Current Bike Theft Danger

[PP100]

I'd wondered if ebikes could come with built in key operated immobilizers. Though though most current ebikes need to be able to move on no power anyway, if a key locked up the entire system that might help in some circumstances though doubtless would produce unwanted issues.

 

[Nealh]

I use a solid D lock on the rear wheel /frame and on the front use a snake type lock, it has the wire cable inner covered with a stainless steel outer closed weave covering this is again encased in a thick plyable covering and can bend in any way.
Like any lock it doesn't matter how good they are if someone has a cordless grinder they will cut through.

 

[TravelsBelly]

A few years ago on a visit to B&Q I was on my old Ridgeback MTB and I locked it up in their bike stand using a huge thick chain lock. When I came out of the store the bike was still there ok but two small children were messing around with the ancient gear levers on the bars probably fascinated by the shape & design of them.
I'd have given them a clip round the ears but their father was hovering around so I had to grin and bear it.
That's where an alarm comes into play, it would have started screeching and their father would have told them to leave it alone.
No harm done anyway but still a very loud alarm is a good deterrent against anyone who wants to risk hanging around attempting to force a lock open, it attracts attention so passers by tend to look and take notice.
A small alarm you can hide under your seat costs around £12, they're rechargeable and have their own remote control, they even have a built in very bright rear light.

 

[TravelsBelly]

I suppose you have to view the whole bike lock scenario realistically. We all know there is no such thing as a lock you can't cut through given the right equipment and enough time.
If those bolt cutters in that video were ten foot long with heavy steel bars they would chop through solid tungsten easily enough, of course most bike thieves don't carry bolt cutters that long. Also the real top quality cutters can cost £400 or more and from what I've heard and seen villains tend to throw them away having done the deed for a quicker getaway. I always extol the virtues of an alarm for what it is, a noise making device to alert. Of course it won't stop a determined thief who will just ignore it but it's still another weapon in the arsenal of crime prevention.
I'm still a bit surprised when you see alarms fitted to all cars, most new motorbikes even pushchairs and mobility scooters yet cyclists are seem on the uptake. I reckon the day will come when all new bikes are fitted with alarms just as they are reflectors.

Yeah, realistically there is no lock in the world that a skilled, well equipped thief, and determined professional thief can't get into. Really all you can do is make your bike too much trouble to bother with or really just better locked up than other bikes. As the old joke goes, two guys running from a bear and one asks the other if he can outrun a bear? He says no, but I can outrun you.

I've got a gold rated D-lock for the back wheel and a silver rated chain lock for the front wheel. I also have a very loud bike alarm hidden securely under the seat. Sure, it won't stop a professional determined thief but it's one more thing that might put them off. I think 90% of thieves are going to be chancers.

As you said, the thing that worries me is being mugged. Short of developing almost superhuman levels of Kung fu skill, there seems to be little I can do in a situation where a gang confronts me at knifepoint.

 

[flecc]

I always extol the virtues of an alarm for what it is, a noise making device to alert. Of course it won't stop a determined thief who will just ignore it but it's still another weapon in the arsenal of crime prevention.
I'm still a bit surprised when you see alarms fitted to all cars, most new motorbikes even pushchairs and mobility scooters yet cyclists are seem on the uptake. I reckon the day will come when all new bikes are fitted with alarms just as they are reflectors.

I can't agree, people take no notice of alarms, whether home, car or any other. I equipped one of my e-bikes with a loud alarm and because it was a bit awkward to switch off I set it off several times, most notably outside Sainsburys in their snazzy bike shelter right by their wide front entrance.

Few people even looked and of those who did, none did anything. It's the same with car and building alarms, people just walk right by.

In fact most new cars like mine no longer have alarms as standard, relying instead on the immobiliser, this true of my last five new cars since 2003.
.

 

[PP100]

Security is the main reason I'm considering a folder for my first EBike .
But even for most full size Ebikes, most are in the 20kg plus range - and lugging it onto trains etc will be a struggle I want to avoid but on complete cycleable journeys, to and from, being able to take it indoors and out of sight where I work will at least remove some of the risk.
But I have found from experience with my non E Brompton , that for quick trips to pop into a shop, unfolding then carrying can be a time consuming chore or it often isnt practical to take it into the shop, so there are still occasions where you just need to lock it.