Push Bike Security (2 Viewers)

[Stevef]

How secure are push bikes on the back of motor homes? Our Kontiki has a rack fitted and I assume you lash your bikes to this with a couple of bike locks but the racks don’t seem that strong. Anything we can do to help ourselves?

cheers
Steve

 

[peterc10]

Remember it only takes a few seconds to cut through the arms of an aluminium bike rack with a battery angle grinder. Chuck the lot in the back of a van and deal with the security locks and chains later.

 

[AlanMM]

We parked outside my in-laws house in Bristol some time ago with four bikes on a rack behind our Kontiki. They stole all the bikes and the rack! It was parked with the rack overhanging the bonnet of my father-in-laws car so I was amazed at the strength and dexterity to unbolt it, all without a sound. My wife was mad and drove round the Knowle area looking for them for hours ....

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[orridge]

I have followed this thread and would warn against relying on any lock device to secure the cycles, gold standard or otherwise. Why?, down to the bitter experience of having my cycles removed by sawing through the bike rack itself, locks and all stolen. An alarm loop is essential.

If they really want your bike they will get it anyway so having good insurance is paramount and a lot of policies state you need a sold Secure Gold/Silver lock if only to make sure your insurance claim is not denied.

From experience also make sure you have a copy of the receipts for said locks if they leave no damage trace behind.

 

[Peter Goadby]

Someone showed me how people use a battery powered angle grinder to remove a bike rack, including the bikes, in about 30 seconds off the back of a MH. You must have an alarm loop on them if you don't have a garage.

 

[Stevef]

Thanks for all he responses and it’s clear to see alarm loops are a deterrent Which I’ll invest in. Can anyone recommend a specific bike cover to go over two bikes. Not sure there is much difference in these things but the choice is huge.
thanks again
Steve

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[DangerMousy]

Can anyone recommend a specific bike cover to go over two bikes. Not sure there is much difference in these things but the choice is huge.
thanks again
Steve

We have a Hindermann Concept cover which completely encloses the bikes - very tough and has lasted very well.

 

[Boris7]

Aluminium pipe cutter will remove the bike rack quickly and silently, therefore any chain/cord etc is useless.
An alarm only works if your nearby,
Im taking my bike this weekend, and my security devise is a cloth, use it to clean the bike before putting it in the cab overnight.

 

[MobyDick57]

Hello
Presently taking delivery of a campervan with tow bar for bike rack. Already had a set of electric bikes stolen in Strasbourg, so super keen to ensure it doesn’t happen again. So this is what I’ve done:
1. Fitting a Lockdown Loop alarm over and above the van cat 1 alarm. (Thatcham have told me to keep alarms separate! Ie separate sirens or the van cat 1 alarm becomes obsolete to the insurance company)
2. Using high quality D-locks.
3. Securing D-Locks and bikes to chassis with something appropriate.
4. Buying a good quality cover.
5. Fitting a BlackVue DR750S 2 channel cameras. The rear one fits perfectly between the rear window and the blind.
6. Sticking a sign saying “CCTV ICloud”
So anything happens to the vehicle, then the recording is immediately sent to the cloud

I’ll let you know if I have them stolen again

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[Zamzoo]

LiteLoks are not much better than cable locks sadly, even though they are Gold Secure rated. They can be cut with *cable* cutters in seconds (it's just bolt cutters they're good against). There's a video on youtube.

I do love out Atera Strada Evo bike rack also, it's a lockable towball mounted one so carries a weight penalty compared to a wall mounted one (20kg rack, 30-50kg towball depending on chassis I guess).

 

[Tribbtravs]

I designed this simple loop alarm originally to put between the front doors but now use on the bikes. if you fancy a bit of soldering it can be whipped together in a couple of minutes and would be a great little lockdown project. It works really well and off a 9 V battery which lasts forever as it uses very little current. The 3 components are a 100k resistor. Piezo sounder/buzzer, cant remember the dB but its quite loud for its size and a TIC106 Thyristor. The thyristor is a device that once triggered the only way to turn it off is to reverse bias it or remove power. The device is held off by the loop connecting its gate to 0 V. Once the loop is broken/cut, the gate is connected to the 9 V supply and the piezo sounder comes on. The thief cannot turn it off by reconnecting it. The only way to turn it off is to turn off the power. I use a 9 V battery onto a switch and the loop is connected to spring loaded connectors for loud speakers. I normally just wrap the wire around the bikes and the wheels and then connect up. I obviously keep the device in the van. I did design a fancy alarm using op amps but it used too much power so went with this one. Components can be sourced from Rapid Electronics or any electronic supplier. I used strip board to solder the components onto.