Electric Bike Security

We are rapidly narrowing down our pedelec choice but have now reached the point of considering security. If we go out on our electric bikes & want to look around say a museum we have the problem of having to leave the bikes unattended.

 

I recognise that a locked bike store is the best answer but I cannot guarantee that they would always be available.

 

So what is the experience here. I am assuming that we really need to attach the bikes to something solid - like a lamp post - but what type of lock gives the best protection but is also flexible to use in differing situations and preferably isn't impossibly heavy? In my motorcycle days we thought heavy chains & Abus Granite locks but they were very very heavy and awkward.

 

Chris

I go with a long sold Secure D lock to secure the frame and a long flexible cable to loop through the wheels if I want extra security (to lock the wheels on too). works well for me so far. I reckon the combination of these +insurance specifically for the bike covers me nicely!

We are rapidly narrowing down our pedelec choice but have now reached the point of considering security. If we go out on our electric bikes & want to look around say a museum we have the problem of having to leave the bikes unattended.

 

I recognise that a locked bike store is the best answer but I cannot guarantee that they would always be available.

 

So what is the experience here. I am assuming that we really need to attach the bikes to something solid - like a lamp post - but what type of lock gives the best protection but is also flexible to use in differing situations and preferably isn't impossibly heavy? In my motorcycle days we thought heavy chains & Abus Granite locks but they were very very heavy and awkward.

 

Chris

this may be unusual, but having an ugly bike helps, my old raleigh (Professional, double butted 531) doesnt look the part (flaked paint, corrosion), i dont use a serious lock and havent had any problems

I'm paranoid about security, my bike has Kryptonite locks on both wheels, an alarm and a gps tracker hidden in the frame.

Double locking as the minimum is necessary on a new e-bike, As suggested above, a solid and sound D lock plus either a strong cable or chain lock. The cable or chainlock also gives the opportunity to anchor a theft vulnerable wheel within the locking loop. Technically we shouldn't lock to lamp posts, but either those or anchored bike stands are best as attachment points.

 

An aside. I remember many years ago when parking meters were first introduced to London, the authorities said that cyclists should place their bikes on the road side of meter posts and cable/chain lock them to the posts. It apparently never occurred to them that a thief only had to lift a bike and cable/chain-loop over the meter post to make off with it!

.

Double lock plus insurance

 

Not perfect but best that can be done

 

Served me well thus far

If you lock the two bikes together, it's very difficult for a thief to take them. I use an Oxford roller lock, which is not too heavy, but it's strong enough to defeat casual thieves.

 

You have to think about who's likely to try and steal your bike and what equipment they have. The average toe-rag is wandering round with a pair of wire cutters and maybe a hacksaw. He can only deal with thin chains and cables. Some wait in car parks with bolt-croppers. As soon as you've gone in the supermarket/gym/museum, one jumps out, crops the chain or padlock and rides it away. His accomplice drives the car away. They can deal with medium chains, padlocks and thick cables. The professionals have tools that can deal with most things. The chance of one of them targeting your bike is almost zero unless you park your bike in the same place every day.

I do realise that a determined thief will get anything. The most extreme test that I ever saw involved 2 guys, a Transit, a compressor and an air angle grinder. No lock made lasted more than 30 seconds and 2 guys could have any motorbike in the back of the Transit & gone in under a minute.

 

Thank you all for your suggestions for coping with any reasonable threat. I have found them all except d8veh suggestion of an Oxford roller lock. What is a roller lock?

Sorry, it's called the Oxford Revolver. It has rollers over a cable so it can't be sawn, and its diameter is too big for bolt croppers. There's cheaper roller locks, but you can get the croppers between the rollers on them, but not on the Oxford one. You want to get the longest one you can so that you can put it through your frame and round some immovable object like railings or a lamppost.