Secure Cycle Parking - the Missing Link in Sustainable Transport
It’s every cyclist’s nightmare - locking your bike up and returning to find it damaged, in pieces, or gone altogether. In this blog, Secured by Design member Cyclehoop shares their expertise.
Bike theft remains a big problem in the UK. In 2025, local police recorded crime data shows 3.57 reported cycle thefts per 1000 population in England alone. Combined with 2024 population figures from the ONS, this equates to 209,274 incidents. With a high proportion of thefts left unreported, these figures are just the tip of the iceberg.
According to research published by the London Cycling Campaign earlier this year, following a theft, 15% of victims stop cycling altogether, 20% stop cycling temporarily and 27% cycle less. This illustrates that each incident has a real impact on the victim. The risk of theft is a major barrier that prevents people from enjoying the benefits of cycling.
Luckily, help is at hand. With the right considerations, public authorities, facilities managers and architects can substantially reduce the likelihood and severity of cycle thefts and give people the confidence to choose cycling for everyday transport. Factors to consider include the accessibility, quality and security of cycle parking equipment, positioning of parking facilities, access control and natural surveillance.
Specifying accredited equipment is a must. With the widespread availability of battery powered angle grinders and other cutting tools, choosing products that have passed Sold Secure Powered Cycle Diamond testing reduces the likelihood of a successful theft attempt.
Where possible, fully enclosed and access-controlled cycle parking offers the greatest security and peace of mind; the Cyclehoop Bikehangar range offers compact, self-contained parking spaces with Powered Cycle Diamond accreditation and a choice of key access or smartphone access for restricted user groups and public access. For locations that require a higher volume of spaces, Cycle Hubs and the SecurePro range of bike shelters and racking offer space efficient high-density parking backed by Sold Secure accreditations.
Security is at the heart of the design ethos at Cyclehoop. We design and manufacture products to meet stringent testing requirements to ensure they are Secured by Design, while offering accessibility and usability features that make cycle parking easy and intuitive. These are the factors that truly make cycle parking successful.
A case in point is the SecurePro Sheffield Stand. As bicycles increase in value, and bike locks increase in quality, standard Sheffield Stand designs can become the point of failure during cycle thefts. When users have taken all the right steps to purchase an appropriately accredited lock, don’t let the cycle parking provided be the reason their bike is stolen.
The SecurePro Sheffield Stand is reinforced to resist cutting without sacrificing intuitive usability. It is the only Sheffield Stand on the market to have been tested and accredited Sold Secure Powered Cycle Diamond, proving resilience against a range of cutting tools including angle grinders. If the tubing is cut on a traditional Sheffield Stand design, the stand can easily be bent to allow a lock to be released.
Other designs attempt to improve security with specific locking points, however these are not intuitive and cater only for a small portion of cycle types. They are not accessible for non-standard cycles and cargo bikes and are also prone to being blocked on one side, leaving the other side less secure. The SecurePro Sheffield Stand maintains the same high level of security for the entire stand, making it accessible to all cycle types.
Installing cycle parking that doesn’t have the Secured by Design seal of approval can lead to cycle thefts, and a reduction in cycling.
Secure, high quality parking is essential to enable people to cycle, and to harness the health and sustainability benefits cycling offers. All it takes is some consideration in the design phase, and a little help from the cycle security experts.
You can find out more about Cyclehoop and their Secured by Design accredited products on their dedicated member page.