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Big Boy Ground Anchor Achieves 2022 Recertification

We are proud to announce that our Insight Security Big Boy Ground Anchor has, once again, achieved Sold Secure recertification, verifying compliance with the rigorous Sold Secure Motorcycle Diamond standard. Read our blog to learn more about this achievement and why you need to consider using ground anchors.

Originally launched in 2019 and Sold Secure certified in 2020, our Big Boy Ground Anchor continues to provide the best secure anchorage for a wide variety of applications. When launched we were immensely proud to hear how a Bennetts BikeSocial Big Boy review praised the design of our robust ground anchor.

The unique telescopic design, enabling the anchor to retract unobtrusively into the ground, along with substantial construction and weather proofing were all highlighted as excellent design features. And although the BikeSocial product testing team inflicted some seriously aggressive attacks on the anchor, using a mains powered angle grinder along with sledge-hammers and freezer sprays, they were unable to break it. They noted that the rugged high strength, 19mm security chain used in their evaluation would be easier to cut than the Big Boy ground anchor.

What is Recertification? 

As noted, our Big Boy ground anchor was originally submitted to Sold Secure  for testing and approval back in 2020. Our experience in security and the market for ground anchors demonstrated how many of the available ground anchors simply didn’t provide the level of robust security needed. All of the flush-mount ground anchor designs, at the time, would only accept security chains with links up to 11mm in diameter which we recognised as a significant security limitation. This prompted the development of our Big Boy anchor and submission to the Sold Secure product testing labs to determine exactly how it compared with other security anchors.

We specifically designed the Big Boy with a 70mm chain guide aperture, large enough to accommodate high security chains with link diameters up to the mammoth 19mm size. The Big Boy’s heavy duty construction was designed to excede the level of security provided by these top-end high security chains, which is why the Bennets BikeSocial product assessors concluded that a 19mm security chain could be breached more easily than our ground anchor.

In order to provide assurance that product quality hasn’t deteriorated Sold Secure recertification is required annually. This means every year, Sold Secure testing labs must reverify our Big Boy to ensure it continues to offer the same high level of security that was determined when they subjected the ground anchor to a collection of physical attacks, designed to replicate techniques known to be used by criminals. While we can’t disclose the precise details of these time-limited attacks we are delighted to report that the Big Boy product as sent to Sold Secure for retesting and certification in August, has again met the stringent requirements of, and has successfully achieved the coveted Sold Secure Motorcycle Diamond rating for the year to 31st August 2023.

What People Say about Our Big Boy

As well as hearing how this excellent security anchor has achieved the highest possible Sold Secure level of certification it`s always useful, and beneficial, to read some genuine user reviews. Here are just a few from our website. 

Good bit of kit. Heavy, well made but easy to use. I use a different chain(I already had one). Quick easy delivery, I bought 2 so the package was a bit on the heavy side

In this five star review Martin highlights an important point. Our Big Boy is heavy. At 9.5kg each a package containing two of these monsters needs to be lifted with some caution. He highlights how the Big Boy design accepts any security chains that will fit through the 70mm chain aperture and it`s great to hear how his delivery was achieved easily and speedily.

When I read the advert and it stated Big Boy I thought that’s the ground anchor for me. It’s to hold a trailer on our drive. I ordered it online and from that point on until it arrived 48hrs later (super quick) I was kept up to date on it`s progress and given a deliver time and name of the driver. I can’t recommend this product enough, it’s so heavy and chunky a real Big Boy indeed. It’s doing a perfect job and when it’s not in use it’s so discreet you’d hardly know it was there. The best part, no trip hazard when it’s retracted. Would I recommend insight security, 110% yes.

In another five star review Edward praises how we keep our customers informed of their order’s progress and get their security products to them as quickly as possible. He acknowledges how the Big Boy name is entirely appropriate for this “heavy and chunky” ground anchor. It`s interesting to note how Edward is using the ground anchor to secure a trailer on his drive where a trip hazard would obviously be out of the question. He clearly values the telescopic, retractable design that keeps his essential security anchorage out of the way when not in use.

Looks like a really tough piece of kit. I have concreted it into the floor of my shed. It has reflective strips on the sides, when the centre is raised to help with visibility. I will have a small piece of wood to hold the centre raised whilst I am reading through the chain using two hands. I have a 19mm chain which is quite heavy and awkward to thread one handed. I hope that this piece of kit is now tested but I now feel confident that it will keep my bike secure. I am using an Almax chain.

Justin is another of our valued customers who submitted a five star Big Boy review. We note how he sensibly installed the ground anchor inside his shed where he stores his bike. Layering security like this is always one of our primary home security recommendations. He acknowledges the carefully considered reflective strips on either side of the Big Boy as a useful visibility aid. But Justin makes a good point about how it can perhaps be tricky to lift a heavy 19mm security chain to thread it through the Big Boy chain aperture.

Why You Need Ground Anchors

We’ve recently been highlighting reports from UK police forces and security professionals who are warning people about the likelihood of a cost-of-living driven crime wave. People are encouraged to take a good look at their existing home and property security measures, identify weaknesses and take adequate precautions to keep their homes and valuables as safe and secure as possible.

Ground anchors provide safe, secure anchorage for a wide variety of valuables including motorbikes, scooters, bicycles, trailers, caravans, ATVs, ride-on mowers, barbecues, tools, machinery and much more. They are useful in home-based domestic environments where they might be installed in driveways, inside garages and sheds or wherever items of value need to be securely locked to the ground. And they are being used by businesses that need to secure valuable equipment as well as local authorities and other organisations that need to provide secure transport parking facilities.

Big Boy Ground anchors, supplied by Insight Security, have been successfully used to provide multiple immovable anchor points for marquee tents at annual show events. Each tent required 6 ground anchors to be certain strong winds wouldn’t be a risk factor and the fact that our Big Boy ground anchors retracted into the ground when not in use and therefore didn’t present a trip hazard, was an important factor in their selection for this task.

As noted, businesses, workplaces and local authorities are increasingly installing multiple robust ground anchors enable staff, visitors and others to secure their valuable motorbikes and transportation. For example, Insight Security has supplied multiple Big Boy ground anchors to a local authority where they are now embedded into tarmac, providing secure on-street locking points for motorbikes. This is another installation in which the Big Boy’s ability to retract into the ground and not present any significant trip hazard was an important consideration in their selection.

Agricultural businesses and others that use expensive outdoor machinery, often considered by criminals to be easy targets, are endeavouring to beef up their security by locking valuable items, when not in use, to immovable ground anchors. Businesses and other situations like these will often sensibly invest in multiple ground anchors.

Ground anchors are available in two basic forms, concrete-in (like our Big Boy) or bolt down. Each type has a number of pros and cons.

Concrete-in Ground Anchors

The primary advantage of the concrete-in style of ground anchor is robustness. Anchoring valuable items to a chunk of metal that’s securely set in a block of concrete, in the ground, is widely recognised as a strong criminal deterrent. The tools and time required to overcome this level of physical security is generally recognised by thieves to be too much to bother with, prompting them to seek easier targets.

The primary disadvantage of concrete-in ground anchors, like the Big Boy, is the need to excavate a hole to allow the anchor to be set in concrete. However, in practice this often takes far less effort than is anticipated. And once the anchor is set in place, ongoing inspection and maintenance, to verify the anchorage remains effective, is minimal.

Bolt Down Ground Anchors

The primary advantage often cited for the bolt-down style of ground anchor is ease of installation. Bolt down anchors, as the name indicates, are attached to whatever substrate they are mounted on by bolts and therefore don’t require the excavation of a hole for concrete. This makes the bolt down style of anchor suitable for situations where excavating a hole isn’t possible.

Obviously, the quality of the base material to which the bolt down anchor is attached is a security factor. Bolting one of these anchors to a high quality concrete base can provide high level security, as long as bolts are made secure. And the robustness of lower quality concrete base material can be bolstered by chemically fixing the bolts in place using resin.

Bolts can be protected from tampering by using specialised security fixing bolts or hammering ball bearings into the Allen key slots to prevent any attempts to undo them.

Another important advantage of bolt down anchors is they don’t need to be attached to a ground-level substrate. Anchors of this type can potential be attached to walls or other immovable structures which aren’t at ground level such as gate posts.

Find the Best Ground Anchors, Chains and Padlocks

At Insight Security we have a lot of knowledge and experience related to both ground anchors and wall anchors. The design of our Big Boy ground anchor was informed by our experience, the needs of our customers and, as noted, limitations we recognised in some of the available ground anchors on the market.

When using any form of secure anchor point it`s important to remember that physical security measures are only ever as strong as the weakest element in the system. So attaching valuables to anchor points relies not only on the robustness of the anchorage, but also on the selected security chain and padlock. We recommend always using the best quality high security chains along with reputable high security padlocks to make certain valuables, motorbikes, trailers and machinery always remains where it`s locked.

Here are some links to relevant areas of our online store:

• Concrete-in ground anchors
• Bolt down ground anchors
• Ground and wall mount anchors
• Security chains and cables
• High quality padlocks

If you have any questions about ground anchors, wall anchors, security chains or padlocks remember we are here to help. Give us a call on 01273 475500 and we’ll be happy to provide free, expert advice.

This message was added on Thursday 22nd September 2022