• Kryptonite Stronghold
• £49.95
• Madison

Getting bikes stolen is no fun at all, especially since we know there are lots of people out there with uninsured steeds. Hardly surprising given the state of premiums these days. So anything that reduces the possibility of getting your bike nicked is a good thing by us.

One area that’s sometimes forgotten is security at home. After all, your bike’s in the hallway or the spare room or in the garage – it’ll be safe there. ‘Fraid not. There’s no shortage of people who’ve lost bikes after break-ins, some apparently targetted on the bikes themselves. So an extra layer of security is well worth considering.

Kryptonite’s Stronghold is designed to be the first step in at-home security. It’s a surface-mounting ground anchor, giving you a solid point to attach bicycles (or indeed any other sizable object that you don’t want stolen) to. Obviously you need a solid surface, and the Stronghold’s intended to be attached to a solid floor such as you’d find in a garage. There’s a suitable masonry drill and expanding fittings in the package, but you’ll need to get the Black and Decker out to drill the holes. Fitting it is a little time consuming, but follow the instructions and you’ll be fine. Big Allen bolts hold the steel baseplate down, and Kryptonite supply ball bearings that you can hammer into the bolt heads so no-one can get a tool in there (you might want to skip this step if you think you’re ever likely to want to move it…).

The bolt heads are covered by another steel plate and a stout plastic cover slips over the locking loop and can’t be moved or lifted once you’ve locked something to it. The loop folds flat and the domed cover means that you can easily drive cars over the Stronghold and you won’t trip over it. It’s passed the respected Sold Secure and ART lock tests with flying colours. The Stronghold’s designed to be used with one of Kryptonite’s heavy duty chain locks like the New York Noose, but you can use anything that’ll go through the locking loop.

Positives: Unobtrusive, secure

Negatives: Needs power tools to fit

Verdict: There are cheaper solutions out there, but the Stronghold is, well, strong and doesn’t get in the way. Brilliant.