Cycle hoop bike hanger - bike stolen

[maria]

My partners bike was stolen yesterday from the bike hanger along Crawthew Grove near the Bishop Pub yesterday. The lock on the bike hanger has been forced and the bike was also D locked - so person who stole it was very organised.

It was a Women's silver Specialized bike - so if anyone saw anything let me know.

There are other bikes still in there and I have reported this to Cycle Hoop who manage it.

[womanofdulwich]

Im sorry to hear that, I had assumed the hangers were very safe

[maria]

There seems to be several reports of breakins to these hangers locally so clearly not that safe but also to break a heavy duty D lock means someone quite professional!

[seenbeen]

Whilst looking into the insurance

https://bikmo.com/magazine/cyclehoop-rentals/

[first mate]

The fear is these hangars are not secure and with bike use on the rise bike theft may become better organised and more frequent. Not sure what the solution is.

[SnakeFilth]

The opportunity for other thefts, burglary in particular, has likely gone down now everyone is constantly at home. Things like bike theft will naturally increase.

[maria]

Covered by house insurance but still have to pay the initial ?100.

[DulwichFox]

Bike Hanger on Ulverscroft (Wateley Road End) was broken into recently... Lock cut off.

An expensive Bicycle was stolen. Others were left alone.

Lock has been repaired with stronger lock..

Reported to me by neighbour.

Foxy.

[first mate]

In reply to Snake-filth. Has there been a decrease in break-ins to bike hangers and bike theft in general since lockdown?

[zerosones]

My bike was also stolen in East Dulwich around this time. From a bike loop on Lordship Lane opposite The Harris Primary school, near the 146 Chinese restaurant, between 04/06 evening and this morning (06/06). Grey womens Dawes Road bike, white handles and white leather seat.

Any information much appreciated!

... Or recommendations of good places to buy second hand bikes!!

[Sally Eva]

Good places to buy 2nd hand bikes: the bike project https://thebikeproject.co.uk/pages/refugee which does up bikes and gives them to refugees. Also sells them to the public. Do good with your cash and get a good bike.

[goldilocks]

Sorry to hear about the bike thefts. There seem to have been a spate of them in cycle hoops recently - it seems there are weaknesses that are known by thieves and are being exploited. Perhaps also people use less strong locks inside the hoops as the hangers are supposed to be secure.

From some of the other groups I'm on, I've seen some useful summaries as to what you can do when you lose a bike to try to recover it, so have pasted below in case helpful:

Log them on findthatbike.co.uk and on bikeregister.com

Mark as stolen including the frame numbers.

Tweet and Instagram post with @stolenride

Set up alerts on findthatbike which covers gumtree, ebay and Preloved, then set up separate alerts on shpock.

Report it to police using 101 crime form, and let them know if you see it for sale online, but you need to be certain it's yours for them to help you recover it.

[Lordship_local]

Terrible news - I'm sorry this happened to you, bikes have become an essential source of mental well being as well as a mode of transport.

I will say that these hangers aren't as intuitive as they could be. You have to close the lid *and* make sure the locking mechanism is put in place. Very possible that someone could close the lid and just assume it locked its self.

I noticed my one being left unlocked in this way occasionally. I asked Cyclehoop to email people in my shed with a gentle reminder to check it is locked - sorry if anyone reading this happens to be in my shed - I'm not being passive aggressive, they are slightly more complicated than they appear, and break ins are a cause for concern.

[cheyanne]

My daughters road bike was stolen yesterday out of bike hangar on Matham Grove, lock on hangar was cut in half and both of her lock were cut :-(

Emailed the company to let them know what happened and they replied by asking if we still want to keep the space! Very caring customer service!!!

[maria]

Lock on hanger was forced and now broken so wasnt just left open!

[maria]

We have further investigated this and have found part of the D lock - most of it was removed clearly as they dont want us to find out how they are getting the D locks off. This was a level 4 lock and no 5 is the most secure one apparently.Anyway it was cut with a cordless angle grinder - so some is very organised and just means no bike is safe even when locked. Bikes are becoming a valuable commodity. My partner is also a nurse and has been using her bike and cycling for safe exercise and stress relief during this difficult time so really feeling its loss

[goldilocks]

Have you checked the houses nearby to see if any have ring doorbells or other CCTV that might have picked up the thieves or any car / van they travelled in?

[Blah Blah]

The answer might be to attach some kind of alarm to the shed or bike. There are lots that are cheap enough to buy and small enough to be unseen by any burglar.

[Townleygreen]

"Professional" bike thieves tend to use angle grinders which can cut through most D locks and - resumably - these hangars too.

Very annoying.

[Plough Man]

The Bikehangar system is totally flawed.

A crook just has to make the initial outlay to get a key. He/she rides around checking hangars and when he see a bike he wants, he/she applies for the key. Pays the ?25 and gets the key. Hey presto -access to hangar.

The only lock that will deter them is the Altor Saf https://www.bicycling.com/bikes-gear/a28861849/altor-saf-lock-test/

[Lordship_local]

Plough Man Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> The Bikehangar system is totally flawed.

>

> A crook just has to make the initial outlay to get

> a key. He/she rides around checking hangars and

> when he see a bike he wants, he/she applies for

> the key. Pays the ?25 and gets the key. Hey

> presto.

If only it was this easy! Some of the waiting lists are well over two years long. Not impossible for them to be patiently planning their theft in advance, but certainly not likely. Also, you have to pay for a key (which is posted to your address), pay a years membership in advance and spring for a deposit so it's closer to ?75 they'd have to cough up to do this.

I reckon they are just breaking in on a whim, rather than paying. If you're going to angle grind a bike lock, you may as well break into the shed.

[alice]

Anyone who uses these hoops already has a key.

[Sally Eva]

Statement from Cyclehoop about how they are strengthening their bike hangars. See below

Recent Changes to your Bikehangar

Over the past few months during the lock down, cycling has seen a huge growth with record numbers of bicycles being sold across the nation. Unfortunately bike theft has also jumped as thieves target bicycles stored in sheds, garages and gardens. As a result, we have noticed an increase in attacks on Bikehangars using new methods and tools. Working in partnership with the councils, we have designed and fitted additional security features to help tackle this problem. One of the features is a new shield that has been fitted on units with black locking handles. If your unit has been fitted with this, please watch the video below and check the handle is locked before you leave. Other features include upgrading the door to prevent attacks using crowbars.

How to lock your Bikehangar fitted with a locking handle shield

Watch this 1 minute video to learn how to securely open and close a Bikehangar fitted with a locking shield.

We continuously review and improve the Bikehangar to protect against new methods of attack and have successfully introduced a number of improvements over the past seven years. However, nothing is impenetrable to a determined thief and recently there have a small number of attacks using power tools such as angle grinders where previously there were little to none. While we work on tackling this emerging problem, we need our subscribers to be vigilant and have put together the following five steps to help reduce the risk of theft:

Five steps to keep your cycle protected

1. Lock your Bikehangar correctly and double check it?s locked

It is important you watch the video above to ensure your Bikehangar is locked correctly. For security reasons, the key flap will rest against the shield and cannot be pushed inside. Before you leave, always check the handle is locked by gently pulling the key flap.

2. Lock your bike with two good quality locks

Follow this guidance from the Met Police and use two good quality locks including at least one D-lock when locking your bike anywhere, including inside your Bikehangar.

3. Buy insurance or check your current terms cover you

Buy insurance on your bicycle for peace of mind. Visit our insurance advice page for more information.

4. Register your bike

Register your bike on the BikeRegister database. This will help reduce cycle theft, help the police identify stolen bikes and assist in owner recovery.

5. Report suspicious activity

A watchful neighbourhood can be invaluable in preventing crime. We advise people to report any suspicious activity around a Bikehangar to the police immediately.

We hope this information helps and we will be in touch with further updates as necessary.

Kind regards,

Cyclehoop Rentals Team

[tomdhu]

Once the villains have a key they can keep going back again and again. One decent bike and their investment gives a profit. Then everything thereafter is pure profit. A more secure system is required.

[Sally Eva]

I don't know about other thefts but I understand that for this one the lock was cut in half ie sliced through.

If a bike were stolen from a hangar which had not been forced open, then suspicion would immediately fall on one of the people with a key. This was not the case here, there was an obvious break-in.