Protection Against Light Theft
 

Hey guys,

I've had trouble with light theft from the getgo. Literally every time I buy new lights of any kind for my bike they are stolen within a few weeks or months. I'm thinking about finding some super strong adhesive of some kind and just cementing my lights on my bike. Any suggestions on what to use? Tapes, glues, I'm willing to try whatever is the strongest.

Thanks in advance!

Don't leave it.. pocket it ! ?





I live in a small town, my hub dynamo wired lights have been safe locking the bike on the street for short periods

I went for about a year before my first set of lights got stolen. Then after that, like fietsbob suggests, I've become more careful about just removing the lights from the bike.

There are a few trains of thought:

• Remove the lights when not in use.
• Get permanently install lights. Screw-on? Generator lights?
• Buy cheap lights (< $1 each) that the thieves will ignore (hopefully), and you won't be bummed if they get stolen.
• Use helmet mounted lights, and take the helmet with you.

Even if you go with the cheap lights, the reason I carry lights with me is to get myself home safely, and a loss of lights can put myself at risk. Thus, back to the idea of "better safe than sorry".

It's too much trouble for me to remove the bolted on lights that my dynamo powers. I've locked the bike up, and oddly enough, no one has ever stolen them. Bike thieves carry cable cutters and bolt cutters, but it appears they don't carry wrenches. Weird. Then again, bike thieves are not rational people. I once had someone bend the mounting bracket in hopes of stealing the headlight. But it was a minor inconvenience for me. I was able to bend the bracket back into shape.

MAYBE if you clamped your lights on with hose clamps, it would stop thieves. Again, irrationally, QR skewers secured onto the bike with hose clamps seem to deter thieves of wheels. It doesn't make a lot of sense to me, but if it works, who am I to question?

But with hand-removable lights, I do take them with me every time I lock the bike. Not doing so creates an opportunity for thieves.

Oddly enough, the only bike light I've ever had stolen was a bolted-on dynamo light and the associated bottle dynamo. Usually I just leave the battery-powered lights in place when I lock up my bike but they have never been taken.

One approach with accessories that attach with allen head bolts is to drop in a bearing ball and secure it with superglue. The ball prevents anyone from getting a wrench into the bolt and if you ever need to remove it the superglue can be dissolved with acetone (nail polish remover).

make sense..i do same thing..removable lights..

Helmet lights solve the problem.

[QUOTE=noglider;20062169... I do take them with me every time I lock the bike. Not doing so creates an opportunity for thieves.[/QUOTE]
I forgot this rule today, and now I'm out of my Magicshine back/front combo. Live and learn.:(

Only way to guarantee it doesn't get stolen is to take it off the bike and with you.

I also worry a lot less about my dynamo light, seems like they get ignored. As another poster said one can also fill in the screw head if more security is needed (or find some sort of unique security screws).

I've seen bike with the light built into the frame, I imagine those are hard to steal:
https://gizmodo.com/trek-lync-review...hen-1639302045

Use pitlock to secure a permanent mounted dynamo front light:
pitlock.de/en

Or use a frontlight which uses a quick-release mount:
bumm.de/en/products/akku-scheinwerfer/parent/196/produkt/196l.html?

Theft is definitely a bummer.
The lights that I am modding will definitely be removable.
Showing pic's when they are finished is all I can do.
There are videos on youtube if you are interested.
Just text in homemade bike lights.
That may give you some ideas.

Good luck

Yup, and works well from it's perch too. 850 lumens really light up the road/trail ahead of me.

That ballbearing/superglue trick is pretty darn smart.:)

I know a bike shop owner who uses solder instead. I think you need a very hot iron to heat the bolt enough.

I commute to a guarded parking garage and still remove lights every time I park (Cygolite Hotshots for the rear and Light & Motion Urban Pulse on handlebar). The only 100% secure solution.


.

A lot of the bolts on my bike are drilled. A drill is more useful to me than a set of Allen keys if i want to undo something. I get stainless bolts free and they look good when spun with some emery cloth, as well as being like a rivet once drilled.

My tail light is built into my rack battery, which is locked into place. My front headlight is a big chrome thing on a very heavy '80s Raleigh shopping bike mount - that's secured by a drilled bolt and nylock nut, so tricky to get off without doing so much damage it wouldn't be worth having...

It's about making it more difficult. If you can just pull a light off, it'll go. I say glue it on. When do you ever need to remove it anyway...?