Securing Components

Quoted message said:

Excited at the prosepect of a new commuter (Geneis Skyline), I idly
asked the price of Pinhead locking skewers + seat post clamps to
secure my new steed. I'm still reeling from the shock.

There is a much cheaper version from Tranz X. Not as secure but it may
still help a bit.

Quoted message said:

Some Googling has turned-up numerous tricks for securing hex bolts:
- ball bearing + superglue
- as above plus aluminium foil
- filling with sealant
- filling with wax
- filling with solder
- drilling

I'm tempted to solder the seatpost clamp and stem on the basis I'll
only ever adjust these at home (where I can wick the solder out), but
I may well want to adjust the skewers, brakes, etc. on the move
(although a few mins spent picking out sealant/wax/etc. would be
acceptable).

Hold on, you may need to adjust the seatpost and stem after a crash that has
twisted them round. Not all crashes bad enough to do this will leave you
unable to cycle!

It goes for most things on your bike. You may need to adjust or remove them
after some failure or incident one day to get home. Also it will make
servicing difficult if you can't undo bolts easily. It's wise to remove
components periodically to regrease, etc.

There are some special security bolts with unusual heads that need unusual
tools - but you may have trouble getting them in suitable shapes, sizes and
materials for everything on your bike.

My suggestion is don't leave your good bike left unattended anywhere in
public for long. Use a less attractive bike for when you do need to leave
it.

~PB

Pete Biggs said:

Quoted message said:

Excited at the prosepect of a new commuter (Geneis Skyline), I idly
asked the price of Pinhead locking skewers + seat post clamps to
secure my new steed. I'm still reeling from the shock.

There is a much cheaper version from Tranz X. Not as secure but it may
still help a bit.

Thanks - I'll look into them. They may not be as good as the pinhead
ones, but I'm guessing it'll be better than wax!

Quoted message said:

It goes for most things on your bike. You may need to adjust or remove them
after some failure or incident one day to get home. Also it will make
servicing difficult if you can't undo bolts easily. It's wise to remove
components periodically to regrease, etc.

I think it's a balance of risk - of deciding what the chances are that
someone will nick my kit and how often I'll need to adjust it, and
choosing the securing method appropriately. If the worst comes to the
worst, I can always put my bike in a taxi (done once before, when a
thoroughly unapologetic driver made an illegal left turn through me).
I appreciate that's not an option on all commutes!

In article <df3b6899-af23-48c7-a178-74380b22ed37
@v3g2000hsc.googlegroups.com>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Excited at the prosepect of a new commuter (Geneis Skyline), I idly
asked the price of Pinhead locking skewers + seat post clamps to
secure my new steed. I'm still reeling from the shock.

Some Googling has turned-up numerous tricks for securing hex bolts:
- ball bearing + superglue
- as above plus aluminium foil
- filling with sealant
- filling with wax
- filling with solder
- drilling

I'm tempted to solder the seatpost clamp and stem on the basis I'll
only ever adjust these at home (where I can wick the solder out), but
I may well want to adjust the skewers, brakes, etc. on the move
(although a few mins spent picking out sealant/wax/etc. would be
acceptable).

Has anyone had any success with these techniques? Any
recommendations, or further ideas?

I wonder what the prices and minimum order quantities are for these:

http://www.securityfasteners.net/Cinstar.htm

Pete Biggs said:

There are some special security bolts with unusual heads that need unusual
tools - but you may have trouble getting them in suitable shapes, sizes and
materials for everything on your bike.

I've replaced a number of allen-head fasteners with the torx
equivalents on my commuter. This "secures" the stem (and by extension
the bars and related components), the seatpin/saddle and one of the
lights. The fasteners came from all-thread and were pretty cheap.
Admittedly this bike isn't really aesthetically pleasing but has
plenty of nice components which the discerning tea-leaf might like.

Touch wood, no problems yet, though I suspect the patina of road ick,
bits of tape and chainsaw oil has more of an anti-theft effect than
funny fasteners. The drivers for same (two sizes) live quite happily
in a pannier or rucksack pocket along with a normal multi-tool. Total
weight penalty of 3oz or so I think.

Regards,

-david