Does anyone have a bigass oven? I want to stop theft.

I just had my second bike stolen.  Last time it happened in September.

I'm done with this shit.

Obviously the solution is to use a welding torch to write my information onto the next bike frame I get.  Thankfully, a friend has a work shed attached to his grandmother's house, and has agreed to help me.

I'm afraid that the process will hurt the strength of the frame; he suggested heat treating it.  This can be done in two ways: with his assistance, and a shit load of sand (??? I don't actually know how this works) or by sticking the frame in a bigass oven at 450-500 degrees.  I don't know what this means for the paint.  Maybe I need to take ALL the paint off?  I'll find out.

Does anybody have a bigass oven at their disposal?  Who wouldn't mind a bikeframe put inside of it?

And has anybody ever tried this novel form of bike theft deterrent?   I'm hoping it is effective.  I'm thinking my name, and my phone number.  If I just painted on the infoz, it could be painted over.  But good luck painting over 3D information, asshole thieves.

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Permalink Reply by WillG on July 17, 2013 at 10:07am

Bring your bike inside. Period. No bike, left outside over night, in an area with, apparently active and creative, bike thieves is going to be there in the morning.

Bring. It. Inside. Then lock it there.

If someone hassles you about it, tell them it's modern art. There is no reason that you shouldn't be able to bring your property up into the space you legally lease (unless it is written in your lease specifically).

Permalink Reply by Kevin C Dormant on July 17, 2013 at 10:07am

Better still.

Will G - 10mi said:

Bring your bike inside. Period. No bike, left outside over night, in an area with, apparently active and creative, bike thieves is going to be there in the morning.

Bring. It. Inside. Then lock it there.

Permalink Reply by Duppie on July 17, 2013 at 10:12am

The Netherlands has experience with that. In the 80's (?) there was a national campaign to get the owners zipcode + house number (it is a unique code) etched into each of their bikes in a conspicuous place (I think the seat tube), so that every bike had a unique identifier. Government even funded the cost.  

The program was ended after a few years because it did not reduce theft.

Kevin C said:

 I have yet to see any evidence that the uniqueness of the bike in any way prevents it from being stolen in the first place.

Permalink Reply by David P. on July 17, 2013 at 10:37am

Setting aside the question of whether it would be any kind of theft deterrent, if you want to put personal information on your frame, etch it on there somewhere. There are even electric pens for the purpose. Or else etch a brass plate or something and then braze it. What you ask about will ruin your frame.

Permalink Reply by Tricolor on July 17, 2013 at 10:42am

Tell that to the guy that shredded eight perfectly working stolen school buses.  I still think that was a mafia thing, though...

h' 1.0 said:

Scrappers make their living off of knowing exactly what things are worth. They're not going to scrap a quality bike for the value of the metal.

Permalink Reply by Will on July 17, 2013 at 11:04am

Bring it inside, it's really the only way you stand a chance of hanging on to a halfway decent bike.

Permalink Reply by Barry Niel Stuart on July 17, 2013 at 12:05pm

Too much heat could weaken steel or aluminum or destroy carbon fiber.  If you want to strip paint without destroying a frame's structural integrity, either sand it all of or use chemicals.  You might try a clear coating on the frame after it's been stripped.  Paint serves the purpose on a steel frame in preserving it from corrosion.

Permalink Reply by Blatherskate on July 17, 2013 at 12:55pm
Correct me if I'm wrong, but Christine, don't you ride a cargo bike? I could see how bringing it into your apartment (if it were an option) would be a challenge. Best of luck. Did you post it on CSBR?
Permalink Reply by Christine (5.0) on July 17, 2013 at 1:10pm

Nope; my previous bike was a hybrid.  And a bit of a tank, with the fenders and rack and thick frame and such.  I recently bought a BOB Yak off of someone on the Chainlink.  It now occurs to me that the new bike I picked is not compatible with the quick release necessary for attachment.  That's... unfortunate.  I never got to haul any cargo :(

There is another place at courtyard style apartment that I may be able to keep the bike behind a locked gate.  I need to investigate and find out if there's anything back there I can attach my bike to.  I could potentially attach it to the staircase that goes to the porch off the kitchen.  It would be outside and on the ground which is convenient for me, and behind a locked gate which is certainly more secure than out in the open.  There's currently no key from the kitchen to that area, so it hadn't occurred to me to look there.

Blatherskate said:

Correct me if I'm wrong, but Christine, don't you ride a cargo bike? I could see how bringing it into your apartment (if it were an option) would be a challenge. Best of luck. Did you post it on CSBR?
Permalink Reply by Skip Montanaro 0mi on July 17, 2013 at 4:23pm

My commuter bike was stolen a couple years ago.  I know how you feel.  I have several bikes in my garage and basement.  I'm constantly worried that they aren't safe enough, even there.

For the next bike, instead of maybe wrecking the frame, why not try something a bit less potentially destructive?  A few things come to mind:

  • use an engraving pen (e.g., http://www.harborfreight.com/electric-engraver-46099.html)
  • get something like Tile or SpyBike so you can track the thieves
  • work to find more secure storage locations (indoors? monitored?) in the areas you frequent on your bike
  • bike insurance (might require some documentation of your locks, locking methods and locations - fairly easily done with your cell phone camera, I would think)?
  • check to see if your homeowner's insurance or renter's insurance will cover you

If you are set on doing something really significant to your frame, contact a framebuilder for help. Your local bike shop should be able to help you contact someone.

I realize we've had this discussion in the past week or two, but I think reporting bike thefts and putting pressure on the police to investigate bike theft is important.  Each individual theft is a low-ticket item compared to a car, but when it's your primary means of transportation, it puts you just as out of commission as if it had been your car.  In aggregate, there is a lot of theft going on, probably by organized rings of thieves. Maybe ask your alderman for some help with the pressure tactics.

Permalink Reply by Michelle Loomis on July 18, 2013 at 1:46am

Cameron is absolutely correct. Heat treating is difficult and requires special equipment. Walmart style bikes are not heat treated, which is one of the many reasons they are sold so cheap.
 
Cameron 7.5 mi said:

Welding to thin walled tubing like most bikes are made out of is very difficult to do without burning through the tube. Torching your name into the frame will introduce enough heat into the tubing to create stress concentrations and eliminate some (most) of the benefits of any heat treating done during manufacture. This will weaken your fame and is a bad idea. Heat treating your frame is not as simple as sticking it in a big oven. You have to carefully control heating rates, cooling rates, oxygen exposure, etc. Heat treating is a complicated industrial process that requires more equipment and knowledge than most people have. A better option for a difficult to remove ID would be to get an engraved plate and braze it onto the frame.

Permalink Reply by Josh L. on July 18, 2013 at 2:21am

where do you live? I am pretty shocked that somebody would cut through a gate?

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