Bike security in Morocco
 

Hi I am going to Spain and Morocco in mid December.My bike is a tatty yamaha XT 600, I have a big abus chain and padlock which I use in London I also have a much smaller Abus chain and padlock for my bicycle.
I was thinking the smaller chain would be ok and maybe a disc lock if there is not a bike theft problem in Spain or Morocco.
What do you guys think ?
Thanks
Is bike theft a problem

It is a problem along the Spanish coast and particularly in Algeciras. I was there in '89 with a battered CX500 that I had chained up. As I looked down from the hotel's balcony I saw a man curiously looking at my bike. The only thing he seemed interested in was the chain. I quickly followed the advice of some Spanish bikers who parked their bikes in a horrendously expensive guarded car park.

I asked the bikers why anybody would steal my old bike, a model not even sold in Spain. Answer: for the tyres...

Watch your stuff, not just the bike.

Maroc should be OK for the bike.

Hi there,

In Morocco your bike should be fine with a nice chain on it.

Just check the switches in the mornings in case children have played about ;-)

Also, most hotels will be able to provide you with a guardian who will watch your bike all night. I have used this option many times in the past and have never had a problem. You usually pay 5 - 50 Dirhams for the night (depending on where you are etc).

Have fun & regards,
Simon

took a big (Abus Gold for those in the know) chain with me. In Spain I chain a pair of tyres to some railings (yes, I actually carried tyres too!). And can you believe it the bl**dy council (in Spain!!!!) came to remove the barriers. Anyway, a worker in a car garage opposite had seen me leave them, and saw the council taking the barriers. He chopped right through my £120 chain in seconds with his not-very-large bolt cutters. I was very glad to return and find he'd saved my tyres. But a bit hacked off that a supposed quality chain was useless. When I got to Morocco I bought a £3 chain and lock from a market. Never had any problems in Morocco, left my soft luggage unattended in Rabat, Fes, etc. I tended just to leave it in a public place and sort of got myself noticed (not hard) with it. Then just left it up to fate, and stopped worrying.

Thanks for replys.I think I will bring the bigger chain and a bike cover.

DougieB
It seems that most bike chains are not very good ,anything with a round cylinder key can be picked in seconds and most chains can also be cut very easily,There was a demo at the NEC show showing how easy this can be done.More details here http://www.almax-security-chains.co.uk/wallofshame.php

Hi, take a bike cover; the old out of sight out of mind ploy works quite well; I have parked the bike outside Hostels in the north of Spain without problems. As for Maroc it will cost you about 10 dirams a night for a bloke to watch it, never had snag; again chain and cover seemed to work.

I had no problem with the bike in Morocco. I was riding a BMW K75S and never locked it. I was either camping next to it, or had a volunteer who would "protect it" all night for a few dirhams. What you need to watch out for it leaving the bike with all your stuf on it during the day. That is when stuff can tend to disappear. I used a Pac-Safe for my camping gear (www.pac-safe.com) and simply took my tank bag with me when I had to leave the bike momentarily.

[This message has been edited by Jeff Munn (edited 30 January 2006).]

I had no probs all the way through Morocco - bike (which at the time was relatively shiny) was left on the street several times. By the time I got to Mauritania/Mali I'd stopped bothering with the chain and everything was fine all the way to Cape Town.

I used a bike cover on the way down through Europe - until some toerag nicked it in Lisbon.

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Simon

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/tstories/fitzpatrick

didn't have any concerns about my bike in Morocco, had a cable lock and chucked a tarp over it sometimes but mostly I camped out. When using hotels they always had a gaurdian who I tipped in the morning usually a couple of quid seemed to be enough.
Chris

I had both a bike cover and a pac-safe with me all through Spain, and used neither.
My bike slept with me http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/ubb/smile.gif
But if I absolutely had to lock her up, I just had a D-Lock with me and a small chain (the disc lock I internetted didn't fit - holes too small - blast!)

Jeff - I had great plans to fit my pac-safe (the largest one you can buy) over my soft panniers and gear. The only way I was going to manage that was to take everything off the bike, and pac-safe to the bike beside it. How did you manage?



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If you don't have bugs in your teeth, you haven't been grinning enough!

Spain has a reputation for bike theft and not just in the costas. As most chains can be cropped relatively easily I think an alarmed disc lock is the way to go so at least attention is drawn to the thieving f**ckers.