I mentioned that I already have a dog, he is a Boxer/Doberman mix. He is only a couple months old but will end up weighing in around 90 lbs of muscle. I have cable locked the garage door down and have two locks on the man door plus I boarded up the only window from the inside. I also have a street light right outside the garage the illuminates the entire area, fortunately. I appreciate the suggestions, and I really like the idea of hiding my nice bike the garage and leaving a cheaper bike out in the open. I am going to go with the installation of the bolt in the concrete in the back corner by the beer fridge and secure my bike with a heavy duty hardened chain and then cover the bike with an old dirty tarp. I am also going to contact my insurance company and verify that they will cover my bike if it is somehow stolen. What a sad world we live in where this kind of hassle has to be taken just to keep your own hard earned belongings. On a good note my buddy actually builds bikes on the side in his garage for some extra income and he only lives a few blocks away and has never had one taken. We are talking some serious mountain bikes and high end road bikes sit around unlocked in his garage over night. It's the fact that the neighbors had a water feature pump ripped off out of their garage that has me concerned. Who takes that? Desperate druggies. I also had my music collection and leatherman tool ripped off out of my car a few months ago in front of my house.

The only problem with this philosophy, is that your thief might be a repeat offender.

How many bikes is your insurance company willing to replace?

In a few more months his Boxer/Dobbie mix just might be a better option!

three quick things:

1. it's not a hassle, that's why you have insurance
2. can't you see the cable lock from the outside? if so, that's a sign that something interesting is inside. you'll have to weight deterring the petty thieves vs. attracting that pros.
3. to be honest, I don't think we all live in the world you describe, but i've given up most of my non-furniture possessions, so maybe i'm biased.

1. more than one insurance company exists.
2. most likely, as many i am willing to insure.

i can understand the logic, but i don't want the overhead invested in the protection to cost more money/time than the initial object.

Yes, by all means contact your insurance company. Be sure they understand the value of the bike.

It's a good idea for anyone to lock up their bikes in their garage (at least a U-lock a wheel to the frame). I know of someone in LA who had a Ritte stolen from their garage. Interestingly, a Ritte of the same model appeared on Craigslist the next day with a cut-and-paste description from online and a stock photo of the bike from the website...

Carry adequate insurance and stop worrying so much. If your bike gets stolen, it gets stolen. Replace with insurance payout.

I have no garage, so store my nice bike indoors (hung vertically on a wall), but not locked up. I leave my winter bike outside u-locked to a fence. Have had no problems with either arrangement.

I tend to agree with posters who are basically telling you that you're paranoid. Theft happens, and is why I send a few bucks a month to an insurance company that's never given me anything back. It's a hassle if it happens to you, but all these precautions you're listing are a hassle even if it doesn't - it's voluntarily making yourself a victim of a low-probability event.

edit: On the topic of insurance, most base homeowners insurance covers a small amount (mine is $500) for any bike. Some are better, but I found the simplest solution is to have item-specific insurance for my bikes, which required picking an insured amount, and sending the insurance company a photo, serial number, and bill of sale.

I haven't tested these ideas, but have seen expensive commuters disguised as cheaper bikes by using Huffy decals, removing the factory decals, taping over carbon forks etc... to make it look less valuable.

Opportunistic thieves are generally unaware of a bike's true value and target specific models based on how flashy they look. A shiny new Huffy is more likely to get stolen than a well-loved Surly. When we're talking garage break-ins, it's probably going to be gone no matter what it looks like. Scuffing it up intentionally is only going to help avoid someone specifically following you home and picking your garage because they already know the nice bike is there.

one of these http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/M...x?ModelID=8495 and one of these http://www.bikebandit.com/kryptonite...FSWFQAod_SUl1w


That should do it... I'm thinking of doing this for my front porch so I dont have to bring my bikes in the house all the time. Dont have a garage here.

Another trick is to take an innertube, slice it lengthwise and zip tie it around your frame to disguise it, and "hobo" it.

I like this HUFFY decal idea!

Where can you get HUFFY decals?

I'm not sure, but I've seen pictures of at least one nice commuter with them on it here somewhere. If I hadn't read the decals were fake I wouldn't have guessed it either.

Yeah, I even commented on that thread, I believe. That was purely amazing!

off your printer.. there are decal maker supplies.

The bike theives are onto "Huffy." Try another one of the Walmart brands like GMC Denali.