How To Not Get Your Bike Stolen

[Uawadall]

I'm relatively new to cycling and find myself wanting to get on the bike as much as possible. I commute by bus to work(1hr30minutes of torture) and would love to be able to bike to the station. Its only about 4 miles or so and my biggest concern is it getting stolen. I'm not exactly wealthy and bought a used 1200 bike for 800. If it was stolen, that would be a wrap for the year at the least. I probably will not do it because its a short distance and i'd be thinking about it all day.


So the question is, besides a lock, how do you keep your bike from being stolen?

 

[ABNPFDR]

Locks are a deterrent but offer little protection in reality - I'm not a professional thief but I had to attend a locksmithing class while in the Army and it's AMAZING how easy it is to defeat most bike locks. If I'm a halfway competent thief on the hunt for a quick score (and bicycles are easy quick cash) then I could walk away with your bike very easily and quickly.

Not sure where you live but here in the US, it's quite easy to get away with. It really is as simple as walking up to a bike, even in the most crowded of areas and take a small hacksaw to the cable. Carry a BROKEN key and if anyone says anything (and they won't, people like to not get involved) show them the broken key. The only risk you run is having the OWNER catch you.

So the best way to not get your bike stolen, is to not have a bike not worth stealing.

 

[Uawadall]

So the best way to not get your bike stolen, is to not have a bike not worth stealing.

I live in NY and so far I've never worried about the bike being stolen because I'm either ridding it, or its at home. I assumed that their is little to be done in terms of prevention or recourse if it is stolen. Just wanted to here opinions to make sure i'm not being paranoid.

2 options I thought of are:

Buy a second dirt cheap bike so I don't freak out if its stolen or find some way to make the bike appear ugly/cheap(maybe a removable duct tape shell?lol...)

Those options may lessen the chance or make it not as harsh, but aren't solving the bigger issue. Guess its business as usual(keeping the bike at home when not in use).

 

[alfeng]

I'm relatively new to cycling and find myself wanting to get on the bike as much as possible. I commute by bus to work(1hr30minutes of torture) and would love to be able to bike to the station. Its only about 4 miles or so and my biggest concern is it getting stolen. I'm not exactly wealthy and bought a used 1200 bike for 800. If it was stolen, that would be a wrap for the year at the least. I probably will not do it because its a short distance and i'd be thinking about it all day.


So the question is, besides a lock, how do you keep your bike from being stolen?

FWIW. As ABNPFDR mentioned & you have discerned, you want to make the bike as visually unattractive as possible ...

So, for your four mile ride to-and-from your train station I suggest that you consider getting an expendable bike secured with a U-lock & chain.

 

[9lines]

You can have a room somewhere where you can store it. But if there are not many bikes where you pack it, it will be easier for you to be checking on it. Alternatively you can chain it and lock it up.

 

[Jcycle]

You can deter theft. It is damn near impossible to prevent it though. If you can store your bike inside it is helpful. I use a u lock and a chain.

 

[Corzhens]

Over here, a bike is stolen every day. That's just a saying but it is true at times. Most bikes here have chains and padlocks. When you park your bike, you should chain it to something that will hold it like a tree, post, gate. You cannot leave a bike just like that because it will be stolen within an hour. That's what is unique in Batanes (my recent vacation) because people there are honest so there is no one who locks his bike. Motorcycles and bikes are parked anywhere and nothing is stolen.

 

[CAMPYBOB]

Would you leave a pile of eight $100 dollar bills at a bus stop with a $25 lock holding them in place?

I did not think so.

Now, do NOT leave your $800-$1200 bike at a bus stop. Lock or no lock, Gone In 60-Seconds is the likely outcome of doing so.

For further edification: Please describe in 1000 words or less the type of characters you see hanging around your local bus stops.

 

[Corzhens]

Would you leave a pile of eight $100 dollar bills at a bus stop with a $25 lock holding them in place?

I did not think so.

Now, do NOT leave your $800-$1200 bike at a bus stop. Lock or no lock, Gone In 60-Seconds is the likely outcome of doing so.

For further edification: Please describe in 1000 words or less the type of characters you see hanging around your local bus stops.

It seems like we are living in the same place, hahahaaa. But amid that chuckle, it is a sad fact that there are people in those busy streets who are lurking and waiting for some good things to happen to them.... like a stalled vehicle or a parked bike with no padlock. Force opening a car is not common here but not rare either so you can imagine the condition of the place when you leave your bike or even motorbike.

 

[joshposh]

Before you park your bike anywhere, you need to consider how the security is in that particular area. If you leave it in a unsupervised area, of course it is going to get stolen. Park it next to a security guard post or at your works parking area. From there you can chose a chain and lock.

 

[PennyS]

I live in an area where bike theft is rife and I have alluded to what I do in other posts but I might as well put it all together here.

1) My communiting bike is a solid, reliable bike, but highly undesireable to people who steal bikes and not worthmuch on the resale market. It is a 5-speed, old, well maintained by cosmetically not super-spiffy, a female step through frame, and flourescent pink by virtue of a can of Krylon spray paint.

2) I use a bar lock and always put it through the frame and front wheel. Removing it would take a good deal more than most theives will bother with (i.e. a pick up truck and standard issue bolt cutters won't so it.)

3) I park right in the middle of the pack, not nearest the road and not away in a dark corner where they can fiddle around with my bike without any risk of being seen.

4) I do not leave any desireable devices (lights, phone mounts etc) attached to the bike ever.

Basically my actually-quite-nice bike looks as poor and ugly as possible without undermining how well it actually functions and I make stealing it as inconvenient as possible without actually inconveniencing myself. I have stored it outside day and night for several years now with no problems.

 

[Catsyo]

I'm of the opinion that you can use a good u-lock and bike chain to deter your bike from getting stolen, but you can't really ever stop it. I once saw a Youtube video where these people set up some bikes and then had other people take out hacksaws and steal them in broad daylight in front of everyone. Nobody called the police or even really questioned the thieves. It's crazy how little people care.

I always try to park near way nicer bikes so there's no reason to steal my crappy one. haha.

 

[BikeBikeBikeBike]

This forum is spot on again.
There is always a chance to have your ride stolen, so just commute with a bike that you don't care about!
Plus it's fun to pickup a dirt cheap bike and fix it up yourself.
Also my friends and I used to built special unstealable bikes.
These were bikes that would be hard for the average person to operate.
My friend had one it was a fixed gear road bike. Mine was a break-less single speed road bike. Both looked like piles of junk, and we never ever locked them up.
They never got stolen, but if they did I would imagine the thief would not get very far before they crashed them.

 

[ZXD22]

Never leave your bike out of eyesight, even when in an building. Put like a thousand locks on it and you should be good to go here.

 

[Corzhens]

This forum is spot on again.
There is always a chance to have your ride stolen, so just commute with a bike that you don't care about!
Plus it's fun to pickup a dirt cheap bike and fix it up yourself.
Also my friends and I used to built special unstealable bikes.
These were bikes that would be hard for the average person to operate.
My friend had one it was a fixed gear road bike. Mine was a break-less single speed road bike. Both looked like piles of junk, and we never ever locked them up.
They never got stolen, but if they did I would imagine the thief would not get very far before they crashed them.

Pray tell me the details of that unstealable bike. If it has no lock, it wouldn't matter to the robbers if it looks like junk simply because the scavengers would take it and sell it to a junk yard. Over here, a bike has value even if it has no tires. So I am really amused with that unstealable bike you are saying. Perhaps it would be unstealable if you put a label like do not touch, live electricity.

 

[BikeBikeBikeBike]

Pray tell me the details of that unstealable bike. If it has no lock, it wouldn't matter to the robbers if it looks like junk simply because the scavengers would take it and sell it to a junk yard. Over here, a bike has value even if it has no tires. So I am really amused with that unstealable bike you are saying. Perhaps it would be unstealable if you put a label like do not touch, live electricity.

One was a fixed gear bike. If you have never rode a fixed gear and you just jump on one without knowing you are probably going to end up crashing it.
My friends called mine the death trap. It was a single speed old road bike with no brakes. It has really good acceleration, so chances are if you steal if and then start riding before you notice there is no breaks you are going to get into a crash.

 

[Billykaldrich]

a little off topic but visiting Tokyo I sat outside the Shinigawa station and watched rider after ride leave there bike unlocked accross the street from the staion. I was freaken amazed. maybe 150 bikes lined up and they were there after a 8 hour work day when the riders returned from work.Stealing in that culture is the lowest life form.What a refreshing sight to behold. the same cAFE I SAW A LADY LEAVE HER CELL PHONE ON THE TABLE OUTSIDE AND GO INTO THE CAFE TO ORDER. WOW

 

[bsthebenster]

Aside from getting a good lock (seriously, look into what makes a lock a good lock), I'd recommend locking it up in a less busy area. The difference between having it chained to a parking meter (I see this happen all the time) and in a back ally or between two buildings could mean the difference between having to shell out hundreds of dollars on replacement bikes.

 

[Keyan]

a little off topic but visiting Tokyo I sat outside the Shinigawa station and watched rider after ride leave there bike unlocked accross the street from the staion. I was freaken amazed. maybe 150 bikes lined up and they were there after a 8 hour work day when the riders returned from work.Stealing in that culture is the lowest life form.What a refreshing sight to behold. the same cAFE I SAW A LADY LEAVE HER CELL PHONE ON THE TABLE OUTSIDE AND GO INTO THE CAFE TO ORDER. WOW

That is quite nice to hear about places where theft is not a primary issue. How I wish I could be a part of such community. Anyway I thought I could learn something new other than locking your bike securely or finding a parking area where there are security measures in place.

 

[Corzhens]

Aside from getting a good lock (seriously, look into what makes a lock a good lock), I'd recommend locking it up in a less busy area. The difference between having it chained to a parking meter (I see this happen all the time) and in a back ally or between two buildings could mean the difference between having to shell out hundreds of dollars on replacement bikes.

Some riders think that if you park (and locked) your bike in a busy area, it will not be stolen. Mind you, thieves are now daring and smart. One incident captured on CCTV was a rider attired in full gear trying to unlock a bike in a corner of a busy area. The passing people didn't suspect that the guy was a thief. After unlocking the chain, the thief took a ride.. away. But parking in a secluded area doubles the risk of your bike being stolen.