Quick release front tire and seat post clamp security.

[razz]

Hi,

What are you folks using for security for quick release wheels. My front quick release skewer on my radpower-mini4 measures approx. 18 cm, there a security skewer available for that size? What are you guys using to secure the seat post?

I'm buying a non adjustable seat post clamp and want to secure the hex bolts with a hexlox security system, both for the seat, and the seat post. Is there a long skewer available with can also be secured with the hexlox system?

Regards,
Reggy

 

[Comfortably Numb]

Hi,

What are you folks using for security for quick release wheels. My front quick release skewer on my radpower-mini4 measures approx. 18 cm, there a security skewer available for that size? What are you guys using to secure the seat post?

I'm buying a non adjustable seat post clamp and want to secure the hex bolts with a hexlox security system, both for the seat, and the seat post. Is there a long skewer available with can also be secured with the hexlox system?

Regards,
Reggy

Check the Hexlox website. They have a configurator for determining what you require.
They have a few different skewers. CN

 

[Tubbs]

I use "Pitlock" for front tire and seat. Seems to be a good system no issues so far.

 

[fooferdoggie]

I use "Pitlock" for front tire and seat. Seems to be a good system no issues so far.

I have used pitlock and it works well. but what I did not like is you cant tell if the skewers have come loose. mine come loose now and again.

 

[Taylor57]

I use a mini Kryptonite cable and run it to my Kyptonite Ulock. If they really want the seatpost, they could snip it with boltcutter pretty easily, however that's why I usually never leave my bike out of my sight. Even if it is close and I am dining or having a cocktail, I still turn on my annoying loud alarm...

 

[Tubbs]

I have used pitlock and it works well. but what I did not like is you cant tell if the skewers have come loose. mine come loose now and again.

Thanks for pointing that out I will need to check mine!!

 

[indianajo]

I deleted the quick release seatpost clamp & front skewer on my bodaboda bike. I replaced the seatpost clamp with a stainless steel 6 mm x 30 mm allen screw & elastic stop nut. I made a contoured block/washer to transition the clamp contour to a flat surface out of Nema-C laminate. I replaced the front axle with a 10-32 x 4 1/2" screw & elastic stop nut, with fender washers on the end. I'm only 160 lb, larger people may need a 5/16" or 8mm bolt. Allen head & flat screwdriver head have been enough security for the hundreds of times I've locked up my bike at stores, restaurants, concerts and churches.
Elastic stop nuts eliminate the self-loosening feature of nuts. The nut fights a wannabe thief all the way off. Available from mcmaster, grainger, fastenal , mscdirect. A couple of wannabes have loosened some nuts on my battery cage at the grocery store, but not all the way off and not the right ones, either.

 

[HLM]

For my seat post, which can not use Hex Lox because the allen screws have internal threads designed for a rear rack, I use 3 mm security allen screws which has a pin that sticks up in the center of the hexagon and the screws are rounded so that no plier can gain a grip to force it open. I use this screw to close the hexagon opening on the seat clamp and to attach a rack when needed. It would be a VERY rare thief that would have that tool as it's not a tool that can be easily acquired, typically. I use the Hex Lox thru axle for my front wheel and leave it that way if I will have my bicycle out of my sight for not more than 10 minutes (i.e., going to the bathroom). If it's long than that I will take my front wheel off and place it into my alarmed D lock along with my rear wheel and frame, all attached to an heavy duty external anchor.

 

[DiggyGun]

It would be a VERY rare thief that would have that tool as it's not a tool that can be easily acquired,

These type of Allen Keys are readily available on Amazon and at other sites and, cheap.

 

[HLM]

Like all bicycle theft defenses, I'm playing the odds. Even in your example, the thief would have to know what to look for even though few people actually use hexagonal security screws on their bicycle, look for this set on Amazon and buy it, not to mention carry it around even though 99.99% of the time they won't run into the need to use it. In fact I'd guess that a bicycle thief is more aware of Hexlox removal methods than having a 3mm security hex tool on them. As it is, though, in my particular case, in using a Specialized seat post clamp designed to be attached to the forward clamps of a trunk rack I have few alternatives though I could purchase a round headed hexagonal screw and place a Hexlox into it also. I can also purchase the expensive (more than $150) and far more bulky Thread Lock.
Note, too, that the tool you found is of VERY poor quality with the center holes not centered well at all. That tool set also is comprised of cast metal, not machined, and the tools there either may break easily or not fit, incredibly. However one can get a better tamper proof kit than that one on Amazon.
So, with your reply, I edit my initial statement to substitute the "not a tool that can be easily acquired" into "not a tool that most any thief would have acquired".There, better now.

These type of Allen Keys are readily available on Amazon and at other sites and, cheap.

View attachment 123720

 

[6zfshdb]

Most of these suggestions will slow down or stop a casual thief and are useful in many situations.
However, many serious thieves these days carry a battery powered sawzall. If they can't take what they want, including the entire bike, they will most certainly do enough damage to render it un-rideable.

 

[m@Robertson]

Most of these suggestions will slow down or stop a casual thief and are useful in many situations.
However, many serious thieves these days carry a battery powered sawzall. If they can't take what they want, including the entire bike, they will most certainly do enough damage to render it un-rideable.

Yeah but that argument's only logical answer is "don't take steps to secure your bike because they will just destroy it if they can't steal it".

I'll argue that while angle-grinder-armed thieves unquestionably exist, they are extremely rare (same goes for thieves armed with explosive nail drivers which if anything are even more effective). Attention-grabbing, yes. But the real risk is the thief of opportunity. The one you made it easy on by leaving your stuff easy to steal.

If I lived in NYC and parked the bike overnight on the street.. yeah sure kiss it goodbye. But thats not what I suspect everyone reading this does. Not a dense urban area and not overnight parking.

Skipping the subject of locks and sticking to the subject of QR bolts, I just use a simple AxelRodz bolt-on skewers and a bolt-on seatpost collar. Thats plenty to make the bike next to mine an easier target.

I don't need to outrun the bear. I need to outrun you

 

[rich c]

I looked at a few numbers. 189,000 reported bicycle thefts last year, 525,949 minutes in a year. So a theft is reported every 3 minutes. The key word is reported. As mentioned the cordless sawzall is the key. They can saw off a bike rack or post in a couple minutes. I can't say a few special bolts won't help, but when considering any odds, total theft is highly likely if the bike is left alone.

 

[HLM]

Most of these suggestions will slow down or stop a casual thief and are useful in many situations.
However, many serious thieves these days carry a battery powered sawzall. If they can't take what they want, including the entire bike, they will most certainly do enough damage to render it un-rideable.

Not if the lock is a Skunklock, unless the thief knows that lock and, instead of attacking it, attacks the bicycle. If they don't know about the Skunklock and try to cut it they won't be around to continue their attack.

 

[indianajo]

Lots of quick release seats & front wheels get stolen Derby weekend. The vandals are not selling these anywhere. They are throwing them in alleys and people's yards. Same mayhem from adolescents any festival weekend anywhere. A simple allen head screw & elastic stop nut stops that kind of vandalism. 4 years, no problem except my tire knifed one Sunday after Derby. ***** hexlock! I carry the allen & hex wrenchs in my pannier and nobody bothers to steal my seat or front wheel. A sling through the frame to a power pole, live conduit or gas meter stops the "I wanna ride instead of walking" thieves. Having a "nobody will buy that" cargo bike with a girly drop frame for short people stops the guys riding around in a van with power tools and a torch. The van guys concentrate on gas scooters, anyway. I met some thieves at 2 AM at the truck garage, trying to push hot radios, tape players, CD collections, guns. That truck garage is now Louisville Slugger Field.

 

[Kayakguy]

I looked at a few numbers. 189,000 reported bicycle thefts last year, 525,949 minutes in a year. So a theft is reported every 3 minutes. The key word is reported. As mentioned the cordless sawzall is the key. They can saw off a bike rack or post in a couple minutes. I can't say a few special bolts won't help, but when considering any odds, total theft is highly likely if the bike is left alone.

Angle grinder, not Sawzall. A reciprocating saw will work, but not nearly as efficient as an angle grinder.

 

[rich c]

Angle grinder, not Sawzall. A reciprocating saw will work, but not nearly as efficient as an angle grinder.

Thieves don't always go after locks. At cutting through bike racks and posts? "As mentioned the cordless sawzall is the key. They can saw off a bike rack or post in a couple minutes"

 

[DiggyGun]

Like all bicycle theft defenses, I'm playing the odds. Even in your example, the thief would have to know what to look for even though few people actually use hexagonal security screws on their bicycle, look for this set on Amazon and buy it, not to mention carry it around even though 99.99% of the time they won't run into the need to use it. In fact I'd guess that a bicycle thief is more aware of Hexlox removal methods than having a 3mm security hex tool on them. As it is, though, in my particular case, in using a Specialized seat post clamp designed to be attached to the forward clamps of a trunk rack I have few alternatives though I could purchase a round headed hexagonal screw and place a Hexlox into it also. I can also purchase the expensive (more than $150) and far more bulky Thread Lock.
Note, too, that the tool you found is of VERY poor quality with the center holes not centered well at all. That tool set also is comprised of cast metal, not machined, and the tools there either may break easily or not fit, incredibly. However one can get a better tamper proof kit than that one on Amazon.
So, with your reply, I edit my initial statement to substitute the "not a tool that can be easily acquired" into "not a tool that most any thief would have acquired".There, better now.

It doesn’t really what security or how expensive it is.

Cheap battery operated angle grinders and reciprocating saws are powerful and readily available.

Bike thieves will always know more tricks to steal bikes. And bike security is always playing catch up.

At the end of the day, bike security is just about slowing them down or making the bike next to yours easier to steel.

The best bike security is never to leave the bike alone.

 

[indianajo]

The best bike security is never to leave the bike alone.

Be sure to take your SUV to the Tesco everytime you need supplies. Or better yet, your motor home. The globe is not warming: Charles & David Koch have told everyone what the facts are.
With the inflation, I hauled a new record home from the grocery Thursday. $121 worth. Locked the bike to the cart rack. Was still there when I came out.

 

[HLM]

Actually, a thief can steal your bicycle even if you're there (even while you're riding it!) and, in my opinion, the best security when parking your bicycle outside is to use Pitlocks and Hexlox on small components (like brakes, seats, wheels, etc.), and to use two "U" locks at the same time: the Hiplock D1000 AND the Skunklock while removing your front wheel and placing it inside both of these locks which are attached to only the heaviest and widest possible, ground anchored object.
Both these locks are extremely well protected from angle grinders and all other attacks.