Hydraulic lift

According to Barry Hood, from Birmingham, his hydraulic lift is a far more effective means of securing a bike than a conventional ground anchor. He said: ” Once a thief has got into your garage the ground anchor can be hacksawed in secrecy. A passer-by could just think someone was innocently working in their garage. ”

When Barry goes away he jacks up his bike on to the hydraulic ramp, puts a big wooden railway sleeper underneath it and isolates the switching gear so it’s locked in place.

The bike is secured at around chest height. The thief won’t be able to move the lift electrically and he’ll also have a hell of a job pulling out the tightly-wedged railway sleeper with several hundred kilos of bike pressing down on it.

Cost: A basic hydraulic lift is around £550.