BIKE THEFT - How to protect Bike

Builderfromhell

Had my 5th bike stolen a few days ago. Locked outside a shop while I nipped in to get some bread. 5 mins. max. bike gone. Was locked but not against pole or anything.
Just bought a new one. Looking for ideas on protecting this one. I normally lock against pole or railing. I use a combination lock. When I'm downtown (Limerick) having coffee, I normally lock it where I can see it. Even then I can see groups of young guys checking it out. I reckon they could pick or cut the lock in a minute. I'm almost reluctant to cycle anywhere for fear of losing bike.
Now have two locks. Don't know what more I can do. Any tips?

machiavellianme

Might seem obvious but get better quality locks. Preferably something armoured and with a non-uniform core that can't be cut in less than 5 minutes. You get what you pay for with locks and combination locks tend to rate bottom of the pile.

Ciaran500

Have no quick release parts, always lock it to something solid and use two locks. One U lock and one cable lock.

Ghost Rider

I always use two locks: a Kryptonite Evolution Mini u-lock (mid-range but it's nice and short so it would be difficult to break) and an Oxford cable lock.

Another thing you could try is to take one of the wheels with you. Obviously, having quick release skewers is the best way to do this.

Builderfromhell wrote: »

Had my 5th bike stolen a few days ago. Locked outside a shop while I nipped in to get some bread. 5 mins. max. bike gone. Was locked but not against pole or anything.
Just bought a new one. Looking for ideas on protecting this one. I normally lock against pole or railing. I use a combination lock. When I'm downtown (Limerick) having coffee, I normally lock it where I can see it. Even then I can see groups of young guys checking it out. I reckon they could pick or cut the lock in a minute. I'm almost reluctant to cycle anywhere for fear of losing bike.
Now have two locks. Don't know what more I can do. Any tips?

niceonetom

there's no way to make a bike totally theft proof but your chances of hanging on to your steed by buying a big fúcking lock. u locks are beter than cables IMHO. this is what i use, plus a cable for the front wheel. might seem expensive but it's a lot cheaper than a new bike. no quick release either.

someone with the right tools would still get through that in less than a minute though, and i've never seen a combination cable lock that i wouldn't be able to get through with a pair of household pliers.

have you heard the joke about the two fellas out on the african plain when they're confronted by a huge hungry lion? one turns to the other and says "jaysus we'll never out run that yoke", and the other fella replies "i don't have to run faster than the lion - i just have to run faster than you..."

well the same thinking applies here, you don't need an unbreakable lock, just one that's less breakable than the others around you.

davej

When I'm downtown (Limerick) having coffee

Limerick ? Well there you go, maybe you should move to a less crime ridden county

Was locked but not against pole or anything.

Seriously though, locking your bike to itself and nothing else is asking for trouble.

davej

cunnins4

davej wrote: »

Limerick ? Well there you go, maybe you should move to a less crime ridden county



Seriously though, locking your bike to itself and nothing else is asking for trouble.

davej

Very helpful there dave.

Tom's right about making your bike harder to rob than the others around it: When I lock my bike on O'Connell Street here in Dublin I put it near bikes that have shítty locks or that aren't that well locked up. If their's is an easier target, it takes the attention off mine. The bike's 3 years old and very well used so the paint is fairly worn and it's nice and filthy so it's not as appealing as some of the fancy shmancy looking disk brake dual suspension halfords yokes.

As for locks, AFAIK they're all breakable, but the thicker and more difficult to break the better. Take off your quick releases (I recently lost a back wheel to this - bastids - ) and lock both wheels to something secure with as many people around as possible (this won't deter many scum, but it's better than down a dark lane out of sight where the scum can take their time and not be seen!).

No bike is thief proof, but you can make it less likely to be stolen.

Gavin

cable locks are a waste of money. Chains or ulocks. Make sure there is no space in the ulock for the guy to fit in a small hydraulic pump. These are around the size of a coke can.

Obiously lock it to something immovable...

Gav

fish-head

You didn't lock your bike to anything and you're wondering why it got stolen?

Pete4779

Builderfromhell wrote: »

I'm almost reluctant to cycle anywhere for fear of losing bike.
Now have two locks. Don't know what more I can do. Any tips?

Buy really good top quality locks. It's worth it. I had a bike stolen when they cut through a €30 cable + U-lock.

Changing it to an Abus thick chain and a much thicker and separate U-lock cost around €120, no problems since. Two different types of high quality locks is your answer.

Bicyclegadabout

Double post

Bicyclegadabout

I'm gonna throw out some ideas that I think might work, I'd appreciate feedback if someone see's something blatantly wrong with these ideas, I only just came up with them...
Put your bike in the highest gear when you lock it so the thief can't just take off and be gone in a shot.
Or take the chain off the rings altogether
Undo the brake cables, mine can be detached and reattached easily, I assume most bikes are the same.
Turn the saddle round backwards or sideways-ish, easy with an allen key. Taking it off might make it prone to vandalism.
Leave the wheel on but loosened, easy to do with a quick release.

Basically, stuff that when a thief hops on the bike after breaking your lock, he'll have trouble actually pedalling the thing away. And stuff that's easy to do yourself, or at least not that much trouble considering you're fiddling with your two locks anyway.

davej

Pete4779 wrote: »

Buy really good top quality locks. It's worth it. I had a bike stolen when they cut through a €30 cable + U-lock.

Changing it to an Abus thick chain and a much thicker and separate U-lock cost around €120, no problems since. Two different types of high quality locks is your answer.

The one problem with getting the best locks is that they are usually heavier. There has to be a certain amount of compromise between cost, weight and quality.

Remember if you buy one of those NY Fahgettaboudit U-locks, you will be carrying the equivalent weight of a 2 litre carton of milk around with you.

davej

Glowing

davej wrote: »

The one problem with getting the best locks is that they are usually heavier. There has to be a certain amount of compromise between cost, weight and quality.

Remember if you buy one of those NY Fahgettaboudit U-locks, you will be carrying the equivalent weight of a 2 litre carton of milk around with you.

davej

Thats my biggest concern, I just bought a lovely shiney new bike, but am reluctant to carry around a 4 kilo lock, it defeats the purpose of a light bike!

Can anyone recommend a reasonably strong, reasonably light lock? I'll be combining this with a regular thick-ish cable lock...

kenmc

Bicyclegadabout wrote: »

I'm gonna throw out some ideas that I think might work, I'd appreciate feedback if someone see's something blatantly wrong with these ideas, I only just came up with them...
Put your bike in the highest gear when you lock it so the thief can't just take off and be gone in a shot.
Or take the chain off the rings altogether
Undo the brake cables, mine can be detached and reattached easily, I assume most bikes are the same.
Turn the saddle round backwards or sideways-ish, easy with an allen key. Taking it off might make it prone to vandalism.
Leave the wheel on but loosened, easy to do with a quick release.

Basically, stuff that when a thief hops on the bike after breaking your lock, he'll have trouble actually pedalling the thing away. And stuff that's easy to do yourself, or at least not that much trouble considering you're fiddling with your two locks anyway.

All well and good until the one time you forget to reattach the brakes and do up the QR.
Although I suppose if you get into the habit of always doing those up before fixing the saddle, then you should hopefully never forget. As long as you always remember to flip the saddle too....

michaelm

As one who lives and cycles in a rural area for pleasure only I don't have problems with bike theft but reading the forum put me thinking. Am I right in assuming that most stolen bikes are ridden away by the thief? If so would taking (even one of) the pedals with you not be a serious deterrent?

311

I think fold down handlebars would be a great detterent to thieves.

The chances of someone trying to get away with the handle bars folded down would be fairly slim.
I'm sure it would be easy to make a set of these handlebars safe enough for city commuting.

Obviously when they are folded they are locked with a padlock or suchlike.

Ghost Rider

I would have thought removing a pedal, a wheel or a saddle would be a great deterrent - the more visible, the better.

michaelm wrote: »

As one who lives and cycles in a rural area for pleasure only I don't have problems with bike theft but reading the forum put me thinking. Am I right in assuming that most stolen bikes are ridden away by the thief? If so would taking (even one of) the pedals with you not be a serious deterrent?

niceonetom

michaelm wrote: »

would taking (even one of) the pedals with you not be a serious deterrent?

that's a good idea, and handy enough for me as i always carry a 15mm spanner as that's the size of the nuts on my wheels (solid axle - no quick release nonsense).

i just hope the scanger notices the lack of pedals before going to work on the lock :rolleyes:.

DirkVoodoo

Aside from locks, the obvious thing is don't present an easy target. Keep it in well lit, non-dodgy areas and locked to something secure. I saw a great one where someone locked their frame to a railing that didn't have a closed end. All that needed to be done was to slide the lock off the rail and hey presto: free bike with lock!

Civilian_Target

I think it's reasonably easy. Belfast / Dublin / London / France and I've never had any problems using a D-Lock (Kryptonite Evo Pro) on the frame and with pitlock on the front wheel and saddle post. (Pitlock is a shaped nut that can only be removed with a specific key issued with each lock.) Its also got the UK police irremovable identity tag on it too. I always lock the helmet to the bike too, it's just something that makes the lock that bit harder to access with tools.

Had my tyres slashed and wheel bent once in London, presumably by someone trying to steal it... but it's still here!

AlmightyCushion

Do you have a link to those pitlocks?

Builderfromhell

Thanks for all the comments.
It was, in hindsight, stupid to have not locked the bike against a pole (it was locked but not attached to anything). I was, however, in the shop a few minutes.
I work and live in the City centre and use the bike to drop and collect things from offices around town. If I was cycling to work and locking it somewhere for the day it would be easier to make more secure by following some of the suggestions above.
I used to put a padlock on the chain as well as locking it to a railing or post. Taking the saddle or pedals off and locking them to the bike seems a good idea also.
Thanks again

Builderfromhell

I justs did a google on 'pitlocks' and they cost about 100 dollars. They seem to be designed to make it difficult for people to steal your wheels etc. You still need lock(s).

AlmightyCushion

Ouch, $100. I don't think I'll be buying any of those.

Pete4779

I understand the criticism on weight of locks, and the ones I use on my commuter bike are very heavy, but they are in panniers anyway.

I never go anywhere on the Cannondale that I would stop and want to leave it, that's for the quick blasts and only comes out on weekends.

Maybe the solution is of course a couple of bikes, the POS for commuting (but well maintained, looking like a POS).

crowbar188

Anyone got any opinions on these locks??

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=18324

They look pretty hefty and besides the weight seem ideal.

Bicyclegadabout

All these are a lot cheaper on ebay and that.

This one:

crowbar188 wrote: »

Anyone got any opinions on these locks??

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=18324

They look pretty hefty and besides the weight seem ideal.

is €30 cheaper than CRC including shipping here

crowbar188

Thanks.

You know anything about them though? As in are they worth it?

Caroline_ie

.... I use 4 locks of 2 different types ... My colleagues look at me funny when i Lock my bike in the morning .... amateurs ... tssssss

Builderfromhell

Have decided best ways to protect bicycle when I cycle and park in town are;
2 good locks.
and 1 small padlock on chain.
Park bike where I can see it or in public space. Was having coffee last week facing onto pedestrianised street when bike was surrounded by 6 kids who seemed to proceed to pick lock. Ran after them. This 2 weeks after last bike stolen.

That's it, other precautions are too cumbersome.

ruprect

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

Aside from locks, the obvious thing is don't present an easy target.

Or better still do not present a worthwhile target. I have said my method in many threads.

I went to woodies, got a can of horrible yellow paint, and hand painted both my bikes all over, avoiding mechanisms. The handlebars, seatpost, rims, brakes, hubs EVERYTHING. It would take several days to strip the paint off. Nobody will touch it. Sometimes I don't even bother locking it outside shops. I used to come back to my locked bike the odd time with lads (not thieves) admiring it, now I come back to toddlers pointing and saying "yellow, yellow" to their parents. Still runs the same and better than any lock, lads in work laugh saying "I wouldnt give you a tenner for it", that is exactly the reaction I want.

There are youtube videos with the 10 most expensive motorbike locks, I think the best one took just over a minute to get through.

The other added bonus is flying by the lycra boys on their carbon fibre €5k bike, on something that looks like its been fished out of the canal, ooohhh do they go mental over that, great chases.

muletide

Civilian_Target wrote: »

I think it's reasonably easy. Belfast / Dublin / London / France and I've never had any problems using a D-Lock (Kryptonite Evo Pro) on the frame and with pitlock on the front wheel and saddle post. (Pitlock is a shaped nut that can only be removed with a specific key issued with each lock.) Its also got the UK police irremovable identity tag on it too. I always lock the helmet to the bike too, it's just something that makes the lock that bit harder to access with tools.

Had my tyres slashed and wheel bent once in London, presumably by someone trying to steal it... but it's still here!

Just in relation to locking your helmet to your bike. You may want to rethink that approach - on two occasions in the last year (Hueston Station and Drury Street) I have come acroos scobes pissing into a helmet that was locked to a bike - ok once it was a motorbike helmet but still you get the idea