Seat Post Lock. Security. Theft

[shaun_morrison]

Seat Post Lock. Security. Stolen.

Hi Everybody,

Could anyone tell me the most effective method of ensuring your saddle and seat post doesn't get stolen. I am planning to buy a Brooks saddle (http://www.brookssaddles.com) and a Thud Buster suspension seat post (http://www.thudbuster.com) – around £200 worth. At the moment all someone would have to do to steal these expensive items is just bring along the right sized allen key and turn anti clockwise hard and in fifteen seconds they'd have £200 worth of gear.

Any good seat post locks out there?

Much appreciated
Shaun

[AndrewClark]

Replacing the allen bolt with a Torx bolt is the simplest and cheapest solution.

You can get locking bolts from Pitlock, I've got them on my wheels but I've seen other people say that their seat clamp one isn't very effective at keeping the seat post at the right height.

http://www.andrew-robertson.co.uk/web/orbit/pitlock.shtml

[stutho]

Yes I have replaced nearly every fixing on the bike with a Torx security bolt.  Torx have  advantages: They are less likely to be undone by a tea leaf; They are harder to 'head strip' than an Allen bolt; there is plenty of availability of different sizes; and they can be tightened to a greater torque than an Allen bolt.

Torx come in two flavours: High Security and Standard.  The High Security bits have a pin in the centre of the socket.  I went for the high security but in retrospect I think that this was a mistake, they are more expensive and harder to find.

Finally the best bit You should be able to get ALL major fixing (Ex the wheels) changed to Torx for less than £20 (including mudguards, rack, brake callipers, stem, handlebar, cages, seat post, saddle clamp, brake leavers, etc)

P.S. The only bolt I haven’t found in Torx is the pre load adjuster for the headset – if you find one of the right length let me know.
 

[Danneaux]

Old thread, persistent problem.

On occasion,  I have fitted a tube connecting nut (known as a "star-fangled nut" in bicycles, commonly used to adjust threadless headsets) to the seatpost, then threaded in an eyebolt locked in place with a plain hex nut.  Tube connecting nuts are inexpensive and available in a variety of sizes from suppliers such as this one:  
http://www.mcmaster.com/#steel-tube-connector-nuts/=f7dz74

I then go to the hardware store and have them crimp-connect a loop into each end of a length of vinyl-coated stainless steel aircraft cable (usually 1/8" diameter).  The length should be long enough for the loop to reach the upper of the two bottle bosses mounted on the seat tube when the saddle and seatpost are at their usual height or a bit more to allow future adjustment.  I then replace the upper bottle-boss bolt with one long enough to thread through the lower loop at the end of the aircraft cable and capture it.

This tethers the seatpost/saddle into place nicely and nothing appears out of place to alert thieves yet still allows regular owner maintenance.  There is still the matter of securing the saddle to the seatpost, but I have found one can replace the clamp-fixing bolt with a longer one and cap it with a nylock nut.  This requires a thief to have an adjustable or appropriately-sized box-end wrench as well as an allen wrench.  Most thieves don't carry both, but I suppose this could be a problem if the bike is parked for some time in the same place and has a theft-prone saddle.  Nothing is failsafe, but this is an elegant, cheap solution overall.

A commercial product along these lines was marketed for a time in the early days of MTBs, when QR seatpost clamps were common.

Hope this helps someone.  Thinking of doing it again myself before taking the Sherpa overseas.

Best,

Dan.