Great way to decrease bike theft!!
 

I just bought a Ti frame on ebay. I have been thinking of ways to decrease the chances of my bike getting stolen as I use it to commute everywhere. My plan: give the bike a mediocre paint job (flat black) so that the bike paint will chip and scratch easily. Also, buy a set of walmart/k-mart/cheapo bike stickers and place them onto the frame. This will hide the true value of the frame. Now i need to find out where to buy some decals of poor quality bikes. Any ideas??

:D :) :D

e-bay

Even beater bikes get stolen. It may be that a beater is even more tempting to steal since it doesn't look like it would be as badly missed by the owner and it would not be as conspicuous to ride.

The advantage of a beater is not so much that it won't get stolen as it is less heartache when it disappears.

You might be better off with a good lock and careful selection of when and where you leave the bike. 'Security by Obscurity' is the lowest form of protection.

Besides, who wants to trash out a nice new frame?

Mine Stays Home
 

I have a Ti frame. It stays at home when it comes to commuting, I ride the ’88 Trek aluminum and I don’t even leave my bike outside.

I already use a cross lock combo with beefy ulock and cable and am very aware of where to lock. what's the point of having a bike if i dont ride and leave it at home? also, i understand the logic behind riding beaters but i prefer to ride a nice bike, but just make it look like a beater. That's the idea anyway ;)

Veganheart, I can see why you'd like to ride a nice bike to work. I also agree with others that it would be a damned shame to paint the frame with ugly paint.

The bike is worth the best you can provide. Can't you find indoor parking? I'm looking at mine right now as I type. A thief would draw back a nub! :D

>>>>Also, buy a set of walmart/k-mart/cheapo bike stickers and place them onto the frame. <<<<

Why not just buy the Walmart/K-mart cheapo bike instead? That's what I commute with sometimes. That bike has been outside 24/7 for almost 1 year and I use it to commute 1.2 miles per day after I get out of the train station. In fact, I haven't ridden the junker in almost 3 weeks and it's still there just waiting for me. I'll probably ride the junker next week when the morning temperature goes above 32F. I don't ride below 40 degrees but my junker stays outside regardless. There are tons of cheap toy store bikes that live on the streets of Manhattan all the time so I'm not worried. If the bike gets stolen tomorrow, it's paid itself off. The good thing about a toy store bike is that it rusts so badly that it looks worthless within a short time.

If your commute is less than 3 miles and there are no major hills, these toy store bikes are fine. It's basically a single speed today and the only thing I've had to replace are the tires and the front brake. I'm begining to think my Pacific toy store bike is indistructable.

Acrylic paint is easier to remove if you want to later, don't forget to disguise the dérailleurs etc.
lose the accessories, I don't have a bottle cage, tool bag etc.
(I find a bike rides WAY better with 5lbs of junk off and the full waters are on my back in pack.)
Some nasty looking old grips and duct tape the seat ;)
Carry an photocopy of receipt and register with police ( the bike police are probably going to ask about the 'stolen paint job' ) well- if they are doing their job.
I have partial primer and black scratched areas, removed dérailleur decal and a roll of red hockey tape on mine. :rolleyes:
I kinda like an ugly bike, fun when you pass someone on a posh.
The one thing I have to do is stop carring the bike with one hand- a give away that it is light.

Jeff is thinking along my lines. Biking is the only way I get around so I want to ride a decent bike. My commutes can be long and short, depending on where i am going of course. Pardon the analogy but its like driving an old buick with 600 horsepower. Thats the idea. Part of me wants to show off the nice shiny Ti frame but my priority is to reduce bike theft and besides good locks and careful "parking" I think uglifying and disguising is the best bet. I like Jeff's idea of primer paint; it looks bad plus it shows the dirt.

I have a question along the same lines as veganheart. When is comes to making a bike less than desirable looking, would covering the name of the bike with tape not be a giveaway that the bike is of good quality. Whenever I see a taped up bike I always take a second look to try and figure out what make it is because I assume it is a good bike.

What about "personalizing it"? Sure just making it look beat up and taped up and scratched up is one thing, but not a guarantee as some here think of safety from theft. One beater almost can look like another, as a nice bike can look like another. Put on some personal stickers and paint in a unique way, so that your bike wont be confused with any other. And if you ride the same route every day, and get to know people along the way (I know this is not as given as that comment makes it seem), or at least your co-workers, neighbors at home and work, etc will know your bike from a truckful of others, and they could help spot it even, and the cops would have an easier time spotting it as well. I guess there is still a time factor here, as the thief could repaint and deisng themselves. But I still think the uniqueness of the design, paint, stickers, could be a deterrant.

Engraving designs into aluminum parts? (nice geometric)
Would stop some stealing for parts.
Ummm...when you replace parts buy unusual colored or one of a kind bits.
Replace parts with high-end used with cosmetic wear marks.
Replace quick release with bolts.
Rust paint is good to hide ti- or get some aluminum series stickers.
You can make stickers using your printer, buy a few sticker backed sheets of paper (copy shops sell individual)
print your stuff and several coats of a water resist clear spray paint.
Here's an idea for a sticker "go steal a car instead *******!" :D

What does this have to do with hiding Ti or customizing to prevent theft?
Maybe we could put those 60+ teeth chainrings you want on the bike and if someone steals it, you can walk up to them while they are struggling to turn the cranks and PUSH THEM OFF. :p

I think that the level of protection that you need depends on how safe your city is. In New York City, your bike wouldn't last long outside of your sight. Here, I don't even lock my bike all the time, and have never had a problem. In a lot of places, a bike just won't be stolen if there is a U lock on it, or any lock for that matter.

I know I sound like a broken record but have you ever thought of a 20" wheeled folder which you can bring inside with you? Dahon is one good brand.

Jeff Williams idea of Aluminum stickers intrigues me. If I just bought Al stickers and put them on w/o painting I wonder if people would know its really Ti? Its probably better to paint as shiny Al is still not ugly and possible to get stolen.
I saw this high-end bike the other day in a bike rack and he did what I want to do. The base colour was blueish but he had sprayed silver where the tubes connect and then lightly misted other areas with the silver over blue. Quite effective.
I am thinking I will paint either Brown or Flat Black. Which is the UGLIEST possible colour for a bike??

Try brown like the bianca B.U.S.S. Not a nice colour.

I have a sticker that says "Bike theft= bad karma" on my bike. I'm not sure it's enough to dissuade bike thefts, so I also use a lock...

Flat steel grey then rust paint brown topcoat.

Green scrubbies are good for removing annoying corporate logos from parts. ;)

I took my downtube decals off yesterday with a product called 'goof off' which dissolves sticker sticky stuff.

The 3m reflective tape stuff is good to use as it is soo hard to remove from the frame (cracks as you TRY to peel it off.)

If you have artistic leanings- how about a funny custom job?
I wanted to find those rubber flower stickers that old people put on bathtubs and wrap them around the frame.

Anything that makes it look like too much work is a good deterrent I guess.

My frame doesn't have rust, but it looks like I'm doing rust prevention.
Eventualy when the paint is all stripped I will patina the steel with chemicals and acid etch graphics into the metal.

I don't think Ti and alu look that different, but a good frame is design and weld and that's harder to hide.

I shouldn't worry so much, my bike is older chromo- but I love the ride, wicked hand build and since it weighs under 20, I may have a hard time catching someone riding it away! :mad:

I am still having a hard time deciding which colour to paint the Ti frame to make it ugly. Any suggestions?

I know there is a colour called monkey puke. Doesn't sound too pretty.

You gotta check 'em out before you buy. I got a nice old Raleigh 12 speed that needed only minor fixup from the Salvation Army Thrift store and its now my daily commuter ride.

In fact, it's so nice I keep buying new this and that for it - just to make it a little nicer - that I may soon worry about leaving it by itself all day.