What do you do with your bike at night?

[p90ade]

This might seem like a silly question but what do people do with thief bikes at night if they are camping? I would assume just chaining it up to a fence etc when on a campsite but what if ur camping in the open? I have been told that you can get a tent that uses your bike as part of the frame when you put the tent up, is there such a thing?

 

[hubbike]

yes but it is a bit rubbish by all acounts and you have to take the front wheel off which could get infuriating...you could rig a tarp?

otherwise, I usually lock it through the frame, front wheel and tent peg loop. So they can't ride it and they have to cut the tent to take it. not ultra secure but hopefully if the tent falls on top of me I get up and give chase. And a mad, angry (and quite possibly naked) me will probably out run a robber carrying a bike with half my tent attached to it...

lets hope so. anyone got any better ideas?

 

[ianrauk]

Like this

 

[Davidc]

I haven't camped with a bike for a long time, but the last few times usd one of those personal alarm devices. Alarm attached to a guy, the operating pin to a piece of cotton threaded through both wheels and tied to the frame.

I presume it's still possible to get that type of alarm. They're loud. Especially when a slightly drunk camper falls over the bike at 2:30 a.m.

I fit movement alarms to my bikes now, so would just set that if I was camping, but the personal alarms are cheaper if you just want it for that.

 

[snorri]

This might seem like a silly question but what do people do with thief bikes at night if they are camping?

It's not something I usually worry about, but if I have concerns I position one wheel under the tent fly and hope a thief will think it is attached to an alarm.

 

[chris__P]

I will often tie one or two of my tents guy ropes to the bike, or at least put them through the wheels, as well as putting the lock through the wheels. Keep the bike close to the tent and you will surely hear someone fiddling with it.

At the end of the day, I try and find a well-hidden campspot, so the odds on anyone seeing me are pretty small. And the odds on that person being a criminal are very small. And the odds on that criminal having the necessary equipment on him to break the lock and be smart enough to untie the rope, and do all of this in the dark and in silence. Its not something I worry about.

 

[andym]

What to do with the bike: lock it to something; hide it; lie it down so it's not easily seen; or sleep with it.

if the tent falls on top of me I get up and give chase. And a mad, angry (and quite possibly naked) me will probably out run a robber carrying a bike with half my tent attached to it...

My scenario is that by the time I've extricated myself from the mess, the thieves are long gone.

 

[HelenD123]

I lock mine to something or if there's nothing suitable just put the lock through the wheels and frame. I also try to keep it out of sight.

You could use one of the ground anchors you can get for tieing dog leads to. They just screw it into the ground and you lock your bike to it. Something like this .

 

[ASC1951]

I've never bothered, on camp sites or otherwise. It's not a significant risk IME and fretting about it spoils my holiday.

 

[Norm]

This might seem like a silly question but what do people do with thief bikes at night if they are camping?

Is there an award for "Most serendipitous typo of the year"?

IMO, a good thing to lock it to which hasn't yet been mentioned is another bike. Although that does depend on you not touring solo. If not available, find a friendly camping car driver and lock it to one of his wheels.

I haven't tried it but my tent has quite a large porch area. Very handy for dressing / undressing and drying wet stuff but it might also be big enough to take a bike.

 

[Brains]

I take along the following items assuming I'm doing a camping tour which will involve stopping in the center of towns along the route.

One small D Lock (Big padlock type of thing, 1 will do for several bikes)
One 2m Kyriptonite cable per bike
One dog ground anchor (it's like a large corkscrew, if it can keep a large dog in one place then it will also keep a number of bikes in one place)
One "bike pyjamas" touring cover, which at a push will do for up to 3 bikes. (Also doubles up as a picnic blanket and ememrgency shelter)
We also often carry one small cable lock per bike just to lock wheels etc if needed

The whole lot weighs in at about 1kg per bike if spread over 2-3 bikes

 

[BigonaBianchi]

I camped across germany and france. I never felt my bike was at risk on any site I stayed on. The only exception was one site inFrance run by the local 'Mafia kids' and I chose not to pitch in favor of riding another 30 miles to the next site. Just dont pitch where you sense a risk. Other tactics included tieing the bike to arm with a length of twine (doubles as a washing line and weighs nothing).

I carried two spiral locks. With these I was able to lock frame, both wheels, saddle to a fence/post etc.

 

[psmiffy]

I have a very long cable lock which I rarely use unless I get "twitchy" - I do worry about theft but in the final analysis if someone wants to steal anything tent bike etc they will - so is there a term for a fatalist optimist

 

[BigonaBianchi]

is there a term for a fatalist optimist

A cycle tourer

 

[rich p]

I have a very long cable lock which I rarely use unless I get "twitchy" - I do worry about theft but in the final analysis if someone wants to steal anything tent bike etc they will - so is there a term for a fatalist optimist

Me too. I think it's only people who are new to touring who worry about bike theft. It's more likely to be nicked in a city than at a camp site.