Source for stainless "security" bolts

[Lewis Moon]

My Swiss Cross is going to be my "lock out" bike, never overnight, never in an unsafe area, but it will see some farmer's market, park concert and grocery store lockage. What's a good source for stainless "security" bolts; torx, whatever, that will make it harder to steal parts?

[mktng]

http://www.torontocycles.com/Titaniu...ity_Bolts.html

[Lewis Moon]

Originally Posted by mktng

http://www.torontocycles.com/Titaniu...ity_Bolts.html

TC are good people. I've bought loads of bolts from them.

One thing I'm worried about is actually losing the unique tool. Do you think torx is different enough to dissuade the "honest" folks?

[mktng]

Originally Posted by Lewis Moon

TC are good people. I've bought loads of bolts from them.

One thing I'm worried about is actually losing the unique tool. Do you think torx is different enough to dissuade the "honest" folks?

Tough to say. If someone wants to steal something. They will eventually get it if given enough time.

Just buy spare keys for the bolts.

[mgordon]

I've used these on a number of bikes:

https://www.specialized.com/us/en/eq...olt-kit/105081

[shovelhd]

I love Toronto Cycles but I bet I could get those off with vice grips. There's no taper to the bolt head. The Specialized kit uses a standard security bit.

[lookout2015]

In addition to Toronto Cycles, I've also ordered from this shop: https://www.bicyclebolts.com/

[spinarelli]

I got these magnetic plugs when they had a kickstarter campaign last year. use Use them with all the bolts you already have. You can even use them with Ti or stainless bolts that are not magnetic.

https://hexlox.com/collections/all-products

[mgordon]

Good call on HexLox -- those are nice too!

[honestmachinery]

Originally Posted by mgordon

Good call on HexLox -- those are nice too!

That is a neat idea. A lump of beeswax in the hex head is a cheap deterrent.

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[cp43]

Just a thought, and I don't know what it's like where you'll be leaving the bike, but, what do you think the likelihood of someone unbolting bits off your bike really is?

My thought would be that if it's a nice enough area that you're comfortable leaving it locked outside, it's a nice enough area that the "honest" people aren't going to steal your saddle.

If you are going to go the deterrent route, I've read about people super gluing ball bearings into the bolts on their bikes to prevent theft. Apparently you can easily dissolve the glue at home when you need to. I've not tired this though.

Good luck!

Chris

[Pastashop]

Peter White Cycles has a good write up on and selection of PitLock bolts and skewers. I'm considering getting some...

[DavidC]

Originally Posted by cp43

If you are going to go the deterrent route, I've read about people super gluing ball bearings into the bolts on their bikes to prevent theft. Apparently you can easily dissolve the glue at home when you need to. I've not tired this though.

I've done that. The superglue is hard to get out (but I didn't know you could dissolve it!), so I ended up going with silicone. You can buy a small tube of clear silicone caulk from Home Depot, for example, for a few bucks. Then just carry a diaper pin in your flat kit and you can get the bearing out if necessary.

It's not a perfect solution. Each time you need to access one of the bolts it's annoying, and you can never get all of the silicone out, so the wrench doesn't fit in too well.

Honestly, I like your idea, although I'd go with security torx (or security hex). Standard multi tools have torx wrenches these days, so I don't consider standard torx any more of a deterrent than hex.