One of the worst feelings is discovering your bike has been stolen. It's awful where ever it was taken from, but having your home, garage or shed broken and your bikes missing feels especially personal.
According to bike insurers Yellow Jersey and the Metropolitan Police, a 2018-19 survey revealed that 105,000 bikes were reported stolen in the UK. One-quarter of those were stolen from the bike owner’s garden.
While in the USA, Project 529 Garage reveals that a bicycle is stolen approximately every 30 seconds, amounting to over two million bikes each year.
Here at Cycling Weekly we're strong advocates of investing in one (or several) of the best bike locks, and even equipping your bikes with one of the best GPS bike trackers, which allowed us to recover one of our stolen bikes. But that doesn't always prevent someone taking your pride and joy.
Paul Williams, CEO of specialist bike insurers Cycleplan, knows how thieves work and the latest techniques and tricks they favour. Here he passes on his advice on how to beef up your at-home security to lower the risk of someone pinching your pride and joy from inside your house, garage or garden shed.
If you're looking for the best bike insurance as well, to make life easier we've partnered with Protect Your Family on an insurance comparison engine so you know you are getting the best advice based on your personal needs.
Be discreet with your bikes
Thefts are usually carried out by one of two groups: opportunistic thieves who see something as they walk past your house and then plan to go back later, or professional thieves who are more determined and have the tools and capability to get into your property. So you should take every opportunity to avoid advertising the fact that you own a bike to the outside world.
“The first piece of advice is don’t make it known that you have a bike,” says Williams. “For instance, if you arrive at your house with your bike on your roof-rack, don’t leave it on there while you go inside and have a cup of tea. Take it off the car and put it away as quickly as you can. And don’t leave your garage door open for hours so you’re advertising the fact you have bikes in there.”
Out of sight, out of anyone's mind is probably the best approach to adopt. Some of the best bike storage solutions have an integrated locking systems to help secure your bike.
Don't share on Social Media
Going hand in hand with not advertising that you own a bike, Williams stresses the importance of refraining from posting details about your bike on social media. “We’ve had insurance claims where people have gone on social media, advertised the fact that they have a valuable item and shortly afterwards it’s been stolen.
“We’d encourage people to limit their privacy settings on social media,” he adds. “Similarly, advertising that you’re going on holiday through your social-media platform, posting messages saying that you’re getting on your flight etc., means you’ve just told everyone you’re going to be away for two weeks.”
It’s also worth spending time to change your Strava privacy settings, including hiding your address location, not posting pictures of your bike or listing the make and model.
Invest in bike locks
It’s important to make sure that physical barriers are as good as they can be wherever you store your bike, so don’t just prop it up against the inside of the shed. “If you have the space, fit a floor or wall anchor and lock your bike to that with a good quality ‘Sold Secure’ lock,” says Williams.
If you’re storing your bike in the house, try to lock it to an immovable object, such as radiator pipes or something thieves can’t get through.
Outdoor security
“We definitely see greater risk with sheds," reveals Williams. “To increase security, we’d recommend using clutch-head screws for the door hinges, which you won’t get out with a Philips screwdriver to take the hinges off, which is how many thieves gain entry to the shed.”
On top of hinge protection, ensure you use a weatherproof closed-shackle padlock to secure the door. You can get them with a ‘Sold Secure’ grading on them. Although bear in mind, the more expensive the lock, the more that thieves might guess that something valuable is locked within.
And Williams urges caution when using the smaller, standalone bike-specific sheds. “We see a much higher prevalence of break-ins in them,” he says.
Many bike owners install camera security systems to capture footage of any attempted, or successful, break-ins, but Williams advises thinking about this carefully. “In all honesty, CCTV only puts off casual thieves,” he says. “It can work as a deterrent, but the reality is it’s extremely unlikely there would be a conviction and arrest from CCTV footage, as an experienced thief will avoid showing their face.”
Don't forget E-bike batteries
Something many new E-bike owners often don’t think about is the risk of thieves stealing the battery if your bike is locked in your shed, which on its own can be worth up to £500. “Insurers often don’t provide cover for the battery if it’s stolen by itself,” says Williams.
Register your bike
More a way to track and help return a stolen bike rather than preventing it being stolen, it’s still well worth uploading your bike details and information to the national Bike Register, or Project 529 as it will increase the chances of it being recovered.
SmartWater is also another useful way to help police track your bike – use it to mark your bike and it can assist police in returning it if they find it.
