Quick-release seatpost --security?

I have the same worry with my Brooks saddle. The only way I feel safe is when I'm sitting on it. I
haven't really stopped anywhere except for one bike shop, and it was a small one where I could keep
my eye on it. I do have a cable lock, to keep the honest man honest (a thief could probably cut
through it with a serrated kitchen knife), but don't use it 'cuz I don't stop anywhere long enough
for someone to snag it. I still use the old-fashioned cross-bolt and nuts for the seatpost, too.

I'm not sure, but I think the QR seatpost was meant for ease and speed of seat height adjustment, as
the QR wheels made removing the wheels easier for changing flats and such. I don't remove my wheels,
either, but looking at my bike, a thief probably wouldn't waste his time.

"Ken" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

I seem to recall that in the good old days, you weren't secure unless you carried your front wheel
away with you -- a tactic that discouraged even thieves with bolt cutters. Do you now have to
carry your front wheel and seatpost/seat?

Sometimes I do carry the seat into the store with me.

Pete

"Ken" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

What is done to secure the quick-release seatpost? Is that removed too and threaded onto the same
locking device? My seat is a spring-type and can be disassebled with a wrench or pliers -- which
would defeat almost no one.

Quick adjustment of saddle height is handy for off-road riders who might want to drop the saddle on
rough terrain without needing tools. If you don't need this feature, consider just replacing the
collar with a standard one. They only cost a few bucks, and your LBS might well just give you one.

RichC

[email hidden] (Ken) wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

....

Quoted message said:

What is done to secure the quick-release seatpost? Is that removed too and threaded onto the same
locking device?

I get to see lots of folks who take the saddle & post right out, and take it into the store or
wherever with them, slung on a loop on their backpack. I always take anything removable off (Cateye
light, computer, blinkie) and take them in with me, too.

....

Quoted message said:

BTW, what inspired the quick-release seatpost? Were seats being stolen?

I don't know for sure, but it's really handy for off-road riding, to be able to easily lower the
saddle for particularly steep downslopes, so riders can scootch their bums back over the rear wheel.

My old 930 had a QR seatpost; I just looped a small, thin cable lock through the saddle rails and
seatstays. A bolt cutter could've made short work of it, though. My current bike has the old style
binder bolt. Sometimes I miss the QR.

cheers, Tom

Why not replace the q/r with an allyn head or ordinary bolt? Ernie

Ken said:

I just donated my 30-year old Peugeot U08 and bought a Raleigh C30. I am familiar with the drill
of removing the front wheel, putting it alongside the rear wheel and locking the wheels and frame
to a secure object.

What is done to secure the quick-release seatpost? Is that removed too and threaded onto the same
locking device? My seat is a spring-type and can be disassebled with a wrench or pliers -- which
would defeat almost no one.

What locking device is popular these days? I still have those flat Kryptonite U-jobbies, but also
have lockable cables ranging in size from the types used to secure skis up to almost motorcycle
size. I recall one cable somewhere that was coiled wire with a clear plastic coating.

BTW, what inspired the quick-release seatpost? Were seats being stolen?

I seem to recall that in the good old days, you weren't secure unless you carried your front wheel
away with you -- a tactic that discouraged even thieves with bolt cutters. Do you now have to
carry your front wheel and seatpost/seat?

Ken (to reply via email remove "zz" from address)

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] writes compellingly...

Quoted message said:

Why not replace the q/r with an allyn head or ordinary bolt? Ernie

One-a them five-sided bolt heads that you see on various mysterious iron covers in the street.
What's under them things, anyway?

MikeE

Quoted message said:

Ken said:

I just donated my 30-year old Peugeot U08 and bought a Raleigh C30. I am familiar with the drill
of removing the front wheel, putting it alongside the rear wheel and locking the wheels and
frame to a secure object.

What is done to secure the quick-release seatpost? Is that removed too and threaded onto the
same locking device? My seat is a spring-type and can be disassebled with a wrench or pliers --
which would defeat almost no one.

E & V Willson <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Why not replace the q/r with an allyn head or ordinary bolt? Ernie

Good point. I had forgotten that QR replacement kits are available -- knurled thumbscrew goes on one
side of the skewer, and hex-keyable tightener on the other. I recall the last time I saw such a kit
on the LBS's pegboard, it had the stuff for both hubs plus the seatpost.

Duh, I even forgot that I have such a conversion on my mixte's front wheel. The shop guy broke open
one of those kits and fixed the QR up for me pro bono (he offered to, after I just asked if there
was such a thing to replace the conventional lever). He also shortened the skewer accordingly.

Anyhow, you've opened up another option for the original poster to consider. Ya done good.

cheers, Tom

E & V Willson said:

Why not replace the q/r with an allyn head or ordinary bolt?

The only reason I can think of is that the replacement bolt would be to be too tight to remove with
one of the portable tiny tool kits. For a seatpost, this should not be a problem because the height
would not need to be changed.

It would be a problem with the wheels, if you needed to remove them to repair a tire. You would have
to carry two extra wrenches -- medium size.

As it turns out, I can't even use this solution for my seatpost. I just hung bicycle hooks at the
only place I can in my garage -- and I have to remove the seat and seatpost to clear my car hood.

Ken (to reply via email remove "zz" from address)

(Ken) said:

What is done to secure the quick-release seatpost? Is that removed too and threaded onto the same
locking device? My seat is a spring-type and can be disassebled with a wrench or pliers -- which
would defeat almost no one.

My defense against getting my saddle stolen is to have a really crappy looking saddle. No one around
here wants a hard saddle--all I see on bikes is heavily padded ones with springs--and certainly not
one that's so worn down that the canvas matrix is showing through on the sides.

On the other hand, the [censored] who stole my mini-pump yesterday should be strung up by his thumbs.
If I ever come across someone stealing bikes or bike accessories red-handed, I'm going to beat the
[censored] out of him before I get around to calling the police--those few [censored] make life harder for
everyone else.
--
Anyone who cannot cope with mathematics is not fully human. At best he is a tolerable subhuman
who has learned to wear shoes, bathe and not make messes in the house. -- Lazarus Long, "Time
Enough for Love"

Rich Clark said:

Quick adjustment of saddle height is handy for off-road riders who might want to drop the saddle on
rough terrain without needing tools. If you don't need this feature, consider just replacing the
collar with a standard one. They only cost a few bucks, and your LBS might well just give you one.

Is the right answer. Although wiring a loop of brake cable with a crimp connector through the saddle
and seatstays works quite well - otherwise take the saddle with you (velcro it to the loops of your
bag or some such - I use a trunk bag, so that works quite well).

Guy
===
** WARNING ** This posting may contain traces of irony. chapmancentral.comchapmancentral.comOpen ↗ (BT ADSL and
dynamic DNS permitting)
NOTE: BT Openworld have now blocked port 25 (without notice), so old mail addresses may no longer
work. Apologies.

If you inspect the lever portion of the quick release for your seat post, you will realize that
the lever can be removed leaving a nut, that is tighten by a phillips-head bolt. All you need to
do is remove the lever, then after you adjust the position of the seat post, tighten the
phillips-head screw.

You can also replace the phillips head bolt with a allen head bolt that matchs the nut at any large
hardware store for a few pennies, if you don't like phillips-head bolts.

[email hidden] (Ken) wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

I just donated my 30-year old Peugeot U08 and bought a Raleigh C30. I am familiar with the drill
of removing the front wheel, putting it alongside the rear wheel and locking the wheels and frame
to a secure object.

What is done to secure the quick-release seatpost? Is that removed too and threaded onto the same
locking device? My seat is a spring-type and can be disassebled with a wrench or pliers -- which
would defeat almost no one.

What locking device is popular these days? I still have those flat Kryptonite U-jobbies, but also
have lockable cables ranging in size from the types used to secure skis up to almost motorcycle
size. I recall one cable somewhere that was coiled wire with a clear plastic coating.

BTW, what inspired the quick-release seatpost? Were seats being stolen?

I seem to recall that in the good old days, you weren't secure unless you carried your front wheel
away with you -- a tactic that discouraged even thieves with bolt cutters. Do you now have to
carry your front wheel and seatpost/seat?

Ken (to reply via email remove "zz" from address)

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

I just donated my 30-year old Peugeot U08 and bought a Raleigh C30. I am familiar with the drill of
removing the front wheel, putting it alongside the rear wheel and locking the wheels and frame to a
secure object.

What is done to secure the quick-release seatpost? Is that removed too and threaded onto the same
locking device? My seat is a spring-type and can be disassebled with a wrench or pliers -- which
would defeat almost no one.

You can use an old chain to secure your seat to the frame. I thread the chain through an old tube to
keep all the gunk on the chain and off of the seat and frame.
-----------------
Alex __O _-\<,_ (_)/ (_)

E & V Willson said:

Why not replace the q/r with an allyn head or ordinary bolt? Ernie

I used to use an allen head bolt, until my seat was stolen. Presumably removed with vise grips. Now
I do what everyone else does in NYC. We use an old piece of bicycle chain, and cover it with an old
inner tube. Yes, with a chain removal tool it can be opened, but thieves here don't carry them. And
I hear bike chains covered with a tube (and electrical tape at the opening) aren't that easy to cut
with bolt cutters.

Don <donwiss at panix.com>.