Theft control.

[vanilla ice]

Have a fuel cutoff after 60sec and the doors automatically lock and a siren goes off... inside.

I remember seeing some video of cops who used honeypot cars in this way in areas with high rates of auto theft, with the cameras inside the car.

 

[Ben]

Yeah I've seen the videos too.

I've never had my bike stolen, but my mate has. Went inside a shop for a minute, came out and it was gone.

When I was out riding with him one time I forgot to take my keys so we had to use his lock. If you can call a loop of 4 gauge wire with a cheap padlock a lock. Anyway, rode into Fed Square and hooked it up to a bike rack and set off. We came back about 15 mins later and there was a suspicious guy standing about 3 metres from the bikes sussing out the lock. We just walked over casually, unlocked the bikes and rode off.

In this case having the bike in high traffic area didn't seem to help. I mean I'm fairly certain that with the right attitude someone could steal your bike in the middle of time square during rush hour without attracting too much attention. Luckily it's more likely that your average scumbag would go for an easy target in a side street or back alley.

 

[Malcolm]

As a cheap deterrent, how about some prominently displayed "High Voltage" and "Danger of Death!" stickers. Leave 'em guessing

 

[Germwise]

Speaking of high voltage:

For those of you with 72V, 90V rigs, Why not run a couple of wires through the handlebars that are active with a switch


All these ideas might save your EV from being stolen but will probably get you a civil suit from the thief.

--Marcelo

 

[Eric G]

I locked up my ride outside the local Walmart store with a cable lock,it was out in the open in the area where the employees would come out and smoke cigarettes.When I came out of the store I had noticed it looked as though my bike had been jostled around some and when I went to load my purchases into the saddle bags it turned out some sh*t head had opened a can of A&W root beer turned it upside down and stuck it in the saddle bag and zipped it back up....I figure someone tried to steal my ride,noticed it was locked got pissed and dumped the pop in it! Ahhhh well,having to clean out the saddle bag was easier than replacing the ebike.

Eric

 

[recumbent]

The Bionx has a built-in alarm system that works with tire rotation, great system.
My next bike is built with Crystalite parts like most of you have and cable locks have worked well for me so far.
I always clip my helmet straps through the right gear changer/throttle cable area so it makes it more difficult and timely to take apart, hopefully discouraging the opportunistic thief.

I like the "Danger high voltage" sign idea, maybe a couple large wires exposed near the handle bars. Most poeple are afraid of electricity. A fast & easy deterent.

 

[Jay64]

I like the "Danger high voltage" sign idea, maybe a couple large wires exposed near the handle bars. Most poeple are afraid of electricity. A fast & easy deterent.

I like that idea. Not have them hooked up to anything because of liability issues of someone accidently bumping it while walking by, but look like they could cause a nasty shock. Maybe arc burn them a little to make them look like they've already done some damage.

 

[recumbent]

Maybe arc burn them a little to make them look like they've already done some damage.

Exactly, bare ends with burt tips, but not attached to any current 8)

 

[JDELUNA]

I like the GPS idea, that way if it does get stolen, you have a way to track it, then causally have a bunch of friends with you to visit the person that stole your vehicle........or just call the police and let them know you know the location :lol:


Another idea I used to use when I had a high end mountain bike 10 years ago, was to put a note or piece of tape hidden somewhere such as in the rims, etc. with a note that said: "If the person that brought in this bike for repairs is not Joe Smith, then this bike has been stolen, please contact me at 555-123-4567." That way if the person that stole the bike, is not the most mechanically inclined person and needs to take it in to get the wheels repaired, flat repaired, etc. There is a *Chance* it may be seen by the repair person. It may never work or it may be months or more before you even hear anything of it. If you do this, you may have to remember to remove it before you sell it :wink: Hope this helps. God Bless

 

[miro13car]

These bicycle racks belong to 70-ties when all sociaty was much more honest even in bigger cities.
Here in Canada, I simply don't plan trip to the shop which would not allow phisically to walk bicycle inside. I never ask questions, simply walk with bicycle into Home Depot or Rona or otheres.
I went with my bike inside BRICK and walk around looking at furniture, however salesman suggest to leave bicycle in their office , I refuse and he left me alone.
Sure people at Home D or Rona so called associates give me looks but nobody says a word.
I know which ones has turnpikes or other bariers and don't go there on bicycle.
Again racks are jokes and belongs to forgone era.

I use only bicycle to buy bread 2 times a week at SAFEWAY where I leave
bicycle
inside by the door so I can have a peak every minute or so.
Bottom line never take eyes of your bike for longer than 2 minutes.
To many accesories om bike to lock everything.
Miroslaw

 

[miro13car]

so everything depend on situation, on setting. Is there any place to leave it inside by the doors?
Example, in library I leave it foyer betwwn inside doors so I can see it through the glass when I sit to read in the reading area.
Bottom line is I plan in advance where I can walk with bike or not.

 

[Smoker]

search ebay for "Camera bag alarm" they are around $13. That's what I use in addition to a crappy chinese bike lock. The second someone moves the bike the alarm goes off. I hide mine under the water bottle.

 

[JDELUNA]

What do most people do when they hear a car alarm ??? They ignore it. I would suggest making the bike, etc. very unpleasing for them to steal and ride away by carrying small pump with you and deflate one or both of the tires, or take off the seat if it has a quick release seat. God Bless

 

[JDELUNA]

This is how easy it is to steal a bike in broad daylight with hundreds of people watching you. Enjoy and God Bless

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[EMF]

Oh my! That is a good video! Wow, I could not believe the 110 volt female pigtail available in that street lamp.. LOL

Well, I got the bike alarm from Virtual Village and placed a mini review here, for those that are interested!

http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewforum.php?f=3

 

[Toorbough ULL-Zeveigh]

This seems the ideal theft deterrent.
So send in your cards & letters to let them know the demand is there.


http://www.wired.com/politics/security/news/2007/12/pain_beam

Burglars break into an apartment, hoping to pick up some expensive electronics or jewelry. But they're out again, empty-handed, within seconds, howling with pain and surprise. They've been driven back by waves of intolerable heat: Entering the apartment is like stepping into a furnace. It's the Active Denial System, or ADS, at work, the ultimate in home protection ... among other uses.

Also known as the "pain beam," ADS is a revolutionary non-lethal weapon that uses microwaves to cause burning pain without injury. The 95-GHz waves only penetrate a fraction of an inch, heating the outer surface of the target's skin. According to the Air Force, nobody can tolerate the beam for more than five seconds, and improvised protection such as wrapping yourself in wet towels or tin foil is useless.


Shouldn't be too hard to hack one together 4 yerself.
Utilizing some sort of PWM controller perhaps, to modulate a gunn oscillator instead of an electric motor.

Just one thing I have to question, couldn't the self same reflectors used to direct the beam also be used as a shield to reflect it away? :?
Hope someone considered that before committing a multimillion dollar oopsy.

 

[ngocthach1130]

Yeah in a few page back i talked about protecting your own properly and arming yourself. Then after a little more thinking i realized if we could arm ourselves so why can't the people who steal our stuff do the same. It's like the gun law thing. You have the rights to bear arm but if thieves know this they won't break in with just crow bar, they'll be prepare for hostile home owner with their own piece.
The more i think on the whole protection thing the worse situation come up to mind.

 

[Timbo]

I bought one of these a month or so back.

http://www.ducharmealarmsystems.com/

Seems to work pretty well. Only criticisms are the dodgy mounting system and that it doesn't look like it will withstand a serious amount of rain. Mounting system can be overcome by either fixing directly to water bottle cage mounts or by using a sturdy hose clamp. A plastic bag would do the job if you're really worried about the weather. It's pretty loud & can give warning blips if you set it up that way. If someone was careful they could probably rifle through a pannier without setting it off, but it's pretty sensitive. Combined with a sturdy lock it's as good a deterrant as you'll probably get.
I'm looking forward to the day when I can observe some kids messing about & see the reaction when it goes off

Another option - and probably more robust - is a motorcycle disc lock with built in alarm. You'd have to figure a way of fixing it to a bracket as activation requires metal in close proximity to the sensor. Alternatively (or additionally), the Oxford Boss alarm lock looks good too.

http://www.bikebiz.com.au/enter.html?lmd=39468.568553

 

[Link]

Ooh, I like that pain beam. Perhaps one in the seat 8)? I'd jump off FAST like if my (how do I put this lightly?) NUTSACK started burning.

In terms of what you could REALLY do, something along the following:

Redundant hidden switches. One under the seat, one right next to the derailleur, etc.
Plug braking. If all the switches aren't turned on, the motor remains attached to a high-wattage resistor. Make it hard for them to leave.
Removable batteries. Not all of us are able to do this, but if you can take your batteries with you, do it. Especially if the cost more than the bike.
Take the seat off. I had to do this once because of a faulty quick release, and I can tell you: Riding without a seat is novel, but not fun.

I also have an interesting idea for an alarm that could be used with the plug brake. Across the terminals of the plug brake, attach a capacitor, small bleeder resistor, and a zener. Hack it into the activation circuitry of your favorite alarm. Now, when the bike is just touched or moved in passing, it does nothing. BUT if the motor is rotated a bit, a voltage differential is produced, charging the cap to the point of being able to reverse bias the zener, activating the alarm. I would imagine that someone who actually gets the bike off a rack and THEN has to deal with a bike that's damn near impossible to move and has a screaming alarm going off will think twice about going any further. Considering how much some of our batteries weigh, I don't think they will be able to carry it very far, either.

 

[albie]

I use two bike lock chains when I park my bike at work... both of them run through the wheels of my bike. I also make sure that there are no bags on the bike which is why I'm happy with my removable battery setup.

What I also do is if i need to go somewhere for a short time.... I use one of the locks to lock the battery pack to the bike and rear hub and also the second bike lock to the pole and through the frame and wheel.

 

[dirtdad]

I am quite partial to:


http://www.youtube.com/v/71ncK0PZwT8


From what I understand, I could just use some Sony laptop batteries to make such a system, no?

 

[ngocthach1130]

arh why destroy your bike in the process. Just rig up one of those electric trigger rocket fuse to a strand of firecracker under the seat or something. The explosion should scare them shit less as well as draw attention if it went off. Have it set to arm it self when you turn off the bike riding the bike without turning if off will set off the firecracker. Run that off a regular 9v alkeline battery though just so it's alway fresh. Don't want that to be a dud when time count. Replacing the seat is cheaper comparing to replacing a whole bike.

 

[vanilla ice]

Forgetting about a crotch bomb could be worse than forgetting about a disc lock and going over the bars...