Leaving new bike for the first time

[Pancho]

I understand that you have to steel (sorry) yourself to the occasional bike theft if you're a utility cyclist. But it's always tough leaving a new bike for an extended period for the first time. Which is what I shall be doing tomorrow when I catch an early train to London to watch the cricket. My barely muddied machine, still with moulding stubs on the tyres will be parked at my provincial station all day looking attractive to thieves.

Out of paranoia, I've just bought a BFO chain from Halfords -  but, while it's better than nothing, it's more for appearances.

[Pancho]

It's been a long time since I left a bike at a station. Our station bike parking is on the platform and a thought occurs to me - in these days of paranoia, will my bike be subject to a controlled explosion if I leave the panniers on it?

[Jurek]

As Londoner, I would expect panniers left on a bike to be, at best, rifled, at worst, disappeared.
Not so much blown up.
Things may be a bit more laid back on the Costa de Pompey....

I used to have a scabby old Ford Granada 3L when I lived in Harrow.
A concealed immobiliser switch and leaving the car unlocked resulted in less (fewer, for some) damage from the local yoof, than locking it up.

[Kim]

Leaving a bike for the first time is fine.  It's new, so is just an expensive object rather than Your Bike.  By the time you get attached to it, you won't worry as much about locking it up.  Which is when they get you, of course.


If I'm leaving a bike for longer than it takes to visit a shop, I tend to remove all the removable that are worth anything.  So lights, pump, empty luggage, bottles, etc.  Probably not the emergency spare inner tube that's definitely the right size for that bike cable-tied to the frame, because that would defeat its purpose.  Computers are a special case - not really worth anything to a thief without the wiring harness, but inconvenient enough to lose.  So I tend to leave them attached for short stops, as prior experience suggests that the chances of dropping a loose bike computer are greater than having one stolen from a bike, but I might take it with me if I were leaving the bike locked up for a long time.

[Pancho]

I got away with it!

Left bike at 0700 - complete with lights and pannier - and found it all safely present and undetonated on my return at dark and late o'clock that night. The ride in was superb and sunny. The ride home very spring-like but dark. I realised how used to busy roads I've become now that most of my miles are commute hours and it seemed strange and unreal to be the only vehicle on the dual carriageway for long periods.

I hadn't noticed but there's an awful lot of (well used) bike parking at my station - must be over 100 sheffield stand spaces and some double decker parking on the platform. Apparently, we're also getting

a new cycle hub to cater for an additional 125 cycle spaces. This covered cycle facility includes basic cycle maintenance facilities such as pump and cycle maintenance stand as well as information on cycle, bus and rail departures.

[Cudzoziemiec]

Does "information on cycle, bus and rail departures" mean they'll inform you when a bike thief is about?

[LEE]

I wouldn't be all that worried about bike theft at my local provincial station but I'd still use an old crappy bike for purposes like yours.

[Pancho]

That's a tricky one. I've always been a bit bike-monogamous; one bike to rule them all. And I've always tried to use "good" utility items (fountain pens for example) rather than secure them out of sight and gathering dust.

But, while I like owning quality, I don't want things to be unusably expensive - gold fountain pens, for example. Mrs P wanted to buy me a handbuilt wonder-bike but I knew I'd never be able to use it for utility - which is my main miles.

Hopefully, my bike is good enough to be a good and long-lasting ride (and it seems to be) while not being irreplaceably expensive (£600 would be irritating to lose but not ruinous).