My locked 1UP rack was stolen in about 30 seconds

Took this pic and idea from another post here. It would have slowed them down for another 5 seconds maybe, but it makes me feel better.

Sorry for your misfortune at the hands of others.

I would be loathe to rely upon the locking pin anyways even if I hadn't seen parkmeister's admittedly shocking video. You just have to look up how fast even hardened security chain can be cut with a cordless angle grinder to realize that pin wouldn't even last 15 seconds.

That said, I do have to rely upon a security chain to secure (relatively speaking) my load, and so it does double-duty to secure my rack. It should at least give would-be-thieves some pause.



The biggest headache of this setup is that because it is a pain to thread/unthread the chain though the hitch eyelets, you basically don't remove the chain at all. Which poses a problem since the automatic car wash I use (recall that our region is in a drought) won't allow you in with a bike rack on the back. I had to get a hitch step so that with the hitch rack removed, the chain can be wrapped onto something.

I had friends who live in San Francisco and auto related theft is commonplace (as are muggings). One of them had a Izusu Trooper with the tire mounted on the rear of the vehicle and when he came out of Safeway the wheel was gone. Another friend lived in the Marina district and she had the Blaupunkt radio stolen from her BMW three times. The last time she had put in a Black Bart car alarm and the thief stole the radio and the alarm system.

A cordless angle tool with a $4 cut-off wheel can slice through any lock, any cable, and any chain in seconds. I only put my 1Up rack on the car when I am going to take two bikes somewhere. With a single bike I can fit it inside the SUV with both wheels left on the bike. I have noticed on UK bike forums that many riders use a mini van for transporting their bikes. This would keep the bike(s) out of sight and far less likely to get stolen.

There is a motion detector alarm that has excellent reviews on Amazon and is cheap at $16.49.
Wsdcam 113dB Bike Alarm Wireless Vibration Motion Sensor Waterproof Motorcycle Alarm with Remote