Make my AHH look less tempting!

[Eric Karnes]

Evening all-

I'm interested in some group brainstorming. I recently moved to a university area where I'm told there is a high incidence of bike theft. (Granted this is a town in the UK and I just move here from Philadelphia, so perhaps I should take that claim with a grain of salt). Nevertheless, my AHH will shortly arrive here via Bikeflights.

I'm a firm believer in riding my 'good bikes' anywhere and everywhere, but I don't want to tempt fate. So I'm looking for ideas: how could I make my Hilsen look less desirable to opporunistic British bike thrives? It's brown and has albatross bars so it already looks a bit like an old British beater to the uninformed. But all brainstorming welcome! I was thinking lots of stickers and a bit of thoughtfully-smeared dirt.

Thanks in advance!

Eric

[Brian Campbell]

Wrap the frame tubes in yellow electrical tape.

[Laing Conley]

Plasti dip makes removable spray coating that you can use to ugly it up and then peel off at a later date.


Laing Conley

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[PaulS]

I would say just ride it as-is.  Don't bugger it up with stickers, tape, or whatever else on that beautiful frame.  My guess is: MOST people wouldn't be able to tell the difference between that bike and a $100 vintage Schwinn.  And people that DO know what it is, would be like all the Riv people I've met---nice, decent, honest, good-hearted people who will give you a compliment than even think about stealing your bike.

I'd be more concerned about dings and dents from other careless riders. 

[rpeters...@gmail.com]

I’m with keeping the lovely bike as is. Could deploy PitLocks on the wheel skewers and seat post to deter parts thieves. Makes wheel removal and seat adjustment more of a pain though.

Sometimes I think thefts are random and more to do with how easy something is to steal...park next to the person with a cable lock!??

Rachel

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[John Phillips]

Heavy duty Abus U-locks or chain locks, and Hexlox for components? Cheap plastic saddle?

Where are you going to park it?

John

[Sean Steinle]

Definitely don't uglify it. I mean, half of what you pay for in a Rivendell is aesthetics (this is coming from a Hilsen owner). My experience is that most people only think carbon fiber drop bar bikes and full sus. mtbs are nice and expensive. Rivs basically look like old steel bikes with nice paint jobs to most people. 

[Adam Leibow]

i lock up all my rivendells all over san francisco, and it might be safe to say san francisco is worse than the town in the UK for bike theft. & i have never had a bike stolen (i even went to UCSB). i attribute this to a couple of factors:

- i always lock my bike in a bright prominent area with a lot of foot traffic (nearby a hotel main entrance, for example). bonus points if you can see your bike from wherever it is you'll be going. 

- i go crazy overboard on locks. u lock for the frame, second u lock/abus bordo for the front wheel, small abus chain lock through saddle and rear wheel. remove all bags. 

- always bring bike inside whenever possible. 

some ideas for making the bike look shittier than it is:

- plastic grocery bag wrapped around saddle

- ratty/worn/stained bar tape (un-shellacked cloth tape is great for this and it's nice beausage)

- minimize polished parts, increase worn parts (rusty steel quill stem?)

- if drop or albastache bars, use non-aero brake levers

- cleverly placed sticker here or there (decrease pristine factor)

hope this helps

On Friday, September 27, 2019 at 12:04:00 PM UTC-7, Eric Karnes wrote:

[Mark Roland]

Should I be a little depressed that all my bikes look  like this?

On Friday, September 27, 2019 at 7:53:45 PM UTC-4, Adam Leibow wrote:

.....

[Lester Lammers]

I agree. Velo Orange has skewers that use a unique allen wrench. I have them on my Atlantis. Those or something similar and a good lock should keep it safe.

[REC (Roberta)]

Hi, Eric.  

Roberta from Philadelphia here, owner of your Wald basket giveaway (thank you).  We met in Rittenhouse Square.  Congratulations on your new adventure. 

Personally, I love riding a pretty bike and would be sad riding anything less.  You know how ugly most of the commuter bikes here are.  You couldn't uglify a Riv enough.

You didn't ask about locks, but I'll throw that idea out--use excellent locks, one or two frame/back wheel to rack and one front wheel to frame.  Many of these better locks come with enough insurance to cover the bike if you register the lock and it gets stolen (I just got a NY standard lock, just one step down from their best Kryptonite, as a third lock to my good Arbus ones).  Big negative is weight.  Then use the the other ideas above.

For 25 years, I locked my Specialized Hardrock in Philly with this two lock method and still had it to sell to help finance my Riv.  Granted,  not as desirable as a Riv, but it always looked way better than the other bikes locked nearby.  

On Friday, September 27, 2019 at 3:04:00 PM UTC-4, Eric Karnes wrote:

[Friend]

Other ideas.  Buy ball bearings that barely fit inside allen wrench key-holes and smear them in there with bees wax.  You have to melt the wax to get them out.  

Lock your bike between other bikes and lock the wheels and frame (I keep a hefty u-lock at my most frequented bike rack, then travel with another when I go elsewhere)

On Friday, September 27, 2019 at 3:04:00 PM UTC-4, Eric Karnes wrote:

[Reid Echols]

I've traveled all over the UK with a bike and never even had a bag stolen off of it. Just be smart locking it up, and maybe grab a cable lock or two for wheels and accessories. Honestly if you're not in London (where pro-thieves operate), you're probably fine. Would be a shame to mess with the beauty of a Homer. 

If you're concerned, you could always get a (quite cheap) bike insurance policy. Annoying perhaps to have to order another bike, but they do cover replacement value and sometimes even renting while you wait for a replacement to arrive. 

I've also got to get a seatpost binder fixed on that Hanford, so if you wanted to buy it back and just leave the paint marked up for the time you're in the UK that would be great camouflage I'd imagine ;) 

-Reid 

[Eric Karnes]

Thanks for all the comments! I think I will just leave it as is. I have a good lock collection from my time in Philly that will be shipped over with the bike. Though I might place a sticker here or there to make it look a bit less precious! I'll also use the ball-bearing trick. Looking forward to exploring all the canal paths.

Roberta, hope the basket is getting some use! Reid, what happened to the Hanford? The binder bolt seized?

Eric

[REC (Roberta)]

It is, thank you!, although it took me until last week to execute my plan and mount it on my non-Riv grocery and around town shopper.

1/2" pipe insulation to dampen metal on metal noise.  Zip ties to secure basket to rack. 

Hope you enjoy the UK.

On Saturday, September 28, 2019 at 1:00:33 PM UTC-4, Eric Karnes wrote:

Roberta, hope the basket is getting some use!

Eric

[Lynn Haas]

On university campuses, I personally worry the most about damage from other bikes. Sometimes they get tangled up and get damaged when the owners try to separate them. Once I saw a young man get frustrated and go straight down the rack, kicking every bike as hard as he could. It was a huge mess and I'm pretty sure everyone parked there had to find another way home that night.

If your university has bike lockers, they are wonderful. I had one while in school after my beater was stolen off of my back porch and I decided that I'd rather ride my nice bike that was safer in bad weather anyway. I liked being able to leave my helmet and shoes (and sometimes heavy books) with my bike. It meant I had to walk a little further to my buildings, but I always had a reserved parking spot on a campus with a perennial bike rack shortage. I loved having the bike locker.

[Conor Skelding]

This doesn't go to the camouflage but to the theft problem -- insure it? Either renters insurance that covers a bike up to that cost (or add a rider to your regular police), or try Velosurance (no experience with them).

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[Julian Westerhout]

Eric, 

One option if you're regularly parking in the same place is to leave one or more u-locks locked to the rack so they are there when you want to lock up but you don't have to lug them back and forth from home (I'm assuming that you can store your bike inside at home). 

I did this for years until I was assigned an office big enough to allow me to bring my bike inside --now I have no windows, but room for my bike, a good tradeoff in my book. Every workday my Clem serves as office decor and a conversation piece!   :) 

Julian Westerhout

Bloomington, IL 

p.s. I presume you've fitted mudguards (fenders) to the Homer?    That's essential in the UK!   :) 

[Steven Seelig]

The Philly Bike Expo is coming up on Nov 2 and 3rd, and for the past 2 years there's been a fella who gives a seminar each hour on bike locking and other safety tips for folks who ride on the mean streets of Philly.  He's very entertaining, and goes through all the things to think about in choosing a locking location, how to lock the bike, the benefits of locking wheel skewers, you name it.  Not a direct answer to your question.

My son who is now 10 and I have attended the past two years to listen to his presentation.  Our favorite is when he describes folks on the street who might be up to no good when you are cycling by as a single cyclist.  His advice when you come close to those folks is to turn around and yell "Hey, Tommy," to give the impression there is someone else following you so you're not as easy a mark.  By the time you've ridden by, it's too late for them to figure out that Tommy ain't behind you.

So every now and then, when I'm out riding with my son, I yell "Hey Tommy," and he gets a good laugh.

Regardless of whether he's there, the Expo is fantastic and well worth checking out.