Battery theft?
- Thread starter Bobsiii
- Start date
SirJonathan
Active Member
I asked this in another thread on the Juiced Bikes subforum. Those simple lock and key mechanisms on the batteries seem to me at best something to deter a kid from just taking your battery on a whim. I think a thief could just pop that in a few seconds and with some of these large batteries running up to $1000 it's a definite concern of mine.
The consensus was to take the battery with you. Not practical for me since the battery weighs something like 10 pounds but it might be the only option.
The consensus was to take the battery with you. Not practical for me since the battery weighs something like 10 pounds but it might be the only option.
indianajo
Well-Known Member
I screwed mine down in an aluminum frame. You can see it on the front, left. Takes about 20 minutes to get it off if you are skilled with a screwdriver & wrench. Screw heads are buried inside plastic insulation, invisible. Nuts are elastic stop, so they resist all the way off. So far so good. I leave it out chained to poles when shopping or at my volunteer job downtown.
mrgold35
Well-Known Member
I've had my two ebikes for +2 years with +6000 miles between them. I only remember seeing about 2 other ebikes in ABQ, NM, durning the last few years in a population of a little less on 1 million if you count Rio Rancho, Benalillo, Placitas, Los Lunas, Belen, and Corrales. I don't think my battery pack would be worth trying to resell because of lack of ebikes or worth the work involved trying to break apart and re-purpose the individual batteries cells?
My 5 year old Transeo GT 700X40c pedal bike is more likely to be stolen before my Radrover (also have Boomerang GPS tracker with smartphone alarm on the rovers).
My 5 year old Transeo GT 700X40c pedal bike is more likely to be stolen before my Radrover (also have Boomerang GPS tracker with smartphone alarm on the rovers).
jwt355
Member
You would be best to take your battery off. Bike Theft in Denver is rampant so any way you can slow them down would be the recommended course of action. Im on the Bike Theft Denver Facebook group page and you can see how many bikes are stolen each day. Its astonishing and I dont believe Denver PD does much about it. Id also highly recommend registering your bike with Denver PD with Serial # and Bike Index as well. Maybe even do something distinguishing to your bike as an Identifier. I dont know about you guys but I have well north of 5k into my Juggernaut and I do not intend for a Thief to get their hands on my ride. I also added GPS Cellular tracking to my bike, incase I ever do have to track it down. Spot Trace is good for this if you can figure out a good mounting position.
I have a Skunklock coming in January for it and I bought a Boltcutter proof chain and alarming Lock for it. It weighs alot as its super heavy duty but is worth it if I have to lock up my ride. I still dont trust any locks out there. So Im trying to make it as hard as possible to steal my Biktrix. Aside from using a cordless Grinder and spending about 5-8 mins using it, and getting a face full of noxious gas, I think I have the best system/setup to keep it from being stolen. The Skunklock is going to give them a nice suprise if they try to cut through that thing =) Without a way to hold a chainlink its going to be hard for them to use a grinder on my chain.
Here is my Lock system Setup
https://www.westechrigging.com/laclede-security-chain-038.html
https://www.ebay.com/itm/KOVIX-ALAR...COOTER-LOCK-/223042263461?hash=item33ee5ad9a5
https://www.skunklock.com/?gclid=Cj...4wA-AbN_EN5iLgghBw8hUHlw-8t0VUKRoClwAQAvD_BwE
Here is Bikeindex Website. https://bikeindex.org Something some LEO friends told me was the issue with Bikes not being recovered or even knowing about them being stolen is alot of folks dont write down their Serial # on the bike and they do not register them so if it does get stolen it can be easily researched if your Serial gets searched on the Internet with Bikeindex.
I have a Skunklock coming in January for it and I bought a Boltcutter proof chain and alarming Lock for it. It weighs alot as its super heavy duty but is worth it if I have to lock up my ride. I still dont trust any locks out there. So Im trying to make it as hard as possible to steal my Biktrix. Aside from using a cordless Grinder and spending about 5-8 mins using it, and getting a face full of noxious gas, I think I have the best system/setup to keep it from being stolen. The Skunklock is going to give them a nice suprise if they try to cut through that thing =) Without a way to hold a chainlink its going to be hard for them to use a grinder on my chain.
Here is my Lock system Setup
https://www.westechrigging.com/laclede-security-chain-038.html
https://www.ebay.com/itm/KOVIX-ALAR...COOTER-LOCK-/223042263461?hash=item33ee5ad9a5
https://www.skunklock.com/?gclid=Cj...4wA-AbN_EN5iLgghBw8hUHlw-8t0VUKRoClwAQAvD_BwE
Here is Bikeindex Website. https://bikeindex.org Something some LEO friends told me was the issue with Bikes not being recovered or even knowing about them being stolen is alot of folks dont write down their Serial # on the bike and they do not register them so if it does get stolen it can be easily researched if your Serial gets searched on the Internet with Bikeindex.
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mrgold35
Well-Known Member
I double-checked with my USAA Homeowner's insurance and I'm covered with a $500 deductible per incident if my ebikes are stolen or damage at home or away. I called them specifically about my Radrover ebike and if they were stolen if I'm traveling out of town with them and they said I'm covered. I added the Boomerang GPS cellular tracker +2 years ago to give me a heads up to react if my ebikes are tampered with and track in real time if stolen. I also signed up with:
- National Bike Registry: https://www.nationalbikeregistry.com/
- Bike Index: https://bikeindex.org/
- Project529: https://project529.com/garage/users/sign_in
- Bike Registry: http://bikeregistry.com/
- Local law enforcement Bike Registration webpage (ABQ link): http://app.bernco.gov/bcso_bikeapp/
I noticed there isn't a preferred bike national database all law enforcement agencies use between each city, county, and state law enforcement. I figure I would cover all my bases. It only took a few minutes to cut/paste and register for the others once you set up the first application for bike registration. I also add at least several layers of U-bolts, chains, and/or cables. Put a triangle bag over the rover battery. I always use the U-bolts and chains to lock ebikes to each other and to the bike rack when away from home. I figure it would be very difficult cut 3-4 locks/chains/cables, lift +140 lbs of ebikes to toss in the back of pick-up, and deal with me when the Boomerang alarm goes off at the same time (ex-military and college athlete, 6'3" and 270lbs).
- National Bike Registry: https://www.nationalbikeregistry.com/
- Bike Index: https://bikeindex.org/
- Project529: https://project529.com/garage/users/sign_in
- Bike Registry: http://bikeregistry.com/
- Local law enforcement Bike Registration webpage (ABQ link): http://app.bernco.gov/bcso_bikeapp/
I noticed there isn't a preferred bike national database all law enforcement agencies use between each city, county, and state law enforcement. I figure I would cover all my bases. It only took a few minutes to cut/paste and register for the others once you set up the first application for bike registration. I also add at least several layers of U-bolts, chains, and/or cables. Put a triangle bag over the rover battery. I always use the U-bolts and chains to lock ebikes to each other and to the bike rack when away from home. I figure it would be very difficult cut 3-4 locks/chains/cables, lift +140 lbs of ebikes to toss in the back of pick-up, and deal with me when the Boomerang alarm goes off at the same time (ex-military and college athlete, 6'3" and 270lbs).
SirJonathan
Active Member
Skunklock...well I'll be damned...never heard of that before and taking a quick look at your linked website for them was extremely interesting!
LewSchiller
Active Member
SkunkLock does seem interesting but I have to wonder why - since the Indiegogo campaign began 2 years ago - that still seems to be the only way to get one?
SirJonathan
Active Member
And in over two years not a single real-life test or review. Just self-promotion videos from the company itself with comments disable or "reviews" from online sites that basically just regurgitate the specs and information from the company FAQ.
I can see why people might not want to test one of these out - what a mess. And I also agree with you that in over two years you would expect these to be available somewhere - anywhere - other than the Indiegogo site.
jwt355
Member
Yep same here. I am fully covered by My home owners. Already checked into that so I have a way to replace if something does happen. Thieves count on this and gives them reason enough to justify stealing bikes. Screw the insurance companies is the frame of mind. They have plenty of money =) this is how they think.
Skunklock works as it’s intended but who wants to test that... think about what your asking hehe
I sure as heck wouldn’t ?
Skunklock works as it’s intended but who wants to test that... think about what your asking hehe
I sure as heck wouldn’t ?
LewSchiller
Active Member
I bought a policy from Velosure.
The thing about using homeowners for a bike theft....it's a "Claim Ding"
State Farm - and most others - will drop you for claim dings over a certain amount. My SF agent was dropped for 3 hail damage claims in 5 years. I had a van stolen last January. The contents would have been covered under Homeowners after the deductible. I'd have seen about $300 after the deductible - but as my agent pointed out - that $300 comes with a ding. Sure enough this summer we had a hail storm strong enough to $38,000 worth of damage. My last HO claim was 8 years ago so I'm okay.
As for Skunklock...it may well work as advertised and I wouldn't want to test it but 2 years on having no sales or review track outside the fund raiser makes it seem like a hinkey deal.
MadManMark
Member
The battery having a key lock to the frame is one of the things that first attracted me to Radpower bikes.
But as others point out, thieves can still steal the whole bike of course, so you have to worry about that. I don't know anything about "skunklock" but so far I've been very impressed with my Kryptonite New York Noose. The "noose" design is very clever, in that it lets you have a chain that only has to reach one time from the bike frame to the rack, without requiring twice the length to complete a loop. This shorter length lets you have a MUCH thicker chain for the same length. Maybe just as important, because the "Ulock" component is so tiny, it only has to be large enough to go around a frame tube, I would imagine it could be much more awkward for the thief to cut it than a standard U-lock which has to be large enough to reach from the bike to the rack.
If you didn't understand what I'm saying click on the link I gave, it's what made it all make sense to me. However there is one thing I think that even this reviewer didn't fully appreciate: he shows the min-ulock as going through two chain links, which means you have to use part of the chain length to wrap around the bike frame. But that isn't necessary, you just need that on the "noose" end, on the U-lock end just thread the ulock through the last chain length and then close it around the bike frame tube. Even though the reviewer praises it as the best lock available, he still missed how he could be even more optimally using it.
But as others point out, thieves can still steal the whole bike of course, so you have to worry about that. I don't know anything about "skunklock" but so far I've been very impressed with my Kryptonite New York Noose. The "noose" design is very clever, in that it lets you have a chain that only has to reach one time from the bike frame to the rack, without requiring twice the length to complete a loop. This shorter length lets you have a MUCH thicker chain for the same length. Maybe just as important, because the "Ulock" component is so tiny, it only has to be large enough to go around a frame tube, I would imagine it could be much more awkward for the thief to cut it than a standard U-lock which has to be large enough to reach from the bike to the rack.
If you didn't understand what I'm saying click on the link I gave, it's what made it all make sense to me. However there is one thing I think that even this reviewer didn't fully appreciate: he shows the min-ulock as going through two chain links, which means you have to use part of the chain length to wrap around the bike frame. But that isn't necessary, you just need that on the "noose" end, on the U-lock end just thread the ulock through the last chain length and then close it around the bike frame tube. Even though the reviewer praises it as the best lock available, he still missed how he could be even more optimally using it.
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SirJonathan
Active Member
Just noticed that the Skunklock has sold 60 out of 500 of their Version 2 product. Looks like that's since the start of this year. And since that's the only place to purchase one I'd say that with 60 sales in one year they probably won't be around much longer without a channel to distribute these.
Shame. Looks like a promising product.
Shame. Looks like a promising product.
LewSchiller
Active Member
I, for one, am looking forward to your review!
jwt355
Member
When I asked the same questions this was the answer I got
We should be able to get your unit out by the end of January. Our production is limited to 50 a week unfortunately. With that being said sounds like they have plenty of orders coming in. I doubt the Indigo page is updated and showing what their true sold products are.
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