GROUND ANCHORS

Have you recently spent £250 or more on an alarm system or immobiliser for your bike?

Does it make the bike immovable? no

Does anyone but you take any notice of it but you? no

Does the bike still fit into the back of a van? yes

No matter how good the alarm it will not stop someone in a van coming along and driving off with it. Do you go running to see who's car alarm that was going off expecting to see someone trying to nick it? or do you sit in your house and think Bloody car alarms!

Exactly, the only people that think a bike alarm is of any use whatsoever is the insurance companies who charge you more every year to ride a 200kg motorcycle than a 17yr old wally in 1000kg hot hatch.

The only way to ensure that your bike won't get nicked is to make it so unattractive to the potential thief that he nicks someone else's. Sad isn't it.

The best way to do this is to bolt your bike to the ground using a ground anchor and chain.

Ground anchors fall into 2 categories, bolt down and cement in. Bolt down anchors are the easiest to fit but require a good suface to bolt into. A cement in version only requires that you dig a hole and fill it with cement and ground anchor.

RIDE Magazine recently tested 16 different types of ground anchors that come complete with padlock and chain. Follow the links to see what they said:

* were recommended for security and ease of use.