I'm curious...for those of you who leave your bike locked for an hour or more, do you remove the battery and take it with you?
- Thread starter erider_61
- Start date
ebikemom
Well-Known Member
I don't. Generally if my bike is locked up it's in front of the supermarket, or a rack by a restaurant or coffee shop. At work, I bring the bike into my office with me, or if I ride it to a class or appointment on campus, lock it up for the period of that class/appointment for an hour or two. I leave the battery. It is secured in the bike with a key, so only could be removed by someone else who had the key. The only reason I'd remove it and bring it along would be if it were baking in the sun otherwise, or if it were very cold.
Ant
Member
Generally don't, but have been lately when at the Mall as it's been so hot. Having the only ebike of it's brand in my area (that I know of), probably makes just the battery useless to anyone else anyway. Would like to be able to remove the LCD control / display though. Sometimes worried someone might turn it on and stuff it up! (I have Juiced CCS bike).
glenmorenee
Member
I would expect that locked batteries will eventually be an industry standard. My R&M bike has the cafe lock and the battery lock keyed the same so that is convenient. I don't remove the battery because I just don't leave the bike unattended for very long. My battery is incorporated into the downtube and is fussy to remove and even fussier to get back in.
christob
Well-Known Member
My bike lock-up needs consist mostly of at-the-office; in our old building, we had a small bike rack located within an access-controlled elevator lobby in the garage (we were the only tenants with access to that lobby -- so only our employees, and some corporate visitors to our offices, would pass through that space regularly.) I'd leave the battery in place when I locked up there.
Our new building has a dedicated chain-link-fenced "bike cage" area located on the first level of the car garage, with several store-the-bike-vertically racks and 1 inverted-U rack mounted to the floor. I leave my battery in place when I lock up there, too. However, we are the only occupant of this new building right now (we built it/own it.) But our subtenant will move in around May, and we will get a retail tenant eventually -- I believe the office subtenant at least, will be permitted to use the bike cage; perhaps at that point we will also install a security-card reader on the door into the cage. (Right now, that door is open to anyone.) I'll probably still leave the battery in place, even then. My battery is so peculiarly unique to this bike (and when I bought it, I was the first and only customer in northern VA; probably still am!) that you couldn't mount it to another bike -- though I suppose some diligent thief could potentially want a bike battery for disassembly into component parts...?
The battery does have a neat spring-loaded internal lock-pin -- which has a pull-ring piece on the outside that can unscrew once the battery is mounted, leaving the internal pin locked in place. If I take the pull-ring with me, you can't remove the battery from the mount. I've used that feature just a few times, when I have had to lock up in a public / open-air setting, and I know I'll be out of sight from the bike (locked to a rack) for a longer spell. (Those kind of lock-ups are very rare for me so far, as I don't for instance, bike to the movie theater, or to a museum, etc.) But generally, say on a grocery run in the store for 25 minutes, I don't even remove that pull-ring while I shop inside, simply because the battery is so non-standard as to (in my mind) render it not at all suitable for "steal and immediately reuse / resell." Probably far more likely that a focused thief would want to just cut the bike lock and steal the whole setup.
Our new building has a dedicated chain-link-fenced "bike cage" area located on the first level of the car garage, with several store-the-bike-vertically racks and 1 inverted-U rack mounted to the floor. I leave my battery in place when I lock up there, too. However, we are the only occupant of this new building right now (we built it/own it.) But our subtenant will move in around May, and we will get a retail tenant eventually -- I believe the office subtenant at least, will be permitted to use the bike cage; perhaps at that point we will also install a security-card reader on the door into the cage. (Right now, that door is open to anyone.) I'll probably still leave the battery in place, even then. My battery is so peculiarly unique to this bike (and when I bought it, I was the first and only customer in northern VA; probably still am!) that you couldn't mount it to another bike -- though I suppose some diligent thief could potentially want a bike battery for disassembly into component parts...?
The battery does have a neat spring-loaded internal lock-pin -- which has a pull-ring piece on the outside that can unscrew once the battery is mounted, leaving the internal pin locked in place. If I take the pull-ring with me, you can't remove the battery from the mount. I've used that feature just a few times, when I have had to lock up in a public / open-air setting, and I know I'll be out of sight from the bike (locked to a rack) for a longer spell. (Those kind of lock-ups are very rare for me so far, as I don't for instance, bike to the movie theater, or to a museum, etc.) But generally, say on a grocery run in the store for 25 minutes, I don't even remove that pull-ring while I shop inside, simply because the battery is so non-standard as to (in my mind) render it not at all suitable for "steal and immediately reuse / resell." Probably far more likely that a focused thief would want to just cut the bike lock and steal the whole setup.
harryS
Well-Known Member
You can hardly ship a battery legally in the USA. They can only be sold person-to-person. Selling a relatively uncommon item on craigs list doesn't seem like a good option for a thief to me, but what do I know.
The locks on my downtube and rack batteries are simple. Maybe Davenport, Flowers and Bosch (fictional cops) could pick them in 10 seconds like they do in their books, but I think they're good enough for a parked bike. The bike itself? Dubious.
The locks on my downtube and rack batteries are simple. Maybe Davenport, Flowers and Bosch (fictional cops) could pick them in 10 seconds like they do in their books, but I think they're good enough for a parked bike. The bike itself? Dubious.
Citycrosser
Active Member
I leave my e-bike locked at the train station for up to 10 hours with the battery on it. It's locked up well and insured. No issues so far in 6 months or so of doing this two to three days a week. I'm more worried that someone will steal the seat.
erider_61
Well-Known Member
So it seems the majority of you leave the battery in when locked. My original thoughts on this weren't so much as someone stealing the battery per se, as it was more to someone stealing the entire bike being more attractive when the expensive battery is installed. I think it is going to be much harder to sell an ebike without the battery and obviously worth less money. By the way the locks on these batteries appear to be very cheap (on the bikes I have seen) and could be easily defeated in a matter of seconds. As a locksmith I am all too familiar with this type of small wafer/pin lock and it's vulnerabilities to attack. Personally I don't see it as much of a hassle to bring it in with me at the grocery store...just put it in the cart. Maybe I am just paranoid because of what I see go on daily with my profession, but I figure anything I can do to make it less worthwhile or harder to steal my bike is worth the extra effort/inconvienance.
SirJonathan
Active Member
I'm starting to see a lot of eBikes down here in Orange County. Maybe it's because I have one and am now looking for them subconsciously, or maybe because there are many more of them. At our local grocery store it is no unusual to see one or two locked up to the bike rack. There's a lot of foot traffic there and I live in a relatively safe (from property crime) area. I have never seen a battery removed from the bike.
My Juiced CCX has a simple locking mechanism that would deter an opportunistic thief - and I would imagine even at $1000 there's little to no value in a large 14-pound battery for your average thief. If they knew eBikes then I think they'd just take my whole bike. Therefore I don't worry much about removing and taking the battery with me.
I asked a similar question on this forum a couple months ago and there weren't many that removed the battery.
My Juiced CCX has a simple locking mechanism that would deter an opportunistic thief - and I would imagine even at $1000 there's little to no value in a large 14-pound battery for your average thief. If they knew eBikes then I think they'd just take my whole bike. Therefore I don't worry much about removing and taking the battery with me.
I asked a similar question on this forum a couple months ago and there weren't many that removed the battery.
SirJonathan
Active Member
"Maybe I am just paranoid because of what I see go on daily with my profession"
Exactly! I can't imagine the one-offs you have seen in your profession and it would probably deter me from leaving my house! My brother is an ophthalmologist and you better have protective eyewear on every minute of the day. Cloudy? Sunglasses. Indoors and perfect eyesight or contacts? Clear lens glasses. He's drilled it into our all heads. Protective glasses everywhere.
My neighbor is a California Highway Patrolman. He won't drive with me anywhere. He says "SLOW DOWN" when I'm going the speed limit. He doesn't even know he does it. He's so nervous in the passenger seat that I just let him drive everywhere. I guess you see enough accidents and affects from them and it changes your perspective.
I've never had anything stolen in my city but I'm sure if I walked out and found my bike or battery gone I would change my ways in a hurry!
Exactly! I can't imagine the one-offs you have seen in your profession and it would probably deter me from leaving my house! My brother is an ophthalmologist and you better have protective eyewear on every minute of the day. Cloudy? Sunglasses. Indoors and perfect eyesight or contacts? Clear lens glasses. He's drilled it into our all heads. Protective glasses everywhere.
My neighbor is a California Highway Patrolman. He won't drive with me anywhere. He says "SLOW DOWN" when I'm going the speed limit. He doesn't even know he does it. He's so nervous in the passenger seat that I just let him drive everywhere. I guess you see enough accidents and affects from them and it changes your perspective.
I've never had anything stolen in my city but I'm sure if I walked out and found my bike or battery gone I would change my ways in a hurry!
DouglasB
Active Member
You can't be too paranoid when it comes to thieves. You may get away with being casual for a long time but there are people wandering around looking for the next opertunity. It's what they do. I have known some thieves in my time and have had a couple of bikes stolen. Anyhting new and shiny attracts. Be paranoid, it's just a matter of time.
dblhelix
Well-Known Member
Yes! I sometimes have to leave the bike outside on a campus where theft is rampant. Not just whole bikes but lights, wheels, seats .... It’s a hassle to shlep the batteries, but I think we’re getting to the point where any self-respecting thief is up-to-date on the price tags for these Bosch batteries. Even selling one on Craigslist for $200 is a win for any thief.
I am fortunate that some places let me bring the bike in, like my local Home Depot as well as my grocery store.
Mr. Coffee
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
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- A Demented Corner of the North Cascades
I can't think of a time where I left my bike unattended outside for more than an hour, honestly.
The closest was probably staying at a hostel where I left the bike in a garage overnight.
When I hit the coffee shop or post office I usually just use a small z-lock and remove the display. I also make a point of parking the bike where I can see it from inside.
The closest was probably staying at a hostel where I left the bike in a garage overnight.
When I hit the coffee shop or post office I usually just use a small z-lock and remove the display. I also make a point of parking the bike where I can see it from inside.
glenmorenee
Member
I would suggest that if you use a mass transit bike cage or a work building bike cage or a residential apartment bike cage or are on any campus anywhere, you need to get your Defcon level up to 3 or 4 or at a minimum several levels above everyone else (in the cage). These are areas that thieves will specifically target and these thieves won't be the random opportunistic kind. You need to get those guys to skip pass your bike.
DouglasB
Active Member
You are right, they are always on the look out and work very hard at their craft. I say "Random, Opportunistic" only because it seem that way for our perspective. Thieves are always on the lookout for a soft spot or "random, opportunistic" moment when your defenses are down.
steve marino
Active Member
No, because I never leave my bike locked any place other than in a high walk traffic area.
Also, in addition to the keyed lock on the battery ( which could be busted off in 5 seconds), I put some big stainless steel hose clamps from an automotive parts house around the battery and frame. Then I filled the slots in the clamp screws with liquid metal so that no one can simply unscrew the clamps. It's a $5 fix that is very secure. Cutting through the stainless clamps would not be easy unless the thief had an air or electric powered cutter. In which case they would simply cut through my Kryptonite bike lock and take the whole bike.
The number one thing to do is always lock the bike up in a secure area w/ lots of people around all the time.
You can ship a lithium battery in the US. It just has to be done by ground, not air.
Also, in addition to the keyed lock on the battery ( which could be busted off in 5 seconds), I put some big stainless steel hose clamps from an automotive parts house around the battery and frame. Then I filled the slots in the clamp screws with liquid metal so that no one can simply unscrew the clamps. It's a $5 fix that is very secure. Cutting through the stainless clamps would not be easy unless the thief had an air or electric powered cutter. In which case they would simply cut through my Kryptonite bike lock and take the whole bike.
The number one thing to do is always lock the bike up in a secure area w/ lots of people around all the time.
You can ship a lithium battery in the US. It just has to be done by ground, not air.
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indianajo
Well-Known Member
I lock my bike outside to steel poles or racks 7 days a week. The battery is screwed on in an aluminum frame I built. It takes me 20 minutes to get it open and I know how it went together. Thieves? Pros would cut the cable & put the whole bike in the van. They better have a stretch model because with racks my bike is 76" long. They could use the oxy-acetelyn torch on my aluminum racks; try to make that stuff burn. After the smoke & stink they caused by burning the polyurethane wrapped cable.
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