Best Place to Lock up your bike in dublin

Tyrrial

Finally got sick of paying 1.35 to go into town when i could just cycle for 15mins instead so i bought myself a nice little bike. (i named him nosam)

sadly nosam met his end on o'connel street last week.
he was stolen. but i'm not going back to the busses, i'm going to fork out aboot 400 quid on a shiny new nosam (nosam II) but before that i think i'd like to know where the safest place to leave him is and possably the best equipment is to keep him locked up.

can someone give me a hand with this info?

jlang

Depends where you're going, of course. Because you're not on the bus, you will be able to cycle right up to the street where you're headed. Pick a nearby busy place with a secure metal yoke connected to the ground. Buy a good lock, but be aware that no lock is unbreakable and that if they really want to take your bike, they will. Never leave your bike in town overnight and if you lose a bike every two years or so, consider that you're probably still saving money and that it's better for your health.

cast_iron

Well your first mistake was buying a new bike (assuming it was new).
Your second mistake is considering buying another new one. Spending €400 on a bike to cycle around Dublin is just lunacy.

I've had a few bikes stolen in the last few years. Only one solution....but a piece of junk, that works.
My latest (€50) is a disaster alltogether, but it goes well. Had it for over a year now, parked it all around city - O'Connell St., College Green (my favourite), Busarus, and leave it a week or two sometimes.

If it's worth stealing, they'll steal it (or vandalise it if they can't break the lock), if it's not, they won't.

Tyrrial

yeah.. that buying of a banger-bike sounds pretty funky.. maybe i'll just spend more money on a chain for the bike.
so where is the best place to get a funky second-hand bike?
nosam was new, but only set me back 150 euro.

it's a pretty sad state of affairs that someone cant leave a bike chained up in dublin over night.

loyatemu

there are bike racks directly outside Store St. garda station - i'd imagine these are among the safest in the city (say what you like about the gardai but i doubt they would ignore someone boltcutting a lock right outside the station door).

however, if you have a bike you might as well park as close to your destination as possible so I'd agree with the previous advice to buy a cheap second-hand bike and a good lock.

blorg

cast_iron has the best advice; I got sick of having _four_ Trek 72/300s stolen in the course of about a year and a half and so I went with one good bike which I am very careful with and one not-so-good one (still OK- secondhand Dawes Discovery 201, aluminum frame etc.) Have not had a bike stolen since I did this (around four/five years ago) despite leaving this one around town including overnight, for over a week often. I _have_ had my wheel kicked in though.

Best place to get something I would reckon would be either on boards or Buy and Sell; I got the Discovery for €125 (retail is €375.)

Ideally get something in good mechanical condition that works well but doesn't necessarily _look_ shiny and new (e.g. "distress" the frame a bit if necessary - mud, stickers, scratches.) And park beside something that looks better.

Tyrrial

well i guess i'll just look around on boards and so forth for a nice bike that i can bye for cheep and damage to make it look less expensive!
thanks for the help people.

Mucco

I'd get a good lock, check out this site for recommendations:
http://www.soldsecure.com/Leisure.htm
I'd go for a gold lock for best peace of mind, pricey though, mine was c.€100.

M

matrim

For a place to leave it in town, I've found trinity to be safe.
A friend of mine once left a bike unlocked in there for 2 days and it wasn't touched.