Home Security Basics: The 3-Layer System to Protect Your Bike

At home is where most bikes sleep. It's also where a lot of them disappear from.

The thing is, home should be where you have the most control over security. You know the layout, you can add things over time, and you can build habits. Whilst a lot of advice treats home security like it's the same as street parking - just ‘buy a better lock.’, effective home security isn't about having the most expensive or heaviest-duty chain. It's about layers.

What is Layered Security?

Thieves look for easy wins - bikes they can move quickly, quietly, without drawing attention. Your job is to make that impossible, or at least really annoying.

These are the core three layers to this system:

1: Make it hard to get to. Before they even touch your bike, can they get to it easily? Can they roll it away or do they need to climb things, make noise, squeeze through gaps?

2: Make it hard to move. Once they're there, is your bike actually attached to something? Because if it's not attached, it can be lifted. Two people can carry most bikes.

3: Make it risky. Will anyone see them? Hear them? Will lights come on or alarms go off? The goal isn't an unstealable bike - that's impossible. The goal is a bike that's more trouble than it’s worth for them.

Layer One: Where You Park

This is the foundation, and it's free. Before you buy anything, just ask: if I were trying to steal this bike, how easy would it be? Walk the route. Time it. Be brutally honest. Most people park wherever is convenient for them - but that's usually convenient for thieves too.

General principles:

Closer to your house is better. Within sight or earshot is ideal.

Parked behind something rather than in front. Behind your car, behind a wall, behind anything that means thieves are less likely to notice it - and if they do they can't just walk straight up and roll it away.

Barriers slow people down. Even a little gate adds thirty seconds of fumbling. Steps, narrow paths, gravel instead of smooth concrete.

Avoid easy van access. If someone can back up a van and lift your bike straight in, that's a problem. We know it sounds obvious, but we see bikes parked like this all the time.

Different situations:

If you have a garage, you're already ahead, but don't get complacent. Park the bike toward the back, not right behind the door. If you can fit your car in front of the bike, even better. Add an extra lock to the garage door itself - those standard locks are pretty flimsy.

No garage? Very common. Park as close to the house as you can. Behind your car if possible. Even a low gate or bollard at the front of your drive helps.

Street parking? Try to park where you can see the bike from a window, and ideally somewhere well-lit. Avoid spots where a van can pull up right beside it without being seen.

The point is to use the space you have available to you to make access awkward. Even small changes help. Turn the bike so it has to be reversed down a slope. Park on gravel instead of smooth tarmac.

Once you've done that, you need something to lock it to.

Layer Two: What You Lock To

If your bike isn't attached to something solid, it can be lifted. This is where most people's security falls apart. I see expensive bikes with expensive locks, locked to nothing. Or locked to things that can be cut, lifted, or just aren't that strong.

The rules are simple:

Lock to something solid and fixed. Ground anchor, wall anchor, heavy rail, sturdy post. Not decorative railings or drainpipes. Lock through the frame, not just a wheel. Ideally through the frame and the back wheel. Keep the chain off the floor if you can. The higher up, the harder it is to attack with bolt cutters.

What actually works:

In a garage or shed, a ground anchor bolted into solid concrete is your best bet. Wall anchors work if the floor isn't suitable, but make sure it's going into proper brick, not just plasterboard.

If space and chain length allow, threading the chain through a second bike or heavy object adds hassle.

On a drive or in a garden, you can install a ground anchor in the paving or concrete. If you have a solid metal gate or rail that's set in concrete, that works too. If you're renting and can't install anything permanent, you need to find something solid that's already there. A thick metal fence post set in concrete. A heavy rail.

Street parking is trickier. You need a solid lamp post or steel rail that's properly set into the pavement. Avoid anything decorative that could be cut or lifted. The chain itself matters too. Cheap cable locks can be cut with kitchen scissors. You want hardened steel, 10mm links or thicker if possible.

Make sure you're asking yourself: if someone wanted to take this bike, what would they actually have to cut or remove? If the answer is “nothing," Layer Two isn’t in place yet.

Layer Three: The Extras That Makes Thieves Nervous

This is everything else - alarms, lights, cameras, covers, trackers. None of it replaces layers one and two, but it all adds up.

Alarms work because they make noise.

A disc lock with an alarm is perfect for home use - loud, compact, and it'll hopefully wake the neighbours. You can also get alarms for sheds and garages - like PIRs and contact sensors. Even just having alarm warning stickers up can make thieves think twice.

Lights make people visible. 

Motion-activated lights above driveways or garage doors are cheap and effective. You want to light both the bike and anyone approaching it.

Cameras help with insurance and police. 

Even a basic video doorbell that catches the path in and out is useful. The main thing is making it obvious there's recording happening.

Covers can work if you use them right. 

A decent fitted cover hides what bike you have and slows down quick opportunistic grabs. Get one that straps under the bike properly.

Trackers are a last resort.

They don't prevent theft but might help you get your bike back. Some connect to your phone and can alert you if the bike moves.

Habits.

The most important layer three thing is habits. Lock your bike every single time, even when you're tired. Check your locks before bed. Don't leave garage or shed keys lying around obviously. Build a little routine and stick to it. It becomes automatic pretty quickly.

The Reality Check

Here's the thing: no bike is unstealable. Professional thieves with power tools, vans, and brazen determination can take anything. But they're less common, and they usually target specific bikes they've already identified. A more common problem is opportunistic thieves looking for quick, easy scores. Those people skip houses with layered security and move on to easier targets. You don't need perfect security. You just need to be more trouble than you're worth.

Where to Start

Pick one improvement from each layer and build from there. Move your bike to a better spot. Add something solid to lock it to. Add one extra thing - an alarm, a light, or a cover.

When you park up tonight, ask yourself: is the bike awkward to get to? Is it attached to something solid? Would someone tampering with it be seen or heard? If you can answer yes to all three, you're well ahead of most people.

The thieves are counting on you doing nothing. Don't prove them right.

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Coming soon

We’re new here and still settling in, but this is just the start.

Over the next few weeks we’ll be breaking a lot of the topics in this guide into much more detail - from different types of home alarm systems, to how various locks and chains compare at different price points.

Check back soon for new guides and breakdowns - or even better, join the forthcoming newsletter and be the first to get our occasional updates straight to your inbox. No spam, just useful insights.

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