How Safe is My Bike Lock on My Lotti Gate?

dogstarheaven

There's been another break-in at my site the other week and one of my neighbour's was affected where his chain was hack-sawn and it had a thick plastic padlock. whereas, i have a cheapo £1 shop bike cable lock on mine, tho' the chain secured to the gate is a lot thicker than his. The other break-in was last Autumn and a different neighbour (same side path as mine) was broken in too and there's was a smaller chain with a puny padlock.. Do you think I should change my lock? There aren't anything expensive tools, just the basics, but I'll still be devastated if did happen to me tho'..

There are gaps around the door frame, so that wouldn't stop a thin 'youth' from climbing thru' tho...! (I know, I know.. should sort that out soon!!!)

I'm gettting so paranoid now, thinking about getting a U-Lock or something like that, tho' money is sosososo tight lately.. any recommendations?

ljonski

If you really would be devestated if this happens to you, you can only have yourself to blame if you have only taken the barest measures to protect your property. You really need to make it as difficult as possible and that includes swapping your £1bike lock for something more substantial

annie123

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B001IGP1NG/ref=asc_df_B001IGP1NG7808184?smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&!!!!!googlecouk06-21&linkCode=asn&creative=22206&creativeASIN=B001IGP1NG

£10.50 inc delivery, how much would it cost to replace stolen stuff.
How long would it take you to repair those gaps compared to how long it would take to get annoyed and replace stolen contents.

Aunty Annie says get it done!

tim_n

got broken into, got left a new spade and fork

Since then left it open and nothing went walkies as nothing was worth nicking except the veg

Sally_A

You can have the biggest butchest lock on a shed, but they make no difference, as it's so easy to just lever off the overlap wood that most sheds are made of.

You are better off chaining all your tools together through the handles with a Sold Secure Bike chain (Gold standard) - and in turn affixing that to a concrete base with a great big D lock type fitting.

It's not 100%, but will more than likely make them give up.

dogstarheaven

thanks for all your comments folks. i was wondering why they didn't bother with mine tho'. do you think that as my lock's a cable one, does that mean it's harder to make an attempt and/or the chain was too thick too?

i know the shed door has a little latch with a small padlock on and that could easily be levered off.

I hear that cyclists have massive problems with their flash bikes and they have to invest in locks that are around £100 plus..

I don't have the resources/skill to bolt a chain for the tools to be tied down, that would be a little extreme for me...

Del_Astra

Hmmm not sure why they have left yours, don't take this the wrong way, but the ones broken into where they in better condition, i.e. looked liked they might contain more valuable items. Perhaps you have a window and they could see it wasn't worthwhile, perhaps you don't and they couldn't see.

The cheapo bike locks aren't really worth bothering with IMO. I was able to get through one in seconds when the key broke in the lock. I use a length of chain with a sturdy padlock, that I put through an old bike inner tube, its heavy takes a while to hack saw through. Plus I salvaged the chain so only had to pay for the padlock.

matt987106

a good idea is a large bucket, filled with concrete and a bend some rebar ( steel concrete reinforcing bar ) into a U , you can bend the ends of the U slightly, so stop them pulling out

how to bend the rebar is here : http://www.wikihow.com/Bend-and-Cut-Rebar

sink the U into the concrete and leave to go hard

you have a hefty lump to chain stuff to then

dogstarheaven

Del_Astra wrote: »

Hmmm not sure why they have left yours, don't take this the wrong way, but the ones broken into where they in better condition, i.e. looked liked they might contain more valuable items. Perhaps you have a window and they could see it wasn't worthwhile, perhaps you don't and they couldn't see.

The cheapo bike locks aren't really worth bothering with IMO. I was able to get through one in seconds when the key broke in the lock. I use a length of chain with a sturdy padlock, that I put through an old bike inner tube, its heavy takes a while to hack saw through. Plus I salvaged the chain so only had to pay for the padlock.

My shed is a decent one with a proper glass window but the plot is only overlooked by 2 friendly neighbouring plots (not by public). i've managed to fix some small holed chicken wire around the sides of my gate/doorframe. I've spoken to an old timer who said that if anyone is desperate they'll do anything to get in. the shed clasps aren't that great either. so, i'll look into buying new ones in the new future.
matt: thanks for the link on a makeshift rebar in a bucket. i shan't be using the method of securing the tools to a chain. it's all very worthy to do this, but IMO it's a bit extreme as i've said previously!:o