Bike Racks - an advert for a Thief

brindlescoops

Hi,

This may be obvious to many of you, but as I see loads of cars running round with bike racks on but no bikes, its safe to assume that as I did, lots of people leave a bire rack permanently attached to the car so they can use it as and when needed. The thing is I am convinced its and advert for "We have bikes (probably expensive bikes if its a Thule rack) in our Shed or Garage!"

I used to leave mine on till recently, but parked in front of my Neighbours garage one weekend and they had their garage broken onto and he had a £1k bike stolen. My Garage is like fort knox, so whether or not they tried mine as well at some point, I dont know, but if they did they weren't successful.

So, though its a pain, I remove and refit my rack now when I need to use it - its a sad state of affairs that I have to do this, but if it keeps the thieves away its a price worth paying.

Just a thought for anyone else running around with their rack permanently on and leaving it outside of the house.

cooldad

I used to remove mine as I do at least 70-80 miles a day commuting on the motorway and it pushed my fuel consumption up significantly. Also looked horrible.
New car is a station wagon so much easier.

DodgeT

Used to leave mine on, as couldnt be bothered putting them on / taking them off every couple of days.
Then after having my car nicked - and subsequently getting it back, the racks stay in the garage and the bike goes in the car. It's made me a wee bit more security conscious.
Far too much of an advert being stuck on top.

Stu Coops

Good bit of advice there as these bastards will follow you home, my mate had four bikes stolen from his garage the same night he drove home from a day out with us on the mountain bikes, they even took his spare wheels, absolute scum :evil:

wakou

OT but......

I once did a removal for a couple who lived in Harlesden (A really rough part of London).....
They ran a nightclub/bar and were both usually out until about 4AM
They had a satellite dish, proudly displaying the logo 'Bang & Olufsen'...

I thought they were insane. Like saying "We have lots of expensive AV equipment, come get it...."

Anonymous

The very reason I've not bought a roof or towbar rack is because of my paranoia about advertising the bike. Stories of being followed home with an expensive bike on display, combined with the amount of thefts from cars and sheds in the area, put me off.

I didn't want to have a rack always attached when not in use either. Wind whistling through a roof rack and the fuel drag puts me off for a start, and good point on it still being an advert. Towbar rack means taking it off and storing it somewhere and leaves you with an ugly towbar and extra bit on the back to reverse into things.

Instead the inside of my car is getting filthy and scratched up by chucking the bike inside. The mud is okay, but the scratches & scuff marks are bugging me. Even inside the car, I'm paranoid about people driving and walking past when I'm getting the bike out of the car at home and try to get it locked up quick.

diy

I hardly notice the fuel economy on the family bus. Not that its any good to start with.

Eranu

Buy a cheap tarp DK? I fold down the rear seat chuck the tarp in then the bike on top, no mud/scratches etc. Although it can be a bit annoying when the bike gets caught up in it!

DodgeT

As above, got a £2.50 2m x 3m tarp from wickes, 10 mins with some gaffer tape.. It now fits over the back of the rear seat headrests (when they're folded forwards), clips onto the side of the car where the seats would of been, and has a nice fold out section over the bumper too.
Chuck an old decorating blanket over the top when your kits in and no ones the wiser. Apart from you lot reading this

1mancity2

I just chuck mine in the back of the truck and away I go, real pain sometimes...........

I also keep the bike in the house, no way is it going in the shed!!

chiefinspector

Interesting observation. I have had a roof rack on my car for over a year now and never thought about this. My shed is quite secure but if a thief really wants the bike then they can usually find a way. Looks like i will have to have a re-think.

bluechair84

If we're going on about advertising your bikes, most of us have our bikes in our sig and our rough location. It did cross my mind once when inviting someone I didn't know from this forum (low post count) on a ride that I could be inviting danger...
I completely agree that the best way to protect your bike is to keep it as anonymous as possible and taking your rack off is a good idea.

milko9000

I'd take the roof rack off simply for the drag thing, petrol's expensive and it makes a surprising difference even without the bike bit of the roof rack on there.

I hate that my rather desirable bike has to live in a shed in a garden overlooked by approximately a gazillion flats. Nothing much I can do about it other than make sure it's locked pretty securely and insured.

Anonymous

Eranu wrote:

Buy a cheap tarp DK? I fold down the rear seat chuck the tarp in then the bike on top, no mud/scratches etc. Although it can be a bit annoying when the bike gets caught up in it!

I've got a cheap tarp, but I don't make an effort to protect the sides, just covers the floor with the seats down, and then the sides get scuffed up by the wheels, bars, forks, etc.

Actually, it's probably the wrong kind of tarp. It's shiny covered so doesn't absorb mud but the bike slides about.

Expensive option is I get the bike stand thing from Honda which fixes in the boot and bike clamps to it. Expensive as I say and just extra hassle compared to chucking the bike in the back. Also means I loose out in the extra under boot space (though I've got that because I've skipped on the spare tyre and have to use the gunk stuff for flats).

Other option is a bike bag. Again more hassle and would have to empty it of mud, but then have to empty my car of mud too

T.Howler

When doing motocross previously and it still occurs now any vehicles that attend and compete on a regular basis who advertise themselves with branded stickers, or trailers tailored to carrying motocross bikes it was getting common for thieves to follow these people home after a race meeting, noting the address and then staking out until the owner leaves and stealing the goods, even tearing through some fort knox garages. obviously its difficult to avoid advertising your goods and hobby with trailers or bike racks but avoid unnecessary stickers etc. thieves are plentiful - expensive bikes/goods are'nt in most cases.

as said above by others i also manage to fit my bike in a car, and therefore avoid the rack but just contributing to the thread, oppurtunist thieves will go as far as sneakily stalking your address if its worth it. :evil:

brindlescoops

bluechair84 wrote:

If we're going on about advertising your bikes, most of us have our bikes in our sig and our rough location.

Not any more - great point!

bluechair84

T.Howler wrote:

thieves will go as far as sneakily stalking your address if its worth it. :evil:

This is possibly one of the more common kinds of theft I hear about. It's also one of the reasons I replaced the 407 with an estate. I can easily be carrying 4k of bikes (if mates come along :shock: ) which can easily be sold for 500 quid in some dodgy pub...

Northwind

I'm insured... All this is about, is weighing up the small risk of being robbed against the certainty that taking racks on and off my car is a pain in the balls.

Mind you I probably wouldn't say the same if I lived in scumbagland like all you povs probably do.

Anonymous

Insurance is what they depend on. They know people just resign themselves to insurance dealing with it, nick the stuff, then wait a bit and nick the replacement they got with the insurance money too.

So I breed rabid pit bulls and rottweilers that are trained to eat anyone who comes near my bikes.

apreading

Takes about as long to put the rack on my roofbars as it takes to put the bike on the rack - no problems here, I just remove it as soon as I am done with it.

The Rookie

I use a towbar rack as I have a ball for trailers as well, yes its a bit large to store in the garage (I can't get the car in anyway, so less of an issue) but it comes off easily enough.

YeehaaMcgee

Eranu wrote:

Buy a cheap tarp DK? I fold down the rear seat chuck the tarp in then the bike on top, no mud/scratches etc. Although it can be a bit annoying when the bike gets caught up in it!

I've done that when only carrying one or two bikes. Doesn't work with three bikes and two passengers though.

enjay1976

It's a sad state of affairs when everytime I go out I'm watching out for suspicious people and cars.

stubs

Another bad idea is people publishing there rides on sites like endomondo and Strava. You have just told a thief where you live and what time your bike is available for pinching. I have posted a few rides but not switched the gps on till I get to the roundabout half a mile away and switched off half a mile away on way back or edited ride before I publish.

BillyMansell

This is my approach;



And when the camper is kitted out there's still room for two bikes facing forward down the middle.

With the blacked out windows it's pretty hard to see anything inside unless you deliberately make the effort. I've also added an anchor point on the chassis which I can attach a hardened steel chain to and wrap around the bikes.

Anonymous

Do you ride with the seats that high? ! :P

stubs wrote:

Another bad idea is people publishing there rides on sites like endomondo and Strava. You have just told a thief where you live and what time your bike is available for pinching. I have posted a few rides but not switched the gps on till I get to the roundabout half a mile away and switched off half a mile away on way back or edited ride before I publish.

Strava has an option to hide anything within a specified distance of your house.

Or, with most of them you can just choose to share between people you know.

I rarely ride from my house anyway. All the GPS tells people is there's another expensive bike out in Surrey Hills. Hopefully if they want to stake it out they'd be looking for an Audi