Re: lockup strategies

[Simon Brooke]

in message >, Michael Klontzas
') wrote:

> As some of you may know, recently my bike was damaged beyond repair by
> a brain-dead thief who didn't realise you can't use an aluminium frame
> as lever to break a d-lock without destroying the frame. Now I am in
> the process of buying a new bike and I am reconsidering my lockup
> strategy. What are your thoughts on that? Not locking up in public
> places or using a second, cheap bike for riding down the pub are not
> options here unfortunately.
>
> Up to now, I used a long (29cm) d-lock through frame/front wheel/rails
> and a cheap coil lock through rear wheel/frame/rails.

Apart from the various locking options people will no doubt suggest, how
about getting a cheap old road bike, converting it to a fixie, and
locking it with a piece of string?

Leaving a good bike locked up where tealeaves abound is going to lead to
it being vandalised beyond repair, even if it isn't stolen. And it's so
damned unpleasant when your favourite bike is trashed or stolen, I
simply would not do it.

--
(Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

;; Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum sonatur.

[Peter Clinch]

Michael Klontzas wrote:

> I wish I could have two or more bikes for different purposes but that is
> not an option here.

Is that for reasons of storage? If so, a folder like a Brompton gets
around that problem at home and also solves many security problems. No
need to lock it, you just fold it up and take it in, where it fits under
a desk or in a cupboard.

> Yes, I know and I wouldn't do it with a really expensive bike either.
> Even if you ride door-to-door however there are times you can't avoid
> locking up in a public place. Often after work a friend may suggest going
> to, say, the cinema. If I say no, because I have to get the bike back
> home first, then I am building my life around the bike, rather than the
> other way round.

Bromptons and similar really do give you a lot more flexibility in this
regard. I typically don't bother taking a lock with me on at least 50%
of the journeys that involve parking away from home.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

[[email protected]]

Peter Clinch wrote:
> Michael Klontzas wrote:
>
> > I wish I could have two or more bikes for different purposes but that is
> > not an option here.
>
> Is that for reasons of storage? If so, a folder like a Brompton gets
> around that problem at home and also solves many security problems. No
> need to lock it, you just fold it up and take it in, where it fits under
> a desk or in a cupboard.

That is an idea for a second bike. I know Brompton owners are very
proud of their bikes but would it perform anything like a hybrid bike?
I mean, what does it feel like when you ride 1 hour each way --
something I have to do quite often. I understand they can be quite
pricey too -- not to mention the specially designed bags etc.

> Bromptons and similar really do give you a lot more flexibility in this
> regard. I typically don't bother taking a lock with me on at least 50%
> of the journeys that involve parking away from home.

Out of interest, why would you need to lock up if you carry it with
you.

BTW, someone I know of managed to lose three Bromptons. One from inside
his house, one together with his car and once he was beaten up and
robbed in the middle of the street. No prices for guessing what bike he
bought next!

--
Michael Klontzas

[Peter Clinch]

wrote:

> That is an idea for a second bike. I know Brompton owners are very
> proud of their bikes but would it perform anything like a hybrid bike?

Depends what you want performance-wise, really. I use mine as a general
hack bike and I'm happy with it for that, though there's a higher
performance machine sat in the garage. For road use the gear range
isn't as good as on a hybrid, but that's only a problem if the roads
you're using need that bigger range. They don't work as well if you
like to get out of the seat a lot of the time, but I solve that problem
by not getting out of the seat...

> I understand they can be quite
> pricey too -- not to mention the specially designed bags etc.

Depends on one's idea of "pricey". The typical basic model is ~£470,
the minimum spec vanilla is about £360 though AFAICT most Brom owners
here consider that one a false economy. My next door neighbour bought
the £470 model and reckoned it had paid for itself in purely financial
terms within a year.

You don't have to use Brompton's own bags (neighbour doesn't, a friend
with a Brom didn't use a B-Bag for years though he has one now), but if
you do you'll find they work brilliantly and incredibly conveniently.

> Out of interest, why would you need to lock up if you carry it with
> you.

They're a bit heavy to carry around more than, say, 50m. A more typical
strategy is fold it up and carry it in and then leave it somewhere safe
(at Tescos the folk on the customer service desk keep an eye on it, for
example). But sometimes it's easiest just to lock it (say, for visiting
4 shops inside a shopping centre, I'll lock it outside).

There are bikes like the Birdy which do ride better, though don't fold
quite as well and cost a fair deal more. But if I was getting a
one-bike-fits-all a Birdy would be very high on the Possibles list.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

[Danny Colyer]

Peter Clinch wrote (of Bromptons):
> Depends on one's idea of "pricey". The typical basic model is ~£470,
> the minimum spec vanilla is about £360 though AFAICT most Brom owners
> here consider that one a false economy. My next door neighbour bought
> the £470 model and reckoned it had paid for itself in purely financial
> terms within a year.

Does anyone have a copy of A to B from October 2004 handy? I vaguely
remember reading about a Brompton trike conversion, and the A to B
website tells me that it was in that issue. I'd look it up myself, but
I've lent all my back issues to a colleague who's looking at electric bikes.

I've been looking around for a while [1] for a second hand trike for
winter commuting. I might be persuaded to buy a Brompton and convert
it, depending on the cost of conversion. ISTR it was a custom job, though.

[1] A couple of years. Most have been further away than I've been
willing to travel to pick them up. A few months ago a touring trike was
advertised in Cycle, it was the right size, the right price, and local.
I phoned up and found that it had also been advertised in the Tricycle
Association Gazette, which had been published a couple of weeks before
Cycle. By the time I saw the ad, it had already been bought by someone
who had driven all the way down from Hull to collect it :-(

--
Danny Colyer (my reply address is valid but checked infrequently)
<URL:http://www.colyer.plus.com/danny/>
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"He who dares not offend cannot be honest." - Thomas Paine

[Alan Braggins]

Danny Colyer wrote:
>Does anyone have a copy of A to B from October 2004 handy? I vaguely
>remember reading about a Brompton trike conversion, and the A to B
>website tells me that it was in that issue. I'd look it up myself, but
>I've lent all my back issues to a colleague who's looking at electric bikes.

Hmm. I thought I had, but most of my back issues aren't where I thought
they were. If it's the one with IR176 stuff in, I lent it to a manager at
work, but I don't know where the rest are.


>I've been looking around for a while [1] for a second hand trike for
>winter commuting. I might be persuaded to buy a Brompton and convert
>it, depending on the cost of conversion. ISTR it was a custom job, though.

I think it was. There was a DiBlasi folding trikes in the same issue, I think:
http://www.diblasi.co.uk/Folding_Tricycles.asp?Prd=Tricycles&Pag=Gruppo&Lng=En
>
>[1] A couple of years. Most have been further away than I've been
>willing to travel to pick them up. A few months ago a touring trike was
>advertised in Cycle, it was the right size, the right price, and local.
> I phoned up and found that it had also been advertised in the Tricycle
>Association Gazette, which had been published a couple of weeks before
>Cycle. By the time I saw the ad, it had already been bought by someone
>who had driven all the way down from Hull to collect it :-(
>
>--
>Danny Colyer (my reply address is valid but checked infrequently)
><URL:http://www.colyer.plus.com/danny/>
>Subscribe to PlusNet <URL:http://www.colyer.plus.com/referral/>
>"He who dares not offend cannot be honest." - Thomas Paine

[Danny Colyer]

I wrote:
>>I've been looking around for a while [1] for a second hand trike for
>>winter commuting. I might be persuaded to buy a Brompton and convert
>>it, depending on the cost of conversion. ISTR it was a custom job, though.

and Alan Braggins responded:
> I think it was. There was a DiBlasi folding trikes in the same issue, I think:
> http://www.diblasi.co.uk/Folding_Tricycles.asp?Prd=Tricycles&Pag=Gruppo&Lng=En

Looks interesting, thanks.

--
Danny Colyer (my reply address is valid but checked infrequently)
<URL:http://www.colyer.plus.com/danny/>
Subscribe to PlusNet <URL:http://www.colyer.plus.com/referral/>
"He who dares not offend cannot be honest." - Thomas Paine