Bikes stolen on tour?
 

What has people's experience been with thievery on tour.

Not having to pack my ulock and chain would save me a good 3 pounds and give me the freedom to set up where-ever I wanted rather than where there is a place to chain my bike to.

I'm not talking about in urban areas, rather in rural areas where I need to pitch a tent.

I have only carried a cable lock (5' length I think), so I can lock to picnic tables or trees at night. Generally touring in rural areas with mostly stops in smaller towns so I haven't worried during the day. In larger cities, if stopping to see the sites I lock up in hotel garage if possible; doesn't seem to be people looking there to steel bikes.

My wife and I have toured close to a total of 18 months in the last 10 years and have not had anything stolen, except by raccoons, ravens and chipmunks.

Rural areas are not usually a problem. However, a good cable and a stout padlock, weighing less than half of your chain and U-lock, will provide security from an opportunistic thief. We've also used the cable/padlock combination in larger cities, but were really selective about where we parked our bikes. There is usually something to lock your bike to: picnic table, tree, or pole. If all else fails, lock all your bikes together in a big "wad". it take several people to move 2-3 bikes locked together, and it will not be done quietly.

This is a good topic - no one wants their bike stolen.
Recently a friend bought himself a new bike. Just by looking at it you could tell it was expensive - not a good thing. We decided to make the bike as visually as unappealing as possible.
1.Sanded off the bright flashy paint - slapped on flat black.
2.Took a Dremel tool to the various components and got rid of the silly logos - in this case SRAM in big white attention grabbing letters.
3.Removed the various stickers from the rims, and painted the rims flat black.

With any type of luck rust will start forming and bleeding all over the frame within a year of two, a good thing.
This bike will pretty much disappear in a sea of bikes that no one is interested in, it barely needs a lock.

My bike is pretty much in that state: flat black, no logos on anything and plenty of rust. Last summer on a 3 month tour of Italy, I never worried about anyone stealing my bike, it's practically invisible. All I carried was a small u-lock (also flat black), and only bothered to lock my bike in big cities, otherwise I never bothered to use the lock - no one wanted anything to do with my ugly bike.

My bicycle was stolen from a very small town in rural Australia where "this sort of thing NEVER happens here".

I carry a lightweight cable and combination lock but don't always lock up the bike.

I've been fortunate and only things ever stolen on tour were a rear blinkie light in the Yukon Territory and a bicycle bell in India. I did have an (unlocked) bike stolen when not on tour in Ft Collins Colorado.

My riding partner had a bike pump stolen in Russia. On our supported ride TDA trip, two bikes were stolen in Tanzania and our toilet tent stolen in Kenya. The bikes were recovered but toilet tent was not.

I've heard of people losing their bikes on tour, but haven't had it happen to me.

When I was riding in Italy years ago, on occasion I'd bring the bike into the tent with me.

Lately I've been locking my bike to a tent pole. Perhaps not the most secure thing to attach to, but I felt that I would notice if someone messed with my tent pole.

If you're traveling in a group, then perhaps share bike watch duties. Solo, perhaps a lighter than normal bike lock.

That is what I do as well.

I will add that I am more careful in bigger towns and cities. Anywhere that I don't trust the bike with a light cheap cable lock I don't leave it out of my sight. In a few cases that meant either parking it by the registers or wheeling it up and down the aisles in a store.

I find it advantageous to own a bike and gear that I can afford to replace without too much pain. I wouldn't have to end a long tour if my stuff went missing. Most of my gear I have other items that could be sent from home and worst case I'd buy walmart stuff to get by in a pinch.

For me, using a light cheap "honest people" lock and good situational awareness is good enough. In the fairly unlikely event that it all does go missing at some point I'll be angry and will miss a few of my favorite gear items, but will take it in stride knowing.

+1. Also did a week long tour across PA with no lock at all.

Some yocal kid in WY did try to steal my stove after I left it out in the open close to a road with only a post rail fence separating the tent camping area from the road. Fortunately, I was sitting outside the laundry room, saw what he was about to do and made a bee line for my site. He saw me and took off.

Other than that, critters have been the most common perps.

I bought a very light combination cable lock from the local home improvement store for a few dollars. It's about a meter long and weighs just over 100g. I call it my touring lock. In my local downtown area I use a much heavier lock.

An aside: Once I left my loaded touring bike among a crowd of homeless people in front of the library in a large Eastern US city, pretty much planning on some loss of gear. It's a twenty-year-old steel bike with thirty-plus-year old gear so the loss would be manageable. And I hadn't shaved or showered in days. The bike wasn't touched. I have shamefully little experience with the homeless, but I wondered if there was some kind of ethic at work there.

For what it's worth, if you're using a cable lock, just save the weight and use a small padlock rather than a stout one. Anyone cutting a lock is just going to cut your cable first, no matter the lock, because they're so easy to cut.

I did like gerryl mentioned and sprayed my bike flat black, sanded off derailer logos, and taped over the cranks and wheel logos. You'd have to be walking around trying to pick out nice parts on a bike to notice that my bike is actually nice.

One idea I toyed with was using a Kryptonite lock with decently thick chain links, but taking the sleeve off and replacing most of the length of chain with aluminum chain. Then replace the sleeve and no one will ever know you don't have a heavy duty Kryptonite, but with half the weight. Unfortunately I haven't found bulky, thick AL chain anywhere. I guess there's really no reason for it to exist, so it makes sense...

So far (knock on wood) the only thing I've had stolen on tour was a six-pack of beer strapped to my rear rack. Pissed me off real good, but it didn't stop me from buying more beer. :D

Once, we've had our bikes cleaned from lightly attached accessories (pumps, lights, computer head, clickstands, etc.). Happened in a large city's highly touristic location.

We have framelocks on our bikes, as is common in Europe. We find them enormously more convenient than u-locks/chains. We'll lock our bikes even if it is only for a quick run to the convenience store. Just requires activating the lock and taking the key off. Probably more at risk of losing a key while visiting some place -- we carry spares.

Ive always used a coil lock on tour, and a healthy dose of being careful and choosing where to lock it. In general, the bike has always been able to be locked to a solid object close to the tent, picnic table, fence, tree, where I would hear someone trying to cut the cable, or its with me in a room, or the times in an urban setting, I choose veeeery carefully where it is left.

being situational aware is the key, but even in rural wherever (as per the machka theft) I always lock it to something. Ive lived in cities all my life and never ever leave a bike unlocked and use as much "spider sense" as I can wherever I am to assess risk, and in doubt, slap the coil lock on.

coil locks really do have the advantage of being able to go around anything, and in you have any doubts in front of a store when alone in "sleepytown" usa or whatever, you just run the cable lock through a wheel or frame and or a pannier strap.

After hearing horror stories about the Netherlands and theft, I always parked the bikes where we could see them from whatever place we were at. In a week of watching bikes, not a single person took the slightest bit of interest in them or the panniers.

I tend to view bike theft as more of a "right place, right time" thing. Can happen anywhere at anytime, but still rather unlikely to happen. I've made do with a cheap cable lock, I think keeping someone from picking it up and riding away at will takes care of all but the last 2% or so of theft.

Also keep in mind if you are somewhere where bike theft is a problem, there is probably a bike shop, you can always buy a locally-necessitated lock if conditions change.

I almost always lock up my bike when I go in a store, restaurant, etc. Campgrounds, try to lock it to a tree or heavy object. Motels, I try to get a first floor room and wheel the bike into the room.

I just use a coiled cable lock and padlock, usually a combination lock. A friend of mine that works at a bike shop told me that most cable locks can be cut pretty easily with the cable cutters that bike shops use for cutting cables such as derailleur outer housing cables. I have no reason to doubt him on that, so I have a bit less comfort in such locks now. But I still carry the same cable lock that I have been using for years. I have been pretty amazed at times how good my Sram cable cutter is, I suspect that if I could get a cable into the jaws of it, it might cut it pretty easily.

But sometimes if I am going into a restaurant or some place where I expect to be near a window, then all I really need to do is slow down a thief. Thus, sometimes I just use a small skiers type lock that could easily be cut.

That friend of mine that commented on cable cutters cutting cable locks, he now carries a very heavy chain to lock up his Ti bike that has Phil hubs. (See photo.) I still use a cheap cable however.

Exception, when I was in Iceland, there was so little theft there that I often left it unlocked.

When touring, I usually switch out my quick release skewers for some skewers that use a 5mm allen wrench. I do not want anyone to steal my dynohub front wheel and I usually do not put the cable around my front wheel. I also use those skewers on the back wheel on my Rohloff bike. Any 5mm allen wrench will open them, so it is not that secure, but I assume most thieves are opportunists are are likely not carrying around a bike multi-tool.

I've had a nice bike stolen before (Kryponite Ulock) - theft concerns was one of the main reasons I quit bike touring decades ago. Ultra- light/compact/portable got me to restarted again, and I can now take everything with me (eg., inside tent, stores, museums, restaurants, etc).

In your case, I'd just lock-up to a nearby tree. Another idea for few oz. is to covertly rig an alarm on bike while parked - go with mechanical switch (eg. door travel alarm or grenade-pin personal alarm) which doesn't eat batteries or suffer from false alarms.

I don't mind losing the bike so much - homeowners insurance covers it, but there's an awful lot of work and time involved in obtaining, modifying, and tailoring all those small accessories, gadgets, and doohickey's involved in camping and self-supported touring.

Probably so, but if you leave a bike unlocked pretty much anywhere, it will most likely be gone that same day.

I have had 4 different bikes stolen from me, none were locked. One I even got back, but it got stolen a second time a year or so later.

I guess that's why I laugh so hard at those "Bait Bike" videos: http://www.f169bbs.com/images/smileys/snicker.gif


One easy thing to do if you don't have a lock, but can sorta keep an eye one it, is to loosen the quick release on your front wheel, so that the front wheel falls off if someone tries to move the bike. This will buy you a good 30 seconds while the thief tries to figure out how to get the front wheel back on.

Helped lead a Group ride of Teenagers down Cal coast, (1986) a couple guys did not lock their bikes , they took the bus home.

this was a rural state park , on the coast..


In past few years , nearby, There were tourists bike thefts in Ft Stevens park Campground, this was local high school guys.



My touring bike now has a frame mounted ring lock and a security chain, past rig I had an armored cable lock hanging from the top tube
in the space above and ahead of water bottles,

i Made up a long cable to secure to bigger things like picnic benches, chain link fences and trees.





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Seems like a great way to get yourself arrested and imprisoned. Whilst one can take some humor when bike thieves get what is coming to them through natural karma, that is nothing more than akin to running out and bashing them with a baseball bat, or shooting at them as they ride off.

As one who works at an auto supplier with a line of airbag products, they are most certainly not toys for such gimmicks.

"Natural karma"?

So if you see someone get on your bike and ride away, laughing at you, you're just gonna stand there and do nothing?

"Oh well, 'natural karma' will catch up to them eventually. He must need the bike more than I do, let him have it. Poor guy probably had a terrible childhood, maybe I should offer him my wallet too. Hey! Wait up! You need a few bucks bro? A girlfriend? How about a place to stay?"

but you CAN find bulky, thick PLASTIC chain!
for crowd control and garden barriers.

https://www.amazon.com/Beistle-00043...FKZJDYVPWQW1M4

also available at home depot.

Also works really good for Halloween "Ghost of Christmas Past" costumes and "Slave" costumes, I would imagine.

Trying to stop someone stealing my bike is slightly different than baiting them into stealing a bike with an airbag under the seat, and blowing it up as they are riding, where serious injury or death is easily determined to be premeditated.

Something to be said for stealth camping. Rural areas and small towns? Just use a small cable lock. No issues for me.