Thief proof my bike parts
 

I lived in Austin TX for 3 years, and never had anything stolen from my bikes. I moved to Eugene OR recently, and the petty theft here is on another level. I have anti theft skewers on my wheels and a nice secure U-lock. However, I've already had my saddle bag, 2 good front lights, and frame pump stolen off my bike. and I lock my bike in a remote part of campus. I was thinking of getting a bottle cage container to hold my spare tube, lever, pump and allen tools, and just take that with me whenever I get off the bike. I also want to keep my brooks saddle safe, and get a security bolt for the seat post. If they really wanted to, they could use a 6 mm allen bolt to separate the saddle from the post, but idk if the thieves are that advanced here..

Any recommendations for bottle cage holders that can also accommodate bike pumps? what about security bolts with really small/handy wrenches that I can put in the bottle cage holder?

I think it's Topeak that has a really big cage with mounting holes to fit standard bottle cage mounts. (There are also probably 900 other companies that make something similar)

It looks like a large bottle cage. But it has a strap. So you can put a small bag or whatever on there and add some easily removable storage.

Or you could do a trunk bag / pannier. Just put all the standard repair stuff in there, and toss your lights in there too when you stop and boom...carry it away with you.

Ultimately nothing on the bike will be theft proof. If you make it super secure so it can't be easily removed, there are jerks who will just break it with a rock just because they can't have it.

Option B is to move back to Austin, where they still prosecute criminals.

I was thinking up things to tell you until you got to "Brooks saddle," then I decided you're just doomed

I got a water proof seat cover over the brooks, so nobody knows what it is unless they really take their time. plus, i don't think these thieves know what a brooks saddle is. i think most of them are not bike thieves. they're drug addicts or something

Are you talking about the Topeak Modula XL? I have one of those, and it's great for 1.5L plastic bottles, but the strap is designed to barely fit around a bottle-cap, it would take some cleverness to adapt that to like a bundle or something.

Welcome to Eugene :roflmao2:


My wife parks outside, locked up in the parking garage at her work. Maybe 50' from the door. People have had all kinds of things stolen there, her grey and black Trek fx2 has been left alone. They'll steal the mount for a rear light, let alone an actual light. You can't leave anything exposed.

I'm lucky enough to be parked inside, dry and warm.

Salsa Anything Cage
https://salsacycles.com/components/c.../anything_cage

They have some similar clever products, click around.

Wolf Tooth also has its B-RAD mounting system that will hold bottles side by side

Gah! You drew me in

That’s a tuff one. Sad you're not in TX anymore, I want to move there, seriously! CA, OR, and WA we have a big homeless/theft problem and it’s getting worse! You see a lot of them pushing stolen shopping carts with all their stuff in it, do you really think they stop at that?

I have a very basic none flashy cheap old MT bike (no Brooks saddle) with just nuts on the wheels and seat post. I lock it up with a good U Lock through the frame and back wheel to a good solid bike rack, then I use a Double Loop Cable through front wheel and seat then back through to the U Lock. I take off all my lights and leave nothing on the bike I’m not willing to lose. Again you’re not in TX anymore.

Mostly I now ride a Brompton and always take it inside with me, always, grocery stores, restaurants. If I go into a higher end restaurant I have the Brompton optional cover/bag that hangs off the back of the seat. I quickly bag it before I walk in with it. I’ve never had any issues getting a table doing so.

No. Not that. It's a wider cage. More like a rack that mounts to bottle cage braze ons

Sounds like you don't have it as bad as us in Toronto. Working as a bike courier here every piece of my bike is secured with either pinheads or custom machined bolts. Titanium Security Bolts, Ti Anti Theft , Atomic22, Security Skewers
Plug for my supplier.

You have to talk to people to learn how the thieves operate. They often operate in an irrational manner, so they'll take things that are not valuable to them (but might be to you), and they may leave things that are valuable.

Here in NYC, I have to remove everything when I lock up. I have a saddle bag with just my tools and repair supplies. It also has my taillight mounted onto it. I stuff my headlight into that bag and take it off the bike and put it in my backpack. It weighs about the same as my lock, so it's an even trade. I take my bottle with me, as it's one of those expensive steel bottles. I've had one stolen, and it was a big annoyance.

I know one bike mechanic who will put solder into an Allen key fitting to thief-proof it. You can heat the bolt/nut up again to take the solder out. Maybe wax would be nearly as good and much easier to deal with.

All removables need to be removed.... no way to secure them. Put on an older saddle. I have brooks saddles, but my commuter just gets an old cheap saddle.

I recently bought a lockitt U-lock for the bike and that is very secure, but doesn't help with all the little stuff. I have a mini pump, tools and tube in my commuter backbag.

i've decided to just strip everything from it, and keep lights in my backpack. figured i'll probably never flat in these tractor tires in my 1 mile commute, and everything in this town is pretty close together, so saddle bag is kind of redundant.

also got some security bolts for the brooks saddle, and probably put a couple on the stem/handlebar too

I've been buying titanium bits from Toronto Cycles for years. Not so much for security, though those ones linked to are pretty slick, but more for corrosion resistance. Ti also looks nice.
As to theft prevention, I've found a folding bike that goes anywhere (folded and bagged, as necessary) eliminates the theft risk. I realize not everyone has the luxury of taking their bike inside their workplace.

Do a google search for security bolts and nuts they would work good for seat posts and maybe other parts.

First, I'm sorry that someone stole your stuff. I park my bike in my shop and had never had any trouble. Then, my rear blinker disappeared. I didn't think about I but my front light was pointing downward. After thinking about it, I even have problems getting it off. For awhile I rode without a blinker. Mine mounts in a piece fastened to my rear rack. Then it started getting dark again. I was fortunate to find an old blinker that most the LED's worked on. So I put that on and it too disappeared. I don't like thieves and I need a blinker in the dark mornings. So I Bought one and got an alarm as well. I liked the alarm so much, I bought one for my other bike. I put mine on my seat post. I also zip tied my blinker, but that's because it doesn't fit the mount the way the old one did. As soon as I have to put new batteries in it, I have a new blinker that will fit tight.

https://www.amazon.com/Wireless-Anti...sr=1-1-catcorr

I live in Medford Oregon and anything that can come off a bike will get stolen quick! My good friend lost one crank arm off of his bmx race bike outside of Fred Meyer.

ah i like it :)

question though. how often does it give false alarms? i guess it depends on how/where you park it..

IDK. I think it kind of gives a warning alarm, which usually moves people away from it.

Used it for a bike overnighter (camping) and had no false alarms. Don't know if wind or snow would affect on it. Most the time it's parked inside at my employment, with no false alarms.

I keep my bike inside. So totally safe there. When I go riding I never leave it out of sight if I stop for any reason. If I stop to purchase something like fuel or hydration I take it inside with me. If the store won't allow it, (most will where I am), I will move on to a store that will. If I have to leave it somewhere while I do something I always keep it in sight and it is "secured" with a light combo cable lock. The lock's purpose is simply to stop someone from grabbing the bike while I am standing or sitting nearby and then taking off. At 73 there isn't anything I could do to stop them as they sprinted or rode away. I remove my Garmin and lights too. They are an easy snap on and off.

Smart :thumb:

Could try locking it in a more visible area! A few minutes walk could make a huge difference

Security fasteners for bikes! It will slow down the opportunist thieves, but those that are dedicated will try anything.

https://bicyclebolts.com/

Yep.

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...25f2fdea9e.jpg

I've posted this before and got a response that it was bad karma/zen/feng shui/juju to be so fixated on physical possessions.

I assumed that poster was a bike thief. :giver: