Preventing bike theft while on rack.
 

I've never been able to figure this out. First, I really do understand that if someone is set on stealing something, they can/will do it. But I'm still concerned about protecting my bike while its sitting on my trunk rack. I have pretty much the standard trunk rack, attached to the car trunk lid with straps and metal clips. If anyone wants to steal the rack all they have to do is cut the straps, which would be pretty cheap to replace. More important, the bike can be taken right along with it, or by itself. I can't see any way to secure it to the car.

Would appreciate any suggestions.

For that kind of rack your best option is to never leave it unattended while the bike is on there.

If you must leave it unattended, you can take measures like taking the front wheel, seatpost and pedals off as it sits there to make it unrideable and require a would-be thief to have the means to transport it away.

One step better, if the bike is worth it, is to invest in a more secure rack system than a strap on. Most passenger cars can be fitted with a U-Haul or similar tow bar that can support a 1 1/4" hitch mounted rack.

Those have security bolts available that can of course still be picked or otherwise defeated, but not as easy as cutting a strap.

Keep in mind attaching one of those may void your auto warranty.

If you already have a hitch mount, or if you vehicle can have on added without voiding warranty, that is IMO a no-brainer upgrade from strap mount systems.

You could put a U-Lock on the frame, rear wheel and rack to at least slow them down some...they would be unable to ride off with it right away unless they cut the U-lock. You could cable to something under the car but that can be cut easily. The U-lock can be defeated also, but would slow them down some.

Thanks for both replys. Since I don't have an existing hitch, I'm sure the cost of that plus the carrier would exceed the bike. The U bolt sounds like a possibility for slowing them down. FYI, bike theft here in Florida is big business. The gangs drive trucks, hang in mall parking lots waiting for customers to just "run into the store for a second" and have your bike and are gone in less than a minute. I was hoping someone had invented a magic device to solve the problem. I guess the only real solution, as suggested, is to plan my day to minimize leaving the bike unattended.

Thanks again.

Not necessarily. To install a hitch on my 2004 Corolla, it's just four bolts on the undercarriage and $100 for the hitch itself. A hitch-mounted carrier can be had for as little as $100 but also can cost much more, like in the $600-700 range.

This is really the only answer. There is a gentleman who parks at work everyday with his bike on his hitch mount, and every time I see it I wonder how long it will last before stolen. Especially when the college kids return later this month.

If you leave that trunk rack on long enough it will wear the paint away.

What I usually do is hook up a cable lock around the bike, or bikes, and tuck the actual lock inside the trunk. If you pop the trunk, you can fit the lock in between the back of the trunk and the rear window, and then shut the trunk so it cant be pulled out. Then you have at least a cable lock protecting the bike. It's not the best security, but it gives me more comfort to stop at a rest stop or quick place to eat while on road trips.

with a receiver hitch on the car , you can tow a small trailer and lock it all inside the box. and lock your trailer hitch on too..

I simply lock the bike to the rack. I know that the straps could easily be cut and the bike along with the rack could be gone. I have a nice enough bike but not a multi-thousand dollar bike that a professional thief would bother with. I figure locking the bike to the bike rack will eliminate an "opportunity theft". If I'm travelling with my bike, I bring the bike (but not the rack) into my motel room.

Even on high end racks, it is possible given some time.

My rack locks to my car and my bike rails lock to the rack.

After that, the QRs that hold the bike lock so that it cannot be easily removed.

I'll leave the bike on the car while eating somewhere while traveling, but I would not leave bikes unattended in a remote parking lot or overnight.

The locks can eventually be defeated and somebody could just strip expensive components off the bike.

I have a Rhode gear rack once the bike is on I run a large cable thru the wheel an around the rack.
thieves can't ride away but have to carry bike rack as one unit.
then I add a surprise , I add one of these :Siren Alarm Lock Motion Sensor Security Padlock Bike Garden Shed Anti Theft Lock | eBay
hoping the noise while send running instead of running my bike off.

the best way is never leave your out of your sight.

Thieves steal bikes worth less than $250 all the time.

They want the components off that kind of bike, not the bike itself.

I use just a lightweight simple cable lock system. A good pair of cable cutters would make short work of it. So it's just as safe locking it to the car bike rack as to anything else.