Living Car Free - Securing the items you bring with you on rides

I've been car free for about a year. I'm finding the need to take more stuff with me on my rides.
I often take my laptop and laptop accessories on my daily trips, as I often work from a coffee shop with WIFI.
I also take with me items like water, headlight, maps, extra clothing (changing weather).
I've been getting away with fitting everything into a jumbo backpack.
While it's easy to add racks and storage systems to the bicycle for added capacity, its not easy to
secure the items you bring from thieves when you leave your bicycle locked up and its not always practical to take everything you brought with you on your ride or purchased on errands inside with you, especially stores.
I would like to hear suggestions from others on how to handle this issue.

Panniers for a rack are like a backpack for your bike; they can be removed and carried with you. Of course, you pretty much have to have a hardtail/rigid frame, full-suspension has VERY limited app for that.

I've always had a soft spot in my heart for the old-style baskets that kids used to use to deliver newspapers.

Most weekend trips, I can fit everything I need into a small messenger bag. That includes my laptop, my camera, my cell phone, mp3 player, purse, clothes and PJs, reading material, knitting, and outerwear. I buy the tiniest and most durable electronic toys I can, so I pretty much never end up leaving them on the bike. Tiny means carrying the toy is easy. Durable means I don't worry about it breaking. 95% of the time, I don't bring anywhere near that on a bike ride... I'm going out on grocery trips or library runs, and at most I might want my camera, cell phone and mp3 player.

My bike's lights are generator powered and bolted on pretty securely. A determined thief could take them, but if you want a light, bottle generator lights are about as useless as it gets.

I don't worry about leaving food and water on the bike. If someone is so desperate that they're willing to grab a pannier of fresh vegetables or someone's used Coke bottle full of water, they're welcome to it. I also don't worry much about household goods. A cast iron pan, french press, kitchen towels or folding laundry hamper (to name just a few things I've hauled by bike) are just not that useful if you're homeless or looking for stuff to sell for drug money.

The bike is easily the most pawnable thing I leave out. It is always double locked.

There are backpacks with built in safes, would those be suitable? You can usually just lock the safe and chain it to something to prevent it from walking off.

I lightened my load by taking out the "what if" items that I never actually used.

I take whatever I need in a backpack that has been converted to a pannier. When travelling to work, it's full of things. On a short recreational ride, it's considerably lighter. For grocery getting, I have a set of panniers. I take my wallet and maybe a cell phone either in my pocket or in a pannier. I do try to leave nothing on the bike, except maybe my ancient helmet and a water bottle.

I've never used one, but I've seen a lockable bike trunk. http://www.otivia.com/cargo_cache.html

The Quick Release (QR) system works best for me. Since I have using folding bikes now for over 6 years, I have been using a combination of snaps, zippers, Velcro (sew-in type), straps, and the like to secure the items on the bike and very quickly remove them when I fold up. This also works well when I use a nonfolding full size bikes too.

Example below using a non folding "mountain" bike:

Depends on the bike. I would look at the load you are hauling and see how much of it you really need. I got a way for years with just a medium sized front basket on my Raleigh 3 speed, I would dump my small back pack in the basket and ride on. My current city bike has a monster set of panniers on it that I seldom remove (PITA) I do have a small steel cable threaded through them to slow someone down. That bike doesn't get parked out of my sight for very long though. For the best versatility and capacity it is hard to beat a good set of quick release panniers and a rack.

Aaron :)

I use panniers on the rear rack and found I can carry lots of gear on days I need it. I have a waterproof pannier that I line with pieces cut out of a sleeping mat for my camera gear. I haven't brought my laptop on my bike but mostly because I live a few steps away from a library with wifi and coffee shops, so I've never bothered. I don't like to carry lots of gear because carrying the pannier is a pain in the butt. I need to find a waterproof pannier that can turn into a backpack for off bike walks when I bring my camera gear. I've seen waterproof panniers with shoulder straps but find them uncomfortable for long walks. I guess I can line a backpack convertible pannier with a heavy plastic bag.... but I'd hate to find out after a rainy bike ride home that it failed for some reason.

On the other hand, I wonder if there is a way of locking the pannier to the rear rack? That would be great.

I guess I can line a backpack convertible pannier with a heavy plastic bag.... but I'd hate to find out after a rainy bike ride home that it failed for some reason.

Use plastic trash compactor bags. I learned this when I had a motorcycle. I would keep these extra thick trash compactor bags handy for days when I thought there might be rain. They last longer than regular trash bags and are much harder to puncture.

For me, if the item can come off the bicycle without tools it comes inside with me.

Personal experience leads me to think that anything I leave on my bike while it's locked up will eventually be stolen. Since I almost always cycle with a backpack, anything that it would REALLY hurt to have stolen goes into the backpack and travels with me. Otherwise, during shopping trips with multiple stops (usually for groceries) I mostly just take a chance and hope nothing gets stolen. So far, so good. It helps that my panniers are cheap ones ($20) that I wouldn't miss too much if they were stolen.

I have THIS (http://www.topeak.com/products/Bags/MTXTrunkbagDXP) trunkbag. It has expandable panniers; they're smallish, but probably match the backpack in capacity. The bag slides off with a quick click (you need a Topeak rack). With the panniers up, it's small and easy to carry. With them expanded, you can still carry it, but it's bulkier.

I find many stores do not complain if I bring my bike inside. At a 7-11 or Starbuck's, I'll park it inside the front door. At a drugstore, I'll walk it down the aisles. One day, I just went for it, and I was surprised how little blowback I got.

Looking at this topic I pondered why cyclists are so often targeted for theft? I remember as a kid sometimes a bike was stolen from school but not all that often. If you had a simply U lock your bike was mostly safe at most stores. We all remember those long shackle key locks all stores used to sell that wouldn’t slow a bike thief for a minute today.

When I was working and commuting with a car I don’t remember ever having it broken into. I never even had a tire or wheel stolen. Someone got a hubcap once.

When I rode Motorcycles I lost a gas cap once but I never had a trunk of saddle bag broken into. But today bikes are like prime targets and if you leave something on a bike it most often gets ripped off. Also it seems as if MTBs and Flat bar bikes are prime targets but that might be because road bike riders don’t leave their bikes out of sight as often.

Still the question is why cyclists?

Looking at this topic I pondered why cyclists are so often targeted for theft? I remember as a kid sometimes a bike was stolen from school but not all that often. If you had a simply U lock your bike was mostly safe at most stores. We all remember those long shackle key locks all stores used to sell that wouldn’t slow a bike thief for a minute today.

When I was working and commuting with a car I don’t remember ever having it broken into. I never even had a tire or wheel stolen. Someone got a hubcap once.

When I rode Motorcycles I lost a gas cap once but I never had a trunk of saddle bag broken into. But today bikes are like prime targets and if you leave something on a bike it most often gets ripped off. Also it seems as if MTBs and Flat bar bikes are prime targets but that might be because road bike riders don’t leave their bikes out of sight as often.

Still the question is why cyclists?

It's a lot easier to steal crap off a bike, which has no locking doors or trunk?

In town, I usually ride with a rack trunk. I've got a couple of tools in there, my headlight and taillight, a light jacket and a notebook. If I want to carry my netbook, I can fit it into the rack trunk or more likely I'll use a small backpack. For bulky items, I've used a hockey equipment bag on my back. It's not pleasant, but for a few kilometres, it's doable.

On longer rides, if I need more than I can fit in a rack trunk, I've got good panniers.

In town, I usually ride with a rack trunk. I've got a couple of tools in there, my headlight and taillight, a light jacket and a notebook. If I want to carry my netbook, I can fit it into the rack trunk or more likely I'll use a small backpack. For bulky items, I've used a hockey equipment bag on my back. It's not pleasant, but for a few kilometres, it's doable.

On longer rides, if I need more than I can fit in a rack trunk, I've got good panniers.

I'm assuming that your trunk locks, and you leave items in it while you're off the bike?

Same question here Techman!

I don't like a lot of stuff on my bike. My bike is naked except for a Bicycle Magazine sticker, Scoot Magazine sticker, National Rifle Association sticker. I dont like wearing a back pack and I dont like panniers.
I would also be interested in knowing how others accommodate having a bunch of stuff (personal items) without looking overwhemed. I dont want to look like I have a bunch of stuff because I dont want to be robbed.

I love "fanny/waist packs."

I'm assuming that your trunk locks, and you leave items in it while you're off the bike?
Nope. I'll either leave things in it unsecured or I'll take the rack trunk off the bike with me.

Same question here Techman!

I don't like a lot of stuff on my bike. My bike is naked except for a Bicycle Magazine sticker, Scoot Magazine sticker, National Rifle Association sticker. I dont like wearing a back pack and I dont like panniers.
I would also be interested in knowing how others accommodate having a bunch of stuff (personal items) without looking overwhemed. I dont want to look like I have a bunch of stuff because I dont want to be robbed.

I love "fanny/waist packs."
How do you get your groceries home?

There are lockable hard shell rack boxes, and you could fashion a lockable trunk for a trailer. But these are still fairly low security. I would ALWAYS bring the laptop with me if it was on the bike. For items of low value to a thief such as food I rely on the out of sight out of mind principle sometimes (other times just bring my bag in). Sometimes stores want you to leave a pannier or backpack by the register which I don't like doing but have done on occasion.

If you have a big load it kinda sucks but sometimes it involves planning ahead and figuring out which place to hit last as you will get the heaviest stuff last. Or if places are relatively close to home then doing them in separate trips where it might be more convenient together minus the leaving stuff unattended issue.

Roody:

Confession is good for the soul: I eat out most of the time (99.9%). I hate to cook.

:(

Roody:

Confession is good for the soul: I eat out most of the time (99.9%). I hate to cook.

:(
I ride my bike to the restaurant--and eat at places that are far away.