Bikes getting stolen in UCD

tywy

I'm looking into buying a bike at the moment. The bike I would like to buy is €600.

Would I be crazy to park this in UCD during the day?

Do you reckon it would get stolen even if I had two locks on it?

Do many bikes get stolen around UCD?

One last question.....for any UCD goers, where is the best place to park your bike so it won't get stolen?

gzoladz

If you are to spend that money, why don't you go for a Bromtpon folding bike.
I have owned one for 3 years now and they are just incredible. Very speedy.
You can fold it and take it with you without worries.

uberwolf

I have in the past parked my €3000 bike in UCD to no ill effect. Wouldn't reccommend it to anyone in all honesty, bikes are lifted from there at an extraordinary rate.

There is no where truely safe - two locks, no loose wheels, parked tight against other bikes.

John_C

If you have two good solid locks you shouldn't have to worry. My bike was 500 euro and I still have it. I have a strong U-lock and a cheaper cable lock for the front wheel.

It helps if your bike does not look shiney and new. If you put some stickers on it or something. I've wrapped black electrical tape around the frame of mine to cover up the brand names and to make it look older than it is.

Also, make sure to lock the frame of the bike, not just the front wheel and also seperatly lock the front wheel. It's a favourite trick or thieves here to steal the front wheel off one bike, the rest of another bike which was only locked by the wheel and cycle away.

Capt'n Midnight

John_C wrote:

Also, make sure to lock the frame of the bike, not just the front wheel and also seperatly lock the front wheel. It's a favourite trick or thieves here to steal the front wheel off one bike, the rest of another bike which was only locked by the wheel and cycle away.

Oh yeah I've seen people lock bikes by the front wheel to a rack. A rack with six front wheels chained to it :eek:

tywy

I was intending to use two locks. I've read if you use a U lock and a strong cable lock that you should be safe. Most theives wouldn't have the equipment to get thru both locks.

John_C

tywy wrote:

I was intending to use two locks. I've read if you use a U lock and a strong cable lock that you should be safe. Most theives wouldn't have the equipment to get thru both locks.

It's not so much that they wouldn't have the equipment as it is they won't be bothered. There'll be plenty of badly locked bikes for them to steal.

chicken_food

can anyone tell me if this lock is any good?
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/TRELOCK-FRAME-FIT-MULTI-LOCK-NEW_W0QQitemZ7174215794QQcategoryZ58100QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

or do you have to buy a seperate lock for the 'extra steel cable'

John_C

I used to have that exact lock (without the cable). It's very usefull for holding your keys while you cycle (you can never forget your keys with this lock) but all it does is lock the back wheel to the frame. You'll still need a good U-Lock.

wideangle

Tbhonest it looks like its very cuttable.
chain reaction have very good locks,I got my on-gaurd one from them its garrenteed to be uncuttable,pickable and a hole load more of ..ables!!

randomname2005

They use a lot of those type locks in holland without the cable and it wasnt uncommon to see lots of them lying around bike parks unattached to bikes.

One of the best ways of preventing theft is to make your bike look old. As the majority of bike theft is for resale, it is much easier to sell a new looking bike than one that has lost its sheen. Covering in tape is an easy option, slightly harder is to respray it multi coloured. I know someone who sprayed their (quite expensive) bike bright pink and never had any problems!
R

Finner

Dunno if you're still checking this thread Tywy, I guess you've decided already what you're going to do about your bike though since college has already started back. In my opinion bikes aren't safe anywhere - I got a bike that was as safe as can be in UCD for 3 months and then it was stolen from the shed in my back garden!

All the stuff other people have said is really good advice - tape around cross bar, use 2 locks etc. I have a cable lock and a U lock for my new bike (and am totally paranoid it's going to get taken again!)

I normally lock it up by the lake - there's plenty of bikes for a thief to choose from, if you lock it well they'll go for an easier target. I also try to park it beside/near a better bike, they'll go for that before mine! the other advantage of the lake side parking is that there's nearly always people meeting there and buzzing around plus the Unicare vans tend to drive by there a lot.

I always figure if you just take some time while locking your bike it'll be pretty secure and safe. A lot of times I'm still there locking it while others have been and gone but they're always the silly people who lock it by the front wheel or worse still the saddle post?!!! I've seen it!!!

Good luck with your bike and your course in UCD

Civilian_Target

The funniest one I've seen was someone who'd locked their bike with a u-lock, obviously quite carefully since they'd managed to get it around the post, through the frame and the back wheel.

Sadly, they'd locked it to a sturdy-looking 6-foot high post, all you would have had to do to steal it would be lift it over the top of the post!

tywy

I am back at college and I bought a new bike. I lock it with both a U and a cable lock at the moment. I hope it won't get stolen. I park it outside the eng block which is busy enough most of the time. I think the science block is the most dangerous place to park a bike....

John_C

tywy wrote:

I park it outside the eng block which is busy enough most of the time.

Just saw this now. I hope you mean the restaurant side. The industry centre side is a bicyle black hole.

Trojan

Why not get a decent chain lock? You can leave it at the college rather than bring on your commute.

kas

Trojan wrote:

Why not get a decent chain lock? You can leave it at the college rather than bring on your commute.

'cos you can't use the words "decent" and "chain" in the one sentance.

Sniipe

two locks - one u lock - the snips cannot get thru it and the other a strong cable lock - the hammer can't get thru this.
As u already said a thief would not be carrying both. The lock in the ebay link isn't a strong enough cable lock.
I would also definately make the bike look older than it is. Take down the serial numbers of the bike and take a pic.

Unfortunately I've had two expensive bikes stolen from me. But I had the good luck to get them back. One of the bikes had the strongest cable lock on it and must have spent 20min chewing thru the cable to get it free. U locks can be broken by a car jack or a nice lug hammer - cables can't be.