leaving my bike over night.

abcdggs

I'm thinking about leaving my bike in city centre over night tonight, just wondered what you all thought, is it a terrible idea. if not where would be a decent place to leave my bike?

markpb

I've left mine on Princes St beside the GPO several times and never had any problems.

beans

It's not a great idea, but if you must, I have left a bike outside Pearse St Garda station overnight with no damage to it. Try burying it in the middle of the rack, maybe?

AstraMonti

Put it somewhere near a place that has CCTV.. luas stop, outside of a big shopping center.. i wouldn't leave it in a dark corner though. Maybe also remove the front wheel and lock it with the rear.

seamus

I've seen plenty of bikes locked in town on Friday and Saturday nights without suffering any damage, but I've noticed that it's largely those bikes which are moveable which suffer the most damage. That is, if it can slip down so that it's lying at an angle or lying on the ground, invariable some drunnk moron will think it's great craic to jump on your wheels.

If you can lift it up off the path and lock it tightly to a railing, like the ones around Stephen's Green, people are less likely to screw with it.

abcdggs

thanks all,

blorg

Depends on the bike as to how comfortable I'd be. I have a cheap hybrid I have left in town overnight regularly for years and it is fine. On the other hand my neighbour just had a cheap hybrid nicked at lunchtime on Stephen's Green.

Jawgap

I'd agree with the idea that it depends on the bike.

I leave mine town occasionally, and it's never been nicked. I have had to, on occasion, scrape the odd kebab off the saddle before cylcing off on it.

crazydingo

The flashier the bike the more attractive it is for thieves so keep that in mind. I personally am very reluctant to leave my bikes locked in town for any extent period of time (and I have 2 locks!), but when possible I try and lock it to a raised fence, such as those found on Harcourt St. (preferably as close to the cop shop as possible).
When it is locked to a fence there is less room to fiddle with it, unlike those bike rails where you can generally approach the bike from either side to mess around with it.

flickerx

Pearse Street cop shop locks is your best bet. I wouldnt leave it anywhere else overnight. Worth an extra ten minutes of your time if you need to walk to somewhere else. I wish they'd try and put some more locks around there. Anywhere near O'Connell Street is a bad gamble IMHO. Temple Bar the chances of it getting nicked are slimmer, because there's loads of CCTV, but some drunken fool will kick it.

DirkVoodoo

Personally I wouldn't, even if it doesn't get nicked there is a good chance it will be vandalized and you will return to some not so circular wheels.

Why do you need to leave it overnight?

abcdggs

going home from college UCD today but i have to get back earlyish tomoro morning for a match. it's quicker to cycle from town than to get a bus and the buses on a saturday morning are very unreliable i've found. i get my bus from pearse street anyway so i will lock it up there and hope for the best.

david

I'd avoid Pearse St. Or anywhere with drunks or junkies. Leave it somewhere you can't access with a car. Use two types of locks. Remove your front wheel and saddle and lock it in a seperate rack.

The best place is probably TCD campus.

c0rk3r

Theres a bike rack in fleet street carpark. Locking it there would avoid the random drunk vandalism you get on the street. Its where i always lock my bike. Its relatively close to the security booth too. Whether its safe or not is another story like everywhere its susceptible to bike thieves.

jebidiah

in fleet st car park sounds like a brilliant spot. is it accesable throughout the night?

c0rk3r

24 hour carpark. They have these types of racks so if you want to bring and extra lock to lock your front wheel to your frame if you like.