If it ain't nailed down...

[allen-uk]

Bike cover. Big thing, VK Pyjamas, I think - very handy, about £25, too heavy and awkward to fold up and take with the bike, so after using it in the front drive way I tend to scrunch it up, fold it a bit, and stick it at the far corner of the house, behind a bit of hedge.

(I also have a nice compact Topeak for travel purposes).

Anyway, went to put it on bike this morning, and gorn. Some lightfingered tosspot has been keeping a very close eye on me and my habits, it seems, as once it IS scrunched up and stuck behind the hedge it looks like a bit of old plastic, hardly worth stealing.

An old lesson, which at my time of life I shouldn't have needed to re-learn, but there you go.

Allen.

 

[Scimitar]

Some scumbags will nick anything. I had a scabby old set of waterproofs nicked from the topbox on my m'cycle a few years ago. Much good it would have done them.

 

[morphix]

Bike cover. Big thing, VK Pyjamas, I think - very handy, about £25, too heavy and awkward to fold up and take with the bike, so after using it in the front drive way I tend to scrunch it up, fold it a bit, and stick it at the far corner of the house, behind a bit of hedge.

(I also have a nice compact Topeak for travel purposes).

Anyway, went to put it on bike this morning, and gorn. Some lightfingered tosspot has been keeping a very close eye on me and my habits, it seems, as once it IS scrunched up and stuck behind the hedge it looks like a bit of old plastic, hardly worth stealing.

An old lesson, which at my time of life I shouldn't have needed to re-learn, but there you go.

Allen.

Sorry to hear that Allen, it's so annoying. I sometimes get organic food boxes delivered by a local farm, and on one occasion it was left in the bin cupboard around 7am..by 8.30am when I went down to get it, it had been nicked, probably by one of my neighbours who saw the delivery. I've just invested in a gold standard heavy duty lock from PJB Security (excellent prices and service from PJB) and a Kryptonite D-lock with cabling, won't be taking any chances with my bike.

 

[allen-uk]

I often leave my bike outside the front door for 5 or 10 minutes while I get the rest of my gear on, and I ALWAYS chain it to railings up the side of my garden path. In fact I chain it there even if I'm just popping back for my helmet (maybe 60 seconds!).

But now, of course, I'm going to have to fight against getting paranoid (TV cameras, lights, watch-towers, etc), as obviously I have been under obbo by some herbert(s).

Yes, it is annoying!

A

 

[morphix]

I invested in one of those little wireless cameras a while back, it only cost £30 off eBay so I wasn't expecting much but was pleasantly surprised. It's proved very useful although I use it more for watching for deliveries and visitors etc rather than crime prevention as I live in a 2nd floor flat. It's full colour video with sound and the picture quality is fairly decent. Got it hooked up to my HDD recorder at mo but I have also had it hooked up to my laptop.

 

[Sevenhills]

I once had a front wheel pinched from my front yard, rest of the bike was locked to a lawnmower and tree.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

I bought one of those 4 channel recorders and put cameras all round my house, which seems to deter thieves and shysters. They glow red at night which looks quite intimidating. Call me paranoid if you want. I don't care.

 

[rosjen]

what you need is something like this, The Ultimate Bike Safe YouTube - Making-Of sicherstes Fahrradschloss I don't speak German, but I see where they are coming from It's actually a promo video for a design company.

 

[Gaynor]

what you need is something like this, The Ultimate Bike Safe YouTube - Making-Of sicherstes Fahrradschloss I don't speak German, but I see where they are coming from It's actually a promo video for a design company.

Wow that is cool, they would need a ladder to steal it but even then it looks quite safe, looks odd half way up a post, would be bad if you got the remote stuck and couldnt get your bike down, but 10 out of 10 for origenality!

 

[Alex728]

what you need is something like this, The Ultimate Bike Safe YouTube - Making-Of sicherstes Fahrradschloss I don't speak German, but I see where they are coming from It's actually a promo video for a design company.

The shorter video is an advert for Conrad Electronics which is the German equivalent of CPC although it has proper shops in DE, and the Benelux nations.

There are many other amusing ads for them on youtube, drawing upon modern stereotypes of Germans as "mad scientist/über-geek" types

Conrad does sell stuff here as well but I think their delivery timescale is too slow compared to CPC - I don't think Conrad have a proper warehouse in the UK yet, they have only an admin office in South Essex and drop-ship from the Netherlands (as their English language site is written by native Dutch speakers).

 

[allen-uk]

It does start to get silly, doesn't it. I've got several flashing lights which I wouldn't want to lose, plus the (cheap) Cateye computer, so even if I'm just popping in a shop for 2 minutes I feel obliged to take them all off! Three flashers on the bars, one on the rear pannier. Then there's the pannier bag itself, which contains a few tools, etc. So far I've been leaving it on the bike, but it only clips on, so it would only clip off in about ten seconds if you had a mind.

What do others do when travelling around? I always secure the bike itself pretty well, but it's the bits that just slide off that could get annoying and expensive...


Allen

 

[Alex728]

At work the entire bike (panniers, battery and all) is kept in the office

Elsewhere, I usually take all these easily nickable things off, put them inside the pannier and take the pannier into wherever I'm going with me.

if it is one of the real ale pubs, no one bats an eyelid as lots of cyclists here also do the same. In one they did get inspected by a pub cat, who then sat in front of them as to guard them!

In shops I am occasionally eyed suspiciously by rentaguards/shop managers , as I am relatively young, from an ethnic minority and often wear casual sports-type clothing - and so they assume I could be filling the panniers with stolen goods. But I tend to boycott shops like this.

Ironically this doesn't happen in camera shops and electronic shops - I guess like the pubs cyclists make up a large proportion of the customer base.

 

[allen-uk]

In shops I am occasionally eyed suspiciously by rentaguards/shop managers , as I am relatively young, from an ethnic minority and often wear casual sports-type clothing - and so they assume I could be filling the panniers with stolen goods. But I tend to boycott shops like this.

This tends not to happen when you're an old git; they assume you are past the thieving stage, I suppose. (Thinks: how could I use that to my advantage?)


A

 

[eddieo]

put a few tie raps on pannier bag.....

 

[allen-uk]

Are there any lightweight rigid panniers on the market (and therefore, hopefully, lockable). Not that anything on those lines would withstand a proper assault, but it would stop the casual magpies from slipping their thieving fingers in and pulling out plums. Might even be usable for those lights etc., for 5 minute stops.

A

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Working on the principal of "what the eyes don't see, the heart won't grieve", my neighbour and myself have hidden our lights. You can get these in Tescos for £4.99 a pair and 3 pairs for the price of two. We have found them to be the brightest of this type of light. Remove the 4 screws; disassemble; drill a small hole in the non-switch half, insert a machine screw; apbly silicone sealant to the screw, joining surfaces and anywhere else water can get in; reassemble; drill a small hole in the front of your front mudguard and rear of the rear mudguard; screw up with an appropriate nut; paint everything except the LED black. You have to make sure that it points in the right direction, so you can wedge it while silicone sealant sets. Voila - stealth lights that are perfect for popping down to the shops, but obviously you need more substantial lights if you are travelling on unlit roads/paths.
Here's some photos of what I mean:
Sunlova Bike pictures by d8veh - Photobucket
Also, have a look at the photo of the alarm. You can get these on Ebay for a few pounds. They sound a siren as soon as your bike is touched - handy if you are only in the paper shop, but no good if you are more than say 50 meters away.
Bike Bicycle Security Alarm 110 db Audible Sound Lock on eBay (end time 03-Dec-10 15:16:58 GMT)

 

[allen-uk]

Thanks Dave - I can't see the lights and I know they're there!

Oh, and answering my own question, there is this:

Taking the load off your back

which is £35.

Only problem then, of course, is that the bikebin has to be secured securely otherwise they'll have that as well!


Allen.

 

[aseb]

It does start to get silly, doesn't it. I've got several flashing lights which I wouldn't want to lose, plus the (cheap) Cateye computer, so even if I'm just popping in a shop for 2 minutes I feel obliged to take them all off! Three flashers on the bars, one on the rear pannier. Then there's the pannier bag itself, which contains a few tools, etc. So far I've been leaving it on the bike, but it only clips on, so it would only clip off in about ten seconds if you had a mind.

What do others do when travelling around? I always secure the bike itself pretty well, but it's the bits that just slide off that could get annoying and expensive...


Allen

I've got 2 led lights on the back. 2 because I can't always know if what or whoever is behind me will see/notice me but it gives more chance, at least one set to flash to help drivers to notice me. Both are permanent mounts (bolts through top box/ rear reflector plate), a bit harder to find but there are 5 and 9 led versions out there. There's also a bar end mirror.

At the front I have another white 9 led light which can also be set to flash. This one was modified because it was a removable bar mount one, careful selection of a self tapper, point removed fitted through the mount from the back and through the lights clip (not so far it goes into the circuitry area to make sure it remains water tight) and it can't be removed easily or without damage.
I then have 2 x handlebar 27W led lights that are removable. They can be focussed and are reasonably good for the price- one set with closer focus than the other. If I forget to take them with me the leds are always there permanently attached so I don't get stuck in the dark if I'm out later than planned for any reason. (I got caught out a bit when the dark nights started cutting in sharply this year while delayed at the pharmacist).

I got a small battery powered motion sensor alarm activated by remote control to help keep the bike when left parked. I've heard it go off a couple of times but no-one was there when I went to look........