joesmohello

Hello everyone. I'm new here and fairly new to bike commuting in general. I've used my bike for commuting before but only when it was convenient, i.e. nice weather, light outside, had a place to store the bike. I sold my car last summer and hope to never buy one again. I've got a 1996 or 97 Fisher X-calibur. Thanks to the help of all of the info on this forum I bought a Kryptonite NY chain with the EV disc lock, a Cateye LD1000, a Blackburn Mars 3, and a Cateye EL500 to get me started, along with some reflectors and reflective tape.

I'm moving to Santa Fe next week. According to some local bike stores the bike theft is not too bad there, especially since not many people use bikes as transport (I know, bad sign). The Krypto chain may be a little overkill but I figure I don't have to worry wherever I might travel to. As a secondary precaution I was thinking about "junking" the bike up by doing something like spray paint the frame black. It seems like it might be a bit of a PITA to cover the cables and components. Does anyone have any ideas on this for, against, or methods to use, what type of paint to use, etc.? I don't have a job yet so as far as where I might have to leave the bike, at what times, and for how long I won't know until I get there. I plan to keep the bike indoors when I'm home. Sorry for the long, slightly rambling post and thanks for any suggestions. I'm glad to have found such a great forum.

The Seldom Kill

If you're artisically inclined then get some acryllic paint and put a nice but unique design on your bike, preferably something personalised. After it has dried it's less of a hassle/mess than tapeing and doesn't add much weight.

Do you have quick release cables, if so remember to undo them whilst your roughing up the bike. Makes spray painting easy.

If you get to doing a spray job then just use car touch up paint, it's designed to meet the same conditions.

EuroJosh

You can always wrap your frame with electrical tape to ugly it up. No masking required.

jyossarian

I found that I junked my bike up pretty good just by tying the chain around the top tube and seat post and the constant locking and un-locking. My chain doesn't have a nylon kryptonite sleeve on it so the links knock off some paint and give it that care-worn, aged look. Riding in rain and mud and never cleaning it helps too. Also, keeping it near the kitchen will expose it to cooking grease which covers the rims quite well and makes it look even lovelier.

bigbikeforums

Those are some great ideas. I have to try that.

Bekologist

Banana stickers. Wrap bike frame with split inner tube strips to protect and fuglify.

timmhaan

that's a really good idea. next time you make fried chicken or bacon you'll be set.

swwhite

My Brother The Biker reports that home-made paint jobs don't hold up as well as the factory paint. He has painted some bikes, but I myself never have done so, so I can only report what I remember him saying, not what I know.

How about completely covering the thing with reflective tape? That would do the double duty of covering up its brand name, etc., and making it stick out in traffic on a dark road.

SpiderMike

Black primer AND 3m reflective tape. Apply the stuff until you and or friends see it and agree that it is fugly.

jyossarian

the grease adds a lovely golden-yellow color to the rims and works well to collect grit, dust, etc. that will be almost impossible to remove after a few years.

SpiderMike

Have you tried oven cleaner?

max-a-mill

with the kryrto chain you should be set; no uglification necessary.

but if you really want to uglify the easiest way is to ride often and clean never.

barba

i have heard that you can coat some of the frame tubing with a light wax (maybe car or floor wax) and then spray paint over it. ugly and theoretically reversible with careful wax removal. try at your own risk, i suppose. i would try it on a trashed bicycle frame from a dump first and keep it away from moving/lubricated parts.

joesmohello

Thanks for all of your replies, and for the speed of reply too. I like the black primer and reflective tape idea the best. Maybe I'll skip the black primer though, I'll let the idea sit for a day or two. If I can round up a digital camera I'll post photos when I'm done. Thanks again.

huhenio

Dont clean it ever again ... rub it with pork fat for sticking the dirt a little better.

truman

I commuted to work in SF, years ago. The place I worked let me keep it inside. Bike got stolen, anyway.

Reflective tape is a good dual-purpose uglificant. I also recently saw that Illuminite® paint is now available.

Paying attention to this up front is a good idea. I found it very hard to interest the SF police in looking into the theft, even though I had a good idea who the culprit was. Unfortunately, the culprit shared the surname of the mayor...

filtersweep

I don't get it... your bike is already almost 10 years old. It should already be junked up enough- esp. if it is a mtn bike. Just keep riding it... commuting wears down a bike faster than anything else.

joesmohello

filtersweep - That's because I've never really ridden it as a mtn bike. My old bike was stolen a few years ago. Between the insurance money and getting a good deal on an older model I got this bike for about $300. Unfortunately, due to circumstances through the years, like living in NYC and on a cruise ship, I didn't mtn bike much. Moving to Santa Fe now might very well change that.

folder fanatic

Don't be too lulled into not locking up your bike because someone told you that it is so safe. My experience tells me that no place in the United States or anywhere else for that matter, is completely safe to leave your bike locked or unlocked. If someone needs a ride, and your trusty steed is available, it will be considered by different types of bike thieves. The end result will be loss of your bike if it could be had. I don't think the theif is too interested in how it looks. If it has the 2 wheels, saddle, handlebars, and pedals to move, the color is very secondary. So don't bother with cosmetic reconstruction through paint or decals. Just protect your bike like the precious belonging it is to you.

Walkafire

Agreed.......Electrical tape does make it look like a beater...


I wrapped a couple places to hold my CatEye computer wires, thought of putting new Electrical Tape on, but it would look tooooo good

I also have scratch marks and yellow paint from locking it up against Parking Signs and Parking Lot Lights (they have those Yellow cement bases)

chipcom 

For Santa Fe, just the lock should be enough to keep your bike from being stolen, uglification will have little effect in "The City Different" anyway. One person's ugly is another person's art.

DCCommuter

I find that riding every day on city streets in all weather and parking outside uglifies my bikes quite quickly. One rainy day and any bike looks used; one snowy day and any bike looks like a dumpster find.

Why does everyone think that reflective tape is ugly? It makes my bike look better...

tokolosh

i rode mine for several weeks before i noticed the ups sticker and price tag were still prominently stuck to the seat post. "$129.99" in big bold letters might have helped with theft-deterrence, but i couldn't take the shame and i peeled it off.

mycoatl

Why not save yourself a step and just paint the bike with reflective paint? There are several kinds available in all the usual colors (yellow, orange, white) and you can even find the good highway-grade stuff online. Alternatively, Krylon makes a clear reflective spraypaint. You could do the black thing and overcoat it with the Krylon, then you'll have a black bike by day and a white reflective bike by night.

Artkansas 

For junking up a bike, that doesn't matter. That just adds more chips and nicks all the faster.