Securing Bikes to a Fiamma Rack (1 Viewer)

[callumwa]

Any tips for the best, most effective way to keep bikes which are on the bike rack on the back of the van secure, when you are away from the van, other than a girt big padlock and chain?

Thanks...

 

[yorkshirepudding]

I use a small plastic covered cable from Halfords. It's so discrete I sometimes forget it's on and wonder why the bikes won't come off.

 

[hilldweller]

other than a girt big padlock and chain?

Thanks...

A girt big Oxford locking wire. About 12mm stranded wire and lock with key. This is also a bit of insurance in case any of the straps fail.

It won't stop "them" but will at least slow them down and make them carry burglary tools.

Why Oxford - price

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[tonywolst]

I have a small cheap plastic wire from Halfrauds, I also have ratchet straps that circle around each bike frame But i don't over tighten, That way all bikes are locked together with the strap and lock, so there safe in transit, My total value of bikes is about £40, I had them given to me, When I get a carbon framed monster machine I will leave in the van,(anybody want to give me one?)

 

[geoff1947]

locks

I always put a padlock on the main cog and thus lock the chain and cog so they can't pedal

 

[FULLMOON]

Any tips for the best, most effective way to keep bikes which are on the bike rack on the back of the van secure, when you are away from the van, other than a girt big padlock and chain?

Thanks...

IF YOU DONT WANT ANYONE TO PINCH THEM. THE ONLY WAY IS TO WELD THEM TO THE RACK

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[bernardfeay]

We have had our bikes pinched once and two other attempts failed.

We have a motorbike chain with a very substantial lock on it. Simply by looking at it you can tell that it will do it's job. We don't worry about the great weight of it because it is used when the bikes are on the bike rack.

We always make sure that it passes through the frame so that they can't take them off and put them on a truck for later work.

The plastic coated wire locks seem to be easy to cut through.

As with all security issues, assume the bad guy is stood right next to you with his tool box. Don't take half measures, go the belt and braces route.

 

[W18BLA]

A nice sign on the back saying "The camera fitted to the rear of this motorhome is not just for reversing it is recording 24/7 to monitor the bike's"

We use a flexi lock about 2m long we have two of them and seems to do the trick..

Craig

 

[wivvy's dad]

Pit bull terrier.............................that hasn't been fed for a week

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[scotjimland]

Had two expensive bikes stolen , one from the rack during the night.

The scrotes used bolt croppers to cut though a substantial wire rope ... and they only took my bike which was an expensive Trek.. and discarded the other two..

I reported to the French Police and although sympathetic weren't surprised as it was a common crime..

My advice.. don't take expensive bikes.. if they see it and want it, .... they WILL have it.. buy a couple of old bikes which won't be stolen.. or keep em inside when parked up.

 

[400ixl]

We use the U locks to lock the bikes together and then have a substantial wire rope which was a tow rope in a former life.

Touch wood, not had anything stolen yet.

We do also have a cover for the bikes that we do sometimes use. None of the bikes we take are worth over £100 each so not expensive and likely to be desired over most others.

 

[Stewart J]

No matter what security measures taken, weakest link with most bike carriers is the material they are made from "Aluminium" so easy to cut through, then carry off the bikes in a van or whatever and defeat the chains/ high tensile cables at leisure.

I've just had a Thule carrier fitted and reckon I could remove it very quietly and quickly armed with no more than a ******** and set of ***** **** and when I say quickly were talking a few minutes. leaving only the carrier mounts which is seriously worrying!

As an engineer I was dismayed whilst watching the installer fit it, at just how easily it can be dismounted, so much for expensive D locks and HT cables, hopefully the sight of them attached to bike and frame deters opportunist thieves.

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[scek]

We go OTT on the bike rack.
We use 5 bike locks which have combination locks (all set to the same combi), the locks were quite expensive and are meant to be toughened to protect against hacksaws etc. We then thread a wire through the bikes which is attached to a shed alarm inside to MH.
We wrap all of this in a fiamma bike cover (cut to shape as its a stupid design really - fiamma are really dumb), and we then wrap it all in bungy ropes (1, to stop it flapping around, and 2, to add something else for the thieving bas***ds to get past).
But the big let down in all this is that the fiamma frame is crap. It can be pulled off the back of the MH which a good yank on a crow bar, or sawn through in a seconds. But then they have to get away with 2 bikes attached to a frame.
Yet, after all this, we still bring the bikes into the MH if we are away from it for a while.
It takes me about 10 min to get it all off, and about 15 mins to put the bikes back up, but we feel its well worth it.
Our bikes are quite expensive, over £5000 combined. We don't use them for quick trips, but pretty serious mountain biking. Looking at the big grey bag on the back of the MH you can't tell what they are worth. Could be some cheap crappy kids bikes.
They are insured. They are covered on our house insurance, but we had to detail them and send in photo's to get them covered.
We also have the bikes covered in Smart Water - all the bits n' pieces - frame, seat, wheels etc. You never know, the cops might actually catch them.
Our next MH will have a garage for the bikes.

 

[callumwa]

Well the bikes will go on the rack tomorrow, ready for the off to France.

We have only two "cheap" mountain bikes and the kids bikes, nothing very expensive at all.
I have a couple of motorbike disc locks and a 5 foot chain and padlock. I also have a cover but I will probably not bother with that.

Thanks to all for their tips and advice.....:thumb:

Cheers....

Callum

 

[old-mo]

Dont know if you have left yet , but.

If you buy one of these and fix it to the bikes and the other end to the tightest part of your cover or the place the cover is likely to be lifted so that the lanyard pulls the pin, might help.

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[MikeandCarolyn]

Our 2 bikes (£1,000 cost to us 5yrs ago) live on the Omnistor bike rack. I use 2 of those curled-up plastic coated wire locks (thick ones) through the wheels,round the back of the rack,round the seat tubes at the rear and round the downtubes at the front.So,the wheels are locked to the bikes and the whole lot is locked to the rack.I use a cover all the time.
If they go-they go,we've had good use out of them-and we fancy new ones now anyway
This pic outside the Guggenheim in Bilbao made me smile.

 

[jonandshell]

We get a better night's sleep wherever we spend the night since we bought our garage van.
With £3k worth of mountain bikes on the back to worry about, it really never seemed like we had a proper holiday in our last MH.:Sad:
When they were out there though, we had Kryponite D-locks with extra cables to keep everything together. We just hoped that cutting through, or removing, the rack would be noisy enough to wake us so I could give the culprits a good clubbing with the wheel brace!

We did actually spot an attempted theft of bikes from another van at Calais Aire a couple of years back. A very loud 'OI!' (I am an ex-Army SNCO!) soon had them scarpering!

Whilst I observed them, the youths in question did pass up the opportunity to nick any bikes not secured with big nasty chains though.......