What are the best anti-theft tricks around?

King Fisher

Or if you can't catch him/her, just kill the next fool that comes along and asks you a stupid question like "did your bike get stolen?" As you are standing there with the remains of your bike lock in your hand trying not to puke because you just ran 400 meters in less than a second trying to catch the guy who just stole your bike. (broken bike chains with the lock still attached make great anti theft weaons)

King Fisher

customRIDE

By far the best anti-theft device for any bike is to keep it firmly under your butt! Don't leave it anywhere it only takes seconds, and now that you can brake U locks with a freaking BIC pen I don't trust anything.

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- customRIDE

dan0512

Spit on the seat and handbar, or take the seat along with you, or place a "roadmaster" sticker on the frame. My best anti theft suggestions......

Dan

szbert

The best anti theft trick is, don't stop, keep pedaling.

ohgodnooo!

Or you could move. I live in Northeast Arkansas, you could put a sign on a bright orange Cinelli that says "free bike" and leave around the dark corner of a gas station and these obese jigglebilly rednecks would walk by it all day like they couldn't see it. But heaven help you if you bring home a new four-wheeler.

jaz

I personaly wont leave my bike locked up anywhere I cant see it, the only time I do lock it is if I go out to get a takeaway from the chinese or the chip shop & even then I only lock it as they both have glass fronts on the shops so I can see the bike all the time Im in the shops.
Im so paranoid about my bike if I go out without it I will lock it too the cooker in my kitchen so if anyone breaks in they will have to cut the lock off somehow or try & steal the cooker as well
With my last bike I used to leave it outside the odd garage/shop if I needed a drink or something & if I didnt have a lock with me I would put it so I could see it from in the shop & then get a couple of coins & pull the brakes on full & jam a coin in the brake lever gap so if anyone did take the chance of trying to steal it they would find that the brakes were jammed on & that would give me enough time to run out & stop them riding off.
Its not a great anti theft device but it works well enough to let you leave the bike for a few seconds as if someone does jump on it they wont know why the brakes are jammed on & it gives you the time you need to run out & stick one on them..


As for if I have ever had a really nice bike stolen then yes I have.
I had just saved up & bought a brand new mountain bike which was very expensive for me at the time (about 1988/89 as I was still at school), it was a Look bike (dont know if this make still exists but it was quite a big make then) & it had a full Deore DX groupset which was very nice quality.
Being young & stupid I lent it to a friend when it was less than 2 weeks old for him to bike home, get something then return straight away with the promise he wouldnt let it out of his sight.
He returned hours later with some story that he biked back & left it outside a shop (which I told him not to do) to get something only to find it had been stolen, I never believed him tbh I think he sold it as he was an older boy who was allways in trouble with the police & soon after he stopped coming over.
I still cling to the hope I will see him again now & find a way to exact some well deserved revenge on him (what goes around comes around so they say)..

hotlipsmc

I had a bike partially stipped out the front of a busy building in broad daylight (It was secured with a U bolt, but nothing through the front wheel) So when I rebuilt it, I took a number of precautions.. I engraved the frame and all the removable parts with my name (I am not planning on selling this bike) I drilled out some of the critical allen key heads in the front head stem assembly, so that the front forks cannot be removed with out some serious perseverance. And I bought an additional lock for the front wheel. Four years later the bike is still with me.

I mean I think that most bikes are stolen for profit, so the key is to make resale value of your bike (to a potiental theif) as low as possible. Engraving is an exteme way of achieving this, but I believe it is a good deterent.

J1S

Buy a folding bike that can fold up and fit in a backpack to take with you. (I wouldnt advise doing any big drops with this bike).

bcskiier

I tend to ride bikes that cause people to cross the street to avoid, never mind stealing them

stinkycat

I like the idea about the political stickers. I am sure if you had one that said something akin to "proud gay peddler" the bike would stay put. The down side is obvious though.
Chaining it up is the best thing IMO. A few times I have gone somewhere but forgot my lock. Then, if I had to go inside I made sure it was only for a very short time and that I could keep my eye on it. In addition, after parking it in the highest gear I would turn both shifters to the lowest position. Have you ever tried pedaling after doing that? My hope is the result will give me just enpough time to catch up. A variaton of this is to take the chain off the sprockets, again with the idea of delaying the culprit

King Fisher

I do not frequent stores that will not allow me to take my bike inside if I forgot my bike lock. If stores want my service they let me walk my bike along with me while I shop. I get a lot of anger and resentment from clerks, managers and owners, but I get my way most of the time. (it also helps that I only shop when I absolutely need to, and I usually spend over $50.oo each time I shop.) My bike is my only mode of transportation.

King Fisher

createdtodestry

if i have to go somewhere without my bike, i make sure i can see it at all times. i suggest taking off the front wheel and chaining the frame to something, and taking the wheel with you, cause who's gona steal a bike without a front wheel? once i saw 2 matching bikes without seats chained to a rack, im guessing they had the same thoughts, or someone stole their seats. if you have to leave your bike, chain it up on a rack with other bikes, and dont leave it in a spot with no other people around. also get a chain so you can wrap it through both wheels, the frame, seat rail, and possibly anything else, and add a few locks, try one that uses a key, and one that has a dial.

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- Eric

alphabolt

Now if wackyscientist can produce a bunch of GPS locators small enough to fit into the seat tube ...YEAH !

uh then again that wuld cost the same as my bike

Snuffleupagus

I like to make friends with stray pitbulls and then secure them to the bike.

It works only as long as potential thieves don't bring raw meat/milkbones with them