I've been doing the bicycle chain lock from my seat to my frame for while now. I was wondering if anyone knew of any more elegant options? I've been thinking about just having a welder put down a few tacks.

Don't use parts others Covet?

given its Brooklyn .. move .. ?
the old country, Breukelen NL . near Utrecht , might be Nice.

with a common seat post which is a tube stepped down to take a common saddle clip.
you could seek out a piece of cable make a loop in it over the saddle rail, run that cable
down thru the tube seatpost,into the frame..

then IDK, make another loop, then re assemble the BB so the axle goes thru that loop.

the water bottle boss bolt, can also be used to anchor something on the inside of the frame.

just use a longer bolt.

If you want an elegant option then way not use a Pit Lock ? Seriously... don't weld your seat post...Personally I just use a piece of old bike chain around the seat rails and the frame, I keep it wraped with black tape and it looks good.

If I were worried about it, I'd just stick a Torx head bolt in there (unless I needed a quick release, in which case a Save Your Seat Lock would be the ticket: https://www.saveyourseatlock.com/buy.html).



If I were really worried about it, Pitlocks.

Zefal makes a locking seat post quick release that is a lot more low profile than that one. I've never seen it online from vendors in the states, but stumbled across it when ordering some parts from Australia. IIRC it was about 15 bucks. Somebody must stock it though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTo1XfoPIvQ

I did it a bit differently. Didn't cut the heat shrink.

Just put some 6 cm shorter one, pulled chain through it, then heated it. I had 3 cm of chain left hanging out of the shrinked heat shrink.

I then put some 10 cm more heat sink over the shrinked heat shrink. Then I put the chain in place, locked it with the chain tool.

Only after this, I dragged the 10 cm piece of heat shrink over the uncovered part of the chain (some 6 cm was left exposed), and then heated that part too.

Yeah. I have a chain around my seat right now as well. I just think there needs to be a minimal approach to this.

This? I can't figure out how it works!

https://www.zefal.com/en/locks/81-lock-n-roll.html

Those are pretty nifty, they are quick releases that only release when the bike it upside down. I have a set on my wheels.

They aren't the most secure thing, but they will do plenty to stop the casual thief, and unlike most other security skewers, they can't be opened with needle nose pliers and a few flat screwdrivers.

Opening a saddle QR while the bike it upside down might be awkward though.

locking wheel and seatpost skewers.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/LOCK-N-ROLL-...item58985a918a

Oh, that's interesting! I guess that'd work pretty darn well since the bike would be locked up and unflippable anyway. Very clever!

When I first read they blurb about how they worked, it said the bike had to be vertical, which was confounding me.

This type I don't like, because if you lose the stupid key lever, or just don't have it with you, you're screwed. Same with Pitlocks, although I have at least some faith that Pitlocks, as a company, would be responsive to a call for urgent help.

Whatever the case may be, I'd be awfully pissed to be inconvenienced at all when wanting to remove my wheels or seat, so like I said, I just don't want to risk it with a system that requires a special tool that's easily misplaced or fumbled and dropped down a sewer grate or something.

understandable I suppose. Do you have a set of car keys or a house key?? how often do you misplace fumble or drop them down a sewer grate??

That would be approximately once a month, and every 5 years.

No, but seriously, I find it easier to remember my keys than the odd tool, and I just don't want to carry around too much stuff, particularly bulky stuff. Even if that key lever is designed to clip on a key ring, I think I'd chapped having to carry it around all the time when I mostly don't need it. I suppose you could throw it in a bag, but with my luck, the day I need it, that'll be the day I don't have my bag!

Of course for a seatpost, not having a tool to remove it usually isn't a crisis. Wheels would be another story.

All that said, I don't use a QR on my commuter seat post, just a simple allen bolt. That's enough for my needs, thankfully. And yes, I have been in the position of not having an allen wrench! Aarghh! Man, if only there weren't thieves...!

I was just giving you a hard time, sorry

No need to be; it was all in fun!

FYI, Pitlock type systems don't work. You can defeat them within 10 sec.

Well, damn. If they're gonna go that far, why not just steal the whole bike?

The thing is you only need a simple hand tool.

The instructions said to unlock it you can either flip the bike upside down or stand in on it's rear wheel. I've got full fenders, so I've never unlocked it vertically, but it works just fine when I flip it over.

I too thought it would be a little awkward, but surprisingly the seat didn't move when I unlocked it. I thought I was going to lose my placement, but for whatever reason it stayed in place, which was especially surprising because my rig is pretty heavy! YMMV

As I mentioned, Pitlocks can be defeated with a couple of flat screwdrivers, but it doesn't really matter. They are still more secure than a quick release skewer or standard bolt on axles because they discourage theft.

If you want your bike to be theft proof, you are out of luck, there has not been a security system made that hasn't been bypassed. However, it is quite easy to make your bike a little more theft resistant. Devices like Pitlocks, disc detainer u-locks and tamper resistant bolts all increase the amount of time a thief needs to spend to steal your bike (whether by tools, skill or just patience) and makes it a less desirable target.

Oh, I see. I didn't understand the process, and was imagining something like using a disk cutter to slice through the seat bolt. Thanks for clarifying that.

I do, however agree with Fuzz that essentially a little security goes a long (way in most cases). It all depends on how risky one's lockup scenarios are, and how risk averse that person is. Of course, I'm a guy who has had three bikes stolen in his lifetime thus far, so maybe I'm not the one anyone should be taking advice from!