New to commute

My question isn't about the commute itself, but how I might keep my bike safe when it's locked up outside lecture theatres. When I got my bike (8 months ago), uni seemed much too distant to commute to and so I, being superficial, picked the prettiest in-my-garage lock-up-able Electra Amsterdam Balloon 8 I could find. Having moved house, uni is just a tantilising 11 kms away but now I am worried that my brown leather grips and cream tires are too flashy and ridiculous and expensive looking for outside safety. Should I just throw a bike cover over the lot of it? Or maybe a dodgy-looking tarpaulin ...

Get a very good lock (like a kryptonite NYC), but leave it attached to the rack at school since it will be too heavy to want to bike around with.

My Electra got stolen within a week of bringing it home. These bikes are magnets for thieves--when I searched Craigslist for "Electra" in my area, every single one of the listings was someone posting a stolen bike. Sigh.

That said, there's no point in having a bike if you're too scared to ride anywhere on it for fear of it being stolen (and FWIW, mine was stolen from my house). I usually go for the two lock method--use a U-lock and a good cable lock and lock it somewhere that gets a lot of foot traffic so a potential thief might think it's not worth the risk of being noticed trying to steal it. I also tend to try to lock my bike near a bike that is less protected than my own, figuring that if someone is going to steal something, surely they'd go for the easy one first? It's probably all voodoo, and in any case it's not like I have a lot of choices of where to park my bike (on a busy day there might be two other bikes on the rack). And make sure to write down the serial number so you have it for the police if necessary!

Sarah

must be a posse of bike thieves somewhere on Elecktras!!

buy the best lock you can afford and use it diligently

I like the two lock method, too. I've used that method with success.
I went a different route recently, tho. I have a really great Bike Friday that I adore, but am worried it will get stolen when I run errands because it's so unique and different. I went on Craigslist and bought a junker Schwinn World Tourist for $20. It's old, it's paint is ugly and rusted and I put stickers all over it. I use that for the grocery store (when I'm inside for a long time) and for when it's raining/wet (when I don't care if it gets dirty). I still ride my nice bikes for long rides, but the "grandma" bike is for those times when I am running errands and am "worried" something might happen to it.
Maybe you could do that? Save the really nice Electra for rides when it doesn't have to be locked up or left unattended for long periods of time.

I did my first commute today (25 km woohoo. Endorphin happy) and the bike certainly got a lot of (positive) attention. I'll buy a second lock, thanks for the advice, and wait and see about a second if my nerves get too shot. It's only ever out of my sight for an hour or two, and in heavy foot traffic, so I hope it'll be okay.

Congrats on your first commute!!!! I hope it's the first of many to come. :)

aren't those endorphins the best :D

If you can, avoid locking it in the same place every day. Some thieves will scout out a certain bike, then come back later to pick it up with the appropriate tools and a big van to chuck it into.

I had a cheapo bike with a nice saddle and bag on it - they skipped the bike and popped off the saddle and bag and post! Lock what you can and what you can't, bring inside.

I think I learned this on here - buy some of those XXL chain dog collars and tuck them in your commuter bag. You can use them to extend your U lock - slide the big round ring through the U lock and then put the chain around what you want to protect.

My advise for at home is keep it inside if at all possible. any and all bikes. In the early hrs this morning, my bike (that I use to commute and charity rides), my husbands bike (that we bought last Saturday) and my son's dirt bike were stolen off our back porch!! :mad: :( Yes, they were all locked up. This is the second time that we have had theives take a bike/s right from our back porch!
I have Bike MS in just 2 months and can't afford a new bike for any of us.
Keep them inside if at all possible!!

oh Bikingnurse, what a sad story!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Biciclista

oh Bikingnurse, what a sad story!

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I would have inserted more angry faces...lots of more angry faces... :p :(

So sorry. That is devastating :p I can't imagine that happening. It was your own back yard. If it's happened twice, it may be a repeat offender or someone you know... :(

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BikingNurse

My advise for at home is keep it inside if at all possible. any and all bikes. In the early hrs this morning, my bike (that I use to commute and charity rides), my husbands bike (that we bought last Saturday) and my son's dirt bike were stolen off our back porch!! :mad: :( Yes, they were all locked up. This is the second time that we have had theives take a bike/s right from our back porch!
I have Bike MS in just 2 months and can't afford a new bike for any of us.
Keep them inside if at all possible!!

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{{{{{bikingnurse}}}}}

Pound a pillow for me!!

GGRRRRR!!!

I think it's time for some creative brainstorming. There's gotta be a gadget that will, unless you disable it, do somethign mildly heinous to the person riding the bike. My fantasy is "Onstar for bikes" -- so I'd get a little call: "this is onstar. The backside on the seat of your bike is not yours. Would you like us to activate teh squirtseat [containing what I didn't deposit into the cornfields)]?
But... it could work... you'd have thirty seconds to deactivate it -- or you'd just have to move it. Hmmm... something in the chain so that when the pedals go round, it ruptures and splats the puir rider with V-8...

my friend lives in a high bike theft area, and she has a small cable that she locks her brooks saddle to the frame with. I second (or third or fourth) the two lock method and also add, never, ever leave your bike at school over night. If you are sick or get a ride home with friends, go back with a car and pick it up. Bikes mainly get stolen around here as crimes of opportunities. Also, can you register your bike with campus police? It's free to do here (costs a bit at the university I did my graduate work at), and helps if the bike shows up at a lbs as a 'used' bike for sale. Take pictures of it so you have 'proof' of ownership - and (as someone else mentioned) jot down the serial number. Other than that, make sure you have good karma in your life and your bike will too (hopefully) ;)

Happy commuting on a super cute bike - what about a picture for us?