Is your bike safe?

[rock star]

Hi there- I'm a student in industrial design and an advid bike junky. I'm seeking inovative ideas regarding bike security. If you would like to share your experiences with bike security, it would help in my quest to make cycling an even more enjoyable experience. Any and all ideas are welcome. The wackier the better.

[jstream]

Put a battery inside your frame with a switch in a concealed location... When you park your bike, flip the switch and turn your bike into a stunner. 10,000 volts running through the frame should deter just about anyone :-)

[Smorgasbord]

mmmm riveted brooks saddle...

[H23]

Bike security is not the job of the bicycle. The rider must provide security for the bike. If my machine is stolen its my own damn fault and not the fault of the lock, rack or society.

I'll do whatever I can to keep my bicycle from being stolen, but hey, if someone manages to steal it I hope they enjoy it and have a happy life together.

That said. Here's what I always wanted to do but have never had time to experiment with....

Is there some glue, epoxy or solder than I can put onto the head of an allen bolt to make it impossible for an allen wrench to access the bolt? This material would have to be able to be removed by prolonged heat or some solvent, but it should take more time than a thief cares to spend. This would be useful for protecting hot items like my cool fi'zi:k seat.

[catatonic]

I would go for a compact holding case for heavy bicycle chains (like the krypo NY lock, or 3ft avenir chain w captive shackle padlock), that is bike mountable...preferably have it be seatpost/toptube/seattube mount options. This would make it far easier for most to carry around a heavy chain lock, thus allowing more folks to enjoy the level of theft deterrence a locking system of that caliber offers.

I know I have a hard time carrying that lock around with me, since it's too small to go comfortably arund my waist...and it's too heavy to keep in a messenger bag for any trips over a couple of miles.

Kryptonite locking skewers are a great start to deter component theft (they lock both the wheels and the seatpost), as is opting to use anti-theft bolts on your stems and other areas. preferably use as many varieties of anti-theft bolt head patterns as possible...this will annoy the theif as much as possible, and an annoyed thief is usually going to back off and move on to easier prey.

Also consider accessories that are comepact and easy to take with you...such as going for a single unit headlight instead of a compact unit with separate battery. Even though the separate battery units are superior technology...they are not suitable for an urban stop and go environment where you have to unhook the battery and lamp every stop. Try to carry only one waterbottle, get a co2 tire pump or a compact stick pump, basically minimize the number and or sizes of the items you must carry. This will make it more reasonable to strip your bike of accessories at each stop, reducing likeliness of accessory theft.

Keep in mind any lock can be defeated one way or another...your just trying to discourage the thief as much as possible here...and the best way to do so is to force them to carry a very specific toolset if they want to steal your bike or anything on it.

BTW if you really want to get nasty, redo all the bolts on your bike with some third world country's bolt head standard, something SAE and metric won't work with...this will annoy the theif to no end since they wont even know what standard it is, let alone get the tools to steal any juicy bike parts.

[lt1aggie]

how about a cable that has a wire that runs through the cable and is connected to a small circuit. If someone cuts the lock, the wire will be cut too, and the shorted circuit will send a signal to a servo or something inside the bottom bracket that locks the crankset (or send a signal to do something else)

[operator]

Pack C4 into the frame with a vibration sensitive remote switch that can only be deactivated by voiceprint and fingerprint identification.

[boilermaker1]

The last man who was hanged in Illinois was a farmer who set a trap in a melon patch that killed a couple of kids stealing melons.

Terrible Tommy O'Connor, a cop-killer who broke-out of Cook County Jail, would'a been the last man hanged in Illinois if they'd caught him. They kept the gallows waiting for Tommy well into the 1950s.

A little off-topic but we all love a little history. ;)

[jarhead#42]

The only time my bike is safe is when Im not riding it :)
Jar

[DieselDan]

Ride a road bike. No one steals those things around here.

Quick release pedals?

[blue_neon]

The only time my bike is safe is when Im not riding it :)
Jar
that makes no sense?

[operator]

that makes no sense?

Lol.

[larue]

that makes no sense?
maybe he is accident prone.

[jfmckenna]

fixt gear

[John E]

The last man who was hanged in Illinois was a farmer who set a trap in a melon patch that killed a couple of kids stealing melons. ...

This reminds me of the story about another farmer faced with melon theft. As a deterrent, he posted a sign saying, "One of the melons in this patch is poisoned." The next day, someone else had written, "Now TWO of them are."

Back on topic, the only way to win the bicycle security game is to ride a beater whenever you are will need to leave a bike unattended at your destination.

[Dahon.Steve]

Here are some ideas.

1. A Kryptonite New York 3000 that weights less than 1 pound.

2. A Kryptonite New York Chain with an American lock that folds into the size of a stapler

3. A blanket that makes the bike invisible

4. An electric sensor that will page you on your cell phone should the bike start moving

5. A Bianchi Eros that folds into the size of a soda can

6. A Lo-Jack that fits my bicycle

7. A large bush that folds up into your pocket which can be used to hide your locked bicycle

8. A button that allows your bicycle in an instant to look like a 10 year old rusted Huffy with dual suspension.

[Laggard]

7. A large bush that folds up into your pocket which can be used to hide your locked bicycle


That's a good one. :) Thanks for the laugh.

I like the idea of some type of internal mechanism that locks the bottom bracket so that the cranks will not turn. Can't be too hard to design. There would be a key hole in the bracket so that it could be locked and unlocked.

[Raiyn]

Bike Lojack -now that's an idea!

[mindfrieze]

My beef is with quick-release skewers. I like the convenience of being able to quickly remove my wheels, but I find it annoying to have to lock/remove the wheels when I park my bike. I don't really want to switch to a solid axle & nut, and I don't think the batch of locking skewers currently on the market are able to properly fasten my wheel.

The cam design within traditional skewers allows you to exert a good amount of force when tightening the wheel. The existing locking skewers, though, are basically a little nut put on with a little wrench - you're not able to get any torque on it. I don't think you're getting the wheel anywhere near tight enough with this design.

As such, I'd like to see a 'cammed' key of some sort. either put the cam on the key or leave the cam in the skewer body and come up with a keyed lever for it. Does that make any sense?

[JoelM]

Does anyone know anything about the "Theft Protection" programs offered with some Krypto locks? I'm assuming that it's an insurance policy where you pay per month, but they don't offer much detail...

[operator]

Does anyone know anything about the "Theft Protection" programs offered with some Krypto locks? I'm assuming that it's an insurance policy where you pay per month, but they don't offer much detail...

Start your own.. thread...

[Shiznaz]

I would like to see a bike frame that has built in locks. It would be a purpose built commuter bike that quickly and easily locks both wheels to the frame (a lock or something on the downtube and seattube). The main lock could be a chain or handcuff type design, but the overall purpose of the bike would be to make it impossible to steal without killing the bike, plus you would never need to remember to bring your locks with you.

If you want a bike to confuse thieves you need to be really tall with like a 64cm old ass road frame with the seat way up and bars way down, turn it into a fixie, cover it with stickers and tape, put on clipless pedals like eggbeaters and make sure its brakeless. Even if they can get through your lock, theres no way they are riding that thing away.

[catatonic]

Or, just have a locking BB, fork, and wheel chucks. This will ensure that they have no choice but to carry it. this will drastically reduce likliness of theft.

Also a good idea is to offer a 1.5ft NY chain, along with a carrying system that fits on bike. That would compliment the above lockin setup perfectly.

[JoelM]

Start your own.. thread...
Oh, so sorry! Just thought I'd try to get my own question answered in an existing thread so not to clog up the forums. I didn't realize that threads that had been dead for two weeks were off limits for new posts...
;)

[alanbikehouston]

My beef is with quick-release skewers. I like the convenience of being able to quickly remove my wheels, but I find it annoying to have to lock/remove the wheels when I park my bike. I don't really want to switch to a solid axle & nut, and I don't think the batch of locking skewers currently on the market are able to properly fasten my wheel.

The cam design within traditional skewers allows you to exert a good amount of force when tightening the wheel. The existing locking skewers, though, are basically a little nut put on with a little wrench - you're not able to get any torque on it. I don't think you're getting the wheel anywhere near tight enough with this design.

As such, I'd like to see a 'cammed' key of some sort. either put the cam on the key or leave the cam in the skewer body and come up with a keyed lever for it. Does that make any sense?


I have seen a review for exactly this key of locking "quick release" skewer. I can't remember if it was on the "Bicycling" web site, or in a back issue of the UK magazine "Cycling Plus". A good inner city bike shop is likely to be familiar with it, as cities are the market for security devices.

I had assumed that a bolt on skewer was as effective at holding wheel alignment as a "quick release" skewer. I have bolt on skewers on all of my front wheels, and some of my back wheels. Recently, I noticed that the back wheels on two of my bikes were going out of alignment during rides. Putting the "quick release" skewers back on the wheels ended the problem. So, my own experience suggests that you are correct that a typical locking skewer might not hold the wheels as tightly as a quick release.

I used skewers with standard bolts. I would lose a key for a skewer using special keys. I figure most crooks are too lazy to cut the cable holding my front wheel, and then fiddle with a wrench to get one of my (mostly) cheap wheels. So far, so good.

[Daily Commute]

The only way to keep a bike safe is to keep it indoors or in a secure locker. As long as we are expected to "lock" our bikes out in the open, theft will be a problem. The most important thing an employer can do to be cycle-friendly is to let employees take their bikes inside. The next best thing would be secure lockers in a secure area. The same thing goes for businesses who want cyclists as customers. Let us take our bikes inside.

[operator]

Oh, so sorry! Just thought I'd try to get my own question answered in an existing thread so not to clog up the forums. I didn't realize that threads that had been dead for two weeks were off limits for new posts...
;)

Thread hijacking and necromancing. You killed two birds with one stone :)

[Raiyn]

Oh, so sorry! Just thought I'd try to get my own question answered in an existing thread so not to clog up the forums. I didn't realize that threads that had been dead for two weeks were off limits for new posts...
;)No your topic was unrelated to the topic of conversation. You should have

Performed a search to find the information (it's been discussed SEVERAL times recently) or
Started your own thread


Sarcasm from a newbie goes over like a lead balloon - keep that in mind. Have a Nice Day! :)

[alanbikehouston]

Hi there- I'm a student in industrial design and an advid bike junky. I'm seeking inovative ideas regarding bike security. If you would like to share your experiences with bike security, it would help in my quest to make cycling an even more enjoyable experience. Any and all ideas are welcome. The wackier the better.

The wackier the better? Well, a lot of the ideas that have been used to safeguard bikes over the past hundred years are pretty wacky. In Europe, a popular lock simply prevents the back wheel from spinning. It seems that in Europe, crooks are too weak to left up the rear end of a bike and wheel it off on just the front tire. And, Schwinn had the "wacky" idea of locking just the steering.

In the REAL world, the big problem is the bike rack. The best bike locks, such as the OnGuard Brute, are as strong as any five pound device can be. However, those locks are often used on flimsy bike racks, concealed off on a dark side of a building.

The ideal bike rack needs to be stronger than any of today's locks, and be shaped so that both the rear and front wheel can be locked with U-locks/D-locks directly to the rack. The racks need to be placed at busy, brightly lit, well guarded locations.

When I go to a restaurant or store that does NOT have a secure rack in a secure location, I go to the manager and ask to bring my bike inside. They often agree. When they don't, I take my business elsewhere.

An average lock, used on a high quality rack, at a secure area, is far safer than using three of the world's best locks, on a crummy rack, stuck in a back alley. We won't get better racks and better locations until we make safe parking a condition of where we spend our money.

[JoelM]

flame on!

[JoeTown244GL]

Remember you ask for “wackier.”

1. A seat tube containing LoJack (http://www.lojack.com/) or a GPS-cell phone device that will send you a Lat. & Lon. of its location and calls the cops if you can't. Heck, why not put OnStar (http://www.onstar.com/us_english/jsp/index.jsp) or something similar in the system. With miniaturized electronics and lithium batteries such a device may become reality soon.

2. Change Society: Death to Bike Thieves!

3. Bikes that can be folded into Calabi-Yau space (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calabi-Yau_spaces) until needed.

4. Biometric sensors sense your various signatures before allowing access.

5. Bikes that run away from a thief. Think small Segway components, a small battery, and a small AI.

6. Your bike senses its environment and tells you when it gets scared via cell phone or ESP.

7. Biometric nanobots that go for a bike thief’s groin.

8. Bikes that shape-shift into a lock that fits into a standardized receiver at public locations.

9. Bikes that hover out of reach above the parking area.

10. Bikes that don’t exist. Imagine a bike’s image could be equally in all spatial and temporal locations in time- space at once and be brought into this current spatial-temporal Cartesian point by manipulating the weak force’s parameters and projecting energy into mass. Only a device sewn into your Lycra shorts could coax the bike you pre-programmed into existence. The bike exists only momentarily. Then it flashes out of existence to balance the energy mass equation to be replaced with the same bike mass pattern in the same orientation going the same speed 1000 picoseconds later. Sure there is some programming and technical hurdles involved, but I’m guessing 3 years – tops – before it is perfected. Its hard to steal something that doesn’t really exist.

[Frank B]

10. Bikes that don’t exist. Imagine a bike’s image could be equally in all spatial and temporal locations in time- space at once and be brought into this current spatial-temporal Cartesian point by manipulating the weak force’s parameters and projecting energy into mass. Only a device sewn into your Lycra shorts could coax the bike you pre-programmed into existence. The bike exists only momentarily. Then it flashes out of existence to balance the energy mass equation to be replaced with the same bike mass pattern in the same orientation going the same speed 1000 picoseconds later. Sure there is some programming and technical hurdles involved, but I’m guessing 3 years – tops – before it is perfected. Its hard to steal something that doesn’t really exist.

Or maybe something similar to the horses in Monty Python's Holy Grain?