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Have you ever had a bike stolen? How do you secure your bicycle?

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View Poll Results: Have you ever had a bike stolen?
I've had one bike stolen
14
46.67%
I've had more than one bikes stolen
5
16.67%
I've had no bike stolen
11
36.67%
Voters: 30. You may not vote on this poll

Have you ever had a bike stolen? How do you secure your bicycle?

Old 08-22-11, 12:48 PM
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Have you ever had a bike stolen? How do you secure your bicycle?

Not to create too many threads, I've put 2 topics in this one, as you can see in the title.
Me, I've been lucky, never had problems with bike theft. I secure it with two non-armoured cables and, with a steel jacketed one.
EDIT: Sorry, by mistake I've created a duplicate thread...I'll ask staff to remove it.

Last edited by Paranoid.Guy; 08-25-11 at 01:18 PM. Reason: update post; I'm not using my vulnerable U-lock anymore
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Old 08-22-11, 01:01 PM
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I almost did. See my post in General section about lessons learned on a bike.
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Old 08-22-11, 01:02 PM
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I ride older bikes if I am going to somewhere that I need to lock up.

I use a home-made chain lock: 3/8" grade 70 transport chain (hard to cut) in an old mountain bike inner tube (protects bike) with a high-security padlock (hard to break/cut).
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Old 08-22-11, 01:05 PM
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my bike security measures, in order of preference:

1. get the bike off the street and indoors. i'm lucky to have a locked basement storage room at my job where i'm allowed to stash my bike during the day. if i'm visiting family/friends, they're all cool with letting me stash my bike in their garage/basement/porch/balcony/etc.

2. if there's no indoor storage for a full size bike at my destination, i'll bring my folding bike if it can be brought inside and stashed somewhere.

3. if i'm forced to street lock, i try to find a visible, well-lit, spot, preferably with other bikes and lots of pedestrian activity, and i'll lock the bike to an immobile object with an Abus folding lock and a cable lock.


i've never had a bike stolen, but living in a city like chicago, it's only a matter of time, which is why my expensive road bike is NEVER left alone on the street. the only way to really secure a bike is to not let the bike thieves have a chance to get at it.
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Old 08-22-11, 01:05 PM
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I left mine outside of a store, unlocked for a few minutes while I ran inside. It was gone when I came out (Sonabetch). And, this was on a military post outside of the bigger PX on post.

Learned the lesson: In low-risk areas, the cable goes through the wheels and the frame. Medium risk: Gets locked to something immobile, through the tires and frame. High Risk: Goes inside with me, or I just don't go there.
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Old 08-22-11, 01:07 PM
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I've never had a bike stolen because I never leave it unattended. Of course, now that I've said this, my new Felt will be stolen.
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Old 08-23-11, 12:49 AM
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had a new department store bike stolen from my highschool once. Was my fault for having a nice bike with a crappy cheap combo lock. I'm assuming the thief figured out the combo since the lock was gone as well.

Now even my beater bikes are locked with a heavy U-lock and cable.
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Old 08-24-11, 02:31 AM
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Well, of the bikes I've had stolen.

As an adult, one was in a locked garage. One was chained to a post on a corner with 4 cops on duty. I was riding one at the time.

As a teen, I left one unlocked for just a minute while I went into the store. As a child one was stolen from outside a swimming pool and later recovered. One was stolen out of the bike racks at Elementary School. Out of hundreds of unlocked bikes, they chose one that had been painted with housepaint, with a broken down saddle. but it did have apehanger handlebars.
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Old 08-24-11, 09:44 AM
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I moved , college towns have a market for stolen bike parts.

of course , now, Ebay And CL let things be sold around the world , once stolen.
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Old 08-24-11, 10:01 AM
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No bike stolen.
At home: parked in my garage.
Commuting to work: parked in my office.
Stopping by stores and shops: cable lock through frame and wheels to fixed object near entrance.
Restaurants: cabled to fixed object, near window where I can see it if possible
Bank: bring inside, no good place to lock it outside
LBS: bring inside

Take the lights and bags with me.
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Old 08-24-11, 02:51 PM
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<<< Have you ever had a bike stolen? How do you secure your bicycle? >>>

Yes...a Fuji Touring IV....sigh. It was the rig my budget would allow at the time. That was fifteen years ago and I STILL cry myself to sleep.

Anyway...

I store my rigs inside the house, behind two locked doors.

I have a custom heavy steel frame in the truck and use two cable locks and a home-built double chain thing with two different locks. In addition, I limit 'exposure' to theft in parking lots and when in dubious environments, I stuff the whole rig into the cab and lock it to the steering column.

Yeah, I like my bikes.

By the way, nothing focuses your attention to the ease of theft like watching the efficacy of a $70 angle grinder mounted with a $1.80 cut-off wheel. Truly sobering.
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Old 09-02-11, 01:49 AM
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Found some tips on bicycle security:
https://itbhawaii.com/articles/cyclin...and-out-62.htm
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Old 09-02-11, 04:05 AM
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Originally Posted by Steely Dan
my bike security measures, in order of preference:

1. get the bike off the street and indoors. i'm lucky to have a locked basement storage room at my job where i'm allowed to stash my bike during the day. if i'm visiting family/friends, they're all cool with letting me stash my bike in their garage/basement/porch/balcony/etc.

2. if there's no indoor storage for a full size bike at my destination, i'll bring my folding bike if it can be brought inside and stashed somewhere.

3. if i'm forced to street lock, i try to find a visible, well-lit, spot, preferably with other bikes and lots of pedestrian activity, and i'll lock the bike to an immobile object with an Abus folding lock and a cable lock.


i've never had a bike stolen, but living in a city like chicago, it's only a matter of time, which is why my expensive road bike is NEVER left alone on the street. the only way to really secure a bike is to not let the bike thieves have a chance to get at it.
I've had three bikes stolen and one bike partially stripped:

1. My first two-wheeled bike ( a red Viking Cruiser) was stolen out of my unlocked garage when I was nine years old.

2. Its identical replacement was stolen outside of a grocery store, just 2 months later.

3. My Gold Korean Racer was stolen when my dad's truck was stolen from our garage when I was a teenager. They must have just tossed it in the truck bed.

4. My current Nishiki's front wheel was stolen when I parked it outside of the downtown library. - The bike was locked. The quick release wheel was not!


Steely Dan has the best plan! +1

I have several bikes. Whenever I am going to a risky area, where my bike will be unattended for over an hour, I always ride my oldest (but favorite riding) bike, my Nishiki Sebring. I place my crappy ripped up seat on it and lock it with the On Guard Beast.

Whenever I tour and have to secure my bike overnight, I'll lock my "new" old Giant Innova up with the On Guard Beast and a thick chain that has a large Master Key Lock.

My new Raleigh Grand Prix will never be unattended while outside my home. It however, will still be locked inside of an old broken down 1985 Ford, that is locked inside of my garage. My garage is attached to my home. My home is protected by an alarm, a pitbull, and an arsenal.

PS.

The Grand Prix is chained to the Ford's Steering Wheel.

My Aluminum Trek 7.5FX is in the unlocked laundry room, propped up on its kickstand, and unlocked. I guess it's still in there collecting dust...

Last edited by SlimRider; 09-02-11 at 01:43 PM.
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Old 09-02-11, 07:35 AM
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