Best security for bike left at train station?

[jdwoodbury]

Hi,

I have an very old Red Canyon (circa 1990) that I use to commute to the train station but its on its last legs and makes hard work of the 5 mile journey. I am thiking of buying a hybrid (about £300) through the Ride2Work scheme but am concerned about security at the station (not a concern currently as my bike is a shed).

As all bikes come with quick release everything what are the best products out there for practical total bike security? Clearly I dont expect it to be fully theft proof but a proper deterrant.

JD

[blueg33]

In my experience the best security is an old wreck of a bike and a cheap lock.

Sorry that doesn't help you

[sjg]

As small and sturdy a D/U-lock as will fit both your frame and the thing you're locking to. Then additional locks to secure wheels, seat, etc.

Motorcycle disc lock through the chainring is worth considering - makes riding off difficult, theives don't usually have tools to defeat them, and you can get alarmed ones too.

http://www.lfgss.com/thread17938.html

[MadDad]

blueg33 said:

In my experience the best security is an old wreck of a bike and a cheap lock.

Sorry that doesn't help you

+1

This;

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mens-Specialized-Hardroc...

and this;

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/27-BIKE-LOCKS-COMPLETE-2...

Then spend your cycle to work on a weekend bike!

[Rocksteadyeddie]

Forget bike locks and buy a massive motorcycle lock. If you are parking it in the same place all you need to do is make it not worth the hassle, and the lazy oiks will go looking for an easier target.

[Viperzs]

Go for a strong lock with a Sold Secure Gold rating, have a look at the top models from the likes of ABUS. Make sure you do your part as well, keep key holes facing down and make sure the locks aren't resting on the ground as that would give leverage for a thief to use.

Use something big and bulky like a D-Lock for the frame and maybe a decent chain to go through the wheels as well to provide the security from your skewers.

A thief would usually carry tools to break one type of lock so if you double up (or more) then you're so much more secure. If there is a bike with a cable lock next to one with a Dlock and a hefty chain the one with the cable lock will be nicked

Edited by Viperzs on Friday 9th March 10:15

[prand]

blueg33 said:

In my experience the best security is an old wreck of a bike and a cheap lock.

Sorry that doesn't help you

This from me too! I am amazed every morning when a guy rolls up each morning and parks his superb Whyte commuter/hybrid and gets out three seperate locks and removes bits before getting the train. A bit daft, seems quite a hassle, but then I don't know what his weekend bike is like!

I use my 15 year old marin, old enough for me to not worry too much about it. Secured by D lock through the back wheel and frame and a cable looped through the front wheel and back to the lock.

[essayer]

I don't know about your local station but at mine all the bikes are parked with the wheels locked to loops. You won't get a d-lock around the frame, and will need a longish chain/cable to get through both wheels and frame.

Just get a cheap MTB and put skinny tyres on it, don't fret about it getting stolen.

[anonymous-user]

Also get good insurance ( I pay £10 a year to cover on home insurance). Your bike will get stolen at some point.
3 bikes pinched from station in 10 years, insurance always paid out

[anonymous-user]

Rocksteadyeddie said:

Forget bike locks and buy a massive motorcycle lock. If you are parking it in the same place all you need to do is make it not worth the hassle, and the lazy oiks will go looking for an easier target.

this is the best course of action. sadly you're aim is to make another bike look like an easier steal rather than overly protect your own. if you can leave the locks at the station on the rack you are best to get a damn big abus chain and padlock. it will weigh a ton but you only need to carry it to the station the once.

always leave the padlock in a really awkward position too, it might be a bit of a ball ache for you when you come home but if the padlock is tucked away in a hard to reach position, the thief will look elsewhere as getting leverage on it will be too hard.

[jdwoodbury]

My station has a rack that allows you to lock the bike centrally using a D-lock....using a motorcycle chain is a good idea as I already have a good quality one that is surplus to requirements, just need to check it fits around the frame and wheels.

[Andy OH]

For the ride to the station I use an old 1998 MTB but with Specialized Armidillo tyres on it. I use a gold rated Sold Secure Abus D lock and a 2 metre braided steel rope which I wind through the frame and wheels and have never had a problem. The key is to leave your bike mucky and dirty which then doesn't attract much attention to it. I regularly lube the chain and the moving parts, but that's it.

Edited by Andy OH on Friday 9th March 13:50

[aspender]

I use one of these for cycling to/from the station, which I got from Wiggle for a couple of hundred off the list price:

http://road.cc/content/review/25506-gt-traffic-20

I use an Abus gold standard D lock and nothing else. The bike comes as standard with Pinhead skewers, stem cap and seatpost release which make removal non-trivial without the removal tool. You might consider those as aftermarket upgrades on another bike for a bit of added security, as long as you don't mind walking home if you get a flat and don't have the key.

I've never had an issue with leaving it, but then again I live somewhere where I can safely leave my helmet and lights on the bike without problem (although somebody did once appear to nick one of the batteries from a light. Not the light itself!)

[prand]

aspender said:

I use one of these for cycling to/from the station, which I got from Wiggle for a couple of hundred off the list price:

http://road.cc/content/review/25506-gt-traffic-20

Ha ha, this is what my old marin pretty much looks like now - single speed, road tyres, stripped down for the station run.

I'm planning on replacing the quick release bolts with nuts on the wheels so I only need to lock the frame to something and save me a few seconds on the dash for the morning train.

[clonmult]

blueg33 said:

In my experience the best security is an old wreck of a bike and a cheap lock.

Sorry that doesn't help you

This, by far and away the best solution.

Had plenty of colleagues who'd lost bikes due to theft at various points, almost any lock can be broken. The lower valuable the bike, there's a corresponding drop in the odds of it being nicked.

[Mr Will]

Two locks is my solution; D-lock around the frame and separate cable lock around the wheels and frame (and rack). The logic is that two locks require two separate tools to break, making it substantially more hassle for your average thief.

At the end of the day, a £300 hybrid is unlikely to be their number one target. Just make sure it is more secure than the majority of bikes on the rack and you should be fine.

[aclivity]

Whereabouts are you? Can you ask them to install bike lockers? We have about 8 lockers big enough to fit a bike in, on the station platform. link

[WarrenG]

Pitlock Skewer
or these
Pinhead


for years I have been using some thing similar that gives a knurled head one end - like a QR, but with a smooth round on the other with an allen key inside - easy to take off with a tool I know, but it makes you wonder why bikes that are for anything but racing actually need a QR?

same goes for seat-posts - remove QR and install bolt. saves carrying the damn thing to work with you.
I tend to use a fairly high quality cable lock (kryptonite) even then, through both wheels and frame and something solid.

<edited to fix links>

Edited by WarrenG on Saturday 10th March 19:51