A year ago someone cut through a small cable that went through my bike seat to my Ulock and then unscrew my seat post and took both parts during the busy early evening on North Ave near Damen? Someone on here mentioned the Chicago Bike Selling Facebook page is full of stolen bike parts and 'coincidentally,' a kid who shall be named was selling the exact same Fizik Arione team saddle and seat post the next day on that page.
He was also selling handlebars, stems, cranks, pedals, etc.
So how do you prevent someone from parting out your bike while it is locked up in public?
I read somewhere to epoxy every screw, even those on the crank arm and chainring. I feel like this would make bike maintenance a nightmare.
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I have locking skewers on my wheels and seat post, and those seem to work well enough.
Somebody took the aerobars off my bike a couple of months ago. Happened right outside my office and was the first time I've had that problem in 4-5 years, but now I'm wary of putting new ones on without having a way to secure them. Trying to figure out of I could jerry rig a thin cable through them and the frame?
It's probably not even worth the effort, cause you can't lock down everything. I once saw some guys lurking by a bike rack across from Union Station and fiddling with the stem on a nice bike. I hung around staring at them until they left.
Not really an answer to your question, but I don't know if there is one.
I just use a seat leash on my utterly mundane seat. I use a Tigr lock around the rear wheel and a Pinhead skewer on the front. They aren't any big deal, either. So far so good. I accidentally left the bike locked up for three days and two nights at the 35th and Western Orange Line station, and it was still there and intact when I went back for it. That was one fine day!
On a related note, I take my lights and pump off the bike when I lock it.
Don't use high-end gear on your daily rider and save the nice bike for when you know you aren't going to be leaving it unattended in problem areas.
Another tip: Don't assume one neighborhood is less prone to theft. One of my favorite bikes was stolen by a pro in Lincoln Park by the Conservatory on a busy Saturday afternoon.
Don't leave it parked in one place for too long. That gives potential thieves time to scope it out and come back with the right tools to take what they want. Professional thieves won't be stopped by anything, but I think most theft is just bad character + opportunity.
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