Commuting - Great way to decrease bike theft!!

I just bought a Ti frame on ebay. I have been thinking of ways to decrease the chances of my bike getting stolen as I use it to commute everywhere. My plan: give the bike a mediocre paint job (flat black) so that the bike paint will chip and scratch easily. Also, buy a set of walmart/k-mart/cheapo bike stickers and place them onto the frame. This will hide the true value of the frame. Now i need to find out where to buy some decals of poor quality bikes. Any ideas??

:D :) :D

I just bought a Ti frame on ebay. I have been thinking of ways to decrease the chances of my bike getting stolen as I use it to commute everywhere. My plan: give the bike a mediocre paint job (flat black) so that the bike paint will chip and scratch easily. Also, buy a set of walmart/k-mart/cheapo bike stickers and place them onto the frame. This will hide the true value of the frame. Now i need to find out where to buy some decals of poor quality bikes. Any ideas??

:D :) :D

e-bay

Even beater bikes get stolen. It may be that a beater is even more tempting to steal since it doesn't look like it would be as badly missed by the owner and it would not be as conspicuous to ride.

The advantage of a beater is not so much that it won't get stolen as it is less heartache when it disappears.

You might be better off with a good lock and careful selection of when and where you leave the bike. 'Security by Obscurity' is the lowest form of protection.

Besides, who wants to trash out a nice new frame?

I have a Ti frame. It stays at home when it comes to commuting, I ride the ’88 Trek aluminum and I don’t even leave my bike outside.

I already use a cross lock combo with beefy ulock and cable and am very aware of where to lock. what's the point of having a bike if i dont ride and leave it at home? also, i understand the logic behind riding beaters but i prefer to ride a nice bike, but just make it look like a beater. That's the idea anyway ;)

Veganheart, I can see why you'd like to ride a nice bike to work. I also agree with others that it would be a damned shame to paint the frame with ugly paint.

The bike is worth the best you can provide. Can't you find indoor parking? I'm looking at mine right now as I type. A thief would draw back a nub! :D

>>>>Also, buy a set of walmart/k-mart/cheapo bike stickers and place them onto the frame. <<<<

Why not just buy the Walmart/K-mart cheapo bike instead? That's what I commute with sometimes. That bike has been outside 24/7 for almost 1 year and I use it to commute 1.2 miles per day after I get out of the train station. In fact, I haven't ridden the junker in almost 3 weeks and it's still there just waiting for me. I'll probably ride the junker next week when the morning temperature goes above 32F. I don't ride below 40 degrees but my junker stays outside regardless. There are tons of cheap toy store bikes that live on the streets of Manhattan all the time so I'm not worried. If the bike gets stolen tomorrow, it's paid itself off. The good thing about a toy store bike is that it rusts so badly that it looks worthless within a short time.

If your commute is less than 3 miles and there are no major hills, these toy store bikes are fine. It's basically a single speed today and the only thing I've had to replace are the tires and the front brake. I'm begining to think my Pacific toy store bike is indistructable.

Acrylic paint is easier to remove if you want to later, don't forget to disguise the dérailleurs etc.
lose the accessories, I don't have a bottle cage, tool bag etc.
(I find a bike rides WAY better with 5lbs of junk off and the full waters are on my back in pack.)
Some nasty looking old grips and duct tape the seat ;)
Carry an photocopy of receipt and register with police ( the bike police are probably going to ask about the 'stolen paint job' ) well- if they are doing their job.
I have partial primer and black scratched areas, removed dérailleur decal and a roll of red hockey tape on mine. :rolleyes:
I kinda like an ugly bike, fun when you pass someone on a posh.
The one thing I have to do is stop carring the bike with one hand- a give away that it is light.

Jeff is thinking along my lines. Biking is the only way I get around so I want to ride a decent bike. My commutes can be long and short, depending on where i am going of course. Pardon the analogy but its like driving an old buick with 600 horsepower. Thats the idea. Part of me wants to show off the nice shiny Ti frame but my priority is to reduce bike theft and besides good locks and careful "parking" I think uglifying and disguising is the best bet. I like Jeff's idea of primer paint; it looks bad plus it shows the dirt.

I have a question along the same lines as veganheart. When is comes to making a bike less than desirable looking, would covering the name of the bike with tape not be a giveaway that the bike is of good quality. Whenever I see a taped up bike I always take a second look to try and figure out what make it is because I assume it is a good bike.

What about "personalizing it"? Sure just making it look beat up and taped up and scratched up is one thing, but not a guarantee as some here think of safety from theft. One beater almost can look like another, as a nice bike can look like another. Put on some personal stickers and paint in a unique way, so that your bike wont be confused with any other. And if you ride the same route every day, and get to know people along the way (I know this is not as given as that comment makes it seem), or at least your co-workers, neighbors at home and work, etc will know your bike from a truckful of others, and they could help spot it even, and the cops would have an easier time spotting it as well. I guess there is still a time factor here, as the thief could repaint and deisng themselves. But I still think the uniqueness of the design, paint, stickers, could be a deterrant.

Engraving designs into aluminum parts? (nice geometric)
Would stop some stealing for parts.
Ummm...when you replace parts buy unusual colored or one of a kind bits.
Replace parts with high-end used with cosmetic wear marks.
Replace quick release with bolts.
Rust paint is good to hide ti- or get some aluminum series stickers.
You can make stickers using your printer, buy a few sticker backed sheets of paper (copy shops sell individual)
print your stuff and several coats of a water resist clear spray paint.
Here's an idea for a sticker "go steal a car instead *******!" :D

i just plopped down $37 at the salvation army for a **** ass murray.. i'm thinking bad buy.. since it's almost too **** ass to ride!

i just plopped down $37 at the salvation army for a **** ass murray.. i'm thinking bad buy.. since it's almost too **** ass to ride!

What does this have to do with hiding Ti or customizing to prevent theft?
Maybe we could put those 60+ teeth chainrings you want on the bike and if someone steals it, you can walk up to them while they are struggling to turn the cranks and PUSH THEM OFF. :p

I think that the level of protection that you need depends on how safe your city is. In New York City, your bike wouldn't last long outside of your sight. Here, I don't even lock my bike all the time, and have never had a problem. In a lot of places, a bike just won't be stolen if there is a U lock on it, or any lock for that matter.

I know I sound like a broken record but have you ever thought of a 20" wheeled folder which you can bring inside with you? Dahon is one good brand.

Jeff Williams idea of Aluminum stickers intrigues me. If I just bought Al stickers and put them on w/o painting I wonder if people would know its really Ti? Its probably better to paint as shiny Al is still not ugly and possible to get stolen.
I saw this high-end bike the other day in a bike rack and he did what I want to do. The base colour was blueish but he had sprayed silver where the tubes connect and then lightly misted other areas with the silver over blue. Quite effective.
I am thinking I will paint either Brown or Flat Black. Which is the UGLIEST possible colour for a bike??

Try brown like the bianca B.U.S.S. Not a nice colour.

I have a sticker that says "Bike theft= bad karma" on my bike. I'm not sure it's enough to dissuade bike thefts, so I also use a lock...

What does this have to do with hiding Ti or customizing to prevent theft?
Maybe we could put those 60+ teeth chainrings you want on the bike and if someone steals it, you can walk up to them while they are struggling to turn the cranks and PUSH THEM OFF. :p:D :roflmao: Too funny.

Flat steel grey then rust paint brown topcoat.

Green scrubbies are good for removing annoying corporate logos from parts. ;)

I took my downtube decals off yesterday with a product called 'goof off' which dissolves sticker sticky stuff.

The 3m reflective tape stuff is good to use as it is soo hard to remove from the frame (cracks as you TRY to peel it off.)

If you have artistic leanings- how about a funny custom job?
I wanted to find those rubber flower stickers that old people put on bathtubs and wrap them around the frame.

Anything that makes it look like too much work is a good deterrent I guess.

My frame doesn't have rust, but it looks like I'm doing rust prevention.
Eventualy when the paint is all stripped I will patina the steel with chemicals and acid etch graphics into the metal.

I don't think Ti and alu look that different, but a good frame is design and weld and that's harder to hide.

I shouldn't worry so much, my bike is older chromo- but I love the ride, wicked hand build and since it weighs under 20, I may have a hard time catching someone riding it away! :mad:

it was anti bike theft... but unfortunately damned thing no longer works... $37 down the drain! don' buy from the salvation army! that was the cheapest they had!

I am still having a hard time deciding which colour to paint the Ti frame to make it ugly. Any suggestions?

I know there is a colour called monkey puke. Doesn't sound too pretty.

it was anti bike theft... but unfortunately damned thing no longer works... $37 down the drain! don' buy from the salvation army! that was the cheapest they had!

You gotta check 'em out before you buy. I got a nice old Raleigh 12 speed that needed only minor fixup from the Salvation Army Thrift store and its now my daily commuter ride.

In fact, it's so nice I keep buying new this and that for it - just to make it a little nicer - that I may soon worry about leaving it by itself all day.

Buy a Krytonite NY Lock, don't leave it parked over night and keep that shiny Titanium finish.

CHEERS.

Mark

Did it ever occur to you that a theft can take one look at the components and know it's true worth? So why make your ti bike look ugly? Why not for $50 or so, go to the Goodwill and buy a real beater and leave your TI bike at home looking nice for your serious training or racing rides? Then if you run into the idiot that just wants a bike and steals yours at least it wasn't the good one!

That's why I bought my commuter frame from Nashbar for $49. The components are used/inexpensive (for the most part) and the frame is completely unmarked and plain looking. I figure: 1) it won't draw much attention, and 2) if it does get stolen it won't cost much to replace. I am fortunate to be able to lock it to a bike rack in a secure Gov't parking garage when at work and it stays in my apartment the rest of the time. Locking all the time and, to a lessor extent, registering with the police department are deterrents (although they'll tell you flat out that it's very unlikely a stolen bike will ever be recovered). A friend of mine had her 8 year old Bianchi stolen from her apartment one night (along with about 7 others in the same complex) and she never saw it again. I've been lucky not to have any bike stolen thus far, but I know it must be an infuriating experience (cheap bike or not).

it is! my 14 year old trek 800 that i got for free was stolen.... ooohhhh the horror! :(

In answer to your query about why not just use a beater... This bike will have the ride of a Ti quality frame but it will look like a beater. All reference to the make of or kind of frame will be removed. Components will be mediocre except the wheels and tires. The mavic wheels will have all stickers/markings removed. I will also use bolts instead of qr's and I will keep them dirty. I don't have the room or inclination to have two bikes and frankly I dont want to ride a beater. I have ridden them my whole life and instead of buying a car and maintaining it I would rather be spending the money on a decent bike. The whole point of this thread it to ask questions about how best to disguise a decent bike/frame so that thieves will think its not worth their time. If the theif were extremely knowledgeable about bikes they might figure out what the bike really is but then they would have to go through all the trouble of taking the paint off to resell it. Besides with paint I dont think that they could tell it was Ti; just that the frame had nice welds. Ultimately if it does get stolen it isnt the end of the world. Its just a material possession. However, the point of this thread is to decrease theft as much as possible. :)

my freshman year of college i rode my beat-up Haro (I'm talking dents all over the frame, rust, everything) with a ton of stickers, duct tape all over the ripped up seat, and no brakes. someone cut the cable and stole it... later it was recovered by the police after receiving some alterations. i got a better lock and it's been fine since then. the point is people will steal anything. just get a good lock, or leave it at home.

The beater thoughts were just thoughts, no one knows what is going on in the mind of another person so thus the thoughts. But now you have cleared up that it seems the way you want to go is the best way to "camouflage" your bike. So now it becomes an issue of locks. I would probably use 2 different kind to frustrate the thief as much as possible. My first choice would be the Kryptonite NY Fahgettaboudit that is expensive and heavy but it's nearly impossible to defeat and it should cover both rims and frame. The second would be the Masterlock cuff lock and would be optional depending on where I lived. This combo would create some serious probs for any thief. Or you could take a cheaper route and lighter route and get the Kryptonite NY 3000 lock and combine that with the thickest cable lock like the Krypto. Gorgon that uses a 15mm thick cable, but realize cable locks are the easiest to overcome.

there's no way you're gonna get a fagedaboudit around both wheels.

i just put the fagedaboudit around my rear wheel and frame and a krypto chain with padlock around my front wheel and frame.

there's no way you're gonna get a fagedaboudit around both wheels.

i just put the fagedaboudit around my rear wheel and frame and a krypto chain with padlock around my front wheel and frame.

Of course not...if you don't remove the front wheel that is! You have to remove the front wheel and lock it to the rear wheel and frame-the same as you would using a U lock.

I just bought a Ti frame on ebay. I have been thinking of ways to decrease the chances of my bike getting stolen as I use it to commute everywhere. My plan: give the bike a mediocre paint job (flat black) so that the bike paint will chip and scratch easily. Also, buy a set of walmart/k-mart/cheapo bike stickers and place them onto the frame. This will hide the true value of the frame. Now i need to find out where to buy some decals of poor quality bikes. Any ideas??

:D :) :D
Easy solution. Go to the local school/university. Steal some suckers Huffy, Roadmaster, or Pacific that's locked to a bike rack. (You may have to bring tools to break the lock). When you get the bike home, peel the stickers off the POS and superglue them onto your Ti masterpiece. Now, nobody will want to steal your bike, unless they want your stolen sticker for their own bike.

The beater thoughts were just thoughts, no one knows what is going on in the mind of another person so thus the thoughts. But now you have cleared up that it seems the way you want to go is the best way to "camouflage" your bike. So now it becomes an issue of locks. I would probably use 2 different kind to frustrate the thief as much as possible. My first choice would be the Kryptonite NY Fahgettaboudit that is expensive and heavy but it's nearly impossible to defeat and it should cover both rims and frame. The second would be the Masterlock cuff lock and would be optional depending on where I lived. This combo would create some serious probs for any thief. Or you could take a cheaper route and lighter route and get the Kryptonite NY 3000 lock and combine that with the thickest cable lock like the Krypto. Gorgon that uses a 15mm thick cable, but realize cable locks are the easiest to overcome.

So now Gomer has to ride around with 15-lb bike lock cracking his spine just to prevent getting his 15-lb Ti bike from getting stolen? Brilliant.

Microcephalic... stealing?? Dude, that's exactly what I want to prevent. Why would I want to do that to someone else?

BTW in your respone to another thread of mine about raising handlebars supergluing a mitred piece is unsafe. Kudos for creativity though.

Rust paint. That's what i am going to use. I found this metallic paint that actually has iron mixed in it. This paint is made to rust. You can leave it wet and it will rust naturally or you can put a solution on it to rapidly accelerate the rusting process. Its expensive for paint though at $30 canadian for the paint and the rusting solution.

it won't actually cause a steel bike to rust will it?

I don't know if anybody has suggested this yet, but in case not, here goes: NYC lock and a u-luck for your front wheel-to-frame lock up. The NYC lock is essential.

it won't actually cause a steel bike to rust will it?

it may I am not sure. if you have a barrier of paint below the rust paint it should be alright but if you have any scratches where the steel is showing it may accelerate the rusting process. The stuff chips off really easily too so I am not completely sure i will stick with it either.

I know that Kryptonite locks are popular, but certainly this is not the only alternative. I have been eyeing two locks at my local bike shop:

"Original Stocks Lock" - http://www.stocksmfg.on.ca/

"The Wedlock" - http://www.specialized.com/SBCEqProduct.jsp?spid=5274&JServSessionIdroot=fubo6z1wrs.j27004

Anyone have opinions about the effectiveness of these non-Kryptonite locks?

Why get long skewers/bolds for the front and rear wheel, drill a hole through the excess bolt, and put a lock through it? this would mean the theif could not get the wheels even if they had a wrench. Or, if you are happy with your wheels, LOCTITE. Also, Loctite all bolts if you are satisfied with them

Why get long skewers/bolds for the front and rear wheel, drill a hole through the excess bolt, and put a lock through it? this would mean the theif could not get the wheels even if they had a wrench. Or, if you are happy with your wheels, LOCTITE. Also, Loctite all bolts if you are satisfied with them

Have fun changing a flat with loctite on.

I am still having a hard time deciding which colour to paint the Ti frame to make it ugly. Any suggestions?

I primed my stripped down steel frame with white primer, and covered with flat black, no clearcoat. The paint job actually looks pretty good; however, in places where I have let tape touch the top coat, or where there has been excessive dirt and mud splashin on the frame, there is white primer showing through. I think a really lousy paintjob would be to primer a frame in white or some other bright color, then go over the top of the primer with some glossy paint, because a poorly done gloss paint job looks absolutely dreadful. You could even choose a dual tone paintjob like the pink and aquamarine paint jobs from the '80s. Then when it is dry, but not set up too well, put electrical tape on the paint in places. and rip it off. If the paint job is anything like my paint job, the paint will come off in rather unattractive chunks and lines.

Whatever you end up doing post a pict so we can check it out.

You want ugly? Check out my wretched bike over in the "pictures of beaters" thread in general cycling. Nobody's ever tried to steal it.

ABUS and mastelock make some good locks.

I use a 1.6 lb kryptonite mini. Its light and very effective. People may think i am a little too cautious re bike theft, but I have a full susp canondale and a klein stolen both in the last couple of years. I am building my dream bike (at least what I can afford) so i am being prudent as possible about hiding the value of my frame.

later dudes

http://austin.craigslist.org/about/best/wdc/25241160.html

my friend has had 2 super-cheap ugly looking freebie bike stolen within a period of 1 month... no bikes r exempt from bike thievery

Hey an silly idea came to me, why not beat the snot out of the bike with a hammer? I don't think many would be interested in stealing then.