What with our recent break in, we have become much more security conscious and knowledgeable about the importance of protecting your investment. Ebikes are hot property now and thieves know it. A bike is stolen every minute in the UK and less than 5% are recovered.
The shop is much better protected and we advise you to be also.
I’m going to keep this brief and I ‘d like to talk about 3 things.
……There is a fourth which is our personal experience but I’m not writing that down! Happy to share it with you if you come and see us for your bike.
- Locks
What I’m saying here may not be strictly accurate for all but is a good rule of thumb that we have found by talking to various insurers. It’s important that you talk to your own insurers before taking a decision on locks.
We think that most commercial insurers ask for a lock rated as “Sold Secure GOLD “ for most ebikes especially high quality ones.
soldsecure.com are an independent test-house that tests and certifies security devices and insurance companies use their ratings as a basis for their cover.
We have heard that £1500 is the value of a bike above which a GOLD rated lock is required in the UK. Below that a SILVER lock may be acceptable but watch out … that doesn’t mean you only get up to £1500 if you have the wrong lock… it seems to mean your insurance is VOID.
Most insurers also stipulate that the bike is locked to an IMMOVABLE OBJECT.
These locks can be be pretty beefy and a pain to carry so there are lots of innovative designs and choices for carrying them. We stock a selection of the most popular Gold rated locks from Oxford, Kryptonite and Hiplok.
Some bikes come with locks fitted and it’s easy to assume that they are of an appropriate standard for the bike. NOT ALWAYS THE CASE. Again it’s up to you to check with the manufacturers … we can advise to the best of our knowledge but the responsibility is yours, that’s why we sell certified GOLD locks independently.
Riese & Muller are in the process of reviewing their policy for the UK as the same limitations do not apply in Germany.
2. Insurance
Usually falls into categories
- Home insurance
- Specialist bike insurance
Again I urge you to read the small print. Obviously about locks for the bikes (and immovable objects) but also for the door locks on sheds etc.
Home insurance used to be the cheapest option but cover can be limited and I urge you to check the small print especially around bike value. You have to provide your purchase receipt and this must correspond with the applicable locking restrictions.
Another thing to check is that you have new-for-old cover as insurance companies (as we found out) have data on second hand values which is difficult to challenge.
It’s also sensible to have some sort of third party cover as well in case the worst should happen when you are riding and you accidentally injure someone or damage their property.
Specialist bike insurance like BIKMO and others now have some slick policies for ebikes where you can choose your cover. This was not always the case and you had to buy a lot of cover you often didn’t need like racing and time trials! That’s gone now and their policies make great sense often including BREAKDOWN COVER and RECOVERY FOR YOU AND YOUR BIKE.
We think this is a BRILLIANT idea especially if you just enjoy riding an eBike and are not a roadside mechanic. The bike and you are transported to a bike shop or back home.
Enter the code “emotion” for a discount voucher.
3 Technology
BOSCH have come up with an ingenious way to make your display your key and prevent anyone without YOUR OWN DISPLAY from EVER using the bike.
This is all done through the ebike connect APP from your App Store.
There is a fee to use this service and you need a KIOX or NYON display.
These can be retro-fitted by US if necessary.
ECONIC ONE who make lovely mid range, mid price bikes (from £2000) can also be specified with a REMOTE LOCK ALARM and GPS TRACKER,
The lock is not gold secure yet so watch out … but you can lock and unlock your bike from your smartphone and track it anywhere if it’s stolen.
There are stand alone devices to fit to any bike but be careful the cheap ones don’t bring much!
Another popular device is the Oxford alarm lock which is great if your bike is stored in a shed or garage or left in an area with people about. Moving the lock sets off a really loud alarm which is more than enough to scare off a thief to look for easier pickings!
That brings me to my final point. There is loads you can do quite cheaply and easily to encourage thieves to look for an easier bike to steal, all common sense really… happy to share some of things we have done if you come in but not going to write them here of course.
Hopefully this short blog will get you thinking and if we can be of help, please let us know
Paul David & Kat.
