Using a big bit of Screwfix chain to secure bikes in garage

daniel_b

Hello allo,

following on from the 'which bike lock' thread below, and not wanting to hijack it, I saw ths reply which intrigued me:

DefyComp2 wrote:

Take a look at Screwfix. Cables and ground anchors for sensible money. I use a ground anchor with a fat (expensive) cable through the frame and then thinner (10mm) cables to tie the wheels to the frame and then to the anchor point.

I have several bikes in my garage (Concrete floor) and have been meaning to try and lock them down at least a bit for a while.

What has put me off is the cost of individual bike locks, and of course ones that would be long enough for my needs - the bikes are hanging off the wall, so it would need to reach up to the frame, in some cases a long way as the bike is front wheel down, and of course all the way to the ground anchor.

Does anyone know if I were to buy one of these:
http://www.screwfix.com/p/heavy-duty-welded-chain-10mm-x-5m/33134?_requestid=525770


Whether there would be anyway I could 'chop' it into say 2 lots of 2.5m lengths?

The reason i ask is that there are some bikes I would use more often than others, and if I were going to fit these through the frame, due to the metalness of them I would need to protect the frame, and if everytime I took one bike out I had to unthread 6 bikes,it would become quite tedious.

If however I could split it up into say 3 that are used less, and 3 that are used a lot more, then it becomes less of an inconvenience.

However if I cannot cut it, perhaps it is not viable.....

rolf_f

Daniel B wrote:

However if I cannot cut it, perhaps it is not viable.....

And yet if you can cut it, it isn't viable either.......

owenlars

A quick look at google shows any number of chain suppliers who will do you custom lengths of case hardened chain. This is one of them.
http://www.chain-supplies.co.uk/security/

smidsy

Rolf F wrote:

Daniel B wrote:

However if I cannot cut it, perhaps it is not viable.....

And yet if you can cut it, it isn't viable either.......

You beat me too it...I mean really, the way some people think (or don't)!! :shock:

marcusjb

Not the cheap option, but these chaps are really quite serious about bike security. Great company to deal with - full of interesting advice.

http://securityforbikes.com/products.ph ... adlocks%29

bernithebiker

That chain is a piece of p1ss to cut with even weedy bolt cutters.......

monkimark

Yep easy to cut to length - and therein lies the problem.

mfin

Unless it isn't like the films and burglars don't always have a set of bolt cutters with them? I wonder what percentage of burglars are arrested in possession of bolt cutters?

slowbike

I've got a set of bolt cutters in the garage that'll cut through that 10mm chain ... they're designed to go through 8mm stainless wire - so the chain will be easy!

nferrar

Yeah although the decent bike chains are ridiculously expensive it's because they are thick (14mm+ ) and hardened, cheap chain will deter an opportunist thief but how many opportunists break into a garage?
If you were going ahead with the Screw-fix chain I'd personally just cut up some MTB inner tubes and slide them onto the chain to give the protection you're after.

slowbike

nferrar wrote:

Yeah although the decent bike chains are ridiculously expensive it's because they are thick (14mm+ ) and hardened, cheap chain will deter an opportunist thief but how many opportunists break into a garage?
If you were going ahead with the Screw-fix chain I'd personally just cut up some MTB inner tubes and slide them onto the chain to give the protection you're after.

You could use the chain to stop the mountain biker first before removing his inner tubes ...

defycomp2

I was the one who talked about using Screwfix. This is what I use

http://www.screwfix.com/p/masterlock-wall-and-floor-anchor-small-128mm/59959
with
http://www.screwfix.com/p/armoured-cable-1m-x-18mm/38618
and
http://www.screwfix.com/p/master-lock-steel-braided-looped-cable-1-8m-x-15mm/40365

All of this is x2 as I have bikes on both sides of the garage.

daniel_b

nferrar wrote:

If you were going ahead with the Screw-fix chain I'd personally just cut up some MTB inner tubes and slide them onto the chain to give the protection you're after.

Ingenious!

DefyComp2 wrote:

I was the one who talked about using Screwfix. This is what I use

http://www.screwfix.com/p/masterlock-wall-and-floor-anchor-small-128mm/59959
with
http://www.screwfix.com/p/armoured-cable-1m-x-18mm/38618
and
http://www.screwfix.com/p/master-lock-steel-braided-looped-cable-1-8m-x-15mm/40365

All of this is x2 as I have bikes on both sides of the garage.

Thanks DC, that gives me more food for thought, and clearly I jumped to the wrong conclusion when I saw your post - as it happens I do have one of those looped cables already, so could potentially get another, and a couple of those armoured cable locks, or some of the little U locks from Decathlon for £24.99, as they would also be useful when out and about if required.

schweiz

Those cable loops aren't going to resist a bold cropper either.

I bought the Kryptonite version to secure the font wheel after locking the rear wheel through the seat stay with a D-lock. Anyway once I needed to lock two bikes so I used the D-lock in the normal way on one and used the cable through the D-lock to lock the other.

A few hours later, I came back to one bike and a cropped cable.

If you're going to bother, spend the money and do it right!

owenlars

schweiz wrote:

If you're going to bother, spend the money and do it right!

The best bit of advice in the thread.

Stevo C

owenlars wrote:

schweiz wrote:

If you're going to bother, spend the money and do it right!

The best bit of advice in the thread.

Absolutely - if someone's prepared to break into your garage/shed - then the locks suggested so far in this thread aren't going to deter a thief in the slightest. I speak from experience - bolt cutters will make swift work of all the mentioned locks. The general rule seems to be that the u-lock/chain needs to be at least 16mm in section, otherwise it's croppable with bolt cutters. There are some exceptions to this rule though, certain manufacturers make chains/u-locks that are claimed to be "uncroppable"

I now have a concreted in motor cycle ground anchor and use a Pragmasis chain.

cougie

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/ ... 50cs-39857

Like this chain ? Looks impressive !

daniel_b

cougie wrote:

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/accessories/locks/product/review-pragmasis-pragmasis-protector-squire-ss50cs-39857

Like this chain ? Looks impressive !

That does look very impressive, but struggling to find anywhere that sells it - perhaps it is no longer available.
EDIT: Found it: http://securityforbikes.com/products.php?cat=Chains+%28without+padlocks%29
Prices up a fair bit.

I appreciate what people are saying about doing it properly, but the most expensive bikes will be in the house, and the ones in the garage will vary from about £80 in value, to £700 or so, and I do have house insurance that covers them, but I still want to make life a bit more awkward for any thieving scum should they get in there.
So much as I would like to spend several hundred pounds on trying to secure them, I can't really justify it, but I feel I can justify some kind of security attempt, I would just feel happier in that instance - personal choice I guess.

Stevo C

cougie wrote:

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/accessories/locks/product/review-pragmasis-pragmasis-protector-squire-ss50cs-39857

Like this chain ? Looks impressive !

I meant to reply to this ages ago - I think that's the 13mm chain - I ended up with the 11mm Pragmasis chain and Squire padlock with an enclosed shackle for around £90 delivered. The 11mm was the only one that would fit through my concreted in ground anchor. Despite it being the smallest in the range, it's a serious looking bit of kit and I can highly recommend Pragmasis (www.SecurityForBikes.com) as a company to deal with.