Brennan

Back when I lived in the SF Bay Area, there was a chance of finding your stolen bike at one of the local flea markets. Some thieves were much more organized though. They collected lots of high value bikes and trucked them up and down the west coast to sell in different markets so they would be harder to track, probably hitting LA, SF, Portland, Seattle mainly.

70sSanO

Can’t beat a duct tape wrapped saddle.

Mis-matched front wheel screams that the original was stolen but the bike was left.

John

Maelochs

Depends .... A lot of bikes are stolen for joy rides or to fund a minor drug habit ... those folks will steal what is easy. Best deterrent there, is a big fat lock and chain---if the bike is Visibly locked, by someone who obviously knows how to lock a bike. When I lock up at the hardware store or gym, I use two locks---anyone who wanted to could disable either lock in five or fifteen minutes, but most sneak-thieves don't want to spend that much time or energy.

If you have a bike actually worth stealing and selling, then you need a Fahgedaboutit-sized lock---which weighs more than the lightweight, expensive bike. What's the point? And no matter what you use for a lock and chain, a grinder can grind through it. The pros who go out and load a van full of high-end bikes a couple times a weekend, know what bikes are worth stealing and have the tools to defeat almost any lock quickly. Clarification": any lock or chain can be defeated, but the pros are not going to spend five or fifteen minutes and two batteries grinding through a 70-pound chain (most will cut through whatever the bike is locked to.)

On a college campus, Anything will get stolen. $50 Craigslist bikes, free bikes picked up of the side of the road .... anything. Your hope is that there is a better bike on the rack that is easier to steal.

tomato coupe

Maybe you should post on BikeThiefForums?

zandoval 

Sometimes they just steal a bike ta stay in practice...

Eric F 

How sad. I enjoy looking at my bikes. I like riding them even more. That said, we probably ride for different reasons.

As for attempting to disguise your bike, it might be helpful or it might not. Certainly, an obviously high-quality bike that isn't secured very well is going to be a juicy target. However, an ugly bike and a good lock still might not be enough of a deterrent from someone determined to take it. As I posted about above, a whole flock of locked bikes were stolen from a locked bike cage at my daughter's college dorm last week. It was clearly a coordinated and planned effort by multiple people. They took the bikes they could take easily, regardless of their quality. The few bikes that survived were the ones where the owner made it too much effort for the thieves to take.

70sSanO

Unfortunately the name may have changed but the trolls are the same…

What is the Best Way to Carry Bolt Cutters on Someone Else’s Bike?

John

Maelochs

Even though I am the smartest person in the room .... @base2 wins the thread.

Making the bike ugly won't stop the poor folk, and the people who steal good bikes will see through the paint ... but do it if you like.

I doubt most bike thieves care if what they steal is "identifiable" because no one is "identifying" a stolen bike unless the thief gets caught ... and they don't think they are going to get caught. Either they are shipping and selling out-of-town, or selling them for drugs to people who are selling them to druggies, or will get ridden and dumped somewhere ...

Personally I am closer to @indyfabz .... I won't leave my bike anywhere I think it will get stolen, I lock it with whatever degree of security I think might be called for, and if I think my bike isn't safe somewhere I just don't leave it there.

Maybe there is some guy on an old Peugeot who leaves his bike locked with a cheap cable in a high-crime area 55 hours a week .... and maybe he is just very lucky. Maybe he has good karma. maybe his bike got stolen while I was typing this.

I have had three bikes stolen (one recovered) and I don't want to lose another so I take care. And no matter what, anything can happen.

As to the efficacy of making a decent bike look trashed .... the only people who care what the bike looks like are stealing really high-end bikes and they would see past the camouflage. Otherwise there are two categories---easily stealable bike or hard-to-steal bike. The latter gets stripped, the former stolen.

Or .... you might be right. Testing is how things are proven. Science is driven by experimentation and observation of results. Do it and find out.

rsbob 

Are you an engineer or some profession closely related?

indyfabz

Who are “they”? And do “they” steal just a bike?

indyfabz

I’ve ridden a couple of my own bikes with mis-matched wheels due to warranty claims or LBS repairs.

One time I broke a spoke while riding a train to the start of a charity event. Got off the train, rode home, swapped the wheel and tire, blew the tube on the first try (terrifying the cat), rode back to the train and did the ride in great time despite having to navigate through many slower riders due to my late start.

70sSanO

I think “they” is a non-binary pronoun that refers to a person, place, or thing.

John

smasha

If you don't understand the average bike thief, then you presumably have little basis for speculating about how to deter him/her. You can can comfortably fall back to "this is the way I've always done it", but that ignores the fact that things change.

One of the places where I go a few times a week; I've lost count of how many bikes have been stolen from a rack just outside the front door. I know someone who had a bike stolen, came back the next week with a beater-bike, and that was stolen. She lost two bikes from the same place, one week apart.

To borrow from George Orwell: How often, or on what system, the Thought Police plugged in on any individual wire was guesswork. It was even conceivable that they watched everybody all the time. But at any rate they could plug in your wire whenever they wanted to.

There may not be a thief lurking behind every lamp post, but there may well be a thief lurking behind the lamp post where I'm parked; if you didn't consider this possibility, you'd never even use a bike lock.

smasha

What it potentially offers, is that it would be unattractive to thieves who would otherwise break good locks to take decent bikes. You don't understand that???

Complain all you want about how much bandwidth it's taken up, you've contributed significantly to that wasted bandwidth, while doing exactly what you claim isn't happening.

smasha

But, but... 8 U-locks on one bike is just being paranoid.

Also; If it's stupid but it works, then it isn't stupid.

Seems a lot of people here have committed the first axiom to memory, but they're not interested in the second.

smasha

It's got a D-Fuse seatpost. No QR.

I'll probably swap out that standard bolt with a security-bolt. And depending on circumstances, tie two plastic shopping bags over the (nice) saddle.

smasha

base2 has made a few comments that explained better options. That's what I call both (a) disagreeing and (b) adding value to the discussion.

While most everyone else is just complaining about being offended by defacing, defiling, and sullying a new bike, base2 actually raised issues that have me reconsidering my original plans.

Still pissing off the people who consider a new bike more art to look at than utility to use, I'm now leaning towards a more conservative approach to defacing, defiling, and sullying a new bike.

smasha

I would argue that it's sad how people get so upset when their bike gets a scratch in the paint.

This new bike was literally scratched before I picked it up from the shop. I appreciate that they gave me a small discount for that, but I'm not upset about it.

smasha

I am an engineer by training, by experience, and by nature.

indyfabz

I understand that you convey that you don’t understand.

Again, go ahead with your plan. Until you do and provide proof, you’re obviously trolling and have nothing of value to add. You can’t even post a photo of the bike you plan to alter.

And I love how you misrepresent what I have written. Never stated I was offended. Just stated that I think your idea is stupid. Never complained about you wasting bandwidth. Just stated a fact. Here’s another statement of opinion: You’re not good at what you’re trying to do.

Iggy list updated in 5, 4, 3..,.

Maelochs

Well, there is your science experiment. Locking a nice bike or a beater makes no difference, so trying to disguise a nice bike as a beater would be a waste of time and money.

You had the answer all along.

PeteHski

Bizarre thread! I guess I don't want to live wherever "smasha" lives. Honestly, if I was THAT worried about my bike being stolen I would probably not bother owning a nice bike. There's always insurance of course. Over the years I know a couple of people who have had nice bikes (and cars for that matter) stolen and their insurance paid out without issue.

I don't personally think the concept of "trashing" your bike's cosmetic look will make a big difference, except if you come to sell it on!

smasha

Her good lock (I don't know how good) was busted when the first bike was stolen, and the beater-bike was locked with a crappy lock.

So it does not answer my question.

Troul 

My explanation has been provided, it is not my job to make sure someone doesn't manipulate my words in there favorable way for false interpretation.

tomato coupe

There is a question buried somewhere in all your posts? If you want to paint your bike an ugly color, just do it.