Leaving & locking your bike in town?

budfox

All,

Sorry for a rhetorical question but I've a specialized rockhopper and it has quick release everything on it. Do you guys take your saddle and stuff with you when you park in town or is it usually OK, the saddle that is? (I'm thinking St Stephens green, College green areas and during working hours only for a short while). Also, do you take off your front wheel and lock to the back (or bring lock through all wheels?).

I guess what I'm wondering is, if its not locked down it'll get pinched or are tea leaves not @rsed robbing saddles etc? Fair to say?

Just dawned on me why i dont use it for short trips even just to the shops...and that's why.....maybe i worry too much about it...

Just wondering what folks thoughts are..


BF

petethedrummer

You could be lucky and nothing might ever get stolen, but I woudn't take the chance with quick release. You can buy very small cable locks in halfords that you can lock your saddle to your frame with and leave it on permanently. Now it won't deter a thief with tools, but it will stop an opportunist whipping your saddle (and seatpost) off.

Watch the videos at the bottom of this link for advice on how to lock: http://wiki.boards.ie/wiki/Locks_%26_Security

budfox

Thank you for that. Excellent link. Actually, its suggests to replace the quick release with an allen key....good idea..

And I guess, do likewise with the wheels then? No need for quick release for me anyway..

I'll reluctantly go into Cycleways and get it done tomorrow....(they really are a shower of pr1cks)....

and in the meantime, take all the other bits n bobs such as speedos, bottles, pumps etc off it when you're in town....common sense...

thanks again....

stuf

I had my saddle and seatpost robbed last week outside Portobello College - no quick release but the wanker had come armed with an allen key - will do the wax thing with the new one

I've got these skewers on my wheels - only wish I'd got the pack with the seatpost bolt - thought it was excessive when I was buying

http://sports.shop.ebay.ie/Sporting-Goods-/382/i.html?_nkw=pinhead&_catref=1&_fln=1&_sac=1&_trksid=p3286.c0.m282

Jip

If you're planning on leaving it in that area why not use the new bike park in Drury Street Carpark around the corner from the Hairy Lemon ?

Lumen

stuf wrote: »

I had my saddle and seatpost robbed last week outside Portobello College - no quick release but the wanker had come armed with an allen key - will do the wax thing with the new one

I've got these skewers on my wheels - only wish I'd got the pack with the seatpost bolt - thought it was excessive when I was buying

http://sports.shop.ebay.ie/Sporting-Goods-/382/i.html?_nkw=pinhead&_catref=1&_fln=1&_sac=1&_trksid=p3286.c0.m282

I have both Pinhead and Pitlock sets.

Both suffer from the same issue, which is that you need a seatclamp without integral bolt, and with parallel external faces, and I've not found one like this.

I tried using the Pitlock bolt on a normal seatclamp, bent the bolt, and rendered the whole contraption permanently useless.

I've since used the Pinhead on a MTB, and it works OK but I'm not using the part of the device which shields the nuts, so someone with pliers could probably remove it.

rflynnr

If it's stealable, it will be stolen - eventually. I used to have a quick release clamp on the saddle of my beloved (now sadly demised) Trek 930. As a consequence I always took the saddle and seatpost with me. However, one day I return to find that someone had robbed the quick-release clamp itself.

More recently Ghostrider and I returned to our bikes from a night out to find a guy leaning over our bikes. He legged it but not before getting the bottle cage (approx resale value: €0) from my bike.

Jip

rflynnr wrote: »

As a consequence I always took the saddle and seatpost with me. However, one day I return to find that someone had robbed the quick-release clamp itself.

Exact same thing happened to me.

blorg

rflynnr wrote: »

someone had robbed the quick-release clamp itself.

More recently Ghostrider and I returned to our bikes from a night out to find a guy leaning over our bikes. He legged it but not before getting the bottle cage (approx resale value: €0) from my bike.

That's nuts. I have had a bottle cage stolen myself before, they ignored the quick release wheels.

Also had a multitool stolen out of my saddle bag while I popped in to a shop... they ignored the GPS on the handlebars.

oflahero

Jip wrote: »

If you're planning on leaving it in that area why not use the new biker park in Drury Street Carpark around the corner from the Hairy Lemon ?

A big +1 on that. Fantastic amenity. It's been pretty much empty every time I've used it - need to get the word out more!

tomasrojo

stuf wrote: »

I had my saddle and seatpost robbed last week outside Portobello College - no quick release but the wanker had come armed with an allen key - will do the wax thing with the new one

I've got these skewers on my wheels - only wish I'd got the pack with the seatpost bolt - thought it was excessive when I was buying

http://sports.shop.ebay.ie/Sporting-Goods-/382/i.html?_nkw=pinhead&_catref=1&_fln=1&_sac=1&_trksid=p3286.c0.m282

I dipped an old front-wheel bearing (3/16", I think; about 3mm anyway) into the molten wax of a tea candle and plugged the head of the hex bolt on my bike. Saddle not stolen so far anyway, but I've only left it for a few hours at a time. Did the same for the headset bolt. I found the cable lock business just too time-consuming in the end. I'd say if you did both the bearing/wax and cable lock approaches your saddle would be pretty safe.

Maybe put a plastic bag over the saddle as well; makes the bike look a bit crap and hopefully less attractive to thieves generally.

I would get rid of the quick release mech for the saddle as it's cheap to do. I would leave the wheels quick release but ensure they are locked to the frame. I would imagine it's not cheap to remove quick release from wheels, I may be wrong. 10 years since I cycled regularly now, since I left secondary school

Although I bought a racing bike about 6 years ago but rarely use it now. Great to get out in the country on a bike though.

Bit of a thread wander there, apologies.

KTRIC

Leave the entire bike intact. Put a cheapy little lock and chain on it like something you'd find in Woodies.

Then hand write a note saying "please don't rob me k thx bye" and stick it on the handlebars.

Thief's will respect you and not steal the bike.

dearg lady

RoverJames wrote: »

I would get rid of the quick release mech for the saddle as it's cheap to do. I would leave the wheels quick release but ensure they are locked to the frame. I would imagine it's not cheap to remove quick release from wheels, I may be wrong. 10 years since I cycled regularly now, since I left secondary school

Although I bought a racing bike about 6 years ago but rarely use it now. Great to get out in the country on a bike though.

Bit of a thread wander there, apologies.

think it cost me a fiver to get quick release removed from wheels, so well worth! quick release saddles are a nuisance such a bloody big bulky thing to carry around!!!


That new bike parking Drury street, is it safe enough does anyone know?

seamus

Never heard of the wax trick. I assume when you want to actually undo that bolt, you just dig the bearing & wax out with a paper clip? Can't see myself taking a lighter to the bolt to melt the wax.

tomasrojo

seamus wrote: »

Never heard of the wax trick. I assume when you want to actually undo that bolt, you just dig the bearing & wax out with a paper clip? Can't see myself taking a lighter to the bolt to melt the wax.

Yeah, you can use a sewing needle and a magnet.

daragh_

dearg lady wrote: »

think it cost me a fiver to get quick release removed from wheels, so well worth! quick release saddles are a nuisance such a bloody big bulky thing to carry around!!!


That new bike parking Drury street, is it safe enough does anyone know?

I've been leaving my bike in Drury street for the last two weeks and it seems safe enough. No CCTV on the bike area as yet but another cyclist I met there said he had been told a few cameras were on the way.

Very few people using it though. Max amount of bikes I've seen in there is 5.

stuf

tomasrojo wrote: »

Maybe put a plastic bag over the saddle as well; makes the bike look a bit crap and hopefully less attractive to thieves generally.

in these troubled times that 22c worth of plastic probably has a street value of up to 10c

WithCheesePlease

daragh_ wrote: »

I've been leaving my bike in Drury street for the last two weeks and it seems safe enough. No CCTV on the bike area as yet but another cyclist I met there said he had been told a few cameras were on the way.

Very few people using it though. Max amount of bikes I've seen in there is 5.

Is there a charge for using it?

Jip

Nope, free apparently, it's straight infront as you enter the car park via the car entrance. It's got some cycle lanes marked out into it now along with a smaller barrier for cyclists to exit.

Nate--IRL--

My bike was stolen last night outside my gym, right outside the managers window Not a happy camper right now. No CCTV either.

I can't find the Frame number I wrote down when I first got the bike. Is there any point in reporting this to the Garda, since I don't have the Frame No.?

Nate

WithCheesePlease

Nate--IRL-- wrote: »

My bike was stolen last night outside my gym, right outside the managers window Not a happy camper right now. No CCTV either.

I can't find the Frame number I wrote down when I first got the bike. Is there any point in reporting this to the Garda, since I don't have the Frame No.?

Nate

That sucks. Report it anyway, can't hurt. Eh, any more than it already does...

What gym was it as a matter of interest?

Nate--IRL--

WithCheesePlease wrote: »

That sucks. Report it anyway, can't hurt. Eh, any more than it already does...

What gym was it as a matter of interest?

Total Fitness in Coolock, I suspect I wasn't the only one either, not a bike to be seen outside, usually there are at least 6 or 7 when I leave.

I'll report it, but not having the No. kinda blows the already slim chance of getting it back I suppose.

Nate

budfox

Jip wrote: »

If you're planning on leaving it in that area why not use the new bike park in Drury Street Carpark around the corner from the Hairy Lemon ?

great idea thanks...I didnt know it was there...i'll deffo check it out...

Peterx

very cheapo bike and very expensive lock works well to deter thieves.

budfox

OK..so I took your advice...many thanks...

I was in town and dropped into ripoff ways, sorry, cycleways...they had a replacement set of allen key bolts for the wheels and saddle for 13 quid which I bought. The guy said they're fairly handy to fit...he was a very friendly guy actually....a rare enough thing in there...

I spotted another quite complicated set there too for 50 odd quid and they have a special key that is unique to each lock..

looked pretty good but too dear...

mmclo

Jip wrote: »

along with a smaller barrier for cyclists to exit.

ahhhhh!

penexpers

+1 for the Drury St bike park. If you are in the area, there's no reason not to use it. Woefully underused so far.

WithCheesePlease

Nate--IRL-- wrote: »

I'll report it, but not having the No. kinda blows the already slim chance of getting it back I suppose.

Maybe so, but on the slim chance you see it again locked some place (as actually often happens) it can only help to have your theft on file if you call the gardai. May not have even the slightest case otherwise.

rflynnr

On the off-chance your bike was covered by house insurance (worth checking) reporting the theft to the guards will be mandatory if you're going to make a claim.

Nate--IRL--

I reported it, not much they can do, which is understandable. I have to decide now whether to replace the bike with a similar one (Carrera Subway, will cost €270 to replace), or buy a 2nd hand cheapo piece of crap for €50 that I won't mind getting nicked. I'll be checking the house insurance first.

It wasn't a particularly special bike compared to the bikes some have in here, but I had it running sweet and was the first bike I put effort into looking after.

Nate

Thargor

Oh crap, I just ordered a Carrera Subway, I thought the non-flashy looks were a plus towards reducing the chance of it being stolen, what kind of lock were you using?

petethedrummer

It doesn't matter what the bike looks like, if the lock is crap they will steal it. Save yourself the money now and buy a good kryptonite with auxiliary cable (which is 12 euro in cycleways). Otherwise you'll be replacing a wheel or 2 or an entire bike and wishing you'd spent another 50 quid on a lock.

Watch those Hal videos and next time you walk around the city centre, rate peoples locking techniques yourself. You'll be surprised how easy hundreds of bikes or parts of bikes could be stolen in seconds.

I could have had a lovely trek mountain bike on Sunday with Zero tools. The person had only locked the front quick release wheel. Unbelievable!!!!!

Thargor

Im a starving student, I was going to ask Halfords to throw in this for free when I pick up my new Subway the next day:

http://www.halfords.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_11101_catalogId_15551_productId_208211_langId_-1_categoryId_212470

How do you carry a shackle lock? I never had one before.

AMontague

daragh_ wrote: »

I've been leaving my bike in Drury street for the last two weeks and it seems safe enough. No CCTV on the bike area as yet but another cyclist I met there said he had been told a few cameras were on the way.

Have another look next time you're in there. There are CCTV cameras covering all the bikes in the Bike Park :-) The facility is free to use. It's been open for about 3 weeks and if the take-up improves, we hope to launch a similar scheme on the northside of the city.

Nate--IRL--

Thargor wrote: »

Oh crap, I just ordered a Carrera Subway, I thought the non-flashy looks were a plus towards reducing the chance of it being stolen, what kind of lock were you using?

I wouldn't worry about the flashy aspect TBH, mine was one among many that were taken. I had an armoured cable lock on it, which in hindsight was not the best at all. If I end up getting another Subway, I'll be putting a big **** off chain on it with the best lock I can get.

Also found out tonight that my mates car was broken into in the same carpark the night before. They got his phone, wallet (inc cards) and a decent camera. Looks like I'm walking to the gym from now on. ****ing scum

Nate

daragh_

AMontague wrote: »

Have another look next time you're in there. There are CCTV cameras covering all the bikes in the Bike Park :-) The facility is free to use. It's been open for about 3 weeks and if the take-up improves, we hope to launch a similar scheme on the northside of the city.

Thanks Andrew, had them pointed out to me last night. Great initiative btw. Few more bikes in this morning.

robbie_998

Well TBH i wouldnt leave my bike anywhere in town at all even if it does have a giant chain on it.

i was walking out of tara street dart station once and there was two lads with a hacksaw going at a chain so they could get the bike. nobody would do anything about them or wouldnt even call the gardai.

needles to say i was down the road waiting at the bus stop to go home when they cycled past on their "new" bike.

petethedrummer

robbie_998 wrote: »

I was walking out of tara street dart station once and there was two lads with a hacksaw going at a chain so they could get the bike. nobody would do anything about them or wouldnt even call the gardai.

Did you call the Gardai?

WithCheesePlease

robbie_998 wrote: »

i was walking out of tara street dart station once and there was two lads with a hacksaw going at a chain so they could get the bike. nobody would do anything about them or wouldnt even call the gardai.

needles to say i was down the road waiting at the bus stop to go home when they cycled past on their "new" bike.

petethedrummer wrote: »

Did you call the Gardai?

Or even politely ask if everything was ok or if you could help with anything??

robbie_998

petethedrummer wrote: »

Did you call the Gardai?

WithCheesePlease wrote: »

Or even politely ask if everything was ok or if you could help with anything??

no and no.

they had a hacksaw man, im not gonna mess with those kind of idiots

alfalad

AMontague wrote: »

Have another look next time you're in there. There are CCTV cameras covering all the bikes in the Bike Park :-) The facility is free to use. It's been open for about 3 weeks and if the take-up improves, we hope to launch a similar scheme on the northside of the city.

Excellent service and well done on this but what sort of advertising is going to be done on this if any? Very few people know about it, and I have only heard of it through here! Could emails be sent to companies to inform their staff? Some ad's in the metro/herald, maybe some flyers stuck onto bike/bike stands around town with details of what and where it is?

Doctor Bob

Suggestion: put ads in all the local boozers and cafés- Hogan's, Market Bar, the joint upstairs opposite the Mkt Bar, Grogan's, Simon's Place, etc. Lots of bike heads in this part of town. (I think MicroMedia manage many of the poster sites and flyer stands in these places.)

And DCC should claim the portion of the JCDecaux signs to which I believe it is entitled under the terms of the contract!

Maybe put the URL of the Dublin City Cycling website on the ads too? Another good initiative that seems not to have made it onto people's radars yet.

http://dublincitycycling.ie/

petethedrummer

robbie_998 wrote: »

no and no.

they had a hacksaw man, im not gonna mess with those kind of idiots

Thanks, I just wanted clarification as to whether you were one of those people who "wouldnt even call the gardai."

SourKraut

I lost the key of a lock once, and had to break it off, nobody paid me any notice at al while I was doing it

AMontague

alfalad wrote: »

Excellent service and well done on this but what sort of advertising is going to be done on this if any? Very few people know about it, and I have only heard of it through here! Could emails be sent to companies to inform their staff? Some ad's in the metro/herald, maybe some flyers stuck onto bike/bike stands around town with details of what and where it is?

We put out several press releases on this and we were featured on RTE TV news last week. I like your idea of flyers stuck on bikes and bike stands around town and we'll take you up on that one. At the moment we're holding off on paid for advertising, as we'd rather spend our advertising budget on promoting cycling, but if the word doesn't get around we may have to look at that again. I'm also busily posting here whenever the opportunity arises :-)

The facility is only open about three weeks and a few more people are using it every week, so I'm pretty confident it will take off soon.

AMontague

robbie_998 wrote: »

Well TBH i wouldnt leave my bike anywhere in town at all even if it does have a giant chain on it.

It seems to defeat the purpose of having a bike if you can't park it anywhere. Do you just use it for Sports Cycling? Have you looked into getting it insured? If you can get it on the house insurance, it's not too expensive.

robbie_998

AMontague wrote: »

It seems to defeat the purpose of having a bike if you can't park it anywhere. Do you just use it for Sports Cycling? Have you looked into getting it insured? If you can get it on the house insurance, it's not too expensive.

well hold on a min tere,

the last cycle i was at was a two day trek from galway to dublin. bikes were left in very safe area's like in the hotel's and when we got back we left them in the pub. and it was very safe indeed.

its really just leaving them on streets that would get me.

seamus

AMontague wrote: »

It seems to defeat the purpose of having a bike if you can't park it anywhere. Do you just use it for Sports Cycling? Have you looked into getting it insured? If you can get it on the house insurance, it's not too expensive.

I get to lock mine in an underground car park with a security guard during the day, but there's no way I would leave it in a public place in Dublin for more than a few minutes. Not even so much because of theft but because there's always some little fncker hanging around who'll be messing with it; unhooking cables and turning things.
Places to lock your bike also seem to be the places where scumbags congregate; such as O'Connell street and the top of Grafton street and they'll take anything they can off your bike just because it's not riveted on and throw it in the nearest bin.

poochiem

just had my new blue Specialized Sirrus 09 stolen from o'connell street - if you see anyone cycling around without a front wheel on one you might wave them done and take it off them. they cut through the cable, my bad the way i locked the kryptonite throught the front wheel and forks meant they were able to get the bike and leave the wheel. going into town now to see if i can buy it back second hand. this sucks.

Lumen

poochiem wrote: »

just had my new blue Specialized Sirrus 09 stolen from o'connell street - if you see anyone cycling around without a front wheel on one you might wave them done and take it off them. they cut through the cable, my bad the way i locked the kryptonite throught the front wheel and forks meant they were able to get the bike and leave the wheel. going into town now to see if i can buy it back second hand. this sucks.

Are you saying that you have a u-lock and cable, and used the u-lock to lock the front wheel to an immovable object, and the cable to lock the frame?