This is a strange question...

I have been riding a beater fixed gear for about a year and finally decided to take the plunge and buy something...well....decent. I converted an old Huffy Superstar into a fixed gear and since the thing looked like **** (and was heavy as heck) i never cared about locking it up places....

One of the bike shops in town was moving and having a 50% off sale...I walked out of there with a very shiney Fuji 03 Track bike with a flip flop hub and basically all I could ever need and more....

Now my problem is this....I live in Center City Philadelphia (filthadelphia) and dont always feel very comfortable leaving this bike parked....especially around bars where I usually go.

The guy at the bike shop was talking about some of the worst places in the city to leave a bike (most of my regular hang outs actually) and said that the best thing I can do is make this bike look like....well MINE. He recommended writing my name all over the thing....which I decided against.

Is it right to make a sweet looking frame look ****ty just because you really would not like it to get stolen? I know a theif will steal something no matter what, but i also know they are less likely to steal something that someone may recognize as "not theirs" when they try and ride it away. Or something that may be difficult to resell.

I guess I am having some guilt about possibly painting this bike or putting a bunch of stickers on it.... on that note, I am heading out to the bar.

Am i crazy, or should I just go nuts on this thing, paint, sticker, scratch and "city-fy it"?

Not strange at all- bike theft is VERY common in my city, can't say I understand the mind of the bike thief-
But a bike that is going to be more work to clean up or re-paint- re-detail is going to be a deterent to a type of thief I think (semi-pro) The drug fix type will prob take anything they can nip.
I have partial primer\ paint and red electricians tape on mine, it's definitely one of a kind.
I HOPE this will make it seem not worth the effort.
A suggest from police is to etch onto parts- this CHOULD be done with a bit of artistry as to not look to bad- make a design and repeat it-like your logo.

i probably drink at a lot of the places you do, and i never worry...just use a kryptonite lock. remove the front wheel and lock it thru the frame, the front and back wheels. as long as its not locked up overnight i think you're OK. i would never leave my bike out overnight in this city though.

I realized this after seeing a show on car theft- the steering wheel bar locks were made useless as the guy hacksawed through the steering wheel and slipped it off-the wheel is made to be 'soft' as to not kill you during a crash.
I've seen many kryptonite locks with no bike, or wheel left on racks ect?
I believe that the pro thief will hack the frame- easy with bike tubes- tape it up and ride or into a car- It's the only explanation I can come up w\ for these locks around.
The PRO does this a lot- knows parts are worth more than the frame sometimes and less traceable.
This is why I suggest the etching of parts-
I never leave my bike long, if I do-in a well lit, high traffic area where it would seem odd if several people crowded around it.
My bikes only worth a couple honeys, but I don't want to lose another.
MODERATORS: If you think me posting this info- seems like a bad person could use this idea- please delete the post- I assume ALL of us are lovers not thieves- but alas..

I ended up getting a second fixie that looked crapper, I then lock it with two decent locks, one d-lock, one chain lock, each worth about $100, then park your bike next to a load with crap locks, and the thieves won't bother with yours. You can never stop a thief taking your bike, you can only persuade them it's easier to steal someone elses. Sad but true.

the 'rob my neighbour' approach.

hurrah for conservatism.

fsnl
sparky

eo: fluke - absurd
how apt. hahaha

I too live in Philadelphia and it does not really matter how bad your bike looks they steal anything here.
I had two Huffys and both were stolen.

...pick that up at Trophy?

Buy a Park Pedal Wrench and use velcro ties to afix it to your bag strap (this enhances the pre-beating nervousness of the perp; nothing like seeing a determined cyclist remove an instrument of punishment from their person....almost SWAT-like). When someone walks past your bike (you should be watching from the bar), jump outside and beat them with the pedal wrench (now removed from said strap). Lay the unconscious body across your bike and pin a note to it that says "This will be you if you touch my bike"
That should clear up any theft issues you might have in Philly.
Glad I could help

Or...take the bus

or you could just ride your crapper bike to the bar. Anytime I need to leave my bike you can rest assured it's the crapper bike not one of the good ones.

yeah, the last day of their sale before moving...wasnt planning on buying a bike already built up, I was just in there looking for a nice light frame to start a new project. I saw the fuji and I could not resist.

People sometimes leave their heavy u-locks at work instead of toting them back and forth everyday. Put the u-lock inside the rear triangle and they won't steal your bike or your tire. As for painting it? Do you like it the way it looks now? If so, screw em, it's your bike, why deny yourself the pleasure of a nice looking bike-- if you do the bad guys already win.

I think right now, I have decided that I will put some stickers and decals on it. I am not much of a sticker person, but I would like to personalize this thing a little bit instead of keeping it looking "just off the showroom floor".

I will probably end up painting it once the warm weather comes around. I kind of look at this as a choice between "do I ride a bike that looks new and I really like, or do I ride nothing at all when it gets stolen" I think I am going to take the lesser of two evils and crap it up a bit, then in the spring REALLY cusomize it to my personality (and probably end up replacing some worn out parts at the same time)

I am also taking some of MKRG's advice and if I KNOW i will end up at a seedy bar, I am going to ride the beater bike there....unfortunatly, most trips around start out as just riding around visiting friends.

we will see

PFFFT...why deny yourself the pleasure of a nice looking bike-- if you do the bad guys already win..???
I ride my bike, not stand next to it trying to pick up ladies. No... the bad guys DON'T win....Cause if I turn around from my computer- I see my bike.
Eyesore yes..who would guess? That under some ugly paint\tape is a 22 lb mtb?
I also don't CLEAN it, just the chain\derailers ect.
I win.

This has been my problem. For the cost of what I put into my bandaid blood red bianchi.. I could almost affoard a Pista. Beyond that, a very cool BF member made me an offer on an AWESOME older Bianche. I have to leave my bike at the head of the pier soon, and the thought of leaving it there for a day, or two really puts me in a bind. A nice bike will be a magnate, and also, it'd be a shame to get one torn all to hell. But, an older one is stealthy. I'd love to have that used bike I was offered (sweet bike sweet price), but as a daily rider, it'd get beat. And don't tell anyone, but I primarily ride a mutligeared coaster on the weekends.

There was a Kona krypto'd to a lamppost downtown- saw it every day-every day a different piece was missing-last time I saw it-was just FRAME-bb was still in, but cranks-headset-bars-wheels-brakes-gone! Would have made an interesting stop action film.
The last time I had to leave my bike downtown for a long while, I locked it up @ the police station in direct view of the front door camera.

Use two different locks, say a U-lock and a heavy duty cable or chain. Most theives only carry tools to defeat one type. Plus, it becomes more of a hassle.

Other options:
-remove a pedal, makes it hard to ride away.
-Another cool idea I read was to fill the heads of your hex bolts with candle wax. Theives can't quickly steal your parts, but you can dig it out easily when you need to work on it.
-Lock your bike up head high on a lamp post, fence, etc. Makes it hard for the theives to use their tools on your lock and it's also more obvious to a passerby.

Thieves are lazy and want a quick buck. Basically, you need to make your bike a hassle to deal with so it's not worth their time or risk and they move on to some other target.

Damn, all that time walking around the mall with those cycling shorts on won't pay off? Now I need a new plan!

i suggest walking round the mall in cycling shorts with a glasses case tucked into them.

[irrelevant]for some reason i wanted to write 'lunettes' instead of glasses. sometimes french sounds so much better than english.[/irrelevant]

fssb
sparky

Dress up like a bike courier-hang in front of mickey d's and maybe you'll get to stuff some letters?
I bow to peer pressure- I am removing the red electricians tape and going for consevative black hockey tape.


Geez, I sound snotty- no I am serious: my usual bike outfit looks like a courier-fleece long-j's, shorts, 1 strap bag. Girl asked me yesterday if I was a courier- gotta come up with a better line than "no" ( She had a sexy orange Kona, I may have a crush- not shure if it's on the girl or bike.)

I don't know - I like city-camo'ed bikes... I don't really like all the fancy paint jobs and whatnot... I like either a flat black cycle, primer... or city-camo (aka... crapified)... I'd rather look at a bike with all sorts of stickers and crap than look at the factory's/manufacuter's idea of its beauty -- and their logo... I always remove or cover up their logo's.