Theft prevention

[Matt2matt2002]

Lovely photo Matt. Likes like a great time in progress.

Thanks. I was there 2 nights ago. I'll have to write up the trip in the tour section. No one for miles but of course, always wise to lock your steed.

[ourclarioncall]

Theft prevention usually linked to parked bike location.
No problems here on a Scottish loch.

Just saying.....

Best

Matt

Ah, living the dream 🙂

I was going to ask where your at... but giving out those details on the forum might make a bike thief happy. Looks like fun , enjoy

[Matt2matt2002]

Ha ha. Yes, it was a kind of perfect dream.
Quite remote. Just me and a few pesky midges.
The loch is on the road between Achnasheen and Lochcarron.
In the interest of keeping on topic, my security arrangements consisted of a combination wire lock, never leaving sight of my Raven and carefully picking my parking spot.
Oh, and fingers always crossed. Can't do any harm?

[JohnR]

In the interest of keeping on topic, my security arrangements consisted of a combination wire lock, never leaving sight of my Raven and carefully picking my parking spot.
Oh, and fingers always crossed. Can't do any harm?

A motion sensor alarm such as https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07PQ92SHC would alert you if some animal tries to molest your bike while you're in the tent.

[ourclarioncall]

Ha ha. Yes, it was a kind of perfect dream.
Quite remote. Just me and a few pesky midges.
The loch is on the road between Achnasheen and Lochcarron.
In the interest of keeping on topic, my security arrangements consisted of a combination wire lock, never leaving sight of my Raven and carefully picking my parking spot.
Oh, and fingers always crossed. Can't do any harm?

Just checked it on the map . My mind went to ...”wow, that’s quite remote and far away” but then for a guy who biked Ethiopia solo, it’s a bit like popping to the corner shop  😄

Did you ride all the way over there from your hoose?

I just watched a couple guys on YouTube trying to walk across Scotland in a straight line , before they got busted by the cops and an angry farmer during covid. They planned to attempt it again , so you never know . If you see 2 blokes in camouflage pushing your bike up a hill youl know who it is haha

[in4]

My bike bites back. See:
http://thorncyclesforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=3930
and if you leave the thread before the end, the examples of my own snake biting me are in:
http://thorncyclesforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=3930.msg21571#msg21571

Still in a humorous vein: one of my hobbies is UHT (ultra high tension) thermionic tube audiophile amps with up to 2000V on them, and electrostatic loudspeakers with 5500V on them; even my electrostatic headphones have 600V between my ears -- they sound particularly good on Gregorian chant: nearer my God to Thee! https://www.audio-talk.co.uk/fiultra/JUTE%20ON%20AMPS.htm
I build my own UHT amps and rebuild the QUAD electrostatics as required.

So I am, albeit always warily, at home with electrics that can and will kill the careless and the uninvited. Sometimes I wonder if one could get away with giving a bike thief an electric shock, nothing lethal, just a very low current electrostatic sting six inches before he even touches the bike; a ring of security. (When I market it, it will of course be as The Ring of Fear!) Most tourers' bikes have a hub dynamo and when it isn't required for some other purpose like the lamp, it can charge up the capacitor that will power the security device. What I have in mind is that the would-be thief dismisses the first sting of electrostatic shock as a natural event familiar to us all, but that the capacitor will recover fast enough to give him a second hit, and a third and a fourth, until even the dumbest drug addict grasps that the shocks are aimed at him, that they will get very personal, even intimate, if he tries to ride the bicycle, and that he should move away right smartly.

It's a pity the police are so humourlessly woke these days.

Still, the n'lock is proof that not all good security devices need be boat anchors.

Drifting off into the long grass temporarily: The thought of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring being heard your audio set up is surely one to relish. MP3’s squash everything!
Returning to the theft prevention theme: I recalled reading about Embassy’s in Havana and elsewhere being subject to some sort of attack that involved radio waves or something. Bit like some stores have high pitch frequency devices to stop teenagers congregating outside and causing trouble. Very Dystopian I know but I mused that some sort of unpleasant frequency emitting device might make a great anti-theft gadget. Might set the dogs off howling though 😂

[Andre Jute]

My bike bites back. See:
http://thorncyclesforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=3930
and if you leave the thread before the end, the examples of my own snake biting me are in:
http://thorncyclesforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=3930.msg21571#msg21571

Still in a humorous vein: one of my hobbies is UHT (ultra high tension) thermionic tube audiophile amps with up to 2000V on them, and electrostatic loudspeakers with 5500V on them; even my electrostatic headphones have 600V between my ears -- they sound particularly good on Gregorian chant: nearer my God to Thee! https://www.audio-talk.co.uk/fiultra/JUTE%20ON%20AMPS.htm
I build my own UHT amps and rebuild the QUAD electrostatics as required.

So I am, albeit always warily, at home with electrics that can and will kill the careless and the uninvited. Sometimes I wonder if one could get away with giving a bike thief an electric shock, nothing lethal, just a very low current electrostatic sting six inches before he even touches the bike; a ring of security. (When I market it, it will of course be as The Ring of Fear!) Most tourers' bikes have a hub dynamo and when it isn't required for some other purpose like the lamp, it can charge up the capacitor that will power the security device. What I have in mind is that the would-be thief dismisses the first sting of electrostatic shock as a natural event familiar to us all, but that the capacitor will recover fast enough to give him a second hit, and a third and a fourth, until even the dumbest drug addict grasps that the shocks are aimed at him, that they will get very personal, even intimate, if he tries to ride the bicycle, and that he should move away right smartly.

It's a pity the police are so humourlessly woke these days.

Still, the n'lock is proof that not all good security devices need be boat anchors.

Returning to the theft prevention theme: I recalled reading about Embassy’s in Havana and elsewhere being subject to some sort of attack that involved radio waves or something. Bit like some stores have high pitch frequency devices to stop teenagers congregating outside and causing trouble. Very Dystopian I know but I mused that some sort of unpleasant frequency emitting device might make a great anti-theft gadget. Might set the dogs off howling though 😂

I would be the last one to discourage the imaginative termination of bicycle thieves. But unfortunately the operative -- and limiting -- sentence in my screed that you quote is "It's a pity the police are so humourlessly woke these days." Everything I describe is possible and has been accidentally achieved by me. But it's not electrical feasibility that is the question here. Imagine what some copper who will come unsmilingly to your house to give you an official warning against using language that triggers some worthless snowflake, thereby defining a new thoughtcrime for which there is no legislation on the books, can and will do if you actually damaged, if only in some sense that an extremely woke doctor will certify, a would-be bike-thief by static electricity or an ultra-high-pitched sound...

More's the pity.

Drifting off into the long grass temporarily: The thought of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring being heard your audio set up is surely one to relish. MP3’s squash everything!

At the moment I'm listening to a horn loudspeaker of my own design and construction. See https://www.audio-talk.co.uk/fiultra/KISS%20194%20T91HWAF3.jpg The amp has only one small tube per channel for a glorious one-third of a watt. See https://www.audio-talk.co.uk/fiultra/KISS%20192%20T68MZ417A.jpg Circuit for this Minus Zero amp at https://www.audio-talk.co.uk/fiultra/t68mzwe417acircuit.jpg Much more for committed audiophiles at Jute on Amps at https://www.audio-talk.co.uk/fiultra/JUTE%20ON%20AMPS.htm Enjoy!

[Brush2805]

I commute on mine so don't have to carry the locks. I lock it with 4 locks.

I’m guessing you leave the locks at the place you commute to ?

Yes

[JohnR]

Last week I fitted one of these trackers https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07Y1R58QD to my Mercury. ...

In a few months, please let us know what you think of that tracker.

A few comments about the tracker: Initially, the power drain was fairly high (ie struggle to run for one week on a full charge) but I then read the leaflet and set it to only check position when asked rather than more frequent automatic checking when movement is detected. This extends the battery time to several weeks but has the disadvantage that if the tracker is asked to report its position but is in a location (eg inside a building) where it can't get a GPS signal then it reports its last known position (ie when last asked to report its position) with the timestamp. And, if there's no phone signal then the tracker won't work.

I've also applied a BikeRegister permanent marking in a prominent place on the downtube. This should not only be a deterrent to anyone planning to steal the bike for resale but also provides a simple proof of ownership.

[mickeg]

...
A few comments about the tracker:...

I've also applied a BikeRegister permanent marking in a prominent place ...

Thanks for the update on the tracker.

There are a lot of bike thefts of higher end components that are fairly new in my area.  The bike is stolen but the frame is trashed within hours, the components are untraceable.

[JohnR]

Thanks for the update on the tracker.

There are a lot of bike thefts of higher end components that are fairly new in my area.  The bike is stolen but the frame is trashed within hours, the components are untraceable.

The high value component of the Mercury is the Rohloff hub which has a prominent serial number which is both registered with Rohloff and in the BikeRegister details. However, that wouldn't stop anyone trying to sell it.

[Danneaux]

I belong to an online adventure-motorcycling group and receive their email newsletter. Today's edition highlighted a bicycle lock designed to "disintegrate" angle-grinders thanks to a composite graphene material. See:

https://advrider.com/a-bike-lock-that-eats-angle-grinder-disks/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=editorial&utm_content=10_22_2021

It seems to be headed for a Kickstarter fundraising effort. I have no financial interest in the product, just thought it looked interesting.

Best,

Dan.

[KDean]

One more

Think the last vid the kid was using bolt cutters not cable cutters

This guy uses the same tool as lock picking lawyer

https://youtu.be/YKO1yudGVNg

Still looks like quite a good product?

The  best test is carried out by Sold Secure  it's owned by The Master Locksmiths Association , they are allowed to use any tool you can buy on the open market & Freeze test the locks . They've probable defeat them by picking/manipulating  the lock but even then it will have to last longer than 3 minutes to get the Bronze award .

[PH]

I belong to an online adventure-motorcycling group and receive their email newsletter. Today's edition highlighted a bicycle lock designed to "disintegrate" angle-grinders thanks to a composite graphene material.
Dan.

The material is interesting, but the lock way to small for me to use and heavy for the size.  Maybe the tech will trickle down.
There's also the danger of someone frustrated with a grinder going for the frame instead!  The hope is they'll know it's not possible to cut and walk on, though it might take a while for that to become known.
I had a frame destroyed after what looked like a failed theft attempt, honestly I'd rather they'd taken it.

[JohnR]

1.8kg is a lot of ballast for a bike and it won't prevent this new problem https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-59000605 . I'm trying to think of a suitable counter-measure. Perhaps an exploding cartridge of dye fixed to the bike with a remote control, so the thieves get a good soaking. Something along the lines of this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_TSR_v07m0 ?