. Our very own Bognor Regis station has a locking bike compound. Once you’ve filled out a form and proved ID/address you are given a fob for the gate. We then lock our bikes to the bike racks/railings. They even have a bike service area with tools and a pump. If we are ever going take bike travel seriously then this should be the norm.

 

[Arnside037]

Surely the Bognor Regis station facility (and there are others around the country), laudable as it is, doesn't address the concerns of the OP concerning the security of bikes when motorhoming. I'm not sure if i would benefit from the admin of id, payment, fobs etc if only visiting the town for the day before moving on. Great for rail commuters from Bognor though.

 

[Gaston aires]

I realise your comment is probably tongue in cheek but it’s of no use whatsoever!

Tongue in cheek yes, but this has worked for me for 20 years insomuch as nobody has nicked my or my wife’s bikes

 

[wp1234]

Likewise to above, but we also
1. Take a phone photo of them in situ so that if they are nicked, we can show the insurance that we adhered to their requirements that we secured them to a fixed point using a gold standard D lock (and not a cable, as they are too easy to cut).
2. Use a cable to secure the front wheel ( it has quick release) to the D-lock.
3. We leave the batteries on the bike because it has a lock to secure it, and they weigh 2.2 kgs each, which it too cumbersome to carry around with us.

When on the bike rack, besides the Kryptonite D locks, we remove the batteries and saddles to make them less desirable to nick, and to reduce weight at the rear. A number of dealers said to us that you need to spend about 10% of the value of the bike on security.
Its not just the issue of having the bikes nicked, it the dammed inconvenience of losing them while you are away travelling.

Apart from your precautions I use one of these alarms on the bikes and activate when necessary. If you just try to move the bikes the noise is unreal close up.