Is it silly to zip-tie a frog light to my handlebars? They keep getting stolen during the day. And I never remember to take them off/on. I love them bc they are small and sleek.

I hesitate to get a more expensive light that can be secured better - would that be a better option? I don't want something bulky and obtrusive.

Other options? Would a helmet light get stolen? I usually keep my helmet outside locked to my bike.

Thx!

Probably fewer thieves would steel your lights if they were zip tied down... but more than if you took them off.

A good way to remember to take them off, is to get expensive ones.

Or you can try these: https://sparse.cc/

I have dynamo lights . That is way too much work to steal.

I dunno. Where are you? Here in NYC I always take everything with me if it's not bolted on. People will steal anything.

+1

I have several LED lights, front and back. All of them have black plastic bases that attach to the bike. Each light can be removed from the plastic base via a clip or large thumbscrew. Even my cycle computer can be easily removed from its plastic base.

It is a habit to remove everything from those plastic bases when I get to my destination.

I take everything with me when I'm off the bike, unless I can see the bike from the restaurant, store, whatever. My lights clip on and off easily, so I leave the mounts on the handlebar and rear rack. I take the mini-pump too, but leave the water bottle.

And I never leave the helmet on the bike. Last time I did that, with a motorcycle that had a helmet lock, some idiot cut the straps to steal the now-useless helmet.

I always keep a thin, lightweight but strong cloth hobo bag, or a khaki canvas bag, rolled up and tucked under the cargo net on the rear rack. Holds all my bike stuff and there's still room for a couple of loaves of bread or other fragile stuff while shopping.

Only light I've ever had stolen was the one on my old Schwinn Varsity with a Union bottle dynamo (which was also taken). I never bother removing either my rear blinkies or the inexpensive battery LED headlight.

It's better to get one good main light on the front than several frog lights, because it's easier to take 1 light with you.

I've seen some niche bikes that have the light built into the bike frame.
If you use a dynamo light you need tools to remove the light, and you could make it harder by soldering over the screw head.

The only way to make sure your lights don't get stolen is to take them with you. Or, close to as good, have them built into the frame.

My rear light is bolted into my fender. And the front one is obscured by my basket. And dealing with the wires would suck, in my opinion. So far so good. Knock on wood.

If they don't have the correct Allen wrench the $15 Bell set I have from Walmart piques nobodies kleptomaniac lust.

Is there some way you can remind yourself to take your lights with you every time? Strap your keys to the lights, maybe? Of course, you'd have to remember to strap your keys to them in the first place. :-)

Personally I don't think zipties are much protection. Any pocketknife will defeat them.

My solution is, rather than buying expensive bike lights, to buy cheap but incredibly powerful small flashlights, and attach them to my handlebars with interlocking hose clamps, tightened by wrench (for security and also to eliminate rattling). My light is the same as this one, you can also find kits that include one or two batteries and a charger. The biggest cost component of lights like that is the battery, so expect a cheap kit to include a crappy battery. You can get a good battery for under $10, I got a pair of these to rotate between. A full charge will give me a week of commutes.

As others have said, get one good light. Just unclip it when you get off!

Bring your bike inside to your work.

Get a helmet light, and take your helmet with you.

It depends on where you are and how your local thieves operate. They only carry a few tools. They can probably clip zip ties easily. I don't lock my bike up often, and I only had one theft attempt. My dynamo-powered light is attached with a regular bolt to my fork crown with a 6mm bolt which has a regular 10mm nut. The thief didn't have a wrench. He twisted my bracket and failed to get the light. I was able to twist the bracket back into the original shape. This might not work out so well if I locked the bike often. On the other hand, I see bikes locked up in my neighborhood 24 hours a day, and the bolted-on lights don't get stolen. Weird. All kinds of components get stolen, but not lights. Bike thieves are not very rational.

Get a high voltage, high farad, slow bleed down capacitor.

Mount it to the seat tube and connect it to two bare wire ends near the light in question.

Charge it to 100V DC via bridge rectifier before leaving in the morning.

Lock bicycle someplace conspicuous.

Sit nearby and enjoy watching the $%5 %^@# #%^#^^% thieves knock themselves on their asses.

OK. Don't really do this. (But man it sure would be nice if SOMEONE would taser the living ish outta the scumbag thieving vermin.)

I have $350US worth of lights on a $150 commuter bike. I rarely forget to remove them.

You've obviously never been on youtube.


And part 2

haha almost perfect. too bad he didn't up the voltage and at least neuter them.

I have the Sparse - great marker lights and never stolen in Boston after 2 years. I keep a clip-on 500 lumen spot in my pannier to light dark trails. Good combo so far.

I have 15-17 dollars worth of 3-AAA powered Bell Radius? lights X2 and nobody bugs them, they install with an Allen wrench.


Like I said, simple, cheap, and the front light is mounted vertically on the handlebar, it can be moved around the bar 360 degrees as well so I can see the combination lock and other parts of the bike in the dark.


Turned out to be a good buy after all, once I got the upside down inserted battery tray of the first pair out and fixed back in.

Wait until you are in a hurry, forget all that and Aieeeeeeeeeeehhahahahaaaa

If you are having to replace it every other day, that would help me remember. I would set up a check list, that every time you get (off) or away from your bike, do you have every thing.