Locking up expensive commuter in the garage
 

So its come to the point where I am no longer able to store my main commuter (salsa fargo 2 with a lot of upgrades and full Revelate Designs pack kit ) inside the house. We live in a small starter home (I believe in living within your means and not stretching the budget thin just to live in a large home) so there isnt room for a bike inside and 2 toddlers and a dog. I have a decent 2 car garage out by the alley and that's where my other bikes reside. I just cant bring myself to leave my Fargo out there overnight. We have had garage break ins next door.I am looking for suggestion on how to secure it out there. I have boarded up the only window and cable locked the automatic garage door down. My next thought was to install an anchor in the concrete and chain the bike to it. The man door has a deadbolt and a clasp lock. Am I just paranoid? ! I love my bike! ! But I love my wife more and she is says keep it on the garage!

Any suggestions for securing my bike in the garage? Or any small home or apartment dwellars with ideas on storing a bike indoors?

I'd check with my insurance as well.

Take the front wheel off and turn the handlebars sideways to reduce the envelope size of the bike.

Or get a pulley system and hang the bike sideways up against the ceiling in the corner of one room.

Or lock it to the garage somehow.

No locking system is 100% secure against a dedicated or motivated thief or druggie, do your best and get a good nights sleep. At some point it isn't worth the stress of worrying about it.
Good luck.

Thanks for the suggestions so far! Sorry about the typos, typing on a droid that thinks its smarter than i am.

I keep my bikes in the basement, which has a door that goes outside. The door should be pretty secure, but I keep them locked to the steel basement support posts. The fiancee only lets me keep a bike in the house in one of two scenarios: 1) I'm working on it or 2) it's winter and it's mounted on my trainer.

If I were you, I would definitely keep it locked up--especially given the break in next door. Putting an anchor in the floor sounds like a good idea to me.

Options:

1) Remove front wheel , pedals, and handlebars. Place under your bed.

2) Buy a wall rack and lock it up there.

3) Get a Pitbull dog and start locking your bike and dog up together overnight, in the garage....Meanwhile, buy her shoes and stuff.

* You must train your Pit to bark at the slightest indication of a tresspass. The dog must also be trained not to take food from strangers. Don't let anyone pet your dog, but you.

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You could try a Kryptonite or ABUS anchor that can be bolted to the concrete floor in the garage along with one of those heavy square link chains.

I wonder if leaving a cheap (free) bike in the garage unlocked or poorly locked would encourage them to take that one and not bother with the ones that are better locked.

i miss my chow he was the best watch dog ever.

Best idea.

Better safe than sorry.

I think that concrete anchor is a pretty good idea actually. Not very expensive either.

I'd go with the concrete anchor as well, the epoxy bolt set up is probably the easiest/securest way.

Luckily I wasn't forced to go the OP's route, with my wife having two of her favorite/memorable bikes stolen, she is sympathetic towards my keeping my commuter bikes in the house.

Concrete anchor + door/window alarms.

Hey OP, does your wife have a bike? I just had this great idea ;)

Did anyone noticed that OP mentioned TWO toddlers and a dog?

A bike inside the house is not safe from little grubby hands no matter where you stash it. One toddler will lift another while standing on a dog. Little grubby hands are not safe either - one is getting caught in front or back derailer while sibling is happily turning the crank....I am thinking about storage case bolted to the floor in the garage and bike chained to the floor inside the case.

Yeah, Happy Father's Day to OP.

just run electric current through it so that anyone would get a shock if they touched it.

this will also prevent electrolysis of the steel frame.

sci_femme says:

Yeah, keep the kids and get a Pit!

The cemented anchor idea sounds very plausible. However, the cemented anchor plus the Pit combination sounds absolutely failsafe!


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First Line of Defense

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Last Line of Defense

I will add a vote to putting a bolt in the floor that you can chain it to.

Also, I would maybe bring in the rear wheel (or both wheels) overnight. If people are breaking in to garages, they're probably looking for anything to make a quick buck. A bike with no wheels is probably going to seem less inviting to somebody looking for something they can sell quickly.

Making the garage door secure is #1 after that install BRIGHT motion activated flood lights. I'd separate frames from wheels and lock separately then leave one cheap,new, good looking bike pointed towards the door like it's ready to be ridden out. That's the sacrificial lamb that you rig any way you want. Loose handlebar stem, loose brake cable, etc. I've been helping a friend tune his BikesDirect $299 road bike, that would be a good choice.

Most important thing is making the door secure, once they can break in and harvest once they'll be back for more because they can see what else is available that they didn't have the time to get and they can bring the long bolt cutters.

I'm moving to a new house soon where I will be storing some of my bikes in the garage. It's a good neighbhorhood but you never know. So does the pit bull but that won't fly in my house. The kryptonite/abus anchors seem like a great idea. What about using an old fashioned bike rack that is anchored to the ground? I know Saris makes this gear and I'm sure others do as well. Maybe not as secure as the anchor in the ground (since cutting through the rack is easier than cutting the lock) but it seems like a space efficient solution in a garage.

Pit bulls aren't legal here.

That's alright! Just get a Chow or a Rottweiler, then!


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Chow

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Rottweiler

Something like this? http://www.amazon.com/Strobe-Motion-.../dp/B001KU3JR0

What ever you do, make it better then just a chain. A co-worker of mine had all their bikes and the lawn mower stolen from her garage. Had a nice heavy weight chain running through all of it, and that did not even slow the thief down.

What upgrade in doors and locks have you done already to the garage?

do you have enough room to build another cabinet/shed/room,
with its own door-locks
within the garage, to put your bikes into?

to be honest, is it really worth the hassle?

just insure it and be done with it. if someone really wants it, it's gone anyway (unless it's watched 24h/day), so just have the financial coverage to replace what is lost.

imho, it's not worth the mental hassle and time expended.

spend the time&money on the bike&family, respectively, instead.

edit: also, when dealing with the insurance company, get any potential "it's covered; don't worry" in writing. then you're legally covered and shouldn't worry again.