The tricks cycle thieves don't want you to know

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Cycle route tracker apps linked to theft of high-value bikes

Apps such as MapMyRide, Strava and Endomondo allow cyclists to post details of their routes to Facebook. Police are reporting an increase in thefts of expensive bikes from sheds, where no surrounding houses have been targeted.

Our advice: safeguard yourself by making sure the security settings on the app are set rides around your own house are not recorded. And make sure your cycle insurance covers your shed.

Cutting through cycle stands

Cycle thieves in the Bristol areas have taken to sawing through Sheffield stands and disguising the cut. When a bike is locked up later that day, it takes the thief seconds to dismantle the stand and steal the bike.

Our advice: Check that whatever you are locking your bike to has not been tampered with. If necessary give it a shake.

Storing your bike in a shed, garage or outbuilding

As winter draws in and many bikes retreat to the comfort of the garden shed, it's a good time of year to review your security. In the run up to Christmas, fewer cyclists may take to the roads, but thieves are as active as ever.

It doesn't cost a fortune to make your shed more secure. Motion sensitive halogen lights cost less than £10, as do rudimentary wireless alarms, ground anchors and fence spikes. Basic security measures that are easy to install, but make life harder for a cycle thief.

If you have cycle insurance with the ETA, and store your bike in a shed, the external doors of the shed itself must be locked. We do not require a specific type or rating of lock on the shed – just one that could reasonably be expected to act as a deterrent and that would need brute force or tools to overcome. If these conditions are met, we do not require you to lock your bike to an immovable object once inside the shed. However, it must not be visible from outside. If your shed has a window or similar meaning your bike could be seen from outside, your bicycle must be concealed from view (bicycle covered with a blanket or similar) Our sympathetic policy towards shed storage is just one of the reason we stand out from other cycle insurance companies.

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The ethical choice

The ETA was established in 1990 as an ethical provider of green, reliable travel services. Over 30 years on, we continue to offer cycle insurance , breakdown cover and mobility scooter insurance while putting concern for the environment at the heart of all we do.

The Good Shopping Guide judges us to be the UK’s most ethical provider.

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