Protecting your Mountain Bike from Theft on a Road Trip

Bike Security for Road Trips: Our Top Tips

If you’re heading off to the likes of Morzine on a mountain bike holiday, chances are you’re not thinking about bike locks.

Bike security might not be at the top of your holiday list, but it shouldn’t be forgotten. You’ve booked the tunnel, got your bike serviced, sorted insurance…the list goes on. But what about bike locks? 

Much of this applies to road bikes too, so no matter what you’re riding, take steps to protect them!

How to protect a bike while travelling?

We’ve talked about how to secure your bike when travelling before and shared tips for different travel scenarios!

Recently, Lauren, a member of the LITELOK team went away on a mountain bike holiday. Now she’s sharing her advice for protecting your bike on a road trip. 

Travelling with Bikes in a Van

When packing for our road trip, we carefully planned the layout to make sure the bikes would be difficult to get at. 

The bikes were locked the entire time. For things like stops at rest areas and hotels, we wanted to make sure that getting the bikes wouldn’t be easy if they were targeted. 

Here are a few things we did:

• Luckily the rear windows of our van are tinted so it’s not easy to see in - if you don’t have tinted windows, I’d recommend it! 
• We covered the bikes with a bike blanket and other kit to make it less obvious that there was anything in the back. 
• We used four locks in the van - two Litelok X1s a Core Plus and a Litelok One.
• We locked the bikes together and to the rear seats to secure them. 
• When we were leaving the bikes (and not staying in accommodation) we tried to find multi-story or underground car parks for a little extra protection. Parking in public places or out in the open was avoided where possible! 
  
  

Tip: If you’re insured, give your insurance a call or check the T&Cs. Find out what kind of lock you need and make sure you do everything you need to ensure you’re covered. 

Keeping Bikes Secure when Staying Overnight

We’ve all heard the horror stories of bikes being stolen from vans in hotel car parks.

Because our bikes were at the back, covered and locked, getting them out each time would have been quite a mission! We stayed in a few places to and from Morzine so the bikes were in the van for a lot of the trip. 

Here are our tips for this scenario:

• Choose your parking spot carefully! We try to back our van up to something so getting in the back doors is impossible.
• Luckily our van has rear seats so looking in from the side doesn’t reveal much, but we always tried to park between bigger vehicles to disguise the van.
• It may not help,  but we always tried to park as close to security cameras as possible to make sure the van wouldn’t be in any black spots.
  
  

The bikes were locked inside the van, to the seats and each other in the rear so it would take a lot of time and effort to get away if they were targeted. 

If you don’t have a van and you’re travelling with bikes on a car or rack, always keep them locked! In this instance, I'd recommend checking if you’re able to bring them into your accommodation - some hotels will have a garage or secure area, or you may be able to bring them to your room.  

You might also want to consider a bike rack cover to disguise and protect your bikes. If you’re travelling with very appealing-looking bikes, keeping them covered is a good idea!

Keeping your Bike Secure During your Riding Holiday

Even when we were away on our trip, security didn’t ease up. Thieves will take any opportunity, so it’s best to avoid giving them one. 

We stayed in a chalet in Morzine, and our bikes were locked when we weren’t riding. Here are a few tips:

• Don’t let your bike out of your sight. Especially if it’s not locked. It’s not common for people to leave bikes unattended or locked in the Alps but there are times you’ll be away from your bike. 
• Always keep your bikes locked inside your accommodation. There have been situations in the past (even when bikes are locked) where they’ve been targeted and stolen. 
• If you’re enjoying a few post-ride beers, consider bringing a smaller lock to secure your bikes together or to bike parking around town for extra peace of mind. 
  
  

The unfortunate reality of bike theft is most of the time it’s down to opportunity. We’ve had bikes stolen in the past, so we’d like to avoid going through it again.

Many of you will probably not let your bike our of your sight on a riding trip. We're the same, one of us was watching them at all times. My top tips? Invest in security, two locks minimum! Take the time to secure your bikes and make things as difficult as possible for potential thieves. The main thing? Enjoy your trip!