Stop Burning Man's Culture of Bicycle Thievery!!!

[Elliot]

Relace both wheels so the hubs are off center. Might need to drop a rim size, 26" down to 24" so they'll clear at maximum eccentric. If you can get 3" of travel it ought to hobby horse rather well. Crank might smack the ground and rim brakes certainly won't work. It's an interesting thought but making custom spokes and relacing wheels is a pain.

My camp-mate Peter has been building wheels like that for 20 years. He can probably do it blindfolded. And he does have a bike just as you describe.

[mdmf007]

Alternatively, perhaps all bikes at Burning Man could be considered community bikes except for bikes with signs indicating that they are not community bikes.............

Other than the 3000 community bikes painted grass green?

[pink]

My second burn, I was with Cafe, and they had some of the prior Year's moop bikes and I got one. Left it for a second at the jots and it was gone. Since I didn't come to the playa with a bike, I didn't have a lock.

Last year I did get to take a moop bike home.

[Eldon McMullen]

This will be my first time at Burning Man. I plan to have a bicycle to get around. and since I've been warned it will have an automatic lock. I think with out to much ado I can come up with a way that when I turn the handle bars all the way to one side it will automatically lock. since its doubt full that people are steeling them to sell or take home then anything that makes them trouble will stop them. If you see anybody towing a three wheeler with the steering wheel tight over. stop them and give them a drink because they will likely be thirsty. Mac

[Elliot]

Welcome, Mac! The automatic lock is a great idea. I envision a mechanism like a door lock, and when you "slam the door" it locks. Piece of cake. Just don't lose the key.

There actually are reported to be thieves who load up trucks and motor-homes with stolen bikes for commercial gain. BRC is a city of 50.000+ people, so a few bad apples are unavoidable.

[paulo999]

A festival acquaintance of mine has a reverse steering bike he made himself. For occasional entertainment, he'll leave it lying around for people to try to steal. Dismount is guaranteed within about two metres. He then picks it up and rides off, leaving the thief still on the ground unsure what happened.

[Elliot]

A festival acquaintance of mine has a reverse steering bike he made himself. For occasional entertainment, he'll leave it lying around for people to try to steal. Dismount is guaranteed within about two metres. He then picks it up and rides off, leaving the thief still on the ground unsure what happened.

Easy enough to build, and patently impossible to ride without extensive practice, yes. The Cyclecide club has one, and I did try it!

What you need, is a second bicycle frame and a gear out of something like a motorcycle transmission. You cut the steering head off the second frame and weld it onto the first frame, right in front of the original steering head. You cut the gear in halves and weld the two halves onto the two steering stems, so the gears mesh. This requires careful fitting of the second steering head, but is perfectly doable with a bit of trial and error. Cover with faux fur or other common decoration.

[DrYes]

My lady and I were coming out of a dome at dawn after a long night of partying, got on our bikes, and started riding to our camp. Halfway there, we realized she was on someone else's bike! Completely mortified, we rode back and put the accidentally stolen bike back, and retrieved hers.

Just saying it happens accidentally sometimes too, if only temporarily in that case.

[Canoe]

... an automatic lock. I think with out to much ado I can come up with a way that when I turn the handle bars all the way to one side it will automatically lock. since its doubt full that people are steeling them to sell or take home then anything that makes them trouble will stop them...

I had a Peugeot touring bike that had a keyed brass insert that fit into the steering tube and locked the steering at 15 degrees off.

Real security is nice, but visible security is important too. Tells people at a glance - before they decide they want to try for yours - that it's going to be trouble. Something that prevents, delays or frustrates when they're executing their decision is nice, but by then they've already made the decision, put it to action and they're focused/motivated. Cut that process off at the knees before they decide, long before it is action.

[mdmf007]

There was a thread a year or two ago about all the nasty sorts of things you could do to set up bike thieves -

[Elliot]

There was a thread a year or two ago about all the nasty sorts of things you could do to set up bike thieves -

Yup, and I built three of those "Bait Bikes". Hmmm.... Four, but now I cannot find the one with the self-activating coaster brake. It must be here in the barn somewhere.

[Elorrum]

did we discuss a bike with a cable and reel from frame to rear wheel? wind slack to frame reel when parked. take up is on the rear wheel. maybe 20, 30 feet of cable? perhaps that was when a moderator asked us to stop devising and promoting injurious items. I do recall the moderator stepped in when someone suggested blasting caps under the seat. progressive coaster brake was brilliant. I also like the jack screw on the seat idea, raising it as it was pedaled.

do not attempt, injury or death may result.

[Elliot]

...blasting caps under the seat

Naw, just a pistol cartridge primer and a string of tiny firecrackers. I rounded up all the components, but have not built it.

The cable reel was discussed. Ought to work.





This discussion strictly for entertainment purposes. Do not attempt any action that might cause harm.

[Stephendragonfly]

At the "Collective Campout," I put a small screw between the links in the chain of my bike. Person gets about two feet and the chain locks at the gears. Most people gave up pretty quickly, just went after another bike. One guy though, he kept trying to get it to work, backpedal, forward stop, backpedal, forward, stop, off bike, look at chain, play with pedals, up on bike, forward..stop, backpedal, forward with great straining, stop, frustrated groan, threw bike down, percussive cussing, and then he went to grab another bike.

[Elliot]

Good one! And so easy to do!

[Elliot]

...percussive cussing...

And... good name for a rock band.

[Rice]

...percussive cussing...

And... good name for a rock band.

ooh oooh!!

"percussive cussing and the face-plants"

[Elliot]

Warning. Thread drift in progress. Warning. Thread drift in progress.

[Stephendragonfly]

I got a million of em
Rock Band name generator. Grab two letters that have intrinsic value on their own, say AU, and then find good combinations of words:
Angst Uncle
Absolut Unicycles
Atomic Underwear
Auntie Ugly

and now in a futile attempt to drift the thread back...

Can a car alarm (you know one of the really loud annoying ones that wakes you up at three AM when some drunk stumbles into a Ford Explorer) be hooked up to a bicycle?

[Rice]

I always pack a couple kids bicycle locks (the kind with the rollers and a 4 digit combo).

I have left my bike "locked" with that lock and it have never even been moved. A visible deterrent is all that is required.

[Elliot]

Can a car alarm (you know one of the really loud annoying ones that wakes you up at three AM when some drunk stumbles into a Ford Explorer) be hooked up to a bicycle?

I don't see why not. But we would want to trigger it with something less sensitive.

But I have an other idea: I think I still have an old 12 Volt "silent alarm" that triggers a pager. If we put that on a bait bike, we would not need to keep watching the bike every second.

As for the kids lock, those are so easy to break they are perfect for Bait Bikes -- as Proof Of Evil Intent. (Another good band name!)

[theCryptofishist]

Here's the old thread.

[graidawg]

I always pack a couple kids bicycle locks (the kind with the rollers and a 4 digit combo).

I have left my bike "locked" with that lock and it have never even been moved. A visible deterrent is all that is required.

i can undo them in seconds, i used to use one on my bike and could never remember the number. alos because they were the main sort of lock at school when i was kid i used to swap peoples locks around for giggles

[Elliot]

Thanks! I "need" to go out in the barn and work on a new Bait Bike now, don't I....




This discussion strictly for entertainment purposes. Do not attempt any action that might cause harm.

[Rice]

I always pack a couple kids bicycle locks (the kind with the rollers and a 4 digit combo).

I have left my bike "locked" with that lock and it have never even been moved. A visible deterrent is all that is required.

i can undo them in seconds, i used to use one on my bike and could never emember the number

That might be the case, but honestly - some wacked-up-raver will not even try... No lock can prevent theft, but It has been my experience that any lock will help my bike to stay where I left it. (It helps to have a crappy, painted up - ugly bike)

[mdmf007]

did we discuss a bike with a cable and reel from frame to rear wheel? wind slack to frame reel when parked. take up is on the rear wheel. maybe 20, 30 feet of cable? perhaps that was when a moderator asked us to stop devising and promoting injurious items. I do recall the moderator stepped in when someone suggested blasting caps under the seat. progressive coaster brake was brilliant. I also like the jack screw on the seat idea, raising it as it was pedaled.

do not attempt, injury or death may result.

Yeah we had to reign in the thread a little - the ideas were getting a little scary, tazer seats, explosives, fireworks. I threw my share of ideas in as well.

MDMF

[Canoe]

...one with the self-activating coaster brake...

be careful you don't, ah, accidentally, mount that brake on the front...

[Canoe]

With a front fender with a "light" on the fender that's really a rear facing camera.

[knowmad]

did we discuss a bike with a cable and reel from frame to rear wheel? wind slack to frame reel when parked. take up is on the rear wheel. maybe 20, 30 feet of cable? perhaps that was when a moderator asked us to stop devising and promoting injurious items. I do recall the moderator stepped in when someone suggested blasting caps under the seat. progressive coaster brake was brilliant. I also like the jack screw on the seat idea, raising it as it was pedaled.

do not attempt, injury or death may result.

Yeah we had to reign in the thread a little - the ideas were getting a little scary, tazer seats, explosives, fireworks. I threw my share of ideas in as well.

MDMF

yeah don't kill em. then they can't learn anything!

[Elliot]