Bike Security
 

I am a newbie, old one at that just treated myself to a £2.5K mountain bike - looking at how to protect it from theft.

I have seen this new gizmo on kickstarter.com , called the Guard - a bike light with 4000 lumen output - but complete with an alarm and tracker system



Is there anything else like this out there ?

Obviously I will have a good lock - but..

Are you planning to ride off-road or in urban or suburban areas?

Depending on where you live, you might get away with a simple lock and chain .... but if someone really wants your bike they will get it.

I have not tested tracking systems, but if you have a loud alarm/tracker on the bike, it is the first thing the thief would smash. I have heard of chips which slip down the seat tube and such, but the issue there is battery life---when do you turn it on, and how long will it broadcast?

On top of that, even if you can track the bike, you need to get police officers to actually go to that location and try to seize the bike. If the thieves bring the bike indoors ... I am not sure how easy it would be to get a warrant.

Most people I know are just really, really careful about where they leave their bikes, no matter how it is secured or tracked ..... and any time I go to the grocery store or hardware store, I use two locks ... fully realizing that that if my bike were worth stealing, six locks would not be enough. I figure two locks will discourage the joy-riders ... but anyone who brings serious tools can steal any bike. Don't leave it if you aren't willing to lose it. If you need a bike to run errands, buy it at a big-box store .... or just make sure the bike doesn't look too appealing.

Pretty sure I wouldn't leave a $2.5 K bike out of my site for longer than it took me to empty my bladder, no matter how many locks.

Do you leave your bike where it might be stolen? Usually if I'm not on or very near my bike, it is inside my home. I'm also of the opinion that I'd rather not have my stolen bike returned. My homeowners insurance will buy me another. Even if insurance wasn't in play, I'd still just buy one and not worry whatsoever about the stolen bike which probably got trashed and will take some money to make right that insurance won't cover..

I'm in the camp that once it's gone, let it be gone. But I take steps to make sure that it doesn't get gone:

• Never leave the bike unattended
• If I have to for the time it takes to take a pee, I either lock it to my bike rack with the cable lock or I take it into the john with me
• If I'm stopping at a restaurant after or before riding, I lock it to the rack, and sit where I can see it and get to it quickly
• If I can't watch it, I lock it to the rack with the cable lock and then also lock it to the trailer hitch with a hardened steel chain
• I have a rear facing dash cam that will film any attempt to steal if off the rack
• I never leave the garage door open when I'm not in the garage or around it

If all that fails, then it's new bike day.

Oh good it's not just me. On the face, this might not seem to make sense, but it actually does.

Why would one want it back? It's very likely to be trashed by that time.

I'm the same way with cars. I don't want it back, repaired or otherwise.

I'll take the insurance money instead.

I don’t use a bike lock I bring a “Matt”.
Thread the “Matt” through the frame and around a stationary object like a pole and the bike is going nowhere.
The “Matt” doesn’t even weigh down my bike when not in use, he has his own bike!

Barry

Don't leave your bike unattended , ever! If a store will not let you bring your bike with you go somewhere else. I don't usually stop at a store or anywhere that I have to leave the bike .

best way is to keep in your sight and close, even when well locked

when not possible, lock well (ulock and cable at a minimum) and be gone as little time as possible

know the neighborhood....some places you just should not leave bike un attended

remember organized bike thieves will also cut a frame and then part out....

good reason for an N+1 bike that is ugly or you would not miss for things like pub runs and use the good bike for the trails (N+1 is a good thing)

I never lock my bike.

That’s because it is always with me. If I go inside a store, bank, coffee shop, I ask first and then bring it inside. If they don’t want the bike inside, I thank them and go to a business that allows it. I take it into public restrooms and any place where they allow it and won’t be in the way. Once I was told to leave it outside and told them what the bike was worth, and they changed their mind.

If I can’t bring it inside, I make sure I can see it and get to it in a hurry. I always shift it into it’s highest/gear to make riding away difficult.

Is this "Matt" an Alsatian?

Which, interestingly, is where the only bike i have had stolen was stolen from. While I was home. And awake.

I have been locking up bikes on the mean streets of Philly for more than 35 years, not to mention sleeping in a tent more times than I can remember, sometimes with the bike not even locked. Never had one stolen. What am I doing wrong? Or right?

I was thinking snake

Here is the KS page.

GUARD Bike Security System with optional 4000 lumen light by LightBug — Kickstarter

~$250 to ~$325, depending on model. If this company has such a track record as claimed (over 15 years) why can't get its hands on the $131K it is seeking?

That would be a bit frightening.

I would use my bike more for transportation if I could do so securely. My luggage is now over $500. Ouch!!

Perhaps if we knew why you ride a bike, that might help. 99.99999999% of my riding is only for recreation and fitness. So I never have a reason to be far from being in sight of my bike. If you are riding your bike to shop, go to school or doing other things with it that might have it outside and out of sight for a period of time, then might change some of the responses you get to your inquiry.

If you do have to leave your bike unattended while you shop or go to school, then I'd think any lock that is big enough to be very obvious will deter the casual thief just wanting a joy ride for the moment. A six foot cable with red sheeting on it and a padlock is what I used when I was in elementary and high school. Looped though both wheels and frame and fastened to the bike rack it wasn't going anywhere as easy as the unlocked bikes next to it. I never heard of those unlocked bikes being stolen though.

A week before Christmas of 2010. GF and I come home from a night out of shopping and dinner. Cat is running around our feet wanting dinner. We both forget to lock the door. Someone comes through the 'hood trying doors around 11:15 pm while we are in bed watching the local news. We heard the door slam shut. I jumped out of bed and told the GF to dial 9-1 and wait a second. Looked down the stairs and realized my Surly LHT, which was oriented to roll right out the door, was gone. He also got my flip phone. The two custom IFs were still hanging on the wall. Had I not been in only my undies I might have gone out into the cold to try to track the guy down.

What really sucked was that the Surly was flitted with my customer Robert Beckman Designs racks. Not only were they awesome, but they also had a lot of sentimental value, and the companion panniers only work with his racks which were irreplaceable. Maybe this winter will be the winter I finally get off my butt and explore whether the bags and my current Nitto racks can be modified to work with each other. I am fortunate to live in a city with at least 3 bike builders, including Bilenky.

The answer lies in the Shark Tank - no (or little) sales, no profits, no credit.

$130k is nothing if you have a good product and have developed it well. When I see entrepreneurs looking for that kind of money, I smell failure on the wall.

^ Very expensive option. People that have that kind of money to spend typically want something discrete that compliments their higher end bike. Instead, this device looks more suited to the front of a Jeep or 4X4. They need to get less fancy with colors and pattern and just provide high/low/flash with alarm and tracking for a fraction of the price and size and it would sell.

“Matt” is an American!
How often have you seen a German Shepard with “his own bike”?

Barry

As noted, keep it in sight or locked up.

And make sure you have homeowners or renter's insurance that covers the bike if the first two fail.

Wondering if we have some shilling going on. (No pun intended.)

Just for the record, this situation varies greatly by your specific location. In virtually any city, the above paranoia is appropriate. On the other hand, in my suburban neighborhood and thousands like it, people routinely leave their bikes unlocked in their front yard, or driveway. Many also leave their garage doors open for hours on end, and even overnight. I see unlocked bikes on the racks at schools and stores frequently. In the actual countryside, people are even less concerned with theft.

Bike theft is an enormous problem, but mainly in cities where the degenerate thieves live.