How can I make sure that my bicycle is not stolen? I use two locks but have lost two bikes.?
Answers:
by the sounds of your user name you live in London then ? I presume you have been using the coil locks for easier transporting.well the best type of lock I know is th U or D lock, its solid and virtually fail safe. Otherwise leave your bike at home wherever possible, if you use it for work ask if you can secure it indoors, and don't take it anywhere that you can not secure it indoors if possible.
Move away from the sh*thole you stay in or near at the moment
Thieves are smart, if there is a will there is a way to steal something. I never lock my car doors, would rather have them steal my radio than break windows and locks to get in, it would cost more in the long run. Short of bringing your bike in the house at night, there really is not an option, unless there is some type of alarm system to put on a bike, but a theif would learn how to disable it. Know someone with a motorcycle that rolled it into his kitchen every night.
I am the same as you, i've had 2 bikes stolen, and one was at 5.00 a m on Boxing day morning and that had 3 locks and chains attached. The old adages are still the best in this case Out of sight out of mind. In other words keep your bike indoors even if it means taking the wheels off (quick release are good) good luck
Try to put a wing nut by the handle bar, for easy on and off, and take the handle bar with you. Good luck.
Stick some old bits of rubber tubing with broken glass attached to the undersides over your handle bars at night. The first person to grab your bike will end up down the hospital. My whole house is filled with traps like that.
I see has i am out and about some guys take the front
wheel off,they unlock the wheel or wheels with butter fly
nuts and clamp whats left with a D clamp.Dont forget to take wheel with you if pos.D clamp is good
buy a car and park it in parking lots with security personnel
i'm sure this way you'll save some money; i mean how many bikes are you going to buy?
I have to agree with the first answer, move house. My bike sits outside my house day and night and never gets stolen, sounds like you live in a crap area
Man, that sucks.
I have no other advice but I'd consider upping my insurance.
I'm not sure how it works in the UK, but in the states home owners or renter's insurance will usually cover a stolen bike. I imagine it's the same there and you'll always have a new bike.
I always keep my bike in the house at night.
Whilst I work I d-lock inside the building to a walk rail.
I only lock it up outside if theres somewhere safe and in public view where I can fasten it, otherwise I leave it at home.
Had some scumbags break into my hut and steal 3 mtbs last xmas. That made me leave my new bike in the house every night now. :O(
If you're going to leave a bike outside, ride a beater. Get a cheap 3-speed and strip everything of value off of it.
If you're going to leave your nice one outside, make sure you pass the chain or cable through the frame and wheels. You might try letting it be known that you have a gun and you know how to use it. A .58 caliber musket aimed in the direction of the would-be thief is enough to make them lose control of their bodily functions.
Just kidding about the gun, but do loop the cable or chain through the frame and wheels.
if u ride a really ugly bike then they might not want it. lol. if you can't move away from that area, then dont ride near there. i have a $2000 mountain bike and i never lock it up and ive never had a probem. i do live in a fairly small town though. get a heavy duty lock. and make sure you put the lock THROUGH THE FRAME!! not the fork. theives can just take the wheel off and your lock is useless.
Kepp ypur bike in a dog kennel-like mine-with a sign that says,My Dog Has Aids.
There's a bike lock named KRYPTON used for bikes and motorcycles. I think it can be found advertised in "Performance Bikes" magazine or search for the official website. Its the BEST out there against those buffoons and asswipes!
How are you locking your bike? Are you using a good chain and lock? Many of the locks on the market can be picked using a bic pen.
Get a hardend chain which is not rounded. Use a quality lock (and not the typical Master lock) that uses a key.
Depends on the type of lock u use and where you leave the bike. A lot of people try to leave there bikes out of sight but this just gives the thieves time as no one will spot them. I use 1 Krptonite lock and always leave my bike in busy places and i have never had any problems. Always get a decent insurance policy for your bike usually around £30 and check the approved lock list they give you as this will let you know the best types. Also the type of lock will make a difference as although cable locks are easier and prferable they are easier to cut through although D locks are extermely difficult to break if they try and pick the lock they can damage it so bad you can no longer unlock it thus defeating the point again.
There is no way to fully protect a bike except possibly to store it in a vault. However, many people are able to live in urban settings and manage to go for decades without losing a bike. The best approach is to employ a variety of strategies -
1. Make sure your bike looks like it's worth nothing. The uglier the better. It's going to cost the bike thief time and money to get a bad looking bike in good shape to sell, so it's not worth as much to the thief if the bike isn't good looking.
2. Make sure your bike is indoors if possible (and locked to something) - and if it's locked outdoors, make sure you lock it to something secure (install ground/wall anchors if you can't find something to lock it to). Be sure not to lock to something that is easy to break, cut or lift the bike lock off of.
3. Hide the bike from the thief. Don't put the bike out in the open where thieves will notice it. Correspondingly, don't put the bike into the shed in the backyard - that's the first place a bike thief will look when they want to find a bike. Put it somewhere where the thief won't look for it.
4. Chose a good location. When locking the bike outdoors, make sure you put it somewhere that people will notice a thief making noise or messing with the locks. A very busy street is a bad choice, but so is an alley where nobody will see/hear the thief at work.
5. Get good locks. You can seriously delay the thief with good locks. As a minimum, you should spend 20% of the value of your bike on a decent D lock or Chain lock. Cable locks are really, really easy to cut through with bolt cutters. The bigger cable locks just require bigger newer cutters, but these are easy to buy. Thieves use many strategies for cutting/breaking D-Locks or Chains including gluing up the lock hole so you end up having to leave the bike and they get to break the lock when you've gone. It sounds like you live in a high risk area. You can improve your security by using two different sorts of locks (thus requiring a thief to carry two heavy pieces of equipment to break the lock). Look for the "Sold Secure - Gold" or "Thatchham Approved" status on a lock, this lock should delay a well equipped thief for at least 5 minutes. If you put on two of these locks, it may buy you 10 minutes. That may be enough to deter a thief because they have to make sure they don't get discovered while they steal your bike. Given current lock prices, these minutes of lock protection will cost approximately $20 (£12) each. So 60 minutes of protection willl cost more than $1000. Even if you have 1k to blow on locks, you're not going to be able to buy more than probably 20 minutes, because these high quality locks weigh a huge amount, and there's a limit to how many locks you can put onto a bike frame. Here's a funny story from a friend whose bike was stolen - he bought a really substantial looking cable lock from the Argos Catelogue for £18 ($30). When he heard his bike being stolen, he stepped outside and confronted the thieves by saying "That's my bike!". They replied "No it's not", finished cutting through the lock and left with the bike. If my friend hadn't gone for the bargain lock, but had a pair of good locks worth $100 he probably would have had time to threaten to summon the police. As it was, the thieves stole the bike in less than two minutes. Research your bike locks. If you get a D-Lock you can improve the security by buying "Bad Bones" which are brackets that help prevent thieves from levering open D-Locks with cro-bars.
http://www.soldsecure.com
6. Use good locking strategy. Be sure to lock the correct parts of the bike and leave the thief as little room to work as possible. See Sheldon Brown for details- http://www.sheldonbrown.com/lock-strateg.
Likewise, Hal gives some very helpful advice on strategy in the following short movie - it's entertaining, but also very accurate.
http://homepage.mac.com/trorb/biketv/imo.
The key points here are - your frame is the most important thing to lock, then the wheels, and finally the saddle (if it has a quick release or any visible value). For more ideas on locking strategy, why not learn from the thieves themselves? Here's a London based animation that lets you get to know how the bike thieves think. If you can foil their standard methods, your bike stands a better chance.
http://www.designagainstcrime.com/web/kn.
7. Park your bike near bikes that are more valuable and less well locked than your own. The typical theft is one bike at a time - and thieves chose bikes that have the highest value, worst locks, and best appearance. Bike messengers have to lock their bikes all over the city, but they also need a bike that is reliable and of good quality. It's not unusual for a messenger to strip off all the logos and even repaint a bike in ugly brown grey. They disguise or remove all parts of the bike that look valuable, and carry a very good lock. Next time you see a messenger pass you with a really terrible looking bike, remember that that bike could be a $1500 bike in disguise as a $30 bike.
8. If you find the bike still gets stolen, use a folder. Avoid having your bike locked outside by buying a Birdy, Brompton or Dahon folding bike. The quality of your ride will be pretty good, and you don't have to lock the bike outdoors - you can simply fold it up and carry it into any location you happen to be.
Good luck!
Jesse "thedishbench"
Firstly use good locks, a D or U lock is best but get a good one
Secondly lock the bike to something a fence, tree or lampost
Thirdly lock it next to a another bike, thieves tend to take the easiest one to steal
Lastly when possible take it inside your house
Get out of the ghetto.
weight it down with leads.
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