Dynamo Light Security

[quixoticgeek]

I'm almost ready to hit the buy button on a Supernova E3 Pro 2 bike light and matching dynamo hub. One thing that's making me hesitate over the buy button is I'm concerned about how to attach it to the bike such that it's unlikely to get nicked.

I want to mount it to the fork crown (where the mug guards would go). I notice that pitlocks sell shorter bolts that look intended for this purpose, but that only holds the bracket to the fork crown, you could still undo the two hex screws holding the bracket together. What do other people do to stop their dynamo lights being nicked?

J

[LittleWheelsandBig]

I've never heard of dynamo headlights being stolen, only Brooks saddles and wheels.

[LEE]

I never even thought about it to be honest.

I suppose my answer is, "Nothing".  I'm not convinced your average Chavvy bike thief is interested in the lights unless they just unclip quickly.

You could put some tape around it to make it less Blingy.

[quixoticgeek]

I never even thought about it to be honest.

I suppose my answer is, "Nothing".  I'm not convinced your average Chavvy bike thief is interested in the lights unless they just unclip quickly.

I'm not dealing with your average chavvy bike thief. I'm dealing with your average Amsterdam Bike Thief™...

J

[geoff]

^^ what they said really... my solution would be to attach the lights to a bike that's so old and carp-looking no-one would think of nicking it. In other words, prolly the bike is the tea-leaves' target, rather than the lights?

[quixoticgeek]

^^ what they said really... my solution would be to attach the lights to a bike that's so old and carp-looking no-one would think of nicking it. In other words, prolly the bike is the tea-leaves' target, rather than the lights?

Not an ideal solution... "buy a different bike" as a means of securing a bike light seems... excessive...

J

[Greenbank]

Leaving a £40 B&M IQ Fly on a bike anywhere? Don't think twice about it.

Leaving a £200 Supernova E3 Pro 2 on a bike anywhere? Hmm, different kettle of fish.

[Polar Bear]

Hmmm.  I think that I'd try to get some fixings with a non-standard head in order to make it more difficult to remove.   Torx springs to mind but nothing is totally safe these days.

[Dave_C]

If you are worried, then buy a light, cut the wires and add spade connectors. Then attach the light with a wingnut so you can easily remove it.

[Brucey]

a £200 light on a bike that is left locked up places?

No, ta....

It'll be a target for crims.  Black tape, security torx screws, even then I'd worry. 

I you are riding around town a lot, do you need a really high powered light anyway...?  IME all such a lamp does is annoy other people.

cheers

[hubner]

IME all such a lamp does is annoy other people.

Dynamo lights usually have an asymmetrically shaped beam, nearly all the light goes down onto the road.

It's the battery lights with a conical beam, like on a torch, that are inappropriate for road use.

I don't think thieves target dynamo lights simply because they would find it hard to sell them.

[quixoticgeek]

a £200 light on a bike that is left locked up places?

Has the pound really tanked that much against the Euro? Cos it certainly ain't a 200 quid bike light over here...

I you are riding around town a lot, do you need a really high powered light anyway...?  IME all such a lamp does is annoy other people.

Yes, as there are spaces between the towns... This is going on my commuter/tourer bike. A bike that doesn't just go back and forth to work, but also tends to involve me cycling the long way home (20-50k rather than 7.5k), and it would be nice to be able to stop off at a shop or restaurant on the way home and not have to disassemble the bike to stop bits of it being knicked...

J

[hubner]

If you leave a bike in public, there's always a chance it or bits of it will get stolen. All you can do is reduce the chances.

You could attach the light permanently by welding or using a type of screw which can only be tightened. Basically make it removable only by cutting or breaking it off!

[Feline]

You can make allen nuts more secure by supergluing a small ball bearing into the hole. Make sure you carry a small vial of acetone with you just in case you need to fettle any of these items on the road. Works for saddle clamps etc. too.

[grams]

I have a £150 Luxos U* on my lock-up-anywhere bike, which is left for hours in all sorts of busy parts of central London. It doesn't seem to have attracted the attention of any crims.

I'd be much more concerned about people stealing your whole bike if it's nice enough to have Supernovas. *All* locks can be cut relatively easily.

(* actually it's the shell of a broken Luxos U with much cheaper internals retrofitted, but it looks like one)

[Paul H]

I've never bothered to secure my lights, Edlux and Supernova, anyone trying and failing to remove them is likely to cause at least as much damage in the attempt as the loss.  This was the case when someone tried to remove a rack mounted  B&M rear light, cracked the rear case and despite me best efforts with superglue it was never the same.

[Kim]

As with cycle computers, I just leave them attached (I've lost more cycle computers to falling out of pockets than to theft).

That said, as Greenbank says, the bike I'm leaving locked up regularly has a well-worn early model Cyo, rather than anything more posh.

Given a high end light and Amsterdam bike thieves (who presumably know what to do with a dynamo light, unlike their British counterparts), I'd give serious thoughts to quick-release tactics (wingnut and a Tamiya connector or something).  Although for me that defeats one of the main advantages of dynamo lighting.

[Cudzoziemiec]

I think my thought would go to matching the light to the bike. If it's a bike to be left around town, particularly around Amsterdam, it's going to be nothing special and should have a low cost light. A used Cyo would probably be ideal! Or I'm sure every supermarket in Amsterdam can supply something suitable from Spanninga, Axa or whatever. If it's a bike nice enough for a Luxos or Supernova or whatever, then I'd try not to leave it unattended in public too much. Probably wouldn't ride it round town at all.

[jsabine]

Which is fine, unless you're working with limited space and therefore have a single machine that does double or triple duty as commuter, tourer, audax bike ...

[quixoticgeek]

Which is fine, unless you're working with limited space and therefore have a single machine that does double or triple duty as commuter, tourer, audax bike ...

This!

J

[andrew_s]

you could still undo the two hex screws holding the bracket together. What do other people do to stop their dynamo lights being nicked?

I protect my Edelux 2 and SON by using Hexlox
They are inserts to fill in the allen sockets, and which need a special key to get out.

[nobby]

You can make allen nuts more secure by supergluing a small ball bearing into the hole. Make sure you carry a small vial of acetone with you just in case you need to fettle any of these items on the road. Works for saddle clamps etc. too.

That's a clever idea. Thanks for sharing

[quixoticgeek]

So I bit the bullet and got an Edelux II rather than the planned supernova unit. Which means that set 13 from pitlocks works with this light.

So I now have a light where short of sawing through the bracket, it can't be removed without right toolkey.




Thanks for the various ideas and suggestions.

J

[Cudzoziemiec]

<tangential remarks>The reflector looks identical to the one on the IQ-X</tangential remarks>
And long may it stay there!

[velosam]

I know you didn’t ask but is the handlebar mount more of a quick release solution?