Ebike Security Devices.

[stevec]

We are just about to take delivery of two folding electric bikes. We have spoken to our house insurance company who have agreed to extend our policy to cover them (with the associated extra premium of course!) as long as we take appropriate security measures with them. The term "due diligence" was used a lot. So we now have to look at getting some locks. My wife says not to spend as much time choosing these as I did on selecting the bikes so I thought I'd short circuit things somewhat and ask what other Funsters use as an effective lock/security device. As these are folding bikes I expect to fold them before securing them to something, even thinking of storing them under the van and chaining them to the axle (hopefully next year another MH with internal storage). Looking on Halfords website there are seven pages of locks, so where to start! Any pointers would be helpful.

 

[Judge Mental]

Abus D locks well rated. Chain also a good idea for securing at van to something immovable.but most chain rubbish. It really all depends on value of bikes...

Informed opinion says you should spend 10% of bike value on security. 2 different types of locks need different types of tools to defeat, so slow down thieves

 

[gulfbluersr]

When we had our bikes stolen at Peterborough they were locked together through our motorbike with a Halfords wire rope and combination lock, when they took the bikes there was no sign of the lock after. I asked the Scene's of Crime officer whether she thought they are clever enough to unlock the lock or just cut the rope with bolt croppers and if cut why bother taking the lock?? She said they probably just cut but take the lock away and then throw to hide the evidence from the scene, sly F^£&**£s
I also asked her which type of lock was in her mind best as in wire rope, chain or D lock and key lock or combination, her answer was that she thought D lock but would not give a definite answer and suggested speaking to a sale assistant in ........... Halfords!!! I guess she was not allowed to give a set answer but from what she said D lock is the way forward.
The wire rope lock we had was a Halfords own brand, I spoke to one of the assistants in there the other day as I seemed to remember that they did some sort of money back for your bike if it was stolen while locked up scheme but that was not with one of their own brand locks but with their better branded lock sets so no money back for us from them then
Next time it will be a rottweiler and an AK47 as defence against the thieving scum bags

 

[YukonJac]

Hi, welcome to the wonderful world of electric bikes!
I have a Kalkhoff Pro Connect, so about £2000 worth. The battery is worth almost half of that, so it comes with me in the van at night and in a backpack if I have to leave the bike for any length of time while away on a ride. After much lock research, I settled on a Kryptonite Evolution Medium (around £50). I also use a cable to secure the front wheel which is quick-release.
The bike is ALWAYS locked to the bike rack when travelling and I will be adding an alarmed cable to the rack when I head to VanBitz for a Strikeback system later in the year.
It all seems such a pain, but it's a load off the mind when well-prepared. You have to spend a bomb on a good lock - look for the 'Gold Sold Secure' rating.
Enjoy your new bikes!
YJ

 

[DBK]

There is a defined standard for bike locks. Bronze, Silver and Gold. A good gold lock will probably cost you over £50. In theory, if using a D lock you want to use as small a one as possible so there isn't room for them to get a hydraulic jack in but this means you are limited to finding railings, which may not always be around but trees might be - for which you need a chain or cable and you can get these in the gold rating.

As an added deterrent look at the Krabus audible alarms which beep if moved.

But don't expect any lock to prevent a determined thief. The definition of the gold rating is it will delay a determined attack by just five minutes.

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[Puddleduck]

We bought two gold rated "D" locks from Trendz bikes.

http://www.tredz.co.uk/search/Locks

Trendz have good prices but you do get quite a lot of email from them. I've also bought new panniers and a front basket No affiliation just happy with the service.

We lock the bikes together (bikes folded around the bike rack) through frames / wheels and rack and also use two types of "snake" type chain things just to make it more time consuming for a thief to make off with them.

Always take batteries and keys with us...

If Mr Thief wants the bikes he will take them no matter what, it's just a case of slowing him down or making it such a nuisance he will go elsewhere. (It could be Ms Thief of course).

Generally though one of us stays with the bikes even when they are locked up.

 

[DBK]

If Mr Thief wants the bikes he will take them no matter what, it's just a case of slowing him down or making it such a nuisance he will go elsewhere. (It could be Ms Thief of course).

Generally though one of us stays with the bikes even when they are locked up.

We walked 6 km into Salamanca along what is also a bike path and inevitably we discussed about getting bikes. Then we got to Salamanca and wondered what you would do with them? There are railings but also thieves - Mary had some low life unzip her rucksack while she was wandering around the cathedral listening to the audio guide while I was photographing something.

But lots of folk have electric bikes and enjoy them - just be careful!

 

[Puddleduck]

Mary had some low life unzip her rucksack while she was wandering around the cathedral listening to the audio guide while I was photographing something.

Grrrrrr.... hope nothing important / valuable / not replaceable was taken.

Same thing happened to one of our Japanese students on the London underground. His passport and travel documents were taken.

I thought about making a rucksack with the flap closure on the inside - the side that is against the back.... or at least a secure pocket there for paperwork and change.

 

[Minxy]

I'm afraid that a basic wire and combination lock is pretty 'crappy' security - they are cheap as chips and thin so not difficult to cut through at all. We use a couple of heavy duty motorcycle cable/lock combinations which would take ages to get through. They are heavy to cart around but we just hang them on the handlebars when pedaling around. We can then lock the bikes up by 2 sections so even if one lock was got off they'd still have to get the other off too ... not impossible but it would take time. We are also fairly careful where we leave our bikes and rather than put them out of sight when going off for a wander round, we'll tend to lock them up in plain sight so if anyone starts to mess about trying to cut through the cables they'd be spotted. Nothing more appealing than the sight of some nice goods hidden away from view which they can spend their time on to nick!

 

[Lindacarole]

Just a couple of points, we each have rucksacks with zips against our backs they are actually camera bags, low pro .
When we were buying d locks the cycle shop suggested we spend 10 percent of the price of the bikes on locks.
Sounds a lot but I guess you don't often get bikes back so might be worth it. We have an abus and a krypton d lock for our bikes, usually use both on both bikes together
Let's see after we get back from our month away in Spain!
On the ferry from Portsmouth tomorrow
Yippee
LC

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[Robert Clark]

We have two e-bikes and our insurer insisted on Gold rated locks
We have a tow bar mounted bike rack and use one of the chains to pass through a hole in the chassis of the van. We then use the other chain to pass through the first chain and round the frames of the bikes
When we're out and about we use the two 'd' locks to secure the bikes to each other and the chain to lock the bikes to a lamp post or railing
We don't remove the batteries as they have a key operated lock which secures them to the frame of the bike
At home we keep the bikes outside in a purpose made steed security locker. This has a plate on the floor which is bolted into the ground - the chain passes through the plate to secure the bikes to the ground
We live in the county and never thought security was a problem but on returning from a trip recently the police had put a card through the door advising that a neighbours garage had been broken into
Better to be safe than sorry !

 

[Minxy]

The batteries on our folding e-bikes are inside the frame, something which we like as they aren't nickable and doesn't advertise the fact that they're electric bikes.

 

[Judge Mental]

there are chains and near useless chains that are not worth using.....

http://www.pragmasis.com/

 

[YukonJac]

The reason I got a Kalkhoff with the largest battery capacity was for the incredible range (averages about 75 miles on mixed terrain per charge), thus a VERY expensive battery. It also locks to the frame but my logic is, if the bike gets stolen, at least I still have the bloomin' battery. Added bonus; when the battery is off the bike, it looks like a bog standard hybrid.
It all depends on what ya got and how much it's worth! All this said, I don't have anxiety or worry too much - I live in central London which is the bike thief capital of the world. You just learn to live with it while being careful.

 

[Puddleduck]

At home we keep the bikes outside in a purpose made steed security locker. This has a plate on the floor which is bolted into the ground - the chain passes through the plate to secure the bikes to the ground

My son has his bike stolen from the same set up as your - the thief took the plate and a big lump of concrete from the floor as well. The bike was recovered by the police, undamaged, about three weeks later after a tip off.

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[Robert Clark]

My son has his bike stolen from the same set up as your - the thief took the plate and a big lump of concrete from the floor as well. The bike was recovered by the police, undamaged, about three weeks later after a tip off.

That's terrible!
They'd have a problem lifting the concrete under our shed, it's about 3m x 2m and about 300mm thick
You'd need a big chisel or a crane

 

[Judge Mental]

that dealer USP of kalkhoff wearing a bit thin these days! My very efficient and relatively light Bosch 400 watt battery does 40-60 miles at least...and fast charges in a few hours. Yes replacements expensive in UK, nigh on half the price on Germany

 

[DBK]

Grrrrrr.... hope nothing important / valuable / not replaceable was taken.

Same thing happened to one of our Japanese students on the London underground. His passport and travel documents were taken.

I thought about making a rucksack with the flap closure on the inside - the side that is against the back.... or at least a secure pocket there for paperwork and change.

No, nothing taken. Mary probably moved or I came back. Lesson learned.

 

[YukonJac]

that dealer USP of kalkhoff wearing a bit thin these days! My very efficient and relatively light Bosch 400 watt battery does 40-60 miles at least...and fast charges in a few hours. Yes replacements expensive in UK, nigh on half the price on Germany

You are clearly in love with your Bosch bike - that's great! I was speaking of the highest capacity Kalkhoff battery available though, not comparing it to other systems. I've had it a couple of years - fully aware that technology moves very fast, but try to stay happy with what I've got. The brand/tech -spinners are geniuses at brainwashing us to be unhappy unless we have the latest - they will be the only winners.

 

[Puddleduck]

That's terrible!
They'd have a problem lifting the concrete under our shed, it's about 3m x 2m and about 300mm thick
You'd need a big chisel or a crane

Police thought they used a power chisel (found one at the residence where the bike was found). They make a fair bit of noise but as he was living in student accommodation noise was a fact of life..... They also think it look less than ten minutes to get into the shed (pulled side off with a chain attached to a landrover that belonged to the warden), cut out the concrete and load the bikes into another car they stole from the car park. The stolen car was fished out of a ditch.

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[stevec]

What size shackle did you choose for the D lock? Just looking at the Abus Granite 53 but they have a 23cm and a 30cm shackle. Larger seems more versatile but smaller probably more hijack proof. Also going for a Sold Secure Silver chain lock.

 

[Judge Mental]

I keep our two ebikes worth over £6000 in the house!. Wife don't like it but tail don't nood the dog under our roof!

You are clearly in love with your Bosch bike - that's great! I was speaking of the highest capacity Kalkhoff battery available though, not comparing it to other systems. I've had it a couple of years - fully aware that technology moves very fast, but try to stay happy with what I've got. The brand/tech -spinners are geniuses at brainwashing us to be unhappy unless we have the latest - they will be the only winners.

Love? Hardly....No informed.... Opinion not squered by main dealer prejudice & BS

 

[Judge Mental]

I keep our two ebikes worth over £6000 in the house!. Wife don't like it but tail don't nood the dog under our roof!

 

[Puddleduck]

What size shackle did you choose for the D lock? Just looking at the Abus Granite 53 but they have a 23cm and a 30cm shackle. Larger seems more versatile but smaller probably more hijack proof. Also going for a Sold Secure Silver chain lock.

Went for the 30cm thinking if it was to go through four wheels (both wheels of both bikes) and a rack we would need the length.

 

[Judge Mental]

Police thought they used a power chisel (found one at the residence where the bike was found). They make a fair bit of noise but as he was living in student accommodation noise was a fact of life..... They also think it look less than ten minutes to get into the shed (pulled side off with a chain attached to a landrover that belonged to the warden), cut out the concrete and load the bikes into another car they stole from the car park. The stolen car was fished out of a ditch.

Were theres a will there's a way!

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[dulvil]

I use a henry krank alarm mine. It is a 12 bore black powder cartridge(shotgun) perfectly legal,if it goes off thief probably have heart attack

 

[Judge Mental]

I use a henry krank alarm mine. It is a 12 bore black powder cartridge(shotgun) perfectly legal,if it goes off thief probably have heart attack

Not a clue as to what it is but sounds well cool!

 

[gulfbluersr]

I use a henry krank alarm mine. It is a 12 bore black powder cartridge(shotgun) perfectly legal,if it goes off thief probably have heart attack

Bit of googling and got it.......
http://www.henrykrank.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=2964
Now that looks like something I may be ordering as a good cheap deterrent and warning, I take it that the noise is the same volume as a 12 bore? Is it the same size cartridge? Have you been tempted to use a shot filled cartridge and point the alarm in the potential thief's direction, that should sort the Barstewards

 

[dulvil]

Do not do that, I tripped over my bike and set it off, I would have been dead,but yes same size as short cartridge

 

[Langtoftlad]

I can now see loads of Funsters having near heart attacks as they forget they armed their bikes with a HK Mine !

Boom!
WTF was that!
Just @gulfbluersr getting his bike out .

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