Theft deterrence - ball bearing in Allen head bolt
 

If you were going to place a ball bearing in an Allen head bolt for theft deterrence, would you secure it with superglue, solder, or do something entirely different? This would be in a quill stem expander bolt, for example. Assume you might want to remove it yearly or less often, for maintenance.

I do it with hot glue. It's a surprising hassle to remove. I usually need a hair dryer and a magnet.

A ball bearing is very smooth, so it's hard for the glue to hold. I'd use a bit of alu stock and epoxy.

Epoxy sounds permanent?

No, not epoxy.

Clean the bearing and the allen head with some acetone and allow to dry. Put a single drop of Super Glue gel or other brand of cyanoacrylate adhesive in the hole and push the bearing into place and hold for 15-30 seconds being careful not to glue your finger to the bolt. It will be an absolute PITA to try to get the bearing out of the hole even with a knife tip or similar tool. When it comes time to remove the bearing, put a few drops of acetone into the hole around the bearing and wait a minute, then lift the ball out with a magnet or pry it out with a knife tip or other pointed implement.

I've used silicone caulking with good success. An old dental pick to remove it works well.

Drop in a close fitting ball, then melt in some candle wax to hold it there, and clean it up smooth. It's easy enough to dislodge with a small pick, and the wax is soft enough to get pushed out of the way by the Allen key. Yes, a thief could defeat it pretty easily, but you're betting he's to lazy to bother for a stem and bars, and will move on to something nicer.

Superglue and acetone to remove. It'll leave no messy residue and its very easy to install.

Larry, the owner of Larry's Freewheeling in NYC, just drops solder into the allen key. It requires a big soldering iron to heat the bolt up enough to melt the solder.

All clever ideas. Thanks to the OP for the question. I'll try a few on a bike I leave parked at BART. That place will stress test any theft deterrence strategy.

I'm +1 on the ball bearing and wax. Often times I think the best theft deterrents simply have the appearance of difficulty.

What about swapping the bolts in question for Torqx bits or something else less common? Dirtbag willing to steal may be less likely to carry an odd/less common tool. Maybe for something like a stem a mix-match of bolt designs?

Knock on formica I grew up in [and now live in] an area where this stuff wasn't an issue (that or nobody really wanted the gems I rode)

Most likely.... the thief (AKA dirtbag) has never bought a tool in his life and is using a folding tool "found" in someone else's saddle bag. I think the idea of "career bicycle thief's" are more rare than just plain old opportunist's.

But some thief's know and actively look for quality bicycles that can bring quick cash. They know what to do to defeat any attempt to harden the target bicycle. Whether they take your bicycle or someone else's may be little more than the luck of the draw.

One thing to keep in mind when "foolproofing" your bike is that you don't want to get carried away and screw yourself. Whatever you do has to be easily circumvented or you'll be facing a very difficult repair one day.

I can't count the times I've run into folks walking because they got a flat and couldn't open their thief proof wheel locks.

One more for the ball bearing and wax, although they are all pretty good ideas (not too sure about the epoxy though). The Solder idea is good. I might give that a try next time I decide to worry about it.

Using solder can soften the bolt or the aluminum component it goes in to. Methods vary.

Or just tap in a bit of solder with a hammer. Not that hard to pick it out if necessary.

Why not epoxy? It wouldn't be too difficult to drill the aluminum filling the recess once a year, as the OP needs.

One danger: if thief can't get what he wants with whatever simple tools he has, --he might resort to much greater damage. I had a friend who, years ago, used to use razor blades as washers when mounting eight-tracks in his cars. One day he found his car (eight track still in place and blood all over the dash and seat) totally trashed. Dash board and interior had been kicked or hammered and the outside of his car was stomped or hammered also. Eight-track was fine, though.

Hi, does this really work. If you Google how to remove superglue you get: “Does isopropyl alcohol dissolve super glue? No, something much stronger than that is needed, like acetone. Even then, when the glue has been sitting there a few days, even acetone won't help.”]

It's a 2014 thread. But maybe someone knows about dried superglue and acetone. Loctite says it will work. https://www.loctiteproducts.com/en/k...uper-glue.html

I like the hot melt glue idea. Is a hair dryer hot enough to melt the glue? I'm guessing it is. It might be tricky to get all the residue out of the bolt. Maybe some Q-tips after heating the bolt with the hair dryer?

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...the current stats on bike theft suggest that e-bikes get stolen three times as often as a normal, pedal powered bike. So I lock up next to an e-bike when I can. So far, it's working. :)
I know it used to be popular to do the ball bearing/super glue thing on seat post clamps. But I never tried it. I always assumed enough acetone would remove just about any adhesive except epoxy.

Thread or stud locker? A little heat from a soldering tip to the bearing to defeat the bond.

Acetone works fine. Acetone, not [necessarily] nail polish remover.

I used acetone to dissolve acrylic pellets for hardening felt. Given time, it will work.

if I can, I'll swap the standard hardware out for "security" head hardware. It will not deter the determined, but it may buy the rightful owner some catch time.

Small vice grips and that cap screw is coming right out.

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