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Hi
I'm planning to start cycling to Haymarket station for the commute to work and would be leaving my bike there for anything up to 12 hours per day. I'm just a bit wary as I recently had a bike pinched from a city centre location so just wondered if anyone had experience of leaving a bike there on a regular basis. Also any advice on decent locks would be appreciated.
Thanks!
my wife leaves her bike there occasionally when she's working in glasgow. No problems yet. just lock it well with a decent lock.
The usual thing about locks - use two locks of different types, including at least one nice heavy U-shackle and an additional cable/chain and padlock to tether any remaining untethered wheels to the frame/stand (and to reduce the amount of available waggle-room to make it more difficult to get at things to break them). Take the bike to one of the police's free frame-registration sessions to get the frame number recorded and warning stickers applied: the next session is on Wednesday 14th, either at Torphichen Place station or Gayfield.
I've left my bike there plenty of times and never had any issues. I'll be using the train again more frequently from April.
Bike parking used to be on the under capacity racks outside Ryries (and often the nearby railings). The new covered racks nearer the station 'feel' much safer, but I suspect it would make little difference to a bike theif.
The only time anyone has ever interfered with my bike is to leave a Spokes bulletin!
I did once leave my cycle computer on the bike and worried about it all day, but it was there when I got back. Quite often see bikes with lights left on them.
I use a fairly standard U lock, with an additional looped cable around the front wheel.
My main security features are probably:
1) Other bikes look easier to steal.
2) Other bikes look more desirable.
On the 2nd point, my 'station' bike really isn't very desirable.
I arrive just before 8am and have always managed to get a space on the covered racks. I suspect it could fill up later.
Have you considered taking you're bike on the train? If you get a train before ~07.30 then its pre comuter hour so you are more likely to get it on the train. This would of course depend on having somewhere secure to leave it at the other end, like secure bike parking at work.
Pesonally I don't like to leave my bike anywhere other than Home, Work or my local train station which has lockers which you can get you're whole bike in.
I know this is no answer for you Steven but... aren't Networkrail canvasing opinion on the new Haymarket design? Perhaps a bike hub might be useful? There are lots of sheffeild stands outside Ryries & Co so that proves there must be a demand for secure parking.
The new racks are better observed from station and Starbucks so perhaps better than those outside Ryries in terms of safety…
Agree on all the above points. If you've got more than one lock, any thief is going to look at the bike with less locks than you first.
Making your bike look less valuable also works apparently? Don't keep it /too/ clean and some people tape over the frame logos (or the whole frame!)
Take details of the serial numbers, register them with police, take a good series of photos of the bike for your records, declare it to your home contents insurer and enquire about if you're covered outside the house. Most policies will let you add the bikes on outside the house for a nominal increase in rate up to a value of 500 pounds.
The lock you want is a Kryptonite mini like this (£32 delivered). It's deliberately small because this makes leverage attacks much harder - just put it around your back wheel and the stand (within the rear triangle of the frame) and your frame will also be secure.
I'd simply replace your front quick release with a non-QR skewer such as this, and/or invest in a short cable to keep the front wheel secure.
It's probably quicker for a thief to snip a cable and undo a QR than it would be to undo an allen-key skewer, especially including the time taken to figure out that it is an allen key skewer and which size! (neither is much of a guarantee. However, it just needs to be more secure than the other bikes on the racks for you to be OK.)
(edited to add: this is a great read about locking)
@Dave - I think Sheldon's advice to leave the main lock attached to the locking point is perhaps a little risky. I've heard ex-thieves say that that technique just allowed them to defeat the lock at their leisure (work out how to pick it, or structurally weaken it in some way), then remove the bike quickly once it was next locked up.
Do note, however, that I'm quite paranoid about theft and have never had a bike stolen.
I think the main thing is to never rely on a cable lock of any description!
Robert
Au contraire, Roibeard. I rely on cable locks all the time: if I'm at all worried about the area I'm in, I look around for an expensive bike locked with one and park beside it.
You can't outrun a bear, but you *can* find a friend with a gammy leg when you want to go camping.
I think you can get (contradiction in terms) locking QRs that require a special tool to undo. Much like the multi-faceted heads on security screws you get.
Yeah, but if someone's looking to take a wheel, there will be 20 QRs they can just undo, so even the kind that require a common or garden tool on the other are secure enough IMO (I put my money where my mouth is anyway!)
If you leave your bike away on its own, probably not so good (but then a cable can be cut in a couple of seconds, as many youtube videos will demonstrate). Then I would maybe look at a pitlock or similar?
@ kaputnik
I run a set of Trans X skewers
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Trans-X-Security-Quick-Release-Skewer/dp/B000XD019E
in reality the 'key' is a 5 sided nut
however its anther ayer of security
I still run a cable through the wheel in locking most times
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