dannyfrankszzz wrote:
> Seeing as I live in London, I always make the effort to make my bike
> look less attractive to would be thieves.
So do I when I am cycling into London. Going the other way, I'll pick a
better looking bike.
> Therefore, in the past I've
> covered my frame in inner tubes, which also helps to protect the frame
> from scratches etc. Then when you remove the inner tubes, the frame
> looks in really good condition.
I've only ever covered drop handlebars (a reasonable theft deterent
themselves) with old inner tubes. No point in putting ten quids worth
of cork bar tape on a London bike, and I always prefer this to
repairing them (the tubes, that is).
> I was wondering what other materials might be good for this sort of
> thing.
>
> I was thinking black waterproof tape, but then I thought that when I
> remove the tape, it might take off the paintwork - right?
The really cheap sort of insulation tape available in pound shops (in
packs of five or more) won't stick to anything well enough that it
would be a problem to remove it. It usually comes in five different
colours, though. When it comes to getting it off, Pledge (or similar)
furniture polish removes the remaining "glue" remarkably well.
> Problem with inner tubes is that a little too bulky for my needs.
One of the more bizarre alternatives I have used is black hammerite.
It's success will depend on the strength of the bond it makes with your
bike's paintwork, but IME it creates a coating which comes off certain
paint finishes rather too easily. This can leave a slightly battered
bike with an amazingly shabby exterior, especially if you patch up the
scratches in the hammerite with the aforementioned plastic tape. Test
it on a small area first, though. Paint it on with your less
co-ordinated hand for that really rough look.
None of my London-proof bikes have yet been stolen (touchwood). They
all ride well enough to cope with the local terrain, and even if one
was stolen, it might be more of a disaster for the thief trying to sell
it. My current favourite is the fixed gear conversion of an old Falcon,
which I would actually miss if it were stolen. This hasn't stopped me
leaving it unlocked outside the local Asda, as fixed gear is also a
wonderful deterent to the casual thief riding off on one.
JimP
