Gah, metal or wooden bike store?

prj45

Ok, wooden:

Looks nice, fits in
Can put stuff on top of it (small patio type garden)
Not overly expensive
Rots
Felt on top degrades and leaks
Pretty much build it and leave it there
Possibly broken into with just a huff and a puff

Metal

Hard wearing
No flappy doors
The one I'm looking at opens up on the roof, so no keeping stuff on top of it
Expensive
Utilitarian
More secure
Easier to pack up if I move
Looks like I've got expensive bikes in it so more of a target?
500 squid!

Arg!!!!

veronese68

3 people near me have had bike stolen out of wooden sheds recently. 2 had the hinges unscrewed, the other just levered the door off.
Go metal and if your bikes get nicked you'll know you've done all you can reasonably do. If they're pinched out of a wooden store you'll know you made it too easy.

prj45

metal innit, it's a no brainer.

spasypaddy

woman i met on sunday had just had her bikes stolen from within her metal shed. they hadnt bothered with breaking the padlocks they just cut around them.

whichever way you do it make sure you have a heavy duty floor anchor and some great locks to lock to it.

t4tomo

Buy a prettier bike like a Bianchi, hang it on the wall in the kichen, tell your other half its instillation art.


problem solved.

jeepie

How about getting a shed shackle like this:

http://www.torc-anchors.com/shed-shackle.php

And securing your bikes to this as it's easier to access the chains than a ground anchor.

Then secure the shackle to something solid and fixed..... put whatever casing you want around then.

northstar

http://www.asgardsss.co.uk/detail.php?pro_code=Acc1

Go for this one, got one a while back, practically impossible to break into and it can hold 4 full size bikes.

The Rookie

I have one of each, the problem with the metal one is the amount of condensation that builds up and drips on the bikes, neither is secure, I rely more on people not knowing where my bikes are!

Simon

thistle_

Get a metal one and clad it in timber? :roll:

veronese68

I don't think an underground concrete bunker with heavy steel doors is enough sometimes. The best you can do is make it more hassle than it's worth. I'd think a steel bike store is harder to get into than a wooden one. It will at least be noisier if someone does try to get into it.
The holy grail of bike security is something that keeps the bike safe, isn't a hassle to get the bike out of for the owner, looks nice, doesn't cost the earth and isn't a hassle to fit. If anybody comes up with such a thing please let me know.

Giraffoto

Veronese68 wrote:

The holy grail of bike security is something that keeps the bike safe, isn't a hassle to get the bike out of for the owner, looks nice, doesn't cost the earth and isn't a hassle to fit. If anybody comes up with such a thing please let me know.

I used to have just the thing - the space under my stairs. Sadly my wife believes that bikes belong in the garage, and I'm forced to humour her in this strange belief

alan_sherman

i was thinking a plastic bike shed. No maintenance, warmer to touch than metal, cheaper than metal, and condensation less of an issues than metal. No more secure though. Whatever you go for a ground anchor is a good idea.

SimonAH

Wood. It's really easy to make a very strong wooden structure (marine ply is your friend).

Lift it slightly off the ground on concrete blocks and rot isn't a problem.

It looks nicer, you can build it precisely how you want it, and for £500 I could build one hell of a nice structure.

The trick is in how you fix the door - hasp and padlock equals two seconds with a prybar whether wood or metal. Put in a yale lock with a little metal plate to cover the vulnerable area (and take a drill to the philips cross on any crucial screws to round them off) and use normal front door or piano hinges that fit between door and frame so that they present no purchase to a lever.

If you really want to be secure then fit an alarm with a little winking LED showing at the door. Very cheap to do (take a look at Maplins)

All you can do is deter the scrote after his smack money - a really determined thief after your collection of vintage italian exotica will get in no matter what you do. Sleep in the shed and store the bikes in the bedroom with a lightly sanded rotweiller if that is the case.