Making a College bike Inconspicuous?

My son enters college this fall, so I put together a bike for him by
salvaging spare components and a frame that I wasn't using. Suggestions on
making the bike inconspicuous?
Maybe disguising the bike isn't worth the effort for today's thieves?
Suggestions from college students.
-tom

Tom Nakashima wrote:

My son enters college this fall, so I put together a bike for
him by salvaging spare components and a frame that I wasn't
using. Suggestions on making the bike inconspicuous?
Maybe disguising the bike isn't worth the effort for today's
thieves? Suggestions from college students.

I once painted my best bike canary yellow to avoid theft. It
certainly gets no admiring looks.

John

Tom Nakashima wrote:
My son enters college this fall, so I put together a bike for him by
salvaging spare components and a frame that I wasn't using.
Suggestions on making the bike inconspicuous?
Maybe disguising the bike isn't worth the effort for today's thieves?
Suggestions from college students.
-tom

Yay! I'm an expert on this. Okay so here are my ten steps to a theft-proof
bike:

1. Spraypaint... the cheaper the better. Spray the whole bike frame and
make sure to spraypaint the tires and grips, too. It makes it look like the
owner is really dumb. Put some scratches in the paint so it doesn't look so
cherry. This should be easy to do since the spraypaint will probably just
flake off just by you looking at it funny.

2. Stickers! Get so many stickers that you're almost inhaling them. Get
them from your local radio station. The flashier the better. Apply
stickers to everything on the bike, especially the frame. Make sure to do
the saddle, too.

3. Duct tape! Put random duct tape bits so that they look like they're
actually trying to hold something together. Tape the saddle, too... this
makes the bike really cry out "I am a ****bomb!"

4. Cover up any and all brand names and models.

5. Put a crappy, broken, bent rack on the back for ultra-nerd factor. Add
rusty fenders and baskets to taste. Nobody wants a dorky bike.

6. Attach as many broken reflectors and light mounts as you can on the
handlebars, seatpost and seatstays. These will make it seem like the owner
keeps breaking lights, buying new ones, and never getting rid of the old
mounts.

7. Place tennis balls and cards in the spokes, and of course bar plugs with
streamers coming out. That might scare off even the seasoned thieves.

8. Apply the biggest, most gaudy bell... no wait, horn... on the bike...
something like this Barbie Deluxe Bicycle Horn:
http://img.epinions.com/images/opti/...resized200.jpg
Tell your son to honk it within 100 feet of any human or animal.

9. If you want to go overboard, find a cosmetically rusty chain and cassette
and put those on.

10. Lock up the bike with both a non-pickable u-lock and a cable lock!

If his bike gets stolen, I'll be impressed.

--
Phil, Squid-in-Training

On Wed, 7 Sep 2005 12:58:27 -0700, "Tom Nakashima"
wrote:

My son enters college this fall, so I put together a bike for him by
salvaging spare components and a frame that I wasn't using. Suggestions on
making the bike inconspicuous?
Maybe disguising the bike isn't worth the effort for today's thieves?
Suggestions from college students.

Make it *con*spicuous. If they have to repaint the bike and/or sell it a
few states over to avoid the original owner claiming it when he sees it
across the street, they won't bother.

Technicolour gold/silver/purple/neon green/yellow seems to be popular over
here, singly or together. Make sure you paint it as badly as you can, so
that the paint starts flaking off soon. Anything that can take the paint
(wheels, tyres included, racks, bars..), leave it on the bike while
spraying. Uglier the better.


Jasper

On Wed, 07 Sep 2005 14:11:36 -0600, Dave T
wrote:

I work on a large college campus. Considering the sheer numbers of
bikes on campus, I don't think it's very hard to make a bike not worth
stealing. Plus a decent lock and the simple precautions of not leaving
it out at night or in poorly lit areas will encourage thieves to move on
to easier targets. Also, make sure quick release wheels and seatposts
are properly secured or removed.

Oh, yeah. Nutted axles, folks. Quick release is *not* for the college
campus. The best defense is never leaving it unlocked, not even for 2
minutes to get a pack of gum, and the way to do that is to make your lock
easy to use, rather than a painful 60-second-plus procedure like a chain
or U-lock. I vote Axa SL7 (or the cheaper regular Axa) -- literally a
2-second locking action that becomes as ingrained as stepping off the
bike. I do carry a light chain wrapped around my seattube, but I almost
never use it on the city-wreck. Only when leaving it in poorly lit areas
at night in the inner city that are particularly vulnerable.


Jasper

over here, singly or together. Make sure you paint it as badly as you
can, so that the paint starts flaking off soon. Anything that can
take the paint (wheels, tyres included, racks, bars..), leave it on
the bike while spraying. Uglier the better.

I beat you to it by 16 minutes!

--
Phil, Squid-in-Training

"Phil, Squid-in-Training" wrote in
message news:80JTe.11408$Cc5.545@lakeread06...
Yay! I'm an expert on this.

Your ingenuity definitely qualifies you as an expert! I particulary liked
the Barbie horn suggestion.

BobT

"Tom Nakashima" writes:

Suggestions on making the bike inconspicuous?

A can of orange rustoleum is what, $2.50 at walmart ??

- Ex College Student

"Jasper Janssen" wrote in message
news
I vote Axa SL7 (or the cheaper regular Axa)
Jasper
Hello Jasper,

My bike came with an Axa SL7 but I took it off and opted for a cable type
lock. Did I make a mistake? It does seem easy to use although I don't like
that the key won't come out unless it's locked.

I was worried that putting the Axa SL7 lock only through my spokes was
inviting someone to trash my spokes even if they couldn't ride off with my
bike. I was also concerned that someone would simply pick up my bike and
throw it in the back of a vehicle and drive off with it. I saw that I could
buy a cable that fits into the Axa but saw no advantage to the Axa SL7 +
cable over a cable alone.

Are you using the the Axa SL7 regularly to lock your bike without these
problems?

BobT

try rusto auto paint in primer brown or grey then wear bright colors or
use dayglo poster paper
take the seat with you-bikes without seats are useless