OldTryGuy

After reading about all these awesome security devices I feel so inadequate regarding providing protection for my bikes since the cables I use are soooo thin. OH WELL.

kevindsingleton 

Your stories make city living seem to enticing!

RobbieTunes

At home, lock and deadbolt, watchdog, and Winchester.

On the road, inside the car at all times unless on a ride.

On a ride, nothing. Never out of my sight or more than a few feet away.

Farthest it gets is at organized ride rest stops. Period.

Cheap hybrids at the beach, a long cable lock for all 4 wheels & both frames....

rekmeyata

The weird thing about ANY lock, is that in less than 30 seconds using a battery powered angle grinder ANY lock is toast. And in some big cities thieves will cut locks in broad daylight with people mingling about and no one cares.

Here is one example but this guy is low tech he uses a power cord angle grinder: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPrx_xweneI
And this one was done with hidden camera with people everywhere and is a series of short videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbklkFuFk-4

Fortunately for me when I use to live in Los Angeles I could bring my bike right into my office as long as I got in before the rush of employees and left after the rush because I had to use elevators and security personnel didn't want a bike to be sharing space in a crowded elevator.

jamisFan

Nothing, it's always either inside my home or my office, except when riding.

I have it insured for the full value pass wheels and accessories, though.

rekmeyata

By insured do you mean through your homeowners insurance or through a standalone policy?

With a homeowners policy you have two choices, cover it through the standard provisions of the policy which is for replacement cost due to scheduled losses, or you can have the bike covered by a floater, or what's also known as a scheduled personal property endorsement, which will cover the bike against loss for anything up to the stated value of the bike for an average cost of about $50 to $75 a year on top of your regular homeowners policy, and if the bike does suffer a loss the insurance company doesn't charge you a deductible. And these floaters, which is what most people do for jewelry and art, will cover it even for stupid mistakes like forgetting to take it off your roof top bike mount and you crash it into a low overhang, as well a crashing it regardless who was at fault, but they won't cover sanctioned races...of course what they don't know won't hurt you!

Those stand alone policies are not worth the money unless you race it. They can easily charge you an average of $275 a year for a non racing policy, which means in 10 years it will cost you $2,750 (not including the usual inflationary rate increases, so it will probably be closer to $3,657), and not including the deductible of say $250 at the time of loss, which for you, or most other people, in my opinion of course isn't worth it since you park the bike at home or in the office which means it would never get stolen, and if it did somehow get stolen it's covered by your homeowners policy, so really the only thing you're paying for is crashing it. The average person might total one bike in they're lifetime in a crash, and if the other person is at fault their insurance will pay for the bike, so you're just covering an at fault accident or a hit and run accident which reduces the possibility of getting the standalone policy to ever payout anything on it your lifetime. All this means, and I hope you can see this, is that over the long haul you could have saved the money and bought a new bike for the cost of the insurance premiums.

With insurance of any kind you have to be a bit of a gambler, think of gambling at Vegas, the odds are in the house favor, and so it is with insurance, the odds are in their favor, if it wasn't insurance companies would be bankrupt or classified as non profit companies which they are not. This is why I don't cover my bikes because the last time I lost a bike was due to a crash and that was over 30 years ago, so I'm betting that I will never suffer another loss, and if I do by some slim chance the money I saved by not gambling that would have a loss would more than pay for the cost of a new bike.

Again this is just my opinion, but there are two types of insurance players, those that are scared of anything happening and cover themselves so much that their insurance poor, and those that prefer to be more self insured and thus not be insurance poor.

San Rensho 

Nobody Is going to steal a a Raliegh 3 speed. Thats one of the major reasons I have one. Just use any lock. The theif will run from your bike.

ltxi

I don't insure my current bikes, either, as I also subscribe to the philosophy of never insure for less than you are prepared to/can afford to lose. I also agree that if I were to insure a bike it would be through a PAF. I also believe that insurance cost to be well worth on a high end, expensive bike if it eliminates theft anxiety and feeling the need to carry around 10 pounds of locks and chains.

I-Like-To-Bike

Nobody ever said that bike thieves have any real taste or sense about bicycling quality per dollar spent; impressed only by how flashy the bike is or how much cash it might have cost. Just like many bicycling enthusiasts.

rekmeyata

This is actually a good point, one that I've always made about subjects like this. If I was riding to work or school and and to park the bike someplace untended and had to lock it up I would buy a good condition used bike for under $250 and then buy a decent less than $45 lock to secure it with, and save my expensive bike for weekends or rides whenever I'm not needing to lock it up.

goraman

I saw Mr. Bean eyeing it pretty hard one evening.
There have been cheap Walmart bikes stolen, My Raliegh Sprite 27 has been going since Dec. 1975.
It may be old but it is built better than most of the bikes sold today, I get complemented on how cool it is all the time.
A guy at Starbucks wanted to buy it last year to use in a tweed ride.
A guy wanted to buy it for wall art in his pub down town just a few months ago.
Don't be so fast to count out my old bike, the parts alone sell for a small fortune on ebay.

chedarhead

When I rode to work in the past I just left a heavy lock and cable on the bike rack. If I am on the trail on the weekends I am armed. If I am going to a store I have a lighter lock and cable and I ride a scruffy bike and try not to stay in the store to long.

ltxi

^ Good answer.

goraman

Went on an 8 mile bike ride and stopped for lunch at Tandoori Nights for at least an hour.
Then rode home.
We went inside to eat and could not see the bikes from where we where seated. There was a guy covered in tattoos, knitted Reggae hat he had a back pack on, smoking a cigarette looking at our bikes.
When we walked out he turned and walked away.
3 bikes 2 heavy chains a u lock and 2 heavy cables securing all critical components, and all was well.
Even our wheel cables are 15mm or 5/8.
He must have been there a few minutes as there was a cigarette butt by my bike, I would have seen chaining up.
I can't say for sure but I don't think my sons BMX would have still been there had it not been locked up.
It seemed to be the one he was looking at from the other side of the rail.

jamisFan

Through separate insurance, with a company called Velosurance. And the numbers you mentioned are spot on. So, yeah over 10 years I would have paid for a new bike. I kind of see your point, but I'd hate for me to stop paying the insurance and have a crash the following week.

I hate insurance companies, it's money I know I have to pay but that in the remote event I need to file a claim I know it will be a hassle to deal with that. I have no idea what scheduled loss is or a floater, but it certainly sounds more attractive than what I'm paying now. I have a bunch of questions, do you mind if I hit you up with a private message regarding this concepts?

I have a couple of watches insured separately (with a dedicated jewelry insurance company) and the main reason I went this way was because I read somewhere that insuring through my homeowners policy would cause an increase in premiums should I have one watch stolen. Also the amount they would pay was well below the value of the watch, not that I have a platinum Rolex or anything, but if I ever need replacement I would want the money the watch is worth, not half or less.

So, to sum up, would you mind explaining this floater thing in more detail?

Thanks!

jamisFan

Do you ride with a gun in your back pocket????

jamisFan

I fail to see the relevance of the tattoos here.

Dave Cutter

If you park your bike in a high traffic or risky area all day I guess it would make sense. This isn't the commuting forum and I am just a recreational rider... so a 45 pound bike sounds a little over the top. 17 pounds of locks sounds out-of-the-question. I only leave my bike when buying something to eat/drink... or to relieve myself.

I carry a cheap ($4) cable lock that is fine for deterring teenage boys looking for a little excitement while walking home.

chedarhead

No not in my back pocket but if I am riding casual then I carry a small pistol in belt holster. If I am riding in anything else then in flexible band type holster. I have not had a problem where I ride yet but my age makes me a seemingly easy target and I have been followed before on separate occasions and a way to protect myself just makes sense to me.

jamisFan

It just seems to me that handling a gun and a bike at the same time is asking for trouble, but then, I have never handled a gun, so I don't know.
Anyway, I hope you never have to use it.

Have you considered switching trails?

goraman

The overall appearance of this guy would lead you to surmise he is not a pillar of the community.
I also have tattoos but I'm not a walking mural.

Bobjack11

I use two German Shepherd Dogs, never had a problem

Sorry, I couldn't resist

Dave Horne

Here in the Netherlands almost every one has a built in rear wheel ring lock. That's the absolute minimum for security.

I have an additional Abus U lock that I'll use if I think it's necessary. My €4000+ bike is insured and if it's stolen it's really not that big of a deal for me. It's also rather unlikely that my bike will be taken since it's unique. The thieves tend to steal bikes that blend in as it were. (That's just my opinion. I've lived in Holland for 21 years and have had three bikes stolen though one of the three was stolen from inside the bike store while it was there for a check up.)

kevindsingleton 

Makes sense, to me, too. I ride in areas where there is no cell service, and very little traffic. It would be irresponsible to go defenseless.

bigskydrift

bear spray can be a great deterrent as well, on 2 and 4 legged animals, in many cases better than a firearm.