how best to protect bike/s from thieves

[geoffkaplan]

i'm pretty new to the world of cycling and am looking for advice on how best to protect my bike (soon to be 2 ... hurry up ben). here in the bay area there seems to be a rash of missing bikes -- weekly reports of stolen high-end bikes out of garages and apartments.

aside from locking up your bikes indoors and common-sense security, how do you protect your bikes? any thoughts on purchasing an insurance rider?

thanks in advance, geoff

[MattTuck]

Well, an insurance rider is insurance, and will not 'protect' the bike itself. So, if your concern mostly monetary in nature, insurance would be a way to go. Another way to go, if the bike is custom/irreplacable, make sure your apartment or wherever you store your bike is well secured and the bike is locked.

Unfortunately, a determined thief (given enough alone time) can probably get through most any security.

So that brings me to the real way to keep your bike safe, don't let any other people know where you keep it, or know that it is valuable. Don't draw attention to your bike, and you should be ok. I could easily win most races, I choose not to race, so as to keep my bike safe from prying eyes ;)

[Jaq]

If someone really, really wants it....

I never leave my roadbike; if I can't take it into the shop (or find someone I trust to watch it), I don't go.

For short trips to the bagel shop or the gym, I ride the beater, an old Trek 800. Depending on the errand, I might just lean it against the shop window (or put it in the bike stand on the street if there is one). Otherwise, I use a cable lock, pull the front tire and run the cable through the stays, both tires, and the seat rails, locking it to whatever (trees, bike-stands, etc.)

[Fishbike]

Hi and welcome!

The good bikes are never left out of my sight when out on rides. Never. The rest of the time they are in the locked basement adjacent to the locked garage (in the 'burbs).

To be as secure as possible, your new Serotta should be always with you or locked in your house somehow. Other than that you are balancing the benefits of wondering off to explore, grab a coffee, use the restroom etc. vs. the likelihood that a bad guy will take your prized bike.

I often feel paranoid when I stop at a convience store and lug the bike in on my shoulder, but we had a bike stolen once -- a fairly cheap one -- and it hurts.

So what kinda new bike is Ben building ya?

[Aaron O]

1. Minimize its exposure...don't leave it over night, try to be unpredictable in your locking patterns.

2. Spend the extra money on a high end ubolt like the NY'r. Use cables for the wheels. Make sure it's anchored to something secure (not a chain link fence).

3. Record photos and your serial number...my bikes are mostly unique enough that if someone took one, it would stick out like a sore thumb. I'd put a bounty out with the messengers and have a good shot at getting it back. Put a photo of you with the bike, dated, in a tube...or maybe just your name. Something to indicate it's yours in a dispute.

4. Avoid locking it in areas with low foot traffic, or darkly lit areas.

5. Avoid locking it near construction sites...one common ploy is for the person to approach a construction guy with a sob story and ask them to cut their lock.

6. I put Huffy stickers on the bike I've been using most lately...it'll help it stick out if it gets stolen (any bike shop will know instantly it's not a Huffy) and it MIGHT dissuade undo attention (though most thieves in my area are junkies who don't know the bike values anyway).

7. Take your saddle/seatpost with you...it makes the bike harder to ride away and more obviously stolen.

8. clipless pedals do the same, though they may make the bike more clearly valuable.

9. Avoid MUPS alone at night...smash and grabs are big out here.

I have addendum articles to my home owner's insurance for my bikes and use a high quality combination deadbolt on the door.

[geoffkaplan]

thanks for the feedback!

some additional info i've become aware of lately:
according to a local riding club's google group (mission cycling) there was word that thieves in cars were following riders home. also, people were posting their strava ride maps which originated from their home. the stava profiles also included what type of bikes the rider rode.

[tannhauser]

If you're in the city on a road bike keep it next to your bed. Locked to your bed frame when there's a house party.

If you ride whatever for transport it will probably get jacked at some point.

The Strava thing - pretty ingenious use of it to curb show off-ism.

[jpw]

If you're leaning a bike against a shop window put it in the big ring and 11 tooth cog.

[Bob Ross]

I could easily win most races, I choose not to race, so as to keep my bike safe from prying eyes ;)

But unless you don't ride at all, you still need to display the awe-inspiring dazzle of your pro-caliber speed (and commensurate Massive Guads™) ...otherwise you'll be riding so slowly that the prying eyes of all those bike theives out there will see you on your non-racing rides.

[MattTuck]

But unless you don't ride at all, you still need to display the awe-inspiring dazzle of your pro-caliber speed (and commensurate Massive Guads™) ...otherwise you'll be riding so slowly that the prying eyes of all those bike theives out there will see you on your non-racing rides.

ha! I only ride at night for just this reason. and wear sunglasses... :cool:

[thendenjeck]

just commute on a beater

[Peter P.]

If you plan on riding ANYWHERE where you might leave your bike unattended, then ride a bike that would be undesirable to thieves. Be it a POS or just a bike you don't care about, leave the good bike at home.

Never own a bike that you can't afford to lose on Sunday, then replace on Monday.

[christian]

Ride an ordinary. Problem solved.

[eippo1]

Wow, people using strava? That's nuts. Reminds me of Gloucester this year where very specific bikes we grabbed during the race like the thieves knew what to look for beforehand.

[lemondvictoire]

Bring your bike with you at public restrooms if at all possible. I had a person question me about that :bike: and I told them my bike was worth more than most people make in a month. I also lock my bike with a heavy cable & lock when it's inside my car and the cable is wrapped around my front car seat frame too! :beer:

[bargainguy]

Although you probably don't have a garage in the bay area, it's one of the worst places to store a bike. A thief who wouldn't think twice about breaking into a house will break into a garage without hesitation.

Always bring your bike inside the house and never leave it unattended if at all possible. A determined thief can use any number of means to get at your locked bike, so a lock only slows them down, never stops them.

Don

[fogrider]

bikes are one of the low level crimes that the police don't give much attention to, so addicts find bikes an easy means of quick cash. this is the dark underside of bikes. as others have said, don't leave your bike unattended, and don't let others know how much it cost.

[eippo1]

This whole discussion reminds me of a great schwinn peloton ad from 1999 that had the bike locked up to a house bannister with an abundance of locks. I wanted that bike so bad.

[54ny77]

shoot them so they don't do it no more.

[wingnut]

Never lock a bike that you don't intend to lose.

For those who suggest bringing it into the house, that's probably the safest bet. However, I live in the Bay Area and have had my house burglarized before so its' not a sure bet. You hear about apartment/house break-ins all the time in the city (SF).

[benv]

Living in the Bay Area as well, in San Francisco actually, it is definitely a huge problem. I also belong to a SF based cycling forum and the number of posts a day in the "Stolen Bike Listing" thread is quite ridiculous. It is also pretty funny when walking around the Civic Center/SOMA districts and seeing homeless people walking around with a shopping cart in one hand and a Pinarello or Colnago in the other.

I can proudly say that I have never had a bike stolen or even any component stripped off my bike. I would say I am pretty darn careful when picking and choosing where to lock up the bike or to lock it up at all. Even though its a major concern, I feel like I am kinda over it and just want to enjoy biking in the city. I have a pretty nice stable, and most of my bikes only see the city streets rather than waiting for some time to take a ride up to the North Bay. I am at the point where I will ride my Colnago with Campy 11 on my daily messenger shifts. I rarely get time to take an actual ride as I spend most of the day 7 days a week in the saddle delivering food, beer, prescriptions, clothing, you name it. Yes, I lock up my Moots when having dinner in Chinatown without it even in sight. Of course, I will never lock a bike up overnight or to a pole that is loose from the ground. You just have to be smart and somewhat think like a thief.

A couple of tips I could come up with:

1. Just a U-Lock through the front rim and frame is not enough. Get a cable and run it through the rear wheel and connect it with the U-Lock. Or even just a second lock. If really worried, get the skewers with bolt ends.

2. Register the frame/serial number with the local police. Take some pictures with the bike. Make sure if it ever pops up on Craigslist or some local flea market that you can point out something unique to you and the bike. If none of this, the cops can't and wont do a thing.

3. If your with some friends, gently lock all of your bikes up together. Put your locking mechanisms through 2 or 3 frames. Makes it a bitch for a thief to walk away with mound of steel.

4. Quit whatever job you have and find one that allows you to keep your bike in your cubicle.

[Aaron O]

From what I've heard, bike theft out west is different from what we have on the east coast. I think you guys deal with targeted high end bike thieves. I think we mostly have junkies looking for thefts of convenience. You hear about how there are portable edge saws and gigantic bolt cutters that will make quick work of top notch u-bolts, but I've never heard of anyone losing a bike to one of those in my area. I have heard it happens out west. My biggest fear is a break in or smash and grab.

My Motorola Merckx had been abandoned for about 8 months, locked near a building, at Temple University in North Philadelphia. Somehow no one touched it. It had a u-bolt and cables, and apparently that was enough to keep it safe in a high bike theft area. What I'm saying is...I think sometimes we overstate bike theft, at least in my neighborhood.

[tsarpepe]

My Motorola Merckx had been abandoned for about 8 months, locked near a building, at Temple University in North Philadelphia.

I am not sure whether I should laugh or cry. Oh well, I'll just put a lot of puzzled faces: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused:

[Aaron O]

I am not sure whether I should laugh or cry. Oh well, I'll just put a lot of puzzled faces: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused:

Crazy, right? As near as I can tell (and some of this is based on conjecture)...

Bauer, or one of his people, sold the bike and it ended up in a shop in Minnesota. It was built up with Campy 8 sp record and panto'd De Rosa early Delta brakes (probably off an anniversary or 87' Signature). It changes hands from owner to Temple Student. Temple Student begins having issues and can't afford to have a decent shop do repair work. He lacks the mechanical knowledge to properly deal with the problems. It has missing and/or frozen bearings, and he can't remove the cups. He puts Shimano cables into the Ergo levers...he gets a flat...and he just gets sick of it. He leaves the bike, locked up, and abandons it. One of the panto delta plates goes missing :(

Here's where the history gets more clear:

Temple's grounds manager is an avid cyclist and races cyclocross. As is his job, he is removing abandoned bikes end of terms...and he knows what it is. He takes it to Temple's police for 3 months, no one comes for it and it's officially now property of the grounds manager. It's a HUGE project and needs substantial work and he sits on it for a bit. One day he breaks his cross bike's frame.

Enter me...

I had just bought an SLX De Rosa with some parts I felt unworthy of being on the bike. I wanted to put some shiny c-record/ergo stuff on but didn't have the cash reserves to immediately buy them. I do have a Kona JTS that I'm not using much and, as a total flyer, toss it on CL as a want to trade for c-record/record parts ad.

Grounds manager comes across my ad and needs a cross bike more than he needs his sitting around, costly, Merckx project. I get some help with the cable replacement and restore it.

And that's our story!

[thwart]

Bring your bike with you at public restrooms if at all possible. Just don't spend a lot of time in the stall... or make any weird noises...

It would just confirm what some folks think of us bike snobs. :D

[eippo1]

Pics of the Merckx please. Good story. Most stolen bikes in the Boston area seem to be the improperly locked ones and occasionally ones within view of a window etc.

[Aaron O]

I'll try to post some a little later tonight (work blocks Photobucket). There are a bunch of photos of it on here...and some on bike forums. I thought everyone had seen it, and was bored with it, by now.

[Jellybird3]

thanks for the feedback!

some additional info i've become aware of lately:
according to a local riding club's google group (mission cycling) there was word that thieves in cars were following riders home. also, people were posting their strava ride maps which originated from their home. the stava profiles also included what type of bikes the rider rode.

Welcome to the forum. One bit of advice if you're a Strava user is to adjust your privacy settings so that your tracked ride is hidden within 500'/1,000'/1 mile of your home.

[bargainguy]

Love the story. Both parties benefit. You da man!

Don

[cody.wms]

also, people were posting their strava ride maps which originated from their home. the stava profiles also included what type of bikes the rider rode.


Of course, you can also set it up in Strava so none of the rides that originate within a set distance (500 ft, 1000 ft, 1 mile) of your home show up to the public, or even to other signed-in Strava members.

EDIT: Jellybird beat me to it.

[Aaron O]

Sorry it took a bit, and apologies to those who've seen me show it off a dozen times:

http://i936.photobucket.com/albums/ad205/aolk67/Photo0555.jpg

http://i936.photobucket.com/albums/ad205/aolk67/Photo0557.jpg

http://i936.photobucket.com/albums/ad205/aolk67/Photo0558.jpg

http://i936.photobucket.com/albums/ad205/aolk67/Photo0560.jpg

This is the bike locked up/abandoned:

http://i936.photobucket.com/albums/ad205/aolk67/SteveBauersEddyMerckx009.jpg

http://i936.photobucket.com/albums/ad205/aolk67/SteveBauersEddyMerckx014.jpg

[ultraman6970]

Would be cool to know where do you park the bike :D

[Aaron O]

Would be cool to know where do you park the bike :D

Right next to the shotgun and ferocious 1/2th wolf, 1/2th pit bull ;)

[bargainguy]

I'm just flabbergasted that no one tried to remove the Delta brakes, crank, rear wheel, etc. Must be a nice campus with little or no theft.

Don

[Aaron O]

I'm just flabbergasted that no one tried to remove the Delta brakes, crank, rear wheel, etc. Must be a nice campus with little or no theft.

Don

You clearly aren't familiar with Temple University...it's in the middle of North Philadelphia and is not very gentrified.

[4Rings6Stars]

You clearly aren't familiar with Temple University...it's in the middle of North Philadelphia and is not very gentrified.

And that is exactly why the bike lasted as long as it did, nobody had any idea what it was nor cared to find out. Some heavy old "10 speed" with flat tires...

(It still amazes me though. If I saw that bike abandoned around here I would camp next to it for a month trying to find the owner)

[Aaron O]

And that is exactly why the bike lasted as long as it did, nobody had any idea what it was nor cared to find out. Some heavy old "10 speed" with flat tires...

(It still amazes me though. If I saw that bike abandoned around here I would camp next to it for a month trying to find the owner)

Maybe I'm nuts, but I don't think most bike thieves are that choosy, at least in my area. Most are junkies looking for $50...so all bikes are the same to them. It's thefts of convenience...they go after the unlocked wheel, the cheap cable they can easily cut, unlocked bikes.

[djg]

Ok, all of this comes from somebody who is not a lock expert, or a security expert, so take it with the grain of salt you might throw on every bit of free internet advice . . .

My prized cross bike was stolen this fall, downtown DC (K Street -- office area with tons of foot traffic, broad daylight). I'd locked it to a proper steel rack, but I'd used a heavy cable -- heavy by bicycle standards, not a motorcycle cable -- rather than a u-lock, thinking that would be ok in a visible, pedestrian-filled area for about an hour (length of my PT appointment). Plainly, in that case, I was mistaken. The police told me that there had been a raft of similar thefts lately. This past week, I saw somebody else's wheel nicely secured to a neighboring rack with a u-lock. Hanging from the u-lock were two neatly clipped cable ends. I'm guessing that the u-lock had gone through the wheel only, and that most of the bike was long gone. So my informal inference from two ad hoc observations is that K Street, in broad daylight, is frequented by bike thieves who are well able to cut a cable.

There's an element of chance in this always. As others have said, I think the key consideration is where the bike is parked, and when. Nothing is 100% secure, but a bike might be tolerably safe, unlocked, for 10 minutes in front of a country store or overnight in a fenced suburban back yard. Which is not to say that thefts never happen in "nice" suburban neighborhoods or out in the country -- they do. But you can find out what the crime reports look like in a given neighborhood and make your own call on the odds.

In some contexts, a cable really might be a useful deterrent. The cable I used on K street has seemed fine for years -- it's the type of thing that will dissuade certain categories of potential thieves, such as the idiot kid, unequipped, who gets a "bright" idea, or an ill-equipped junkie or bum looking for a quick and easy score. I've used similar cables for short stops at the gym or in front of the whole foods, or whatever, for a couple of decades, without incident. OTOH, it does not take a super-sophisticated thief or high technology tools to cut most cables. A decent pair of bolt cutters will do it, and somebody pointed me to a web video of a thief's large messenger bag with a hole cut in the corner, so he could walk up to a bike with the cutters unobserved, stand over it as if unlocking his own bike, slide the working end through the hole, and steal your (my) bike, quick and easy. So, somebody who leaves home planning to steal bikes can make short work of a standard cable, if he comes into contact with the bike and the cable.

Heavy duty hardened chains, and the new-and-improved u-locks, are not invincible, but they are different projects for thieves, so they'll deter not only the ill-equipped chucklehead but the decently equipped, determined thief who is looking for a quick and easy score and knows that there's probably another bike, less well protected, just around the corner.

Indoors? Well, a poorly lit and unsupervised parking, with universal access, might be a happy place for a thief. Other garages might be pretty darn secure. In a home or office? Some folks live where there are frequent break-ins, but most of us don't. I believe the folks who say that there have been researched B&Es to steal high-end bikes somewhere, and I wouldn't want to underestimate crazy or dumb in the thief community, but this really does seem more than a little crazy -- a whole lot of planning and incarceration risk for a relatively small score.

Insurance doesn't prevent theft, and if you file claims every month you'll likely drive your rates through the moon, lose your coverage, or both, in sequence. On the other hand, if you take reasonable precautions, and have decent insurance, you will be covered against a one-off disaster. My homeowner's policy is covering my bike, at replacement value, without any special rider or extra coverage in the policy. There's a deductible, but they're otherwise covering a new frame and every bit that needs to get hung on it.

The best security is enough to prevent what would be, for you, a disaster. I hate the fact that my Serotta was stolen. That was a great bike, and I had it set up in a way that really worked for me. That was MY bike. On the other hand, the kids are healthy, the house is still standing, and I can replace my beloved cross bike without gutting the kids' college funds or putting the mortgage at risk. Although I'm not independently wealthy, the same would have been true for me without the excellent insurance coverage (for which I paid good money). In the big scheme of things, it's all fine. If you cannot make a similar projection, then you are facing some risk that there's either too much bike or too little security.

[Aaron O]

Ok, all of this comes from somebody who is not a lock expert, or a security expert, so take it with the grain of salt you might throw on every bit of free internet advice . . .

My prized cross bike was stolen this fall, downtown DC (K Street -- office area with tons of foot traffic, broad daylight). I'd locked it to a proper steel rack, but I'd used a heavy cable -- heavy by bicycle standards, not a motorcycle cable -- rather than a u-lock, thinking that would be ok in a visible, pedestrian-filled area for about an hour (length of my PT appointment). Plainly, in that case, I was mistaken. The police told me that there had been a raft of similar thefts lately. This past week, I saw somebody else's wheel nicely secured to a neighboring rack with a u-lock. Hanging from the u-lock were two neatly clipped cable ends. I'm guessing that the u-lock had gone through the wheel only, and that most of the bike was long gone. So my informal inference from two ad hoc observations is that K Street, in broad daylight, is frequented by bike thieves who are well able to cut a cable.

There's an element of chance in this always. As others have said, I think the key consideration is where the bike is parked, and when. Nothing is 100% secure, but a bike might be tolerably safe, unlocked, for 10 minutes in front of a country store or overnight in a fenced suburban back yard. Which is not to say that thefts never happen in "nice" suburban neighborhoods or out in the country -- they do. But you can find out what the crime reports look like in a given neighborhood and make your own call on the odds.

In some contexts, a cable really might be a useful deterrent. The cable I used on K street has seemed fine for years -- it's the type of thing that will dissuade certain categories of potential thieves, such as the idiot kid, unequipped, who gets a "bright" idea, or an ill-equipped junkie or bum looking for a quick and easy score. I've used similar cables for short stops at the gym or in front of the whole foods, or whatever, for a couple of decades, without incident. OTOH, it does not take a super-sophisticated thief or high technology tools to cut most cables. A decent pair of bolt cutters will do it, and somebody pointed me to a web video of a thief's large messenger bag with a hole cut in the corner, so he could walk up to a bike with the cutters unobserved, stand over it as if unlocking his own bike, slide the working end through the hole, and steal your (my) bike, quick and easy. So, somebody who leaves home planning to steal bikes can make short work of a standard cable, if he comes into contact with the bike and the cable.

Heavy duty hardened chains, and the new-and-improved u-locks, are not invincible, but they are different projects for thieves, so they'll deter not only the ill-equipped chucklehead but the decently equipped, determined thief who is looking for a quick and easy score and knows that there's probably another bike, less well protected, just around the corner.

Indoors? Well, a poorly lit and unsupervised parking, with universal access, might be a happy place for a thief. Other garages might be pretty darn secure. In a home or office? Some folks live where there are frequent break-ins, but most of us don't. I believe the folks who say that there have been researched B&Es to steal high-end bikes somewhere, and I wouldn't want to underestimate crazy or dumb in the thief community, but this really does seem more than a little crazy -- a whole lot of planning and incarceration risk for a relatively small score.

Insurance doesn't prevent theft, and if you file claims every month you'll likely drive your rates through the moon, lose your coverage, or both, in sequence. On the other hand, if you take reasonable precautions, and have decent insurance, you will be covered against a one-off disaster. My homeowner's policy is covering my bike, at replacement value, without any special rider or extra coverage in the policy. There's a deductible, but they're otherwise covering a new frame and every bit that needs to get hung on it.

The best security is enough to prevent what would be, for you, a disaster. I hate the fact that my Serotta was stolen. That was a great bike, and I had it set up in a way that really worked for me. That was MY bike. On the other hand, the kids are healthy, the house is still standing, and I can replace my beloved cross bike without gutting the kids' college funds or putting the mortgage at risk. Although I'm not independently wealthy, the same would have been true for me without the excellent insurance coverage (for which I paid good money). In the big scheme of things, it's all fine. If you cannot make a similar projection, then you are facing some risk that there's either too much bike or too little security.

Big time +1...dead on. There are tools capable of making quick work of any ubolt, but they're more expensive and larger. There might be a guy targeting high end bikes that uses them, but, at least in my area, he's the minority (I've actually never heard of it happening, you're in more danger of a smash and grab while riding). A quality ubolt and cables through the wheels is a pretty good deterrent in my area, especially when combined with common sense and minimized exposure.

[nooneline]

Some friends of mine have a neat home-security system on their porch.

They screwed a bunch of heavy-gauge screw-eyes into the walls.

When they get home, they lock their bike to that with a U-lock. A nice bit of in-home reassurance. If I were worried about a break-in, or stuff visible from outside the house, that's the route I'd go.

In our last apartment, when we'd leave for a while, my partner and I would just run a cable through all our bikes lined up, u-locked at each end. A bit of additional security. I don't think somebody would be able to maneuver nine bikes all locked in a row out of the apartment.

[tannhauser]

Some friends of mine have a neat home-security system on their porch.

They screwed a bunch of heavy-gauge screw-eyes into the walls.

When they get home, they lock their bike to that with a U-lock. A nice bit of in-home reassurance. If I were worried about a break-in, or stuff visible from outside the house, that's the route I'd go.

In our last apartment, when we'd leave for a while, my partner and I would just run a cable through all our bikes lined up, u-locked at each end. A bit of additional security. I don't think somebody would be able to maneuver nine bikes all locked in a row out of the apartment.


This system would last about a week in SF.

[nooneline]

Who cares? It works where they live.

[Aaron O]

Who cares? It works where they live.

I'm in Philly...there is no question in my mind that your technique would be at least somewhat effective. The concept of getting them through the door is actually VERY clever...is the home thief going to be prepared with a bolt cutter? It's better than no home security.

[tiretrax]

Does Strava correct for the misdirection in the settings so you still get an accurate distance?