Buyers guide – Bike Storage and Security
So ….You have just taken advantage of the government cycle to work scheme and bought your self a fantastic bike – tax free! But what is the best way to store your new bike?
The first thing to remember is that you don’t actually own the bike until your final payment, so if your bike is stolen you will not only have no bike, you will then have to continue paying for it.**
** – Recently there has been an increase in cycle thefts from locked, domestic garages. Thieves will follow you home after a ride, wait until the dead of night and cut the lock off the garage door and take the bike. Cycles are easy to strip down and sell for parts. Check out ebay for 2nd hand cycle spares. Useful and interesting theft article in the Independant newspaper here.
So you really need to keep it safe, yet easily accessible by you.
Bike storage could be as simple as buying aa metal tube bike rack for around £15 from Argos and hanging it in the garage. But, like a lot of people these days you either may not have a garage or you may actually put a car in it! The answer would be a dedicated outside bike storage unit.
So, what are the bike storage options available to avoid bike theft?
An “economy” bike lock
These really represent a false economy; you can pick these up for a fiver down at your local hardware store or market. A cheap chain can be cut in seconds with nothing more than a simple bolt cutter. No matter how many times you wrap the chain around your frame these are nothing but a (slight) visual deterrent. “Ok” for leaving your bike outside the shop for a little while in a busy shopping centre – but nothing more. This type of lock is so bad, here at Asgard we simply do not supply them.
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Cheap Bike Locks Are Useless |
New to us here at Asgard is the cycle dick brake alarm”. What is it?? Well it’s an alarm that screams if anyone tries to steal your bike. These are normally associated with motorcycle security, but they are so compact and effective we like to use them as cycle locks. All you do is push click this weighty, metal lock to one of your disc brakes – no one can ride away your bike with a chunk of metal hanging off the back wheel!! And as a bonus these locks have an excellent built in movement detector with a powerful 110db siren. Unlike most of this type of lock, I can personally confirm this one does not keep going off in the middle of the night. I have now had one of these on test on my own precious mountain bike in an Asgard Addition bike storage unit for a month without any false alarms. I can even kick the side of the locked bike unit and the alarm will not trigger. However, open the unit and try to move the bike and WOW its loud. So even if I forget to lock the bike unit up (which I often do) - No one is sneaking out of the garden with this lock hanging off the back wheel.
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Asgard Cycle Alarm |
The original secure bike store. We like to think we really got the bike storage market going with this one. It’s compact and tough. Designed to take up to 3 bikes (I have a road, a Hybrid and a MTB in ours). With either full or half width shelves available allowing you to store not only your bikes, but also all of your maintenance equipment in one place (I also keep three packs, two pairs of shoes, a track pump, workstand, gt lube, oils, and a small pressure washer in mine) . With a large double door access point that can be handed to suit your location and featuring our drill and pick resistant 3 point locking system. This all metal unit has a built in floor and weighs in at an impressive 16.3 stone. All Asgard metal sheds come with fixing bolts as standard – these allow you to bolt the unit to the ground – I think the unit is so heavy on it’s own I have never bothered to bolt it down – trust me, these are heavy!
Add in the fact we have hidden roof vents to allow air flow and reducing condensation (not enough to dry wet clothes though) and we are talking about some serious bike storage.
Hailed by the industry as “the best bike store they had ever seen” this is an excellent way of looking after your bikes and keeping the mud and dirt out of the house. Addition Bike Storage Customer Comments
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Addition Bike Storage |
Designed after talking to serious bikers who were looking to store either their precious carbon road bikes in total comfort (I know riders who have bought this 4 bike unit and keep only a single Carbon bike in) or for storing the whole families bikes together to free up the garage. With a capacity of up to 4 bikes, the Access Bike Store is deeper and wider than the Addition. Still made from the same tough weather proof steel, including a solid metal floor, but now you have the benefit of a gas lift, lift up lid. This gives you greater access to your bikes and equipment, fit the optional hooks and shelves and you can fit all of the families cycle gear in – including packs, clothes, maintenance, shoes .… everything. Instead of the handle lock, the Access Bike Store uses keyed alike disc locks. Rated at level 8 (out of 10) by the manufacturer these are super tough locks hidden behind a steel plate – so your bikes will be very safe in here. Add in the fact we have hidden roof vents to allow air flow and reducing condensation and we are talking about some serious bike storage.
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Access Bike Storage |
Designed in response to a lot of city based commuters who live in flats or town houses with restricted garden access. Perfect for narrow alley ways or tucked away discreetly into a shared courtyard the twin bike locker.. well it … stores two bikes. Still made from our heavy duty galvanised steel, the twin has the same tough 3 point locking system as the Addition bike store and comes complete with two hooks to hang your helmets on. The perfect his and hers bike storage solution, once again featuring our hidden roof vents to allow air flow and reducing condensation.
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Twin Bike Locker |
We are now talking about some serious high security. If you are really paranoid about bike theft then this is the product for you! From the outside this looks just like our Addition bike store, galvanised steel, full metal base – tough and secure … but inside we have added reinforced stiffeners to the doors, to the roof and to the general panels. Finally we have upgraded the lock to a five point locking system (still with our pick and drill resistant cyclinder). This means this unit, on it’s own with no further ground anchors (unlike a lot of units out there which require additional locks to be approved) this unit is Loss Prevention certified to level 1. This can actually reduce your insurance premiums. Like the Addition the Annexe bike store can hold up to 3 bikes and associated equipment (with the optional shelf and hook packs). Once again featuring our hidden roof vents to allow air flow and reducing condensation inside the unit.
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High Security Bike Storage |
If the budget won’t stretch to a full bike storage unit or you do actually have room in your garage for a bike you should consider a ground anchor and chain. Asgard only supply chains and anchors we use ourselves for our own bikes – We believe in supplying goods that are good enough for us to use. Why supply something that we wouldn’t use ourselves? A ground anchor is a tough metal plate that is screwed into the ground or wall (concrete or tarmac) by anything up to 100mm. You then simply thread one of our tough chains around your bike frame and through the gap in the plate.
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A Ground Anchor in use |
That’s a quick rundown of the bike storage available from Asgard. If you have any questions about any aspect of bike security contact us for free advice. Just visit our web site and ask. www.asgardsss.co.uk
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