Hang it on the wall and call it "art" ..she will never know the difference.

We have an attached garage and live in a very safe rural village. It's the type of place where some people don't lock their front door, but I'd still never leave the bikes in the garage. That's why God gave us a house with a basement. :)

We don't have basements in southern California. We do have crime though.

I showed my wife the replies I'm getting to my question but she's unmoved. She does say that it's nice to see that I have people I can talk to who understand my strange habits.

Man, that's sketchy.

Keep it OUT of that garage unless you invest in a really nice lock.

No direct experience myself, no bike......, but maybe one of the 'tusk' racks with a big locking point drilled into the wall next to it:



http://www.tuskstore.com



John

Funny you mention this...a few years back, I moved into a house with some friends, two of whom were hard-core mountain bikers. Our (locked) garage was detached from the house, and on an alley.

Both bikes were stolen within a week. The kicker was that the insurance wouldn't even cover it -- the garage showed no signs of "forced entry" which is not surprising, given how easy it is to pick/open your average garage door lock or keypad.

I think this is going to depend a few different things:

1. The crime situation in your area.

2. You level of comfort, with a super expensive bike sitting in the garage.

3. What level of insurance coverage you have on contents and your bike.

Wherever, I have lived, the crime rate in particular the rate of B & E's has always been too high to leave bikes in a detached garage. The bike and all the other sports gear has gone in the basement. That being said the one and only time that I was the victim of a B & E, they came in through the basement door, walked right through the room, with three expensive bikes, several sets of carbon racing wheels, 4 pairs of high end nordic skis and ski boots and all kinds of tools and power tools and other sports gear, was stored and they took none of that stuff! They did take my entire music CD collection( about 350 CD's at the time)

Fleck

P.S. I do loath the bikes-in-the-living-room look, so I understand your girlfriend.

---

---

Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

you absolutely should not move your bike from the living room...especially if it's hidden behind the couch. your misery over your bike being stolen in one week is far worse than it being behind the couch. this is a small battle...if she gives into you now, it's her ticket for a much much bigger win later. (at least that's how I would look at it--and do when I have a freaking Olds cutlass drive shaft looking at me from my dining room...believe me, it pays off everytime to be patient. maybe I shouldn't tell you this?

I hang my bikes from the rafters on hooks. And loop a cable around them with a lock. It's not completely theft proof, but it definitely makes it tougher. I think most thefts are from opportunists who walk in and take stuff when you leave the door open for "just a minute" while you're in the house.

And here's something I've thought about doing. Why not install a motion detector light [u]inside[/u]the garage? It cannot be undone from the outside. And a thief won't hang around if a light turns on when they enter the garage. Especially if the light can be seen from the house. It'd be convenient for personal use too.

Duey

Solution 1: Good locks and an alarm system, less than $500 investment.

Solution 2: Guard dog, can get a mean dog at the pound for nothing, but food and vet bills will add up over the years.

Solution 3: Since you have a Softride, put it in the garage and let it get stolen. File an insurance claim and buy a proper bike with the proceeds. Then revert to Solution 1 and/or 2.

I understand your pain - this is what I have done:

Alarm system on the garage - check

Motion sensing light - inside (not yet but i like the idea); outside - check

Bolted bike rack to the concrete floor (like a city type noodle thing) and I lock my bikes to it.

No one should be able to get in and get the bikes fast enough - besides put some of your wives valuables out there that will be grabbed in the dash :-0

I don't have a big nasty pound dog but I do have a crazy herd of Jack Russells ;-) If you can put a "dog door" into the garage from the yard and the dogs will hang out in the garage and learn to bum rush the garage door when they hear it open.

No comment on the Softride - although I bet you now have a sweet pedal stroke (former Softrider)



good luck and talk to your insurance agent all the same,

---

John Teeters
866-508-4676
john@triumph-multisport.com
http://www.triumph-multisport.com

Replace outdoor garage with this:

http://www.sse-corp.com/modularvaults.html#

Put the bike on the side of the garage instead of the back wall so they will be hard to see when the garage door is open. You don't want someone "shopping " for a bike to see yours. Lock it up and make it hard to steal. Get motion sensing automatic lights both inside and outside that will light up the area if someone gets too close. If they really want your particular bike they'll get it no matter what you do. All you want to do is get the casual thief to move on to the next garage.

If you have a power garage door, get one of these so you won't forget to close the door.

http://www.smarthome.com/7442.HTML