http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Topic: Home garage security? en Wed, 13 May 2026 02:07:07 +0000 http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16505&page=2#post-379204 Mon, 07 Apr 2025 09:15:54 +0000 nevelbell 379204@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I have massive eyebolt screwed into the based on the shed with a long thick cable running through it and then through the frames, secured with a very fat padlock. I've also an internal shed alarm which scares the pants off me if I forget to disarm it and a wireless doorbell that goes off in the house if someone is moving about the shed. Short of employing someone to stand guard, I think I've done a fine job if keeping the steeds secure. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16505#post-379200 Mon, 07 Apr 2025 07:51:23 +0000 clairemiller 379200@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Reading with interest all the security solutions that people are using, and thinking about installing a ground anchor on the wall in my stairwell - does anyone know/recommend a handyman who would do this for me? I'm not one of nature's DIYers and would like to entrust this job to someone more capable. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16505#post-376499 Sat, 07 Sep 2024 12:18:06 +0000 wishicouldgofaster 376499@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Thieves would put themselves in mortal danger if they tried to break into mine as loads of crap, some of which is very heavy would fall on to them! </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16505#post-376496 Fri, 06 Sep 2024 17:26:36 +0000 MediumDave 376496@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>A few years back miscreants broke into several garages near to where the charity I'm involved with has its lockups. One after another. Bikes, tools and building supplies seemed to be the things taken. </p> <p>They failed to get into ours due to a garage door defender and would have been mighty disappointed even if they had got in</p> <p>(Unless they wanted ancient shovels and the like) </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16505#post-376495 Fri, 06 Sep 2024 16:24:17 +0000 pringlis 376495@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Two of neighbours in the last few years have had their garages were broken into and bikes stolen. In both cases they had Thule Roof Bike Racks mounted on their cars in the driveway which the police said thieves use as a sign of "decent bikes in this garage".</p> <p>With the most recent one a couple of months ago they were able to recover their bikes thanks to @Shuggiet spotting them abandoned in the bushes nearby. Police think the leave them for a couple of days to see if there are any trackers on them then return to pick up. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16505#post-376491 Fri, 06 Sep 2024 15:02:39 +0000 Baldcyclist 376491@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>"stable of ragged beaters"</p> <p>Do people actually break in to garages these days for bikes. I know there are still a lot of opportunistic thefts, but would have thought garage thefts were more likely to be pre planned theft of expensive bikes?</p> <p>That said, I do have one of my bikes locked to the bike stand (which is in turn bolted to the wall), but again if anyone really wanted the bike it probably wouldn't take them long to get to it, or they would just take one of the other 4 which isn't chained to anything.<br /> Again, it's just more of an opportunist deterent if I happen to forget to lock the garage - which happens all to often that I go out to garage after 5 days and its open. :/ </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16505#post-376483 Fri, 06 Sep 2024 12:51:02 +0000 MediumDave 376483@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>That would require both obtaining a car and risking the wroth of a neighbour who on move day came over to say we could absolutely not park in front of the garage or in a variety of other places!</p> <p>They were very relieved when I said we abjured cars</p> <p>Parking dynamics in the 'burbs are wild... </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16505#post-376481 Fri, 06 Sep 2024 10:59:56 +0000 le_soigneur 376481@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Park the car within a foot of the garage door. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16505#post-376476 Thu, 05 Sep 2024 13:52:28 +0000 MediumDave 376476@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>It's a particularly rubbish garage door - peeling it open with a decent pair of tinsnips probably wouldn't be much of a challenge. Outside is block paving on a slope so a garage door defender wouldn't be easy to fit without concrete work. </p> <p>Good to know the chain at least is OK.</p> <p>I agree that the subtle art of picking is not a particularly high risk but lots of locks have vulnerabilities that can be easily used to open them by the less subtle. Infamously in the cycling world: the Kryptolok ballpoint pen trick. </p> <p>On that note of unsubtly I first came across LPL in video where he and some associates were shooting at locks with a variety of firearms (because 'Murica...). Some of the locks (including some expensive ones) didn't even withstand being struck by .22 short and their weakness was confirmed by belting them with hammers and in one case pulling them to bits by hand!</p> <p>As for buying picks half the fun is grinding your own set from hacksaw blades and the like! Kids today... </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16505#post-376475 Thu, 05 Sep 2024 13:39:41 +0000 neddie 376475@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Always thought these WiFi door sensors would be good for protecting a garage / shed</p> <p><a href="https://www.screwfix.com/p/swann-window-door-sensor-2-pack/709rf" rel="nofollow">https://www.screwfix.com/p/swann-window-door-sensor-2-pack/709rf</a> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16505#post-376473 Thu, 05 Sep 2024 12:09:06 +0000 Arellcat 376473@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I can't help wondering if a lock couldn't be made a bit electrical, to wit, if the thing is cut through then a circuit is broken and an alarm or tracker is triggered (or perhaps, the entire thing goes live and electrocutes anyone holding it). </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16505#post-376463 Thu, 05 Sep 2024 10:32:04 +0000 le_soigneur 376463@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>An early line of defence to stop them getting into the Garage in the first place:<br /> <a href="https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/221169254493?_nkw=enfield+garage+door+lock&amp;itmmeta=01J70RBD39GFCQX87XHJDRC9EN&amp;hash=item337eb7005d:g:CtkAAOSwuUthbEa3&amp;itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA8HoV3kP08IDx%2BKZ9MfhVJKl%2FoWtQmbSSQ85mlQRVElytI9REVSi12xjev%2FgWPd0TuXQtqCCa4uuT4mp7ULx6XtqT547FbkiMZrJ%2BJ8k2e9VOJ5ARwZcQsuq0r4Vox1cNL4n9%2FiqkzoDWDJO6X8HndFpCVkdNzmK673WHQ4qQmKPu6GF6yMbc7YBCFp038PLKgJatlvIVpPOrvZkR5BClTjWIDFtRv%2BH8JP7ymYoV66saC4LOYxDx0nG0QG0%2Br6CDOpxgb4%2FTzeuzSxsj9dHZrI9ZJy5OwIDuEMBCHVPgKxtXz%2FtU08%2FmrOEbSbTKw%2B67qg%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR9zRrZi4ZA">Enfield lock</a> on the inside of the door means they'd have to angle-grind the door itself. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16505#post-376456 Thu, 05 Sep 2024 01:18:17 +0000 Yodhrin 376456@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>@MediumDave wouldn't put too much stock in LPL tbh, he's pretty transparently been building up a following so he can flog his "totally just for training/educational purposes, honest" break in tools to crims and just about every security bod I've ever spoken to suggests that the chances you'll ever run into a competent lockpicker "in the field" stealing bikes are so low as to be basically nonexistent. If it's proof against basic brute force bump/rake attacks and the shackle is well secured so they can't just hammer it apart, the worry is grinder resistance not fancy lock design. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16505#post-376451 Wed, 04 Sep 2024 18:19:09 +0000 neddie 376451@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Can confirm the chain and the anchor are good, and work well <em>inside </em>your flat, for added security in times of huge inequality and chronically under-resourced police </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16505#post-376450 Wed, 04 Sep 2024 17:14:45 +0000 MediumDave 376450@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Indulging in a bit of thread necromancy here as I feel this may be of interest to some. </p> <p>I've been installing security anchors and chains in my girlfriend's garage and was pleased to find that this:</p> <p><a href="https://www.screwfix.com/p/smith-locke-keyed-d-lock-100mm-x-200mm/483FA" rel="nofollow">https://www.screwfix.com/p/smith-locke-keyed-d-lock-100mm-x-200mm/483FA</a></p> <p>fits nicely through the links of </p> <p><a href="https://www.screwfix.com/p/smith-locke-hardened-steel-hex-security-chain-2m-x-10mm" rel="nofollow">https://www.screwfix.com/p/smith-locke-hardened-steel-hex-security-chain-2m-x-10mm</a></p> <p>once the rubber cover on the D-lock has been removed. It has quite a chunky shackle - unusual for a cheap D-Lock. </p> <p>The long chain and D-lock gives one a lot of locking-up options for quite a keen price. Ground anchor wise we used:</p> <p><a href="https://www.screwfix.com/p/master-lock-wall-floor-anchor-steel-large-160mm/49778" rel="nofollow">https://www.screwfix.com/p/master-lock-wall-floor-anchor-steel-large-160mm/49778</a></p> <p>I have no idea whether these products are really any good. Probably not given the price, so I wouldn't trust this setup alone to protect a truly "fancy" bike, but it is certainly fine for our stable of ragged beaters. </p> <p>And as the "lockpickinglawyer" and other lest subtle people demonstrate, even expensive fancy locks are not much use against a determined adversary. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16505#post-222478 Wed, 08 Jun 2016 14:44:38 +0000 kaputnik 222478@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><em>Would be useful on campsites</em></p> <p>There was a circus Big Top at Fisherrow a few weeks back, the guys for which appeared to be attached to industrial versions of these. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16505#post-222476 Wed, 08 Jun 2016 14:40:41 +0000 Arellcat 222476@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Would be useful on campsites, but a bit heavy and inconvenient to take with you whilst cycle touring. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16505#post-222471 Wed, 08 Jun 2016 14:18:01 +0000 chdot 222471@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Never come across groundbolts before. </p> <p>Impressive (until you hit rocks I suppose)! </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16505#post-222468 Wed, 08 Jun 2016 13:58:38 +0000 WickyWocky 222468@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>We bought some groundbolts to secure our swings as we didn't want to concrete them in. The blurb suggests they will cut through concrete but we've not tried that. </p> <p><a href="http://www.groundbolt.co.uk/Video_overview.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.groundbolt.co.uk/Video_overview.html</a> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16505#post-222467 Wed, 08 Jun 2016 13:56:16 +0000 Arellcat 222467@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><em>An example of this sort of anchor is the Torc; <a href="http://securityforbikes.com/torc-ground-anchor.php" rel="nofollow">http://securityforbikes.com/torc-ground-anchor.php</a></em></p> <p>Pragmasis was set up by one of the old guard of ACF, before it became yACF, and the Shed Shackle was their first product. It's safe to say that they know what they're talking about. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16505#post-222460 Wed, 08 Jun 2016 13:31:07 +0000 chdot 222460@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Don't forget one of these -</p> <p><a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41tuo9uuIQL.jpg" rel="nofollow">http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41tuo9uuIQL.jpg</a> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16505#post-222457 Wed, 08 Jun 2016 13:24:30 +0000 zesty 222457@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>As its a new build, if the foundation for the garage isnt down yet can you not speak to the builder and see if they will fit the anchor for you when they do the foundation? </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16505#post-222451 Wed, 08 Jun 2016 12:45:33 +0000 crowriver 222451@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I have one of these fixed to the wall of our common stair: <a href="http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/accessories/locks/product/review-abus-wba100-ground-anchor-09-35287/" rel="nofollow">http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/accessories/locks/product/review-abus-wba100-ground-anchor-09-35287/</a></p> <p>Add a few longish motorbike security chains secured with big disc padlocks, locked into loops, looped into each other. Then just lock each bike to one of the chains, with the normal bike lock.</p> <p>Works a treat.</p> <p>In the low security bike shed in the back green, I fixed a couple of these to the floor, and added padlocked chains to lock stuff to. <a href="http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/accessories/locks/product/review-squire-locks-bwa2-09-35289/" rel="nofollow">http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/accessories/locks/product/review-squire-locks-bwa2-09-35289/</a></p> <p>My rented garage has a car style IR pedestal operated electric door. So it's pretty secure. I agree that fixing a big padlock on the outside is maybe an invitation to thieving types... </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16505#post-222445 Wed, 08 Jun 2016 12:01:21 +0000 kaputnik 222445@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><em>I'd also recommend fitting a garage door padlock</em></p> <p>Would a garage padlock act as a visual deterrence or perhaps a flag for "nice things to steal inside"? Just a thought to which I do not have an answer. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16505#post-222441 Wed, 08 Jun 2016 11:46:57 +0000 14Westfield 222441@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I'd also recommend fitting a garage door padlock - these are similar to the ground anchors for your bike but include a disc shaped padlock with the mechanism hidden.</p> <p>Thst will reduce the chances of anyone getting in the up and over door.</p> <p>Eh<br /> <a href="http://www.lockshop-warehouse.co.uk/acatalog/bulldog-garage-door-lock-gd20.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.lockshop-warehouse.co.uk/acatalog/bulldog-garage-door-lock-gd20.html</a> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16505#post-222408 Wed, 08 Jun 2016 10:41:51 +0000 kaputnik 222408@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><em>Cheers - what was the process of fitting it.</em></p> <p>A hammer drill and the appropriate sized masonry drill bit will do for one of the anchors which sits on the floor/wall. You could mount it into the wall or the floor. Brick or blockwork is (much) easier to drill than concrete. If you go down this route, make sure whatever anchor you use has a non-return fixing so that it can't just be removed with a normal Allen key or spanner.</p> <p>An example of this sort of anchor is the Torc; <a href="http://securityforbikes.com/torc-ground-anchor.php" rel="nofollow">http://securityforbikes.com/torc-ground-anchor.php</a> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16505#post-222407 Wed, 08 Jun 2016 10:41:29 +0000 I were right about that saddle 222407@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Yup - you basicaly dig a hole though the floor, lay stones in the bottom for drainage, put the anchor on top of the stones and pour cement/concrete round it so that it's flush with the floor.</p> <p>Breaking through concrete is just brute force. You could hire a drill to speed things up - I just did it by hand. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16505#post-222401 Wed, 08 Jun 2016 10:27:51 +0000 mcsparshatt 222401@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><em>@mcsparshatt</p> <p>I fitted a ground anchor at mine - one of the ones that's flush with the floor. It wasn't difficult at all.</p> <p>As regards your locks, this gent;</p> <p><a href="http://www.albanylocks.co.uk/" rel="nofollow">http://www.albanylocks.co.uk/</a></p> <p>is a friend of mine and a very reliable professional.</p> <p></em><br /> Cheers - what was the process of fitting it. Any good Youtube videos or online guides? I assume you had to break through some cement? </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16505#post-222400 Wed, 08 Jun 2016 10:24:52 +0000 chdot 222400@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Some advice here -</p> <p><a href="http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=9656" rel="nofollow">http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=9656</a> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16505#post-222399 Wed, 08 Jun 2016 10:24:50 +0000 I were right about that saddle 222399@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>@mcsparshatt</p> <p>I fitted a ground anchor at mine - one of the ones that's flush with the floor. It wasn't difficult at all.</p> <p>As regards your locks, this gent;</p> <p><a href="http://www.albanylocks.co.uk/" rel="nofollow">http://www.albanylocks.co.uk/</a></p> <p>is a friend of mine and a very reliable professional. </p>