Hey bikers!

I am interested in hearing what you do to prevent your bike light from being stolen after you have parked and locked up your bike at work or at home or wherever...

Specifically, I am referring to the common compact, detachable USB rechargeable lights that are usually secured via a silicone strap.

Do yo find it annoying to have to unstrap and re-strap the light every time you commute to work? Is it so annoying that you tend to just leave it attached and hope that it is there when you return?

Also, I know there are detachable lights that you can just clip and unclip from your secured mount. This brings up my next and most important question: Do you ever find that people will steal your bicycle light mount?

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on this

I wrap my front light in a lot of black electrical tape. You would have to have a knife to get the tape off the light and bars. Not a full proof method but I still have a light.

I leave nothing on the bike when it is locked up. Water bottle and lights come off. Good lights are damn expensive and I will be damned if some thief is going to steal mine and leave me to ride home one night in the dark.

Commuted for 16 years and never had an issue.

I always take lights off a bike before locking it up. I do leave the handlebar mount on the handlebars and I have never had that stolen.

Take them off the bike. I thought that was pretty much the only option....

+1 - As others have said, if it's easily detachable - take it with you.

It's a hassle sometimes to remove then replace them, the hardest part is fishing them out of the bottom of a loaded pannier cause you forgot. But this much easier in my mind than to ride home in the dark.

I've never had a light stolen but I remove them except when I'm at home, at work it depends. Going into town, always. My wife, despite me telling her to, had then stolen that day.

I've never had the clamps stolen.

I don't think anyone would steal a dyno light, as you need a dyno hub or at the very least a battery pack hooked ontothe bike somewhere plus the wiring.

- Andy

I moved .. My Brompton comes into the Bar with Me..

I have TEN lights on my trike.

Takes them a Long time to figure out which one they want.

That's the only light I've ever had stolen - along with the bottle generator that powered it. Easily detachable battery lights I usually remove for the first few weeks when they're new. After that I figure I won't feel quite as bad if they're stolen so I leave them attached - so far they've never been taken.

i detach and re-attach, but if parking indoors in a residents bldg or at work, i'll leave them on if they're $30 or so. but otherwise, mine are too expensive :/

I remove my light, which takes about 3 seconds. Well worth the time considering that my light cost about $110. Leave my taillights on the bike though. Never had one stolen.

When I started commuting 5 years ago, I always took anything that's easily removable off my bike.

When I got to work this morning, I removed my headlight, tail light and computer. And helmet. Cannot remember ever leaving lights on the bike when riding to work.

I take my bike inside at work.

I don't leave anything that can be removed without tools.

I have a hub ready to lace up.
Still, looking for the light... where do you park your bike?

Anyway, I have a couple of those non-rechargeable silicone lamps... worth about $2 each (when new). The headlamp is a bit more expensive, but not too useful to somebody if I have the battery pack separate. (although replacements are easy to buy).

Most of my locking the bike is while out shopping, so 15 minutes or 1/2 hr at a time. I've had people comment about my leaving lights on my bike, but so far no problems. The bike is not locked outside at an apartment at night

I take my main headlight, my odometer and my water bottle(s).

Mine is bolted on with the fender. The dyno is in the hub.

I should probably get anti-theft lug nuts for the wheels, and one for the light/fender mount bolt in the crown.

- Andy

I may get flamed for saying this, but using lights especially the front light is a seasonal thing for me. I never run lights on my bikes full time. I usually remove my lights some time after winter when the days are getting longer during spring time and I don't put them back on until fall. I only use lights when I feel it's absolutely necessary. All my lights are cheap, I use PB superflash rear blinkys and for the front I have some cheap BLT lights...The only expensive lights that I have is my front helmet light which I use during winter time and I never leave my helmet on the bike when locking outside.

The only place I normally leave my bike is in front of a window where I sit in the same restaurant every week.
I leave everything on. At that time there are bikes all over the area. I don't take off my lights at short store stops either.

Mine was bolted on too. But I believe thieves have ready access to crescent wrenches. My lights that can be removed just by pushing on a little plastic clip have never been touched - maybe they considered it unsporting. I figure most theft is for the potential resale value and decent bike lights have become cheap enough that the street value of stolen ones is too low to bother with around here.

[FLAME] Even in Northerly UK, it still gets dark on summertime nights and we also get fog, mist and rain.[/FLAME]

Dynamo lights seem to be the most secure. I wouldn't credit any bike thief with knowing what they are, just that they are harder to remove.