El Cid

This actually seems like a really great idea. Making your bike nearly impossible to strip would make it less of a target, but I suppose a thief might not discover such a thing until after he or she already has your bike.

I also use a pocketfinder in the best hiding spot I could find. It might be found and discarded, but its uncommon enough that I don't think a thief would look for it. If my bike goes missing I'll track that thing down -- and I'll be packing.

achoo

You should just buy 'em online somewhere for less and show 'em a copy of the receipt.

jyl

I like the idea of packing the allen head with putty. Smooth it out, apply a black or silver sharpie, and the typical tweaker may not even realize there is an allen socket under there.

I've heard of people gluing ball bearings in the socket, but I can't figure out how you ever remove those when you need to?

PaulRivers

Apparently, you do something like soaking it with nail polish remover, which neutralizes the glue, or apply a soldering iron to it, heat it up and the glue will melt.

Protects from quickly stripping parts off the bike, as someone who would invest that kind of time to steal parts could probably just break the lock and steal the whole bike in that amount of time anyways.

wolfchild

That's exactly what I've done and later on I decided to change my handlebars... It wasn't easy to remove all that hardened putty out of 7 allen head bolts...I still think it's a great solution, cheap and simple...Any thief would be better off to just cut the lock and take the whole bike.

JohnJ80

I think it would be a huge hassle to dig that crap out of the allen head when you're sitting on the side of the road with a flat. Other than that, it's a great idea.

I think with the ball bearing, if you get a big enough one, you can even just stick it in with some grease. If the fit is tight, you could get it out easily enough with a paperclip but it would frustrate pretty much any thief who's in a hurry. I think what you might do is just get some fastener that is not a typical bolt head for a bike (i.e. allen, torx, etc...) and that would be fine because there would not a tool to make it work and a thief would see that and just move on to the next one.

Some of the cheaper pitlock style skewers can be done in with a vice grips that grabs onto the bolt head. That's a pretty easy defeat. But, again, the thief has to carry yet another tool to make it work.

I guess, for me, it's not just about the cost of the pitlocks, it's about the aggravation and time necessary to replace it. So even if the pitlocks cost what the bike did, then it's still a good idea.

As always, the issue is to make your bike a bigger PITA to rip off than the others around it. That's not too hard in my experience. Most people don't take the time to lock their bike correctly.

J.

Rudz

Pinhead locks, u lock plus cable. I think I'm good.

I wish the European lock sets were cheaper but you get what you pay for.

But after shipping and VAT charges plus exchange rate, it's a big hit.

jyl

I was thinking you'd do the putty thing on seat post binder or seat clamp or racks - stuff you never need to remove in a hurry.

Medic Zero

What kind of locks are you talking about?

Rudz

Pitlock & Atomic22, there is another German one I forgot as well that uses coded combination locks

JohnJ80

Got it. That would work.

My #1 worry is the wheels since on my kid's bikes they are the vintage late '80's 6 speed hubs. Also, no matter how much I carp about it, they tend to lock the frame and not involve a wheel with their U lock. So far, the Pitlocks seem to do a solid job at discouraging theft. I don't even worry about it anymore - it's been two, going on three years.

Until I bought a full set of Pitlocks for my dauther's bike including the seat post bolt, I never really worried about it and it wasn't a problem. That said, she has a nice seat on her bike, so it's worth it.

J.

rushbikes

Anyone know where I can find security torx bolts online, preferably somewhere I don't need to place a bulk order? I emailed bicyclebolts but they haven't responded.

fietsbob

But there is no VAT on exported stuff , even bought in the local shop you can ge paperwork to get the VAT rebated ,

by having a Customs stamp when you Leave the EU.. say at the airport or ferry terminal .. then mail it back..

Cyclosaurus

You could use threadlocker red on your bolts. The only way to remove the bolt is to heat it up to 500°F.

ModeratedUser

[h=2]Anyone replace the bolts on there bike with torx or security torx bolts? [/h]
Yes I've done that. First of all I've looked at your Pinhead setup and even though I like (maybe) the skewers, the other locks kinda look bulky. What I did was replace some bolts with security torx bolts. As has been already been pointed out, this doesn't stop someone that is REALLY prepared, but it does make the thieves move on to something easier. This kit made my shifters, handlebars, fork, handlebar stem, and seatpost (kinda the seat too) secure. Far more secure than what Pinhead does and with a more clean look.

The reason I brought this dated thread up was I got a hit looking for skewers. I am looking for SIMPLE, read clean, skewers that are security torx heads on it. Anybody seen this?

JohnJ80

We had pinheads on a bike and my son lost the key. I removed them with a pair of pliers about as fast as I could have removed a quick release. Pinheads are junk.

Saving Hawaii

A determined thief can improvise for a lot of obscure bits with the largest Torx bit that will fit and a hammer. Drive that sucker in and the splines bite. But also a lot of these guys have the non-bike bits because they also rip apart homes for copper pipe and whatever else they encounter those there.