Locking up a Unicycle

i take it into the store with me, theyve neva said ne thing to me bout
it.

--
reject_monkey
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In may ways locking a unicycle is easier than a bike. A bike separates
into three big bits, the frame and two wheels, any of which is a ripe
target for stealing. A basic unicycle is a bit easier as it's only in
two bits, the wheel and the frame. Given a frame and seat is next to
useless to anyone else, and pretty cheap to buy anyway, I can't imagine
anyone stealing that bit. The wheel, on the other hand, has more
components that can be used on a bike, so has better resale value, and
represents the vast majority of the value of the unicycle.

If you lock the wheel up, short of totally dismantling it to get the hub
(which would be useless anyway), the most they can get is the frame,
which would be of no use to a non-rider.

Of course, this is all from my perspective of stock KH seats on stock
Nimbus 2 frames; other people with custom made posh seats and frames may
want to protect their more valuable frames more.

Bike bits generally get nicked to be resold; only a really desperate
thief is going to attempt to steal unicycle components for this purpose.
If the unicycle is not removable in one piece there is bound to be a car
stereo or something more worth the effort.

Another thought that comes to mind is the increased chance of having
bits nicked as a prank rather than for a profit; in this case a thief is
likely to go for whatever bits he can remove, but is more likely to be
put off by something simple, such as seatpost clamps with bolts rather
than quick-releases.

Phil

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phil - ex-studenty type

"Cattle Prods solve most of life's little problems."
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If you want to be able to lock up the frame then get a 'Hunter frame'
(http://www.unicycle.com/shopping/shopexd.asp?id=191) or similar frame.
You can fit the lock through the frame and the wheel.

There have been cases of unicycles getting stolen while left outside by
a store or pub. When I ride mine around the city I bring a cable lock
and lock the unicycle to something secure. But I only run the lock
through the wheel since none of my frames are lockable.

If I was in a high bike theft area I'd look at something like the Hunter
style frame. Or else ride something with a cheap frame and cheap seat.
Generally the wheel is the most expensive part of a unicycle and the
wheel is easy to lock up.

--
john_childs - Guinness Mojo

john_childs (at) hotmail (dot) com
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I generally think that with unicycles the risk is more from drunk
people/idiots thinking 'hey, wouldn't it be really funny to nick that!'
Rather than serious bike thiefs. I would expect that anyone who is
organised enough to bring tools to seperate the frame from the wheel
would know enough to realise that almost none of the bits can be used on
a bike, and are therefore not worth stealing. The only bits which area
any good (rim, tyre, and that's about it) are locked uneasily enough.
Either way, a unicycle is probably better than a bike. One of the kind
residents of Nottingham has just relieved me of a bike wheel and seat.
One wheel may well be better than two, but it is nice to have the
choice.

John

--
johnhimsworth - Nullus Anxietas

What if the hokey cokey really is what it's all about?
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Actually, the first time I rode to the store I locked it through the
spokes to a bike rack and leaning against the wall. When i came out a
guy was trying to get the lock off. I just looked at him funny and he
ran away.

--
PopeSamXVI - Resident Hogwasher/Hornswaggler

Karol Jozef Wojtyla Forever!

I really am the president of my own fan club. www.samhunterfanclub.tk
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Someone stole my practically new semcycle straight from outside one of
the academic buildings in my college (I go to college in Claremont, CA).
I left it unlocked assuming that no one who unicycles would steal it,
and that it would be a waste of time for a bike theif. Big Mistake.

I suspect it was a group of up-to-no-good kids from the nearby
highschool walking through campus who thought it would be funny to steal
a unicycle (the local highschool kids often come to the college to steal
stuff and are a big nusiance).

Apparently the same thing happened a year earlier to another member of
the unicycle club, and about a month later his unicycle was found a few
miles away in some bushes. I had no such luck.

Now I always either bring my uni inside wherever I'm going, or lock it
through the wheel.

So yeah I imagine most unicycle-jackings are done more for the "it would
be funny" aspect than for the actual unicycle value.

--
mazem - Department of Redundancy Dept.
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I got an idea. You rap that lock through the tire and also through the
space it the lift handle (if you have one). My second idea (If you want
to go all out) Is take the seat out, rap the lock through the tire
through the petals, up throught the the tube in the frame (where you put
the seat post) and then through the lift handel.

I have never actuly locked mine befor, Thats just my ideas.

--
KcTheAcy - Ohh Baby
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Quoted message said:

I’ve got an idea. You rap the lock through the tire and also through
the space it the lift handle (if you have one). My second idea (If you
want to go all out) Is take the seat out, rap the lock through the
tire through the petals, up through the tube in the frame (where you
put the seat post) and then through the lift handle.

You'd have to lug around a Hell of a chain! It's also have to be thin,
so easy to cut etc etc.

I would have thought a chain through the spokes and up around the seat
stem a couple of times and back down on the other side of the frame
would suffice for most cases. Perhaps not in Nottingham tho, where
they'd just shoot it off 😉

--
one wheeled stallion - Guerilla Unicyclist

OWS

"...there's nothing I can't manage if I grunt loudly enough" -Mikefule
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I once left my unicycle in front of a school building for a day as I
went to school, and when I came out I found my unicycle about 30' from
where I'd left it. A friend of mine told me that the thief had told him
that he planned on stealing it and riding it away, but couldn't ride it
and just left it in frustration. What an idiot. I locked it through the
wheel for the rest of the session.

--
gerblefranklin - Trials Unicyclist

Don't you think it's a cruel irony that acting like a G.I. Joe in the
army can get you a Medal, while playing with one can get you thrown out?
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What is nick? Are you guys talking about stealing? 😉 Lastly, the
safest thing is just to leave your unicycle out. It's not like many
people can ride it away. Just kidding, that's not such a good idea.

--
MuniTune - Falls a Lot.

R.
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When I go to bockbuster its mostly on my coker which would be hard to
get through the doors so I leave it outside. I can see it through the
window almost any where in the building so I can keep an eye on it.

I dont think most people would steal a coker that cant drive or ride it
which rolls out most people who do it for kicks and its big so its hard
to run with it with out it wobling back and forth and out of control.

But if its my summit or muni I just take it in the store

--
Tim - Coker user

I got me a new summit for $191!
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mazem said:

*Someone stole my practically new semcycle straight from outside one
of the academic buildings in my college (I go to college in Claremont,
CA). *

Harvey Mudd? Or any of those colleges?

--
Rayden
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This was something I also wanted to know. So I did the logical thing
and I asked here on the forum. This was the thread that resulted:
http://tinyurl.com/3x6w2

Everytime I need to lock up a unicycle, I just lock the wheel. I don't
think anyone would go through the trouble of un bolting everything for a
unicycle frame and saddle.

Daniel

--
daino149 - How's it going, Texas?

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04.05.23 11214
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Rayden said:

*

Harvey Mudd? Or any of those colleges? *

Yep, HMC.

--
mazem - Department of Redundancy Dept.
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Watch out Tim. Some people will steal things just because they aren't
bolted down. Though some places are much less crime-prone than others,
that's the world we live in.

Mostly I bring the unicycle inside. But sometimes this doesn't work,
such as with a Coker and a small store. I think you're reasonably safe
locking through the wheel. I think it much less likely that someone
would undo the bearing bolts to steal a unicycle frame, that's too much
effort for something you can't do much with.

If you live in a higher crime area, or have to leave your uni parked for
long periods where you can't check up on it, use a Schwinn or similar. A
Schwinn or Semcycle Deluxe has a wheel that cannot be removed without a
lot of work. So a lock through the wheel will protect it very well.

Make sure you don't have any quick-release parts on there. Easy for you
= easy for them.

--
johnfoss - Walkin' on the edge

John Foss, the Uni-Cyclone
"jfoss" at "unicycling.com"
www.unicycling.com

"if you can do balloon animals,you can lace your own wheel." -- Jagur
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if you have a seat handle you can loop the lock through that too, as
long as you have a lock with a cord of some kind. this way the wheel
and seat is secured.

--
muniracer - Hell On Wheel

The Hell on Wheel Unicycle Gang owns you!!

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Here's one--
I rode my Yuni 26 inch to the video store. I locked it up with one of
those lame wire b*ke locks with the 3 number combination lock. I went in
and then totally forgot about whatever film I had spent too much time
looking for because to my utter disbelief, through the plate glass
window, was some guy riding off through the twilight parking lot on my
Yuni!!
Luckily, he was slow. I caught up with him, pounced on him, and we
started fighting--well, it was more like wrestling. The shopping center
security guards showed up and when they asked us what the Hell we were
fighting about, they started to laugh when I told him that this kid (he
was bigger than me, but still a kid) had stolen my Yuni.
I don't know why, but it seemed so ridicoulas. I starting laughing--I
couldn't help it. Even the thief started laughing--until he saw his
chance and took off. He got away (the security guards were rather
useless--and the cops didn't arrive till it was way, way late)
Oddly enough, I was sort of glad that the Unicycle thief got away--not
because I want him to go out and steal other Uni's but because he could
ride in the first place. I felt a pang of unicyclist solidarity for a
fellow one-wheeler.
Then again, if he succeeded, I'd probebly be wanting to beat the [censored]
out of him for taking away my Yuni!
An absurd story....
Sid

--
fleshflower - Expert/Failure

There are many ways to put air into your unicycle tire, but attempting
to blow into it with your mouth and lungs is the hardest.--Abraham
Lincoln
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daino149 said:

*This was something I also wanted to know. So I did the logical thing
and I asked here on the forum. This was the thread that resulted:
http://tinyurl.com/3x6w2
*

Glad to see the Hunter frame recommend made it into both threads....

--
tomblackwood - Registered Nurtz

Tailgate at your own risk.....

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I would love to get a Hunter Frame. I think they look like the coolest
things--and certainly they do solve the locking issue quite well.
Unfortunetly, they are indeed quite expensive.
Yuni is at the height of my budget these days, but believe me, I dream
of a MUni with a hunter frame.
--Sid

--
fleshflower - Expert/Failure

There are many ways to put air into your unicycle tire, but attempting
to blow into it with your mouth and lungs is the hardest.--Abraham
Lincoln
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