CompleteStreets

In Portland, Oregon theft of headlights and tail lights is very common. At a bike shop I recently overheard someone say that police discovered a house that had approximately 5,000 "stolen blinkies" stockpiled. I have no idea if that's true, but I can say that I've had several friends who've had their lights ripped off their bikes while locked up.

Those who've had their lights stolen fall into one of two camps:

1) They took their chances, for convenience sake, by leaving their lights on their bike during a quick errand.

or

2) They forgot to remove their lights.

I've fallen into both camps at various times.

Dynamo lights are outside of my budget, so I'm looking for a headlight that is relatively cheap and is not super likely to get stolen if I don't take it off while grocery shopping, etc. I'm hoping to figure out a way to camouflage a headlight so that would-be thieves don't realize the light is there. Anyone have success with leaving their lights on their bike in an urban area and not having the lights get stolen? What's the secret?

canklecat

I've seen a couple of bikes locally with front and rear lights that appear to merge with the top tube. Not sure whether the bikes were built that way or the lights were just cleverly designed for minimal profile.

Online I've seen photos of a couple of commuter/errand type bikes with the lights built into the frames. Don't recall the brand names.

I usually have a simple cloth shoulder bag folded or rolled up on my rear rack under a cargo net for errands. Whenever I'm away from the bike I take off almost everything and put it in the shoulder bag: front and rear lights (Serfas SL-255, Planet Bike Rack Blinky 5), Topeak Race Rocket HP mini-pump, Ion Speed Pro camera. Everything is on quick release clips that hold securely but are easy to pop loose. Takes less time than fumbling with my lock, which is always the slowest chore with parking.

I also have cheap froggie blinkies strapped to the frame. I leave 'em on. They cost only a buck apiece. Sometimes I give 'em away to folks I meet riding at night without lights if they can't afford to buy their own at the dollar store.

znomit

Cheapies with hot glue on their mounting screws and quick releases so they can't be stolen.

CompleteStreets

I just thought of something. Why don't companies design lights that require a key to be "unlocked" when removing them from a bike?

10 Wheels

Dude: I once had my car stolen...Yes it was locked.

fietsbob

Secret Is: I Dont Live in Portland.

Use a Lot of duct tape.

Robert C

I have not had a problem; but then I replaced the cheap rubber bands with zip-ties. Yes, zip-ties can be cut; but it takes significantly more effort to do so.

Recently I have screwed the lights to the bike. That is also working well.

To screw the light to the bike I first took the cheap magicshine clone and removed the rubbery material from the inside of the mount. At that point you should be able to see a screw holding the mount to the actual light.

Now experiment with e light position on the fender to get the proper angle. Once you have found the right spot, drill the fender and attach the light. Remember to use washers so that the small screw attaching the light and fender does not pull through the fender.

If you have plastic fenders, you can literally do the entire operation while standing in the small parts isle at ACE hardware, then just write the part numbers that you used for the clerk to ring up. If you ask nicely they will frequently loan a screwdriver if you need one. It will only use a couple of dollars worth of parts.

CliffordK

I had my good headlight stolen (in Eugene). What a pain.

So far, the thieves seem to leave these alone.

Silicone LED Cycling Light Bicycle Front Rear Flash Strobe Lamp RED Security | eBay
White 1 LED Frog Tail Rear Flash Solid Durable Light Lamp Headlight Cycle Bike | eBay

They're not great for lighting the road, but good as safety lights. And lose a few and they're not the end of the world.

The other option is to get lights that bolt onto your bike. Not necessarily theft proof, but at least good enough to slow down a thief. My old Night Sun lights bolted on, and I never had a problem. Of course, the battery pack was HUGE

Nonetheless, one could probably adapt some smaller lights with a permanent attachment. Perhaps attach the light permanently, then remove the battery pack, and only put the battery pack on the bike when it is dark.

blue192

I have learned when it comes to stuff on the bike anything not locked tighter than a nun's XXXX can and will be stolen. It is just a matter of how long it will take and how much of a hurry the thief is in.

blue192

Do they still make old fashioned bolt down lights anymore without a quick release? Probably is some on ebay or what not.

01 CAt Man Do

I'm of the opinion that the best way to not get something stolen off of your bike is either not leave the bike in a public place or take with you "Every" quick release accessory you have on your bike when you have no choice but to park it outside. Yes, a PITA but you do what you have to do. Not to mention lock up the frame, wheels, and use a cable to lock the seat/seat post to the frame. AXXHXXXS are everywhere.

I generally don't worry about the accessories if I'm just going into a 7-11 for a quick minute but I still lock the bike. Plus if I'm doing that I also like to have it locked in a place where I can still see the bike from inside the store.

canklecat

Most quick releases can be secured with a zip tie, twist tie or other little tricks to discourage a quick grab 'n' run. I keep spare zip ties in my tool bag so I don't mind replacing them if I need to snip a zip tie and replace it just a little while later. It won't thwart a serious thief but might discourage one who doesn't want to draw attention outside a busy store or pub while we're inside.

ItsJustMe

Heck, I don't even carry a lock for my bike. I leave it parked outside stores without worrying about it.

noglider 

Most lights are made for easy installation and removal, not for secure installation. You have to invent something yourself if you really want to do this. Know that you are still incurring some risk. Maybe your lights won't be stolen every week but maybe they will be once or twice a year. Or something like that.

You may consider allen head bolts and then stuffing the hexagonal hole with wax or solder. Basically, make it hard to work on even with conventional tools.

I see some people secure their wheels' quick release levers by tying them to the frame or fork with a hose clamp. A thief can remove the hose clamp with a screwdriver or a wrench, but it seems to enough of a barrier to slow thieves down. This makes them want to move to the next target. It's not foolproof, but it helps.

CompleteStreets

OP here. I did it. I MacGyvered a mount for a headlight so that I don't have to remove it when shopping, etc. Hopefully no one steals the light for at least one year. Fingers crossed.







The other day I stumbled upon an affordable, "theft resistant," AAA battery headlight that is designed to bolt onto the handlebars. To remove the light, one must remove the lens cap and then loosen two hex screws. However, I wasn't too confident that such a light wouldn't get tampered with, if not stolen, within a couple months time. There's something about a handlebar light that says to thieves, "This light can be yours!" ... especially in Portland.

I previously had a dynamo hub generator light bolted onto the top of the fork, just above the front wheel. Well, the generator is now shot and I don't feel like splurging on a new one at this point in time. Two bike mechanics looked at it and scratched their heads. That generator light never got stolen for over one year, so I figured if I could only disguise a battery-powered light as a generator light, thieves probably won't steal it.

I went to a local non-profit bike shop that sells scrap bike parts and junk for $0.50/pound. I purchased a bent set of handlebars, a seat clamp, and a flat bracket, and bolted this setup onto my bike's fork mount, where the old generator light was.

I needed to figure out what to do with the loose wires that once connected to the generator light. I decided to use guerrilla tape and zip ties to attach them to the light, giving the appearance that the light is powered by the generator hub.

If a thief sees past my antics and goes the distance to use tools to steal the light, I will accept defeat and sheepishly remove my light every single time for the 500+ times per year I lock my bike up at various destinations.

CompleteStreets

Side note: I have since placed a ziplock bag on top of the light, securing the bag with rubber bands. I did this because I'm not too confident that the light is waterproof. The light seems to shine brightly through the bag. I'm unsure if adding the bag will increase or decrease the chances the light will get stolen. Again, all I ask for is one year. Time will tell.

noglider 

If it gets stolen soon, that doesn't mean it will happen again soon, so don't admit defeat too quickly. It sounds like a good setup, but you know we all want to see pictures!

CompleteStreets

I've been having issues with uploading photos on bikeforums. Let me know if you can see these. I think I'm going to add a "bar end" to the end of the handlebar, near wear the light is mounted so that a thief doesn't try to whack it off sideways.

WheresWaldo

You are using Google (Drive/Docs) for you storage location and their links do not allow Bikeforums.net to determine that the link is actually an image file. There isn't an easy way to link to images on Google. My suggestion is to open a free account on imgur.com and upload whatever forum images you want to post up there. They provide actually BB style links that already have the requisite IMG and /IMG tags.

ItsJustMe

None of those photos are showing up.

WheresWaldo

Hey @ItsJustMe totally off topic, any new 3d printed stuff?

fietsbob

My B&M Wired to the dynamo, Head light, uses a special Bolt they Make, requiring 2 Torx wrenches to install..

noglider 

You can use Google Photos to host images that you display here. I do that. When my picture displays in my browser tab at photos.google.com, I right-click on the image and choose Copy-Image-Address. I paste that in here with the right markup tags around it.

If you reply to this post with a quote but don't post, you can see the code I used to embed this image.

noglider 

Yeah, if you can find your way to make the budget for dynamo lights, you might find it worth the money. We have tons of bikes parked in my neighborhood, many of them parked 24 hours a day outside. The bikes with bolted-on dynamo lights don't get their lights stolen. Go figure. I once parked in East Harlem, and someone attempted to take my light but didn't have the right tools, so all he did was bend the mounting bracket. I bent it back into shape, and the light is still up and running.

WheresWaldo

@noglider, your link is broken and not showing an image. That is why posting direct from Google is not the easiest thing to do, even if you know what you are doing.