Cycling UK Forum

bike security? a) dont leave it any where for long b) very close to where you are c) where people pass close by d) use atleast one good gold standard U lock

Maybe as well as having a scruffy bike, the transfers are important , so maybe one of these:-
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BROTHEL-m1-b ... SwruVbKoqv

or some transfers on the downtube stating "S****Y"
would do the trick

Reminds me of the comedy on tv (I think it was alas smith & Jones) where the guy has a fancy car, arrived at his destination (dodgy pub), pressed the fob on the keyring and the car turned into a Reliant 3 -wheeler.
Or the branding 'specialist' who put across his knowledge by saying "you'd never sell a washing power by branding it "mud" on the box.

fastpedaller wrote:Is there some psychology involved here (or am I thinking too hard?)

Yes, i think you're right, and the psychology is 'don't get caught'.. which means thieves will target bikes which will tend not to have features which can readily be identified by their legal owners.
After all, if my bike was stolen and I saw it being ridden, I'd want the rider to answer some questions. And I'm less likely to notice my bike if my bike was a standard model.
After all the police will ask 'and how do you know that's your bicycle?'

Good luck to those who think they can predict what the thieves are looking for, it's as varied as the bikes we own. There's plenty of stories of expensive bikes being targeted and plenty where they've been ignored in favour of something that'll sell to a much larger market, then there's those that get taken just for the sake of it and found abandoned/damaged a few miles away. Decide for yourself what precautions you do and don't want to take, but IMO it's foolish to think you've covered all the risk whatever you do.
My collection of locks includes a short and long cable, a SS Silver chain and a SS Gold D lock. I'll carry those I think appropriate for the bike and the trip. The D lock and chain get used together for an expensive bike in an urban area, the chain alone for the cheap bike on the same trips, the chain gets carried on all tours (I used to take just the D lock but the chain opens up more places to lock to) the D lock and chain together on the sorts of tours where the bike will be left while I'm off doing other things, the cable locks are only used on day rides, the long one when solo and the short on group rides where we're locking bike together.
I will lock and leave any of my bikes, sometimes for hours, the idea of always keeping it in sight is too big a compromise for my usage. They're also insured, again something else to weigh up and decide for yourself. There was a time when my income was around 3X it's current level and my bike collection a third what it is now, I wouldn't have bothered then. For the record I've had two bikes stolen in 20 years, one cheap hack the other my pride and joy, about a year apart, then none for 15 years. IMO that's chance as much as anything else.

I use, Keep In Sight Constantly. Seems to work.

Note saying "Smile you're on camera".

Educational:

https://youtu.be/Jv5j8klfbK8

I use a small padlock and a 2mm plastic-shrouded cable. You could yank it open in a minute, but by then you'd be staring up the flaring nostrils of a very pissed-off gorilla.

Audax67 wrote:Educational:

https://youtu.be/Jv5j8klfbK8

£180. Serious pro thief kit for the ones who want to be sneakier than an angle grinder.

I saw a bike the other day, unlocked and just leaning against a wall. An obvious target for a thief, however it had a flat back tyre and it got me thinking.

Obviously it could have been picked up and carried away, but could a flat tyre be a serious deterrent (along with some sort of lock) to the average thief?

simonhill wrote:Obviously it could have been picked up and carried away, but could a flat tyre be a serious deterrent (along with some sort of lock) to the average thief?

Probably, as long as they notice it and don't ride along on the rims like so many people.

I think there are many times more casual bike thieves than experts so the average would be pretty casual.

Around the UK I use a D-lock and heavy duty Abus cable - but I live in a rural area, not e.g. middle of a large city and rarely actually lock the bike.

On tour I took a long Abus 2.5m cable (https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00N9DZ0PK) and a heavy duty padlock. The long cable is not too heavy and worked well e.g. round both wheels and round a tree or something.

I did once purchase a small light cable lock ABUS Combiloop 205/200 Cable Lock https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00449IAI2 but it was worse than useless. I managed to break it within 5 mins at home before it even got to see my bike. Sent back for a refund straight away.

Ian

maxglide wrote:I use, Keep In Sight Constantly. Seems to work.

I must admit that I've never tried takng my bike around the supermarket or into the gents.

simonhill wrote:I saw a bike the other day, unlocked and just leaning against a wall. An obvious target for a thief, however it had a flat back tyre and it got me thinking.

Obviously it could have been picked up and carried away, but could a flat tyre be a serious deterrent (along with some sort of lock) to the average thief?

I've seen someone riding a mountain bike (26" rear wheel) with a 20" front wheel. This will have been the mountain bike locked just by the front wheel which would be detached by the thief and then either walked until they found a bmx or folder without the front wheel locked or it was in the same rack and swopped at time of theft.
At some later point they will find a matching 26" front to steal.

whoof wrote:I've seen someone riding a mountain bike (26" rear wheel) with a 20" front wheel. This will have been the mountain bike locked just by the front wheel which would be detached by the thief and then either walked until they found a bmx or folder without the front wheel locked or it was in the same rack and swopped at time of theft.
At some later point they will find a matching 26" front to steal.

I think I may have seen the front wheel:

It looks like the person locking that bike (or should I say wheel ) was really stupid but you tell me how a U lock can be used to lock the frame (or anything other than a wheel) to that bike stand. This is a prime example of a so-called cycle facility that has been designed by someone with no understanding of how bikes are used and need to be secured (or not in this case). A cycle stand that cannot be used to secure a bike properly with the most secure type of bike lock is a waste of space.