Banzai

We commuters lock up our bikes like the responsible people we are. We utilize proper techniques, and invest in good equipment. However...

Since I got my Brooks B17, I have this recurring fear that one day I'll come out to my bike to find the frame/wheels/etc securely fastened in place, but my lovely saddle gone.

Perhaps because I consider it to be one of the finest additions to my bike I'm a little bit concerned that thieves will think so too...

I could start running a cable through the seat rails...but by the time I'm done securing everything my bike will be festooned with cables and chains. Not ideal.

90% of the time my bike goes into work with me, and I don't even need to lock it up. It's those %10 "other" trips that I worry.

Anyone ever come out to find just their saddle w/ seatpost boosted?

eubi

No, never.

Can you take the saddle and seatpost with you?

Mark the height on the seatpost with a Sharpie.

One lever does the trick.

Problem solved!

San Rensho 

I don't think Brooks saddles are very high on thieves lists. In fact, it will probably identify your bike as a fuddy-duddy bike and actually make your bike less prone to theft.

If you are really worried, get an allen bolt for the seat post binder bolt and super glue/gorilla snot a ball bearing in it so no one can put an allen key in it very easily.

Dead Extra #2

If you are worried because it has a quick release, just put a regular bolt in it.

Caspar_s

How long have you had it? I was the same, but now I go into the supermarket without worrying about it. It helps that my wife dropped my bike and it is now scuffed and no longer in that "new" pristine condition.

The other suggestion that crops up is to get a short length of bike chain and put it through the loops and seat stays and re-pin it. Maybe electrical tape it to stop it making noise. It reduces the impulse theft (how many people carry link removal tools with them?)

bmclaughlin807

Most of the idiots that I've seen stealing (Or attempting to steal) bikes wouldn't have a clue what a Brooks saddle was.. They're looking for something with some bling factor to it, usually... then again, there was a posting not too long ago about someone stealing a 20 year old, torn up, crappy seat and post, so I guess you never know. If I were to put the money into a new seat, and the time into breaking in a new Brooks, I'd certainly chain it, or otherwise lock it to the bike.

lyledriver

I put RTV sealant in my seatpost/binder bolts. You have to dig away at it for a couple minutes with an x-acto before you can get an allen key in.

This is just a bandaid solution until I get some metric torx security bolts, mind you.

jyossarian

I use the old bike chain wrapped in an innertube method to secure my Brooks. Your level of security varies w/ your paranoia/environment.

KeatonR

c'mon, most people have no idea what a brooks saddle is. you really think someone's gonna bother? i wouldn't.

it's only worth something to you, because you paid a lot of money for it. for most of the aveerage joes walking down the street, and among those, the people who would be inclinded to steal *anything*, a bike seat would be very, very low on the list.

Stacy

Guys at the LBS drool over my Brooks Finesse. They offer to hold my bike while I shop just so they can fondle the saddle. If thieves have the slightest inkling, they'll snap up a Brooks a heartbeat. Even if thieves don't know about Brooks they do know about leather.

Cosmoline

Simple solution. Wrap the connection between saddle and post and post and frame with lots of electrical tape. It's a slow and sticky nuisance to remove.

JoeUser

Really, it's only a matter of time before you get over it. The bike-chain-in-an-inner-tube-zip-tied-to-the-seatpost trick is a good lightweigh security measure because no thief carries a chain tool with them, and a chain is really pretty tough to cut with tools that could be concealed. If somebody wants it bad enough they will evntually get it, but it's just a replacable saddle in the end.

I-Like-To-Bike

Simpler solution: Put an opaque plastic grocery bag over seat, secure with rubber band or bungee cord. Also serves for weather protection. Nobody is that curious about bicycle seats.

tulip

bingo!

damian_

You could always weld the saddle in place.... or paint the leather bright kelly green!

Cyclist0383

Use can get a locking seat post bolt from Pitlock, but I just use a plastic bag. My wife uses the Pitlock.

Banzai

Sorry to bump my own thread, but I had to post this.

Less than a month after my initial post, a friend of mine this morning had his saddle and seatpost lifted. He goes inside to try to figure out what to do, and when he comes back out an hour later the entire bike is gone!

Unfortunately, he kept a spare key to his lock secured on the underside of the saddle, just in case. The saddle thief found it, and came back for the goods.

HardyWeinberg

another recommendation for combination locks, I see...

tsl

Apparently, you have a better class of thief in Utah.

Around here, bikes are stolen only for quick, disposable transport, or to trade for crack. Crack dealers don't differentiate much for bling or accessories, so pretty much anything easy to heist will do. Occassionally, if something looks abandoned, after a few days it will be stripped. There's a frame or two locked to parking meters around here. Wal-mart bikes, so I don't why anyone would bother to strip it.

The spare key thing, <shakes head>, like leaving your house key under the mat, or over the door, in the mailbox, or in one of the fake rock things.

I'm none too swift with keys, so my spares are in my backpack. That's a little harder to misplace and it doesn't tell theives which bike is mine. Which apartment, yes, but not which bike.

barba

I avoid the quick release and take it with you strategy. It is a pain to carry a saddle and greasy post around. I know myself and eventually would just leave it on and with the quick release it would be stolen for sure. An easier solution (popular on the fixed gear forum with folks in NYC) is to super glue a BB in the binder bolt. You can get it out with some work if you need to, but any casual thief with a hex wrench would likely not bother.

cashew

The kids around here love to steal seats and seat posts. Legend has it that it was originally done to harrass the Mormans who were on mission (I guess it was a kick to see them riding without being able to sit down). Then it escalated. When I'm parking my bike later in the day I lock the seat on with a small combo lock.

dustinvallier

When I was in college, I got my seat and post stolen, as did just about everyone else I knew. I heard from the guy at the LBS (two weeks later) that there was a small amount of money in selling stolen saddles, but I think it was more likely a domino effect. Someone's seat gets stolen, so they grab the seat off someone else's bike...

Anyway, they started selling seat leashes, basically just very short, thin steel cables that would stop someone who didn't have a cutter. I have one, somewhere in my parts box, but can't actually remember how it looped around the seat and frame.

Brooks or not, riding around for a couple of weeks with no seat (and no money) can be really annoying, which is probably where the seat-stealing rash came from.

vik 

OMG - that is so funny in a really sad sort of way. I hope he was insured or that it was a junker bike.

andrew2

I've had my seat and seatpost stolen. It wasn't attached by quick release - someone stood there with an Alan key and removed it. Now I have it attahced with a cheap cable lock to the frame.