owning a bike?

[lorcar]

Hi all

i was thinking to buy a second hand hybrid bike to use for some fun ride on the riverside park, central park, upper west side, etc.
I am not an expert, so probably my question will make many laugh.

I have seen people going around with saddles, heaviest lockers and other tricks to defeat likely theft.
Now, i would really like to have a bike, but i am not ready to use more than average attention, so i am not willing to disassemble the wheels, the saddle, or whatever everytime i have to park the bike for few hours.

Is it possible just to park your bike with its locker or is it more likely that my bike - or parts of it - will be missing the second day?
thanks in advance

[Front_Porch]

You just reminded me of the movie Reality Bites (where the name of the band is Hey, That's My Bike).

but, anyway, check out this link:

http://www.transalt.org/info/garages.html

[Chi2NYC?]

check out the website "bikeforums". many new yorkers post there about security. i'm about to move there with a decent bike, and the website has so convinced me that theft there is worse than in chicago that my plan is:

-replace all quick-release skewers (both wheels and for seat tube) with a hex-key bolt skewer that is rounded (can't use wrench to unscrew it).

-superglue a ball bearing into the hex-key bolt surface (where the hex key would make contact for unscrewing), so someone can't use a hex key to get your wheels or seat post. you can supposedly use acetone to get it back out if you get a flat tire or something. i'm also going to do this for my seat clamp bolt.
for the seat post, an alternative is to leave it quick-release and take it with the seat along each time you go somewhere. not as nice for the thief to pedal off with your bike without the seat.

-get quick-release pedals from mks. hard for thief to ride off with my bike if i take the pedals with me.

-attach front/rear lights to my helmet, so i won't have to worry about taking them off my bike when i lock up. look for lights that have velcro strap attachments that you can thread through your helmet.

-use one of kryptonite's "new york" series u-locks (with nontubular key) (these are rated among the best and are the only locks kryptonite offers a theft policy for in nyc). use this to lock the *rear* wheel *through the rear triangle portion of the frame.* it seems weird, but this is the best way to lock your bike (hard to get leverage for cutting lock and wheels are really hard to cut through). the smaller the u-lock you can use, the better (less leverage).

-use *another* u-lock to lock the front wheel to your frame. or, if you want to save weight and money, you can use a thick cable attached to your rear u-lock (but be sure your front wheel has better security than the quick-release, as cables are easy to cut).

-many say bikes with "drop-down" handlebars (e.g. road bikes) are less likely to be stolen.

-don't get a nice bike.

-try not to lock your bike in the same place. vary where you lock it so it would be harder for thieves to find it if they come back with better tools to get it.

-make your bike look like crap. scratch off brand names on your bike and its components (esp if they are nice). put scratches in the frame and do a random and bad tape job. generally, make your bike look like the one they would prefer to pass up, without affecting your bike's performance much.

-scratch your name/contact info on the bike frame and on your wheels. some people also put a paper with contact info in their frame under the seat tube. maybe the person your stolen bike is sold to or a bike mechanic will see it one day and contact you.

-*never* lock your bike outside overnight. take it inside whenever possible.

-be sure the post you lock your bike to is secure. in chicago we do have street sign posts that aren't bolted in well and can be lifted up from the ground. the one bike i lost here was locked to a stop sign post overnight. thieves had unbolted the stop sign from the post (and stole it), and then lifted by bike off of the poll.