protecting saddle + post from theft?

[Sanjay Punjab]

I recently had my saddle and seat post stolen off my bike. I had allen
screws securing both, not quick release levers. Is there a way to
secure the saddle and seat post better to a bike?
Locking the saddle frame to the triangle of the bike frame could
atleast help protect the saddle, but a relatively thin cable lock can
be cut easily.
I am looking for some effective ideas to secure both.
Thanks

[Hunrobe]

(Steve McDonald)

wrote:

>I leave my quick-release seat lever flipped in the loose position,
>then screw it down tight. Then I take a hammer and make it even
>tighter. This also works on quck-release wheel hubs. This way the
>bandits see the quick-release and think they've got an easy mark. They
>can't get it off without hitting it with something, the same way I put
>it on. This would make a lot of noise and commotion, even if their
>drug-numbed brains could figure it out and I've never lost a seat or a
>wheel.
>
>Steve McDonald

Doesn't this method not only at least cosmetically damage your bike but also
negate the whole purpose of QRs? If it works for you that's cool but I'd rather
not start pounding on my QR levers with a hammer. No offense intended but it
sounds kind of dumb, actually. I've never lost a wheel or a saddle either and
all I do is only lock my bikes where I can keep an eye on them. Failing that, I
simply use the QRs as designed and take the parts with me.

Regards,
Bob Hunt

P.S.- What do you do when you get a flat and there aren't any hammers or rocks
handy?

[Thunder9]

On 04 Aug 2003 07:33:34 -0700, Sam Huffman >
wrote:

(Sanjay Punjab) writes:
>
>> I recently had my saddle and seat post stolen off my bike. I had allen
>> screws securing both, not quick release levers. Is there a way to
>> secure the saddle and seat post better to a bike?
>> Locking the saddle frame to the triangle of the bike frame could
>> atleast help protect the saddle, but a relatively thin cable lock can
>> be cut easily.
>> I am looking for some effective ideas to secure both.
>
>There are cables that you can use to "secure" the seat. Basically they loop
>around the mechanism bolting the seat to the post, and around the frame.
>
>This requires that the seat be removed from the post before removing the post
>from the bicycle. Or, alternatively, the thief could use a wire-cutters. I'd
>imagine using one is somewhat more effective than not using one, and my seat
>made it through two years on a college campus without being stolen. That is,
>until I made the mistake of locking my bicycle to a tree.
>
>Sam

What does locking a bike to a tree have to do with stealing a seat?

Is seat stealing a common occurance? Does that happen more often than
bike stealing (ie seat stealing only vs. complete bike stealing)?

I think one could go a bit overboard trying to secure things on a
bike. Perhaps the best deterrent would be to make the seat *look*
like it isn't worth stealing.

Regards,
Thunder9

[Sam Huffman]

(Thunder9) writes:

> >This requires that the seat be removed from the post before removing the post
> >from the bicycle. Or, alternatively, the thief could use a wire-cutters. I'd
> >imagine using one is somewhat more effective than not using one, and my seat
> >made it through two years on a college campus without being stolen. That is,
> >until I made the mistake of locking my bicycle to a tree.
>
> What does locking a bike to a tree have to do with stealing a seat?

The seat didn't get stolen by itself. On college campuses, locking a bicycle
to a tree is (as I found out) a sure way to get the bike stolen. The thief
simply cuts down the tree. A bike locked to a street sign is a similarly easy
target.

> Is seat stealing a common occurance? Does that happen more often than
> bike stealing (ie seat stealing only vs. complete bike stealing)?

It's extremely common. Stealing a bike usually requires cutting a lock or
chain. Stealing a seatpost often simply requires opening a quick release and
putting the seat in a bag.

> I think one could go a bit overboard trying to secure things on a
> bike. Perhaps the best deterrent would be to make the seat *look*
> like it isn't worth stealing.

On a college campus, anything that can be stolen will be stolen. I've seen
studies indicating that 10% of all bikes on a college campus are stolen each
year.

sam

[Gary Young]

(Sanjay Punjab) wrote in message >...
> I recently had my saddle and seat post stolen off my bike. I had allen
> screws securing both, not quick release levers. Is there a way to
> secure the saddle and seat post better to a bike?
> Locking the saddle frame to the triangle of the bike frame could
> atleast help protect the saddle, but a relatively thin cable lock can
> be cut easily.
> I am looking for some effective ideas to secure both.
> Thanks

Both Kryptonite and Pitlock (www.pitlock.com) make locking seattube
skewers. That won't prevent your saddle from being stolen off of the
post. When that happened to me, I switched to a two-bolt seatpost (the
more you can slow thieves down the better) and use wax or silicon to
close the hex holes. Here in NYC, no one trusts the thin cables you're
referring to. The popular thing to do is take a length of chain
(drivetrain chain), cover it with a length of inner tube, run it
through the seatstays and the saddle rails and then close the loop
with a chain tool.

[Steve McDonald]

Steve McDonald wrote:

I leave my quick-release seat lever flipped in the loose position,
then screw it down tight. Then I take a hammer and make it even tighter.
This also works on quick-release wheel hubs. This way the bandits see
the quick-release and think they've got an easy mark. They can't get it
off without hitting it with something, the same way I put it on. This
would make a lot of noise and commotion, even if their drug-numbed
brains could figure it out and I've never lost a seat or a wheel.
-------------------------------------------------------------

Bob Hunt replied:

Doesn't this method not only at least cosmetically damage your bike
but also negate the whole purpose of QRs? If it works for you that's
cool but I'd rather not start pounding on my QR levers with a hammer. No
offense intended but it sounds kind of dumb, actually. I've never lost a
wheel or a saddle either and all I do is only lock my bikes where I can
keep an eye on them. Failing that, I simply use the QRs as designed and
take the parts with me.

P.S.- What do you do when you get a flat and there aren't any hammers or
rocks handy?
----------------------------------------------------------------

I'm very careful how I hit the levers with a small balpine hammer I
carry in my tool kit and don't damage them. I use thorn-resistant tubes
and have had only 1 flat in five years. I've broken no spokes in that
time and only have to loosen the quick-release skewers every year and a
half to mount new tires and to grease and adjust the bearings. I do
video work and eschew the use of
"quick-release" tripod heads for camcorders. This term translates as
"instant-disaster" to me, regarding expensive video gear. No, I don't
hit my cameras with hammers (unless they've really asked for it). I
always choose better security over a little convenience.

Taking the seat with you when locking the bike outdoors is a good
idea and many people do it. I always take off my front and rear lights
and lock them in my hard case behind the seat.

Steve McDonald

[Don Wiss]

On 4 Aug 2003 13:03:05 -0700, (Gary Young) wrote:

> Here in NYC, no one trusts the thin cables you're
>referring to. The popular thing to do is take a length of chain
>(drivetrain chain), cover it with a length of inner tube, run it
>through the seatstays and the saddle rails and then close the loop
>with a chain tool.

Yes. My understanding is bolt cutters tend to crush the chain and not cut
it. Also electrical tape is often used to close the gap between the inner
tube ends. Not that thieves carry chain tools, but they'd also have to
carry a knife to get to the chain. Anyway, I am not aware of anyone that
has lost a seat chained down this way.

The one seat I lost was when I removed the quick release and used an allen
head bolt. I didn't leave the bike more than 10 minutes. I gather the thief
had vise grips with him to get it off.

Don <donwiss at panix.com>.

"Sanjay Punjab" > wrote in message
om...
> I recently had my saddle and seat post stolen off my bike. I had allen
> screws securing both, not quick release levers. Is there a way to
> secure the saddle and seat post better to a bike?
> Locking the saddle frame to the triangle of the bike frame could
> atleast help protect the saddle, but a relatively thin cable lock can
> be cut easily.
> I am looking for some effective ideas to secure both.
> Thanks

If you can get the seat adjusted to a height you're happy with, you could
weld it in place, or drill a hole through the post, bolt it in place, and
mess up the threads so it couldn't be undone without a hacksaw.

[ant]

> wrote in message news:<6uIXa.2166
> If you can get the seat adjusted to a height you're happy with, you could
> weld it in place, or drill a hole through the post, bolt it in place, and
> mess up the threads so it couldn't be undone without a hacksaw.

if your bike wasnt stupid light, a rivet or two would look a lot
cleaner than a bolt, and would be more secure. you could always drill
them out later. or for a beater-glue. you could just fill fastener
heads with epoxy. use a punch (to break otu the epoxy) or a
screw-extractor to remove later. or- perhaps even filling the fastener
with something temporary like wax might work. stop a thief inserting
an allen key without a whole lot of fussing about.

thoughts,

anthony

[beaver charlie]

Ahhh, only in America...

Who else would spend $4,000 fretting away every milligram of bicycle
weight, only to load it down with 50 lbs of anchor chain to keep it
from being stolen!

[Pat]

x-no-archive:yes

, (beaver charlie) from
>> >Ahhh, only in America...
> >
> >Who else would spend $4,000 fretting away every milligram of bicycle
> >weight, only to load it down with 50 lbs of anchor chain to keep it
> >from being stolen!

>
> I don't think anyone here would be using a 4K bike as a townie.


Yeah, but then reality wouldn't sound so great, would it? When you
badmouth somebody--or in this case, an entire country, exaggeration helps a
lot.

Pat in TX

[Tim Cain]

"ant" > wrote in message
om...
> > wrote in message news:<6uIXa.2166
> > If you can get the seat adjusted to a height you're happy with, you
could
> > weld it in place, or drill a hole through the post, bolt it in place,
and
> > mess up the threads so it couldn't be undone without a hacksaw.
>
> if your bike wasnt stupid light, a rivet or two would look a lot
> cleaner than a bolt, and would be more secure. you could always drill
> them out later. or for a beater-glue. you could just fill fastener
> heads with epoxy. use a punch (to break otu the epoxy) or a
> screw-extractor to remove later. or- perhaps even filling the fastener
> with something temporary like wax might work. stop a thief inserting
> an allen key without a whole lot of fussing about.

In an Allen screw, a ball bearing to fit + clear bathroom
silicone sealant is a good deterrent.

Tim.



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[Bruni]

The industrial types produce bolts/wrenches with a pin in the center of the
socket, hole in wrench as "tamper proof".
Discourages opportunistic theft.
Tom

--
Bruni Bicycles
"Where art meets science"
brunibicycles.com
410.426.3420
> wrote in message
igy.com...
>
> "Sanjay Punjab" > wrote in message
> om...
> > I recently had my saddle and seat post stolen off my bike. I had allen
> > screws securing both, not quick release levers. Is there a way to
> > secure the saddle and seat post better to a bike?
> > Locking the saddle frame to the triangle of the bike frame could
> > atleast help protect the saddle, but a relatively thin cable lock can
> > be cut easily.
> > I am looking for some effective ideas to secure both.
> > Thanks
>
> If you can get the seat adjusted to a height you're happy with, you could
> weld it in place, or drill a hole through the post, bolt it in place, and
> mess up the threads so it couldn't be undone without a hacksaw.
>
>

[Paul Bielec]

take it with you

"Sanjay Punjab" > wrote in message
om...
> I recently had my saddle and seat post stolen off my bike. I had allen
> screws securing both, not quick release levers. Is there a way to
> secure the saddle and seat post better to a bike?
> Locking the saddle frame to the triangle of the bike frame could
> atleast help protect the saddle, but a relatively thin cable lock can
> be cut easily.
> I am looking for some effective ideas to secure both.
> Thanks