How to keep a bike safe

[binkylilyput]

So my poor little bike has been vandalised. I locked it up in a bike area outside a station and found it at the weekend all bent so the wheels don't turn and the chain off. I guess someone was trying to steal it and was maybe trying to break the lock by tugging at it. So I'm now left with a bike that I can't wheel and no means of getting it anywhere. Would have preferred for it to have been stolen! It wasn't worth a lot but I'm sad anyway as I'd only had it a month or so and was really enjoying my cycle to work.

The lock I had on it was pretty flimsy to be fair- one of those cord type ones.

I would love to get another bike but am afraid of the same thing happening. I guess I hoped that securing it at a bike rack by the station was safe-ish.

Anyone got any advice? Does a stronger lock (such as the bar type)deter someone from trying to tug it free?

[woodland]

That is a bit rubbish.

I have wheels that have an anti-theft lock - you have to turn the bike upside down to steal them, I also have a strong D lock . I think multiple locks is sadly the way to go - as your bike will look more of a hassle to steal than other bikes.

Sadly nowhere is completely safe!

[Jeremy]

I always thought that if I had a bike (I don't), I would give it a deliberately crap DIY paint job, so that nobody would ever want to steal it.

[dirac]

So sorry to hear that, i'd be so gutted if that happened to me.

I'd say that they first thing is get a strong, good quality D-lock. The wire/cord ones are aptly nick named 'licorice locks' because most of the time you can just pull them off/open, which is probably what happened to yours. Always lock through a wheel and the frame if possible; this makes much less space to fit the bolt cutters on the D-lock and therefore harder to steal.

Also two locks is definitely good, the harder it looks to steal the less chance you'll have it nicked by opportunists. I use a D-lock, a chain, and one of those wire loops; that way the thief needs two tools to get it free. Sadly, if it's a really expensive bike, and they want it, no lock will stop them. This is an interview titled "confessions of a former bike thief" and has some good insights:

http://www.brixtonblog.com/confessions-former-bike-thief/37643

[binkylilyput]

Thanks for all the tips. I am a newcomer to this and so lots to learn. It has dampened my enthusiasm a bit!

The article is very interesting but not hugely reassuring. It seems as though if a bike nicker wants it, they will get it somehow.

I thought my cute girls bike of little value would not be a wanted item.

As I said previously, I would rather they had actually taken it rather than just broken her!

I guess I could consider another location but I thought the bike rack at a station was best. I can't fit it inside my flat.

Have other people had similar experiences with bike's being nicked/ vandalised? I'm thinking it must happen a lot so I feel sorry for the people who have invested proper money in a bike.

[rendelharris]

binkylilyput Wrote:

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> Have other people had similar experiences with

> bike's being nicked/ vandalised? I'm thinking it

> must happen a lot so I feel sorry for the people

> who have invested proper money in a bike.

Yep, lost literally thousands over the years in stolen bikes and wheels, as well as through vandalism. I can only echo the advice given above re good locks; nowadays I never leave my bike anywhere outside overnight, always remove at least the front wheel and take it with me and try to think ahead for security, e.g. choosing pubs/restaurants where I can have a view of the bike from the window (or better still a pub where they'll let you lock it up in the garden, many landlords are helpful with this). Sadly the only real security comes from having the bike indoors, are you sure you can't bring it in? There are lots of clever hanging systems these days which minimize the space a bike needs. Alternatively (though quite expensively) you could buy a Brompton and never have to lock it up anywhere, just fold and carry with you.

[womanofdulwich]

Jeremy- good idea- I tried that - they only stole the wheels :(

[Sue]

Sorry to hear about your bike.

You could ask the council to put a bike hangar in your street?

Though they took about two years to get round to installing the one in mine.......

[Jeremy]

womanofdulwich Wrote:

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> Jeremy- good idea- I tried that - they only stole the wheels :(

Next time paint the wheels!

[Townleygreen]

get a folding bike - Brompton if you can afford it - but there are lots of others too. Take it with you, never need to leave it outside. At work, it's under your desk. At home it's tucked away somewhere IN the house or flat.

[malumbu]

Bike theft really saddens me. I feel much more attached to my bikes than motorised transport.

I've had four nicked in the last 30 years. The last was stolen to order, they cropped through an armoured lock in central London. Ie they were intent on getting it. Disappointed that the police aren't well resourced to chase up such thefts - particularly as there was an ad within an hour of it being nicked on Gumtree....

There is always a balance between the cost of security and the additional weight.

So that is the bad news. The good news is that I do not go out of my way to secure components including wheels. I had a small saddle bag stolen and that is it. I try to park where it is pretty visible. When my last bike was nicked if I had left it outside the pub it would have been fine as there were lots of drinkers outside. I always ask whether I can take it into a venue if possible.

In Holland and no doubt other countries there are cheap secure bike parks. Wouldn't that we great!

I never leave my best bike outside. I'd like to think that my other steeds are old and battered and not worth nicking. But that doesn't necessarily make a difference.

I did come back outside the Scala in Kings Cross with a rear wheel kicked in. I suspect that was done for fun....

[binkylilyput]

Ok, so I sorted her out enough that I could get her to bike hospital where she is now receiving treatment! She will never be the same again (they are going to have to amputate her mud guards for a start) but she will live....albeit traumatised.

I'm off shopping for multiple double strength locks while she is treated in hospital so that she can sleep easy on her return home!