SurferRosa

I don't know if that works for bears or not, but I do know it does not work for cougars. Do not run.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...was-emaciated/

Maelochs

The point you are ignoring is that it will not be a crappy bike ,,,
You might fool the meth-heads but they will be deterred by any serious lock ,,,, or two cheap locks, which is what I have been using successfully, The question remains, will your crappy paint fool anyone willing to tackle a decent lock to steal a decent bike?

At this point, test it or go away, I'd say. Too much talk, no data,

indyfabz

Cut off its food supply, folks.

rsbob 

Never run from a bear either. Stand your ground and fight back and if that doesn’t work, play dead.

indyfabz

Or take a photo.

PeteHski

What I want to see now is a few photos of the resultant fugly paint job and expensive lock. I think it's a FANTASTIC idea! (well at least for our entertainment

indyfabz

Now? I called for that pages ago. Have we even seen a before photo? I added OP to my iggy list when I became convinced that this thread is bogus.

Milton Keynes

Some guys are into older women.

smasha

1- "Professional" thieves don't steal dozens/hundreds or bikes so they can have dozens/hundreds of bikes; they steal bikes to sell them. What's the resale value of a nice bike that looks like hell? How does that compare to the resale value of a nice bike that looks like a nice bike? Why would a "professional" bike thief put in the effort to break a good lock, for a bike with minimal resale value, when bikes with higher resale value are abundant and easier to steal?

2- If I gave a brand-new bike a "rust" paint job, whatever happens to it is an anecdote, not data. And it's an anecdote that may not apply in different cities, or even in different locations in my city, or the same location on different days of the week.

smasha

I'm not arguing, I'm asking you to clarify what seems to be one the most nonsensical assertions yet, in this thread. Go back and read it.

Ironfish653

The value would be in the components. I’d venture to say that high-end bikes that get stolen are more likely to be broken up for parts than less expensive models.
just because the paint job looks like hell, if it’s sitting on Ultegra or SRAM Red with nice wheels, it’s worth it to steal it and strip it, and since components are far more fungible than frames/complete bikes, less risk, too.

Think of it this way; the owner of a $2000+ bike would be more likely to have registered the serial numbers, or installed a tracking device like an AirTag, and will be much more likely to try to track it down on the resale market, than the owner of a $500 hybrid.

rsbob 

Don’t tell that to my older wife.

smasha

Agreed. But this bike will be mostly Deore level parts. I don't think that's too much of a target for theft. Sure, if someone can grab the bike easily, it'll get grabbed, but I can't picture anyone stealing it for parts, or stripping parts off of it while parked.

YMMV. Around here, people tend to steal bikes, not parts.

70sSanO

Years down the road someone will stumble on this thread and say, “How stupid. Nobody steals bikes that you have to pedal.”

John

Maelochs

So why even bother? if it isn't that good a bike, you just need a decent lock---you told us that. Then why all the angst? Just lock it with a decent lock ... you told us .... oh, wait, I said that.

Yeah .... ummmm .... as has been clearly stated, the people steal the bikes and strip the parts.

At least try to pretend you are honestly discussing, right?

In any case ... put up or shut up. You came up with a wild, hare-brained idea for a bike which doesn't even warrant the concern, and inflated it into a thread, and then instead of admitting you never intended to do any of it, kept pretending that this was a serious discussion and you were seriously trying to find the best solution.

Logical inconsistency is a key sign that a person is thinking after, not before the post. You never really planned to paint your bike ugly, but you don't want to simply admit the truth.

It doesn't matter. No one needs to be told when the sun is up, and those that deny it .... don't matter.

Prove me wrong. Post "before" pics of the bike now, and in a week post the same bike with ugly paint. Walk the talk.

addendum8716

thief just everywhere you need to be caution

smasha

1- The bike could very easily be a target for theft, even with a good lock. The point there is that it's unlikely anyone (where I live) would steal the components off of it, while it's locked up.

2- Again, parts theft ≠ bike theft.

3- In case I haven't made myself clear: DIFFERENT TYPES OF THIEVES OPERATE DIFFERENTLY. Where I live, bike theft is a problem, but component theft is not a problem. Thus, I need to protect the bike from theft, not the components.

Not sure why you're being so obtuse about it.

smasha

This is where I live.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/cri...lice-operation

tomato coupe

You live in a storage locker?

Maelochs

As has been stated several times, PEOPLE STEAL THE WHOLE BIKE AND STRIP THE PARTS AT HOME. Wicked irony.
and again .....

Three strikes and well .... you were out before you started ......

Troll on, pal. Until you post pics of the bike before and after, you are just empty of all worthwhile content. New thread title?

Ironfish653

OP 's idea of bike theft sounds like someone who's never stolen anything.

Just sayin'.

twonky

yup. no matter what kind of bike...be it very low dollar, to high dollar...someone will try and 'borrow' it. just take whatever steps you can, to prevent it.

adlai

I've never had a bike stolen. Because I always had good ulocks and I didn't leave the bike locked outside regularly.

I would be very apprehensive owning a very obviously expensive ebike.

I've also never owned a bike which cost more than $1k. I also custom build my own bikes so they don't have the bling look.

brixxton

I enjoy finding neglected, unloved machines and bringing them back to life I try not to pay more than $100 and over time I've a large collection of parts. My workshop is in Berkeley Ca a hot spot for thieves.
I've returned to BART to find nothing but a brocken U lock and chain, they got a POS GMC Denali leaving higher end machines behind, the GMC had no decals the frame was just highly polished aluminum and with black spoked wheels it looked the ****. Fast forward 12mths after a hard days work I get on the BART in S.F. strap my Schwinn Curcuit with cool white Sante gear set to the rack on the train and fell asleep, I woke in Richmond with no bike. I don't remember what I paid for it ,thats irrelavent, it had been a basket case and I spent hours lovingly restoring it. I was gutted.
Third times a charm,reading in the sun on campus I fell asleep in the grass, plenty of people around . It was chilly and the sun was going down when I woke.My unique looking Bianchi was gone as was my back pack containing an extremely heavy duty chain and combination lock, open to the combination.
At this point I lost my **** and turned green. On the corner of Shattuck and University outside the MacDonalds was known ground zero for homeless tweakers and bike thieves.
I made it very clear to them and anyone else that would listen I would find my bike and remove the hands of whoever was unlucky to be in possesion of it. I also offered $20 NQA for information. I hit a few more spots ,no luck.
Three days later leaving Downtown Berkeley BART I found it chained to the bike rack with my padlock.The offside pedal had been stripped (retap $35 Missing link) but the combination was unchanged. That was 5+ years ago. I now live downtown SanFrancisco and still have the Bianchi. I take it for granted that I can't turn my back on any bike but that is not going to stop me enjoying the fruits of my labor. I tried the beater angle,loosing a Mongoose and a Giant I locked to itself.
My bike comes with me unless theres one of the manned bike parking places that are popping up.
OK I realize falling asleep was dumb please don't rub it in.

Reflector Guy

Sure, why not. We already had one forum member who lived in a shed.... Although given the choice I might have preferred the shed just because it had more natural lighting.