Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - NYC--help me!

I will be moving to New York City either this December or August (probably December, if all goes well with planning stuff, switching colleges, etc.). Anyway... How do you prevent bike theft? When I went to the CMWC this summer, my huge On Guard u-lock worked fine (locking the front wheel and frame). But then again, the road bike I was using for that trip wasn't too attractive. Moving on... I just finished building this amazing fixie. A couple days ago I got the front light and a couple chainring bolts stolen off of it in Santa Cruz, CA, and I was almost crying. Dunno what I'd do if the bike itself got jacked. So I thought either: take a working beater over there, or just jack up (i.e. strip some paint, scratch, add some random spray paint, etc.) an entry level track bike like the Raleigh Rush Hour or the Bianchi Pista. Problem with taking a "working beater" is that I don't have even a frame now, and to build one up would be pricey because I'll be paranoid about using the recycled parts available at my local bike co-op. So... would it deter thieves to jack up a formerly "pretty nice" bike? Or should I just invest in an amazing locking system and not worry so much, and just ride my custom-built baby? Or should I make a concerted effort to find an already-assembled "beater" that works? Or should I find a crappy-looking frame and put nice yet undercover parts on it?

Also... what about rain and snow? Fenders and big yellow rainsuit? I think this little California girl is gonna be in for some big surprises. Although I do love riding in the rain! Tee hee hee.

Thanks for your input!

yeah a crappy bike might help from getting stolen but they steal crappy bikes. kryptonite chain and lock front tire and frame and dont leave it out for to long if u do a mini u lock can help.I ride whatever i want to ride if they want it bad enough u cant stop them

chaun yourself to the bike

... A couple days ago I got the front light and a couple chainring bolts stolen off of it in Santa Cruz, CA, and I was almost crying.

Someone stole your chainring bolts?! That happens?!?!
Yes, I'm aware that thieves will take anything that they can get their hands on, and sure I've needed a new chainring bolt here and there, but come on!!!
Damn thieves...

ride what you like but chain & lock the hell out of it. see also the other threads showing how to secure the smaller items like handlebar/stem & saddle/seatpost.

honestly, every time i've heard about folks getting their bike jacked in NYC it was because they locked it up poorly or left it outside overnight. just be sure ya lock it up right.

if your commuting with your bike it will get dirtied up in due time...and i never heard of chainring bolt theft. what an age we live in.

just chain it up securely with a krypto chain or something similar and if your gonna be gone all day, wouldn't hurt to lock up the other wheel. The key is to not tempt the wouldbe theif.

Why move here from santa cruz? its beautiful there, I almost went there.

NY's like the 6th safest state and NYC's like the safest big city. You can leave your bike unchained everywhere and it won't be stolen. However, if you feel you must, get a big krypto chain and lock, lock the front wheel to the back and take the seatpost with you. Or lock the seatpost down too w/a cable lock or old bike chain wrapped in an old innertube. Be aware that it's illegal to lock your bike to a trees and street signs although everyone does it. It's rare, but cops will clip the lock if they get a complaint about bikes blocking the entrance to a subway station or something like that.

a good bike might get jacked faster than a bad bike if they're right next to each other, but good bike vs. bad bike has very little to do with it in nyc. anything will get stolen if you don't lock it well, leave it locked up in sketchy places, or leave it locked up for a long time.

if you're gonna lock it outside, lock the hell out of your bike. use a chain through the front wheel and frame, and a u-lock locking the rear wheel to the frame.

consider securing your seatpost, stem, bars and cranks by filling the bolts with solder, or crazy glue and a bearing like the pic below, but mostly, just be smart about what you're doing. i've heard of a lot of bikes getting jacked, but in most cases, there was some problem with the situation - someone locked up on a dark street and left it there all night. someone wasn't careful about how they locked and ended up not locking a wheel (or only locked a wheel). someone locked to a rusty old fence that could be broken by hand or cut with small clippers (or to scaffolding which could be un-bolted).

i'll lock my bike with a single krypto-mini when i'm running into the store to grab a beer - in and out, but anything more and it's getting the full treatment. people have laughed at me when i'm outside the bar locking up with a chain and a u, and while it maybe overkill sometimes, i've never had a bike or wheel walk.

http://thirdrate.com/misc/stem_ball_bearing.jpg

I use the big Kyrpto chaing through the front wheel and frame, and then a mini U-lock through the chain ring, rear wheel and frame. It hasn't been stolen yet, but if somebody wants it bad enough it's going to disappear

consider securing your seatpost, stem, bars and cranks by filling the bolts with solder, or crazy glue and a bearing like the pic below, but mostly, just be smart about what you're doing.

http://thirdrate.com/misc/stem_ball_bearing.jpg




that looks like a tight setup to prevent handlebar theft...

how do YOU (as the owner) remove that **** tho?

oh...and for my two cents on NYC

I've left my bike ( a nice freewheel peugeot road bike) just about anywhere in the city locked up with a big chain and a big American padlock. I wouldn't leave my bike somewhere overnight tho. I usually only locked up the back wheel and the frame...and my front wheel is quickrelease! (although it always had a good amount of broken spokes, and never looked like a prize piece...and I'd prob just say..."fuk...oh well" if it got stolen). I think even the 'look' of a big chain is a big deterrent for most.

I'd go along with some of the other advice given by saying....don't do anything that's gonna temp people to steal your joint. I thought it kind of conspicuous for some people to wrap their (clearly nice) bikes in tape or inner tube to cover the brand name decal. But...I think that's prob still a deterrent. If I were a thief I'd probably be more tempted by a bike if it flat out said "Cannondale" or some **** than if it were a "possible" cannondale underneath.

"blank" paint jobs also do wonders

that looks like a tight setup to prevent handlebar theft...

how do YOU (as the owner) remove that **** tho?

i use a hammer and small chisel to tap the glue away on the sides. takes about two minutes to pop the bearing out and then clean out the remaining glue. i don't adjust my stem/bars/post that much, but when i do, there is the inevitable "oh man.. i forgot about this stupid glue thing" as i tap away at it.

i've been doing it for a while and never had any parts walk, though!

NY's like the 6th safest state and NYC's like the safest big city. You can leave your bike unchained everywhere and it won't be stolen.

and youre like, gonna get your bike stolen soon i bet...maybe youre kidding? i dont get it..

as for the chainring bolts...you sure those didnt fall out? they get loose and fall out a lot if you dont check em

i've been noticing a lot of messengers and others free locking. never with really bling bikes, but i saw a nice IRO freelocked outside a building the other day.

what is freelocking?

what is freelocking?

freelocking is just looping the chain through your frame and a wheel without also attaching it to a 2nd stationary object.

i use a hammer and small chisel to tap the glue away on the sides. takes about two minutes to pop the bearing out and then clean out the remaining glue. i don't adjust my stem/bars/post that much, but when i do, there is the inevitable "oh man.. i forgot about this stupid glue thing" as i tap away at it.

i've been doing it for a while and never had any parts walk, though!

ThAnKs!...I think Imma try that. Looks tight too.

you can also get debonders for super glue so you don't need to get physical on your stem and scratch it up if your not careful.

doesn't fingernail polish remover get rid of superglue?

another lock tip is to lock it in a way that makes it a freakin' pain in the ass to try to break the lock. like locking it up high, or hanging it from a fence and locking it. if it's a pain to unlock it with a key, it's even worse to try to steal that shiznit.

For further information re: bikes and NYC:

http://www.thehollandtunnel.com/

...specifically, enter the site, click on "Movies" and check out "Bike Thief."

At least he used his own bike.