BikeBenjamin

I, as most have, have had bikes and gear stolen while touring, even when with my little kids.

I've reluctantly become more aware and suspicious.

I'd like to have some kind of loud siren alarm to drop in my panniers were anyone to try and remove them from either my bike when it's parked next to our tent during the night, or the eves of the tent if I've taken them off to store them.

Can anyone offer some recommendations or have experience with doing this sort of thing?

Thank you
Ben

Polaris OBark

Some Garmins (like my 530) have this kind of alarm.

My guess is they are about as effective as car alarms. Whenever I hear one go off at 3 am, I am completely torn between alerting the authorities and pursuing the perpetrator.

MarcusT

Maybe something like this?
https://www.amazon.com/Wireless-Anti...s%2C188&sr=8-5

BikeBenjamin

Thank you very much

I thought I had searched extensively on Amazon, but clearly not. This looks more appropriate than what I had looked at.

Thanks again

Ben

Tourist in MSN

I bring my panniers into my tent, lock my bike almost every night. I had not even thought about an alarm but that one is cheap enough that I might get it just because at that price it might come in handy some day.

My next tour will be in an area where theft might be more of an issue than most of my previous tours.

Thanks for posting.

gauvins

Sorry for your loss.

Could you give us some context? It happened at night in a campground? Or during the day while shopping? In a large city, or a small town, etc. In the US or somewhere else?

phughes

I'm torn between putting a pillow over my ears or putting in ear plugs.

phughes

That's a nice inexpensive idea.

Tourist in MSN

Just in case you had not noticed, on the Amazon page it mentions that there is a newer one with a different mounting method.

IPassGas

I use this on tour. It fits nicely on top of the rails under a Brooks saddle. I put some plastic tubing on the rails and then use a velco strap to secure it to the rails. It can be a bit tedious to determine the correct sensitivity setting. If too sensitive, the wind sets it off and will wake the whole campground at 3 am. I keep the remote in the tent in a place I can access immediately to silence it. It is an extra measure of security on top of situational awareness.

BikeBenjamin

I have been late getting started on touring. I originally planned to cycle round the world with my best friend, before I got quite ill and it had to be called off. Since then, I went with a very good Chinese friend i think 4 times for maybe a week each time, but each time we stayed in local hotels. Since then, i've not done much more, until I had children. I was very nervous the first time I took my son out 'touring' with me in France. We only did 5/6 days I think. But since then we've done one more time in France, and then back in the UK i've been out 4 times with both my 5 half year old son and my nearly 3 year old daughter. We live in the Nottinghamshire area. Each trip has been longer than the previous one, and the last one in mid October would have been around 6/7 days I'm predicting, but my bike was stolen on the 4th day. It was partly my fault really. I I got a flat and rather unfortunately my pump had chosen that day to break I guess, so the three of us had to get to the nearest dwelling, which happened to be a very expensive hotel, to see if someone could lend us a replacement pump. Before we left I took a few things out of my front panniers, my phones, locked my daughters Thule trailer and my sons bike, but neglected to lock my own. We were down a little lane, not too far from a road to be fair though, and I had taken off the back wheel to take it with me and repair the puncture at whatever place we found. To top it off, it rained heavily while we were at the hotel, my daughter was sick and the hotel was £250 for one night, out of the question, so we trudged back to the bikes and.......ahhh, my bike was stolen along with the front panniers, the handlebar bag and all the contents. Luckily they didn't stop long enough to take the rest, or the rear panniers which I had unloaded in order to get the back wheel off. so fortunately we still had our tent and sleeping bags etc, and it was a mild night too. Disappointing of course. But learned my lesson not to be so blasé and trusting in this world. We wid camp by the way, usually find a spot each night and ask the local farmer etc. Never been a problem.

If anyone lives in the UK and has similar aged children and likes to take them out touring, please get in contact. It would be awesome. I love taking my children out touring so much. It hardens them and me! It makes them appreciate simple food and water, the sights etc and gives them loads of experiential memories. My son often says he doesn't want to go when we are at home, but once we are on the road, he loves it and is often in higher spirits than me. It would be lovely for him to have another little fellah of his age to share it all with the whole way though.

indyfabz

Most have? Authority for that claim?

veganbikes

This could be neat:
https://www.abus.com/us/Recreational...variant)/61488

At the shop we use little clothing cables, easy as hell to cut but once cut that alarm will keep going and going so super light but annoying security. It is one of those that opens with a magnet but for our usage it is just fine.

jamawani 

Then again -
Something dirty and stinky on top does about as good as anything else.

veganbikes

How so? A used sock for instance is a sock it provides zero alarms and just makes things smell bad which is a net bad for me the rider and doesn't effect much as I can just hold my nose or throw it on the ground and walk the bike away. An actual movement alarm allows someone to be notified clearly when someone messes with the bike. Stinky stuff can be a good deterrent in some cases for some things but in this case it is either going to have to be so stinky that it is dangerous to everyone or it is useless.

denis_987

I have this alarm and horn (very loud) : https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32878456118.html

I use it every times I go shopping for food or at a restaurant. It is very loud and sleepy drivers wake up when they don't "see" you. Also it surprises a dog chasing you.

Yan 

When camping I keep my panniers in my tent vestibule and my bike locked to my tent.

For other times, I came to the conclusion that it's futile. The only thing one can do is to keep the bike in sight at all times. If this is not possible, then you must keep it somewhere locked or guarded, like in a hotel room, or ask someone to watch it. Sometimes if I have to go somewhere for a few hours I have paid a restaurant or hotel to keep the bike in their building. I also carry a full sized u-lock on tour. Very heavy but I suffer through it.

There is an old video of someone who had their bike stolen in Mongolia. They were sleeping in their tent and woke up to the sound of their tent being ripped in half. They sat up and saw a man riding away on a horse with their bike and half the tent dragging behind.

fooferdoggie 

I have one usually works well. the quality of the remote is a pain the bar on it is plastic. but its usually pretty sensitive. what I hate somehow I end up turning it on and I got to take the bike out of the garage and it tells me knock it off.

djb

I'd have to say from decades of touring personally and from friends experiences, that it's extremely rare to hear of theft, and leaving panniers on your bike during the night is not necessary and doesn't really make any sense.
We have always brought panniers on tent, as the things we need are in them, and the empty ones just stack on top of each other.
We too have sometimes kept things in vestibules, but no issues.

Of course, one must use common sense for risk assessment, but locking ones bike to something secure near tent works in the majority of family campground sort of situations, and stops an opportunistic grab.
I've generally always kept an eye on my things, but most situations are alright.

A huge part of bike traveling, and traveling in general, is assessing risk and the specific environment and people around, so being aware and suspicious is always good.

indyfabz

During my week-long+ trip in September I locked my bike to something the first night, but that was it. I was staying in a lean-to close to a trail with easy public access. Panniers never went inside the tent while I slept.

djb

Im genuinely curious--why not?

Tourist in MSN

My trip in Iceland, I think I quit locking things after about three days, it felt so safe there. In some of the more touristy areas, there I locked it. I remember being really surprised when I saw a policeman one time, there is so little crime there that I forgot that they exist, but he was eating lunch at a restaurant and was not doing police duties at the time. But I saw a police car on the highway several times since I spent much of my time on the highways.

The next tour after that was in Southern Florida, we did a good job of locking things there.

indyfabz

I didn’t feel any need to. Mostly because I camped in places where there few people around, and there was no public access. The few people I did camp around didn’t look like they needed or wanted to steal anything. I spent two nights at a state park campground that was nearly empty, and my site was up a little hill off the campground road and in the trees. Doubt anyone could even see me from the road.

djb

I guess I don't get it because when I set up my tent, I then set up camp mat and sleeping bag, which cone out of a pannier, so just easier to take it over tent. Reverse also for packing, just pack my things inside tent. Other panniers have clothes etc, so again, just easier inside tent unpacking and repacking in morning. Faster too.
Same goes with my sleep clothes, electronics that I use in tent or whatever. Just more convenient to have panniers in tent, and weather can and does change during night.

indyfabz

Let me ask you a question: How tall are you, and what size tent do you use?

I’m 6’2” with linebacker shoulders. The Quarterdome tent has a little more room than the Fly Creek, but not a whole lot more. Getting changed in either is difficult. But if I need to, the clothes I’m going to ride in in the morning are in my sleeping bag sack serving as a pillow. The panniers are waterproof, and the only device out is my phone. The Kindle gets stowed before I turn in.