What bike won't get nicked, that I would still want to ride?
Discussion
idiotgap said:
Great idea in theory and where I was headed to begin with, but the conversation with Leather Lane cycle 're-finishers' Full City and my own research showed that in London at least, these retro frames and components are understood by thieves and get targeted.
Strip the frame of decals/identifiers -- or if you want to preserve, use electrical tape to cover up.Not necessary here in Germany, but that is what I did when I lived in Washington D.C. Very few theives will look at it if it looks old and a bit janky. Tape does wonders.
idiotgap said:
scherzkeks said:
markoc said:
I'd recommend going retro. Components will have a nice patina and it won't stand out to anyone. The average Joe wouldn't recognise a nice lugged steel frame and some retro campag among all the hipster cut down bars and fixed wheel racers. Would probably be a lot of fun to ride.
This (assuming no snow involved). Relatively cheap. Quick, light, and low-key. Only negative is a lack of rack mounting points in the event that you need more than a backpack or shoulder bag. Find an old steel frame from a proper make, toss on some old Mavic SSCs, 25mm tires, some Campy, and a good rear fender and you have an indestructable commuting machine. Have used my current one for 10 years and have only ever replaced chainrings and consumables.
I'd look for a middle of the road, 'younger' bike with a welded (not lugged) steel or aluminium frame, and keep to 'period' style wheels (plain aluminium box rims, de-stickered and built with traditional straight gauge round spokes) and either like-for-like or mid range modern components if it needs freshening up. Certainly nothing above Shimano 105. Opportunist scrotes will want to steal shiny bikes with high-end gear on them. People who make a living out of thieving usually understand their subject and know their market. They can pick out a genuine gem regardless of patina.
Plus, if you have a really nice steel-framed classic, it can be hard to replace if stolen. Bizarre opinion, perhaps, but I'd sooner ride a modern carbon fibre bike to the station. Locked properly and insured, you can be fairly confident of getting the same one again, or something really close to it, if it does go walkies...
I decided to buy a £50 gumtree special because I am most likely going to be locking it up overnight in central Croydon. Carbon, retro, campag etc. are all distant dreams for me really - until the weekend. I'm looking forward to my nice frame to come back from London Carbon Repair, but since it's commuting that killed that I'm probably not to use it again going up to London (until at least the light improves and I can go all the way avoiding leaving it in Croydon).
Hopefully the cyclehub will be a decent place to leave my commuter hack, the racks look pretty good, with lots of hardware to lock to. Ideally I suppose I'd have 2 x d-lock, but that sounds like a very heavy way to go.
Update on the Kona...
Things I've done
- pumped up the tyres. Comfy looking Conti CountryRide (37mm)
- Removed the necessary couple of links from the new chain I fitted on collection.
- Moved the front mech clamp to better align the cage and so it doesn't foul the chain rings any more. I seem to have warped chain-ring, but will try and live with that.
- re-set the limit screws and re-indexed both front and rear mechs with existing cables.
- took off the random fittings for long lost accessories.
- Tried to adjust the brakes out a bit to compensate for the slight buckle of the wheels and discovered both cables are in bad shape. I don't have any spare inners or outers right now so will get some ordered. Chainreaction have 30m x black outer for £21 right now. Will make do for now.
- replaced bad (and too big) seatpost qr clamp with one from a kids bike we're not using right now, the qr seems to fit ok on the kid's bike frame.
- Bought a Kryptonite KryptoLok S2 Std D-Lock with 4 Foot KryptoFlex Cable (£21 Evans) and registered the key combination
After all that I took it out in the dark last night for a couple of laps of the pub carpark to check the gears work off the work-stand as well as on. It actually rolls really well. The wheels feel narrow and quick like a road bike and I'm looking forward to powering along on it.
Nice day today, plan was to cycle it up to town and get going. Then late last night whilst getting everything together I tried to mount the Kryptonite D-lock to the frame and killed it. Stripped the grub screw on the lock itself which sets the angle of the lock when it's held in the bracket. I'll take it back and get something else this afternoon/evening if I get the chance. Might pick up a set of these cateye lights with brackets while I am at it, if I can get evans to pricematch them down from £20 to the £12 I can see online. I'm thinking brackets will be easier than rubber bungees for taking on and off all the time and having a set of lights dedicated to the commuter will mean I don't have to mess about when I want to use one of my other bikes.
https://www.evanscycles.com/cateye-omni-3-light-se...
In the end I couldn't go to work today because I was dialled into an emergency conference call from silly o'clock for hours and hours and it didn't make sense to go in once it finished.
Maybe I'll get it together to start using it tomorrow.
- I actually bought 2 x 2008 vintage Kona bikes on Friday. the other was a "Makena" 20 inch wheel mtb for my 7 year old I bought for £22 on ebay which has so far needed just a new gear cable (I had inner and outer on the shelf), but otherwise works really well and got a ride out yesterday.
Hopefully the cyclehub will be a decent place to leave my commuter hack, the racks look pretty good, with lots of hardware to lock to. Ideally I suppose I'd have 2 x d-lock, but that sounds like a very heavy way to go.
Update on the Kona...
Things I've done
- pumped up the tyres. Comfy looking Conti CountryRide (37mm)
- Removed the necessary couple of links from the new chain I fitted on collection.
- Moved the front mech clamp to better align the cage and so it doesn't foul the chain rings any more. I seem to have warped chain-ring, but will try and live with that.
- re-set the limit screws and re-indexed both front and rear mechs with existing cables.
- took off the random fittings for long lost accessories.
- Tried to adjust the brakes out a bit to compensate for the slight buckle of the wheels and discovered both cables are in bad shape. I don't have any spare inners or outers right now so will get some ordered. Chainreaction have 30m x black outer for £21 right now. Will make do for now.
- replaced bad (and too big) seatpost qr clamp with one from a kids bike we're not using right now, the qr seems to fit ok on the kid's bike frame.
- Bought a Kryptonite KryptoLok S2 Std D-Lock with 4 Foot KryptoFlex Cable (£21 Evans) and registered the key combination
After all that I took it out in the dark last night for a couple of laps of the pub carpark to check the gears work off the work-stand as well as on. It actually rolls really well. The wheels feel narrow and quick like a road bike and I'm looking forward to powering along on it.
Nice day today, plan was to cycle it up to town and get going. Then late last night whilst getting everything together I tried to mount the Kryptonite D-lock to the frame and killed it. Stripped the grub screw on the lock itself which sets the angle of the lock when it's held in the bracket. I'll take it back and get something else this afternoon/evening if I get the chance. Might pick up a set of these cateye lights with brackets while I am at it, if I can get evans to pricematch them down from £20 to the £12 I can see online. I'm thinking brackets will be easier than rubber bungees for taking on and off all the time and having a set of lights dedicated to the commuter will mean I don't have to mess about when I want to use one of my other bikes.
https://www.evanscycles.com/cateye-omni-3-light-se...
In the end I couldn't go to work today because I was dialled into an emergency conference call from silly o'clock for hours and hours and it didn't make sense to go in once it finished.
Maybe I'll get it together to start using it tomorrow.
- I actually bought 2 x 2008 vintage Kona bikes on Friday. the other was a "Makena" 20 inch wheel mtb for my 7 year old I bought for £22 on ebay which has so far needed just a new gear cable (I had inner and outer on the shelf), but otherwise works really well and got a ride out yesterday.
your kona looks good - I have a soft spot for them since running a Lava Dome and Kilauea in the '90s. A roll of electricians tape wound around the top and down tube will hide its origins - though the frame and fork are quite recognisable to the trained eye.
Before you get a dose of "upgrade-itis" I note the frame/forks have disc mounts. For commuting you could do a lot worse than pick up some cheap cable disc brakes and some disc wheels from ebay. They won't draw they eye as everything has discs these days and they'll give much better stopping, particularly in the wet - real "fit and forget" stuff - plus you'll never need to worry about your wheels being a little out of true. I'm running XTR V's on my singlespeed and while they are plenty powerful, I had forgotten what an annoyance the scrubbing of a slightly wonky rim can be!
Before you get a dose of "upgrade-itis" I note the frame/forks have disc mounts. For commuting you could do a lot worse than pick up some cheap cable disc brakes and some disc wheels from ebay. They won't draw they eye as everything has discs these days and they'll give much better stopping, particularly in the wet - real "fit and forget" stuff - plus you'll never need to worry about your wheels being a little out of true. I'm running XTR V's on my singlespeed and while they are plenty powerful, I had forgotten what an annoyance the scrubbing of a slightly wonky rim can be!
1st proper ride today. Very cold so I got the train to East Croydon (early doors so non-folder legal) and cycled from there.
https://www.strava.com/activities/789510094
Sorry for the dreadful photo.
I'll be locking the bike up in Croydon tonight, anyone want to hazard a guess on how long before it gets nicked?
https://www.strava.com/activities/789510094
Sorry for the dreadful photo.
I'll be locking the bike up in Croydon tonight, anyone want to hazard a guess on how long before it gets nicked?
I detected some noises and play on the ride in yesterday but managed to dial them out.
- There was a tiny bit of play in the headset which I was able to tighten.
- A click on every right foot down-stroke under high power also emerged. I didn't have an 8mm allen key on me, but managed to get the crank bolts tightened immediately on walk-up to the service counter at https://www.cyclerepublic.com/ in Lime St. which happily resolved it. It's a nice shop as long as you suspend disbelief that it's a halfords in drag. Everyone I've spoken to there has been knowledgeable and friendly.
I had an uneventful but cold trip back to Croydon yesterday night. I felt very heavy loaded up with locks, a big bidon I didn't touch etc. so vowed to pare things back and get leaner. Hopefully the tummy timber will fall off too!
https://www.strava.com/activities/789931985
It was a nervous feeling locking the bike up but I managed to get the d-lock through the frame, wheel and round the rack hardware as well as the cable back through the frame and the front wheel. I said my goodbyes, took a photo for posterity and took the train home.
We're now on day 2 of having no boiler, waiting for parts to turn up, so with no heating or hot-water home is not that nice a place to be at the moment, for the kids especially! Sods law it must be the coldest days we'll see this year. Anyway, I got the train to Croydon this morning and really didn't expect the bike to still be there. However, it was!!!
I got in it and rode it and life was good. I left the locks with masses of others at the bike racks, no bidon today either so thats over 2kg lighter.
https://www.strava.com/activities/790403477
- There was a tiny bit of play in the headset which I was able to tighten.
- A click on every right foot down-stroke under high power also emerged. I didn't have an 8mm allen key on me, but managed to get the crank bolts tightened immediately on walk-up to the service counter at https://www.cyclerepublic.com/ in Lime St. which happily resolved it. It's a nice shop as long as you suspend disbelief that it's a halfords in drag. Everyone I've spoken to there has been knowledgeable and friendly.
I had an uneventful but cold trip back to Croydon yesterday night. I felt very heavy loaded up with locks, a big bidon I didn't touch etc. so vowed to pare things back and get leaner. Hopefully the tummy timber will fall off too!
https://www.strava.com/activities/789931985
It was a nervous feeling locking the bike up but I managed to get the d-lock through the frame, wheel and round the rack hardware as well as the cable back through the frame and the front wheel. I said my goodbyes, took a photo for posterity and took the train home.
We're now on day 2 of having no boiler, waiting for parts to turn up, so with no heating or hot-water home is not that nice a place to be at the moment, for the kids especially! Sods law it must be the coldest days we'll see this year. Anyway, I got the train to Croydon this morning and really didn't expect the bike to still be there. However, it was!!!
I got in it and rode it and life was good. I left the locks with masses of others at the bike racks, no bidon today either so thats over 2kg lighter.
https://www.strava.com/activities/790403477
Edited by idiotgap on Thursday 1st December 11:15
That's a more expensive option and I'd have to be lugging it around. I have a nice fat bike budget from an insurance claim on the carbon bike car crash in september, but I think I want to spend that on something a bit more fancy.
Admittedly I haven't ridden a brompton, but it just doesn't look like something I'd want to ride 10+ miles twice a day. I did toy with the idea of an airnimal, but I'm told they don't fold that easily.
Admittedly I haven't ridden a brompton, but it just doesn't look like something I'd want to ride 10+ miles twice a day. I did toy with the idea of an airnimal, but I'm told they don't fold that easily.
I nipped out at lunch time to get a new cassette which I'll fit tomorrow if I remember to bring the whip, locking tool etc. in to work. I've got tired of the slipping gears.
On the way back from getting the cassette, I had another explosive blowout (other inner tube explosions documented in the cycle to work thread). The back tyre did have the wires coming out of the bead... so I've just been out again and "invested" £50 on a pair of Schwalbe marathon plus 700cx32 tyres. The £56 gumtree bike is starting to look like an expensive trigger's broom exercise!
So far it has cost me...
£56 bike
£4 chain
£9 set of security QR skewers
£9.50 cassette
£3 2 x too narrow innertube (1 destroyed explosively)
£6.49 1 x emergency LBS inner tube (exploded)
£2.50 1 x inner tube spare halfords probably too big (38mm)
£5 1 x inner tube to fit new tyres
£12 Cateye omni3 light set
£27 Kryptonite lock
£46 2 x Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres
grand total is... £180 !! It'd better not get pilfered!
I maybe won't count it in, but next time I get the bike home and have some time, I'll renew the brake and gear cables. I have recently ordered inners and outers on the shelf for this and other bikes. I'm also building myself a wheel truing stand and this klunker could use a bit of that.
On the way back from getting the cassette, I had another explosive blowout (other inner tube explosions documented in the cycle to work thread). The back tyre did have the wires coming out of the bead... so I've just been out again and "invested" £50 on a pair of Schwalbe marathon plus 700cx32 tyres. The £56 gumtree bike is starting to look like an expensive trigger's broom exercise!
So far it has cost me...
£56 bike
£4 chain
£9 set of security QR skewers
£9.50 cassette
£3 2 x too narrow innertube (1 destroyed explosively)
£6.49 1 x emergency LBS inner tube (exploded)
£2.50 1 x inner tube spare halfords probably too big (38mm)
£5 1 x inner tube to fit new tyres
£12 Cateye omni3 light set
£27 Kryptonite lock
£46 2 x Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres
grand total is... £180 !! It'd better not get pilfered!
I maybe won't count it in, but next time I get the bike home and have some time, I'll renew the brake and gear cables. I have recently ordered inners and outers on the shelf for this and other bikes. I'm also building myself a wheel truing stand and this klunker could use a bit of that.
Edited by idiotgap on Tuesday 6th December 17:54
This bike is still going strong. I have not renewed my full annual Southern Rail season ticket so committed to using the bike whenever possible. I have bought a shorter rail pass for a month, so 20 miles I do on the train up to Croydon and the final 10 miles into London on the bike as per the original plan.
I've been getting cold on the way home, after the cycle I'm damp with sweat and stand around at the station in the cold waiting for the train, I never warm up on the 30 minute train ride and shiver outside again on the walk home. As a partial remedy, I have fitted a basket I can put my rucksack in which reduces the sweatyness and lowers the centre of gravity. It's not pretty but very practical. I feel I may have lost some self respect!
I try and make up for it, by overtaking castelli clad road warriors on their swish lightweight bikes in an effortless whoosh of power.
I've been getting cold on the way home, after the cycle I'm damp with sweat and stand around at the station in the cold waiting for the train, I never warm up on the 30 minute train ride and shiver outside again on the walk home. As a partial remedy, I have fitted a basket I can put my rucksack in which reduces the sweatyness and lowers the centre of gravity. It's not pretty but very practical. I feel I may have lost some self respect!
I try and make up for it, by overtaking castelli clad road warriors on their swish lightweight bikes in an effortless whoosh of power.
Friday night was the first proper pouring rain I've had on this bike, not too bad really as the rack and basket took a lot of the spray. The bag in the back did get a lot of grim road grime ridden water onto it though. My feet got absolutely drenched and the old merrell trainers didn't dry properly all weekend long.
So I've done two things... First is to fit a different mudguard on the back. The old one I'd had lying around wouldn't fit around the rack fixings, on the off chance I picked up a set of mudguards for a quid in pound-land and amazingly the rear one fits fine and does the job for now at least.
They look pretty much like this, I haven't bothered with the front one:
Secondly I fitted some old SPD pedals I had lying around because they came fitted to a second hand bike. I also and bought some shoes and cleats from Decathlon. I'm used to SPD-SLs on my road bikes and so not concerned about clipping in, hopefully the shoes will retain less water than the trainers, be ok to walk in with cleats attached and have the rigid soles etc. I went for decathlon's own brand cleats which are repackaged "VP-C01"s
and for some basic Shimano MT34 shoes, on first ride they seem comfortable enough.
So I've done two things... First is to fit a different mudguard on the back. The old one I'd had lying around wouldn't fit around the rack fixings, on the off chance I picked up a set of mudguards for a quid in pound-land and amazingly the rear one fits fine and does the job for now at least.
They look pretty much like this, I haven't bothered with the front one:
Secondly I fitted some old SPD pedals I had lying around because they came fitted to a second hand bike. I also and bought some shoes and cleats from Decathlon. I'm used to SPD-SLs on my road bikes and so not concerned about clipping in, hopefully the shoes will retain less water than the trainers, be ok to walk in with cleats attached and have the rigid soles etc. I went for decathlon's own brand cleats which are repackaged "VP-C01"s
and for some basic Shimano MT34 shoes, on first ride they seem comfortable enough.
While it may be nothing special to a bike geek, IMO, that bike is as likely to get nicked as any of the suggestions made so far.
That is exactly the sort of bike that used to get ripped off and show up on Craigs List for USD 300 when I lived in a major metro area in the States. Can't imagine it being much different in the UK.
That is exactly the sort of bike that used to get ripped off and show up on Craigs List for USD 300 when I lived in a major metro area in the States. Can't imagine it being much different in the UK.
scherzkeks said:
While it may be nothing special to a bike geek, IMO, that bike is as likely to get nicked as any of the suggestions made so far.
That is exactly the sort of bike that used to get ripped off and show up on Craigs List for USD 300 when I lived in a major metro area in the States. Can't imagine it being much different in the UK.
I'm flattered, but it must be the lighting in the photo, it does look a bit of a dog in the flesh, lots of rusty allen key bolts and chainrings, discoloured bits and heavy scratching and chipping on the paintwork.That is exactly the sort of bike that used to get ripped off and show up on Craigs List for USD 300 when I lived in a major metro area in the States. Can't imagine it being much different in the UK.
I'll grant you, recently it's not been parked up at the station in Croydon too much recently mainly because the trains haven't been running so it's not been a useful place to leave it, so we can't rely on it not having been stolen to assess appeal. There are way nicer looking bikes in the rack to my semi-trained eye, which is the important thing I think.
Edited by idiotgap on Sunday 15th January 07:35
Strava tells me the commuter bike and I have now hit 1000km together. Still going well.
Only current issue is a bit of a creak from the bottom bracket, it goes away if I tighten the big allen bolts holding the cranks on, but only temporarily. I might try and replace the BB at some point. I'm in the process of rebuilding the carbon frame up that I crashed last September, when I put the cranks on the that I realised how bad a shape the BB bearings were in so I've ordered a new pair. That one seems easy to fix though being a hollowtech ii - with this old bike I'm not sure what I'm doing with the bottom bracket, time for a bit of internet research and youtube watching.
Will a new BB fix the creaking though?
Only current issue is a bit of a creak from the bottom bracket, it goes away if I tighten the big allen bolts holding the cranks on, but only temporarily. I might try and replace the BB at some point. I'm in the process of rebuilding the carbon frame up that I crashed last September, when I put the cranks on the that I realised how bad a shape the BB bearings were in so I've ordered a new pair. That one seems easy to fix though being a hollowtech ii - with this old bike I'm not sure what I'm doing with the bottom bracket, time for a bit of internet research and youtube watching.
Will a new BB fix the creaking though?
idiotgap said:
Strava tells me the commuter bike and I have now hit 1000km together. Still going well.
Only current issue is a bit of a creak from the bottom bracket, it goes away if I tighten the big allen bolts holding the cranks on, but only temporarily. I might try and replace the BB at some point. I'm in the process of rebuilding the carbon frame up that I crashed last September, when I put the cranks on the that I realised how bad a shape the BB bearings were in so I've ordered a new pair. That one seems easy to fix though being a hollowtech ii - with this old bike I'm not sure what I'm doing with the bottom bracket, time for a bit of internet research and youtube watching.
Will a new BB fix the creaking though?
Do it sooner rather than later if it is the BB. I rode on a loose one for far too long which ended up ruining the threads in the frame.Only current issue is a bit of a creak from the bottom bracket, it goes away if I tighten the big allen bolts holding the cranks on, but only temporarily. I might try and replace the BB at some point. I'm in the process of rebuilding the carbon frame up that I crashed last September, when I put the cranks on the that I realised how bad a shape the BB bearings were in so I've ordered a new pair. That one seems easy to fix though being a hollowtech ii - with this old bike I'm not sure what I'm doing with the bottom bracket, time for a bit of internet research and youtube watching.
Will a new BB fix the creaking though?
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