Very tidy conversions. I would love to see more detailed pictures and maybe some how to tips.
I haven't said anything about frame locks, but thieves could easily lift the bike into a van - there are guys driving around in vans on the lookout for such easy to snaffle bikes, someone I know had his MV Agusta superbike half-inched from his driveway just like that. It wasn't secured to anything, insurance wouldn't pay, so he's tens of thousands of £s out of pocket. My bike folds so I take it in with me, my D lock remains unused. Many D-locks aren't wide and/or long enough to use on street furniture.
Some on this forum don't appear to possess a sense of humour. Are you German?
There's no hiding those horrible TSDZ2 motors when viewed from the other side. I wouldn't fit one even if it was free. If you're that worried, maybe you shouldn't have ebikes in the first place. Pot, meet kettle.I've tried really hard on both my conversions to disguise their electrickery, simply to not attract undue attention (both bikes in the pics are TSDZ2 each with 10Ah batteries) - oh, and I like retro but I guess you can see that.
Why do you bullet point your posts so heavily? Most people can read paragraphs. Very annoying - is there a bike forum on the internet your superfluously bulleted posts don't feature? How on earth do you find the time?
People shouldn't buy ebikes because they're discussing locks or battery fires? Preposterous!
Those aren't comments designed to help anyone.
Last edited:
I was thinking about a remote device on the bike that makes a short in the battery and sets fire to it. You geofence the bike, and as soon as anybody takes it outside the fence, boom? Not very pleasant for any guys riding it or taking it in a van, or you could delay until it was stored in their garage - just another DIY battery fire. Maybe some other guys had the same thoughts, and that's why the fire brigade have been busy of late.
Thanks - you're welcome to PM me for any further details but in essence the main things that 'disguise' shall we say, that it's an ebike are (some bullet points coming - apologies to @guerney):
- old school frame and vintage clutter (saddle, saddle bags)
- as said previously a mid-mount motor - TSDZ2 because I prefer torque sensing but the BBSxx family are great for those who like cadence sensing
- handlebar display is the very small VLCD6 that sits within thumb reach of he left hand (nothing gives away an ebike like a large handlebar diplay)
- Batteries - probably the biggest disguise feature - I now build my own that are small enough to fit into packs. All 21700 cells and between the two bikes I use one 10s2p (8.6Ah) in a handlebar bag, a 10s1p (4.3Ah) in a bottle cage tool bag and another 10s1p that will fit into either a handlebar bag or a saddlebag side pocket.
- With those batteries I can ride with just battery power at 8.6Ah or 12.9Ah for longer journeys by swapping batteries around to suit. I ususally ride in ECO and I got 74 miles out of the 12.9Ah combintion with about 5-10 miles left (a close call!).
I am always amazed by the utter CRAP people buy to lock their bikes, they spend £2-3-400 on a bike and get this crap to lock it, LOL
I have two bikes and use these on BOTH bikes so X2
I have two bikes and use these on BOTH bikes so X2
dont save by buying anything but the best locks you can afford. fwiw i use A good D-lock to quickly clamp the rear wheel to an immovable object, for all the occasions I leave the bike for 3-5 mins. And a 4ft grinder resistant close chain and similar shackle for locking up for longer periods in public places with the dlock.
And remember to include the cost of locks for any insurance validation.
good news is now your on an ebike the weight of the locks is an insignificant factor
Don't people remember the rule, spand 10% the value of the bike on a loock
Better still TWO locks per bike
Not much will deter a grinder , even a portable one will cut thru most locks in 120 - 180 secs.
Any cable type can be bolt cropped easily as will most D locks or locks less then 14mm in dia, 16mm dia is the optimal dia D lock that can with stand bolt cropping even from the larger 3ft bolt croppers.
Any cable type can be bolt cropped easily as will most D locks or locks less then 14mm in dia, 16mm dia is the optimal dia D lock that can with stand bolt cropping even from the larger 3ft bolt croppers.
I've got a flat bar folding lock and an old D lock plus a motorcycle cable lock. I'm going to swap bike rack tomorrow so may look at attaching them all to bike or rack. I don't really want to spend any money unless I have to as have enough locks and having read through posts I think 2 or more locks is best. See how it goes but I think I need to buy that Onguard especially for that price.
I think some of you guys have things out of proportion. Bikes4two has it right. You should buy a lock according to the risk.
When you park your bike at the shiop, cafe, doctor, dentist or somewhere like that, the only thing you need to guard against is casual and opportunist thieves, who won't have heavy cutting tools with them. Typically, they have wire cutters and hacksaws, which can deal with really cheap locks, like thin cable locks, but wouldn't be able to handle even a cheap D-lock.
The next level are those that stake out gyms cinemas and places like that, where they know that bikes will be parked there for some time. They sit in the car with a pair of boltcroppers and wait for you to go into the gym with your sports bag. As soon as it's clear, one jumps out of the car crops your padlock, chain or cheap d-lock and rides off.
The worst situation is when you have to lock your bike in a public place repeatedly, like when you live in a flat or when you use your bike for work. If it's a decent bike, sooner or later someone will want it, study your security and come back the next day with appropriate tools. There's not much you can do about that except try to make it as difficult for them as possible.
There's no point in paying a lot of money to get a high quality lightweight bike if you have to spend hundreds of pounds and add several Kg of mass to keep it secure.
To summarise, you should buy a lock and bike appropriate to the risk of someone nicking it.
Personally, I use a £15 Squire armoured cable lock that is not too heavy, protects against casual thieves with anything up to bolt-croppers, and has kept my ebikes safe for 12 years and my motorbikes for 15 years before that. The most important thing is to lock a non-removable part of your bike to non-moveable object to stop anybody from carrying away your bike. That's a disadvantage of D-locks. You can't lock to a tree, drainpipe or lamppost, and a separrate cable isn't really going to help, as the casual thieves would probably have a pair of wire-cutters.
When you park your bike at the shiop, cafe, doctor, dentist or somewhere like that, the only thing you need to guard against is casual and opportunist thieves, who won't have heavy cutting tools with them. Typically, they have wire cutters and hacksaws, which can deal with really cheap locks, like thin cable locks, but wouldn't be able to handle even a cheap D-lock.
The next level are those that stake out gyms cinemas and places like that, where they know that bikes will be parked there for some time. They sit in the car with a pair of boltcroppers and wait for you to go into the gym with your sports bag. As soon as it's clear, one jumps out of the car crops your padlock, chain or cheap d-lock and rides off.
The worst situation is when you have to lock your bike in a public place repeatedly, like when you live in a flat or when you use your bike for work. If it's a decent bike, sooner or later someone will want it, study your security and come back the next day with appropriate tools. There's not much you can do about that except try to make it as difficult for them as possible.
There's no point in paying a lot of money to get a high quality lightweight bike if you have to spend hundreds of pounds and add several Kg of mass to keep it secure.
To summarise, you should buy a lock and bike appropriate to the risk of someone nicking it.
Personally, I use a £15 Squire armoured cable lock that is not too heavy, protects against casual thieves with anything up to bolt-croppers, and has kept my ebikes safe for 12 years and my motorbikes for 15 years before that. The most important thing is to lock a non-removable part of your bike to non-moveable object to stop anybody from carrying away your bike. That's a disadvantage of D-locks. You can't lock to a tree, drainpipe or lamppost, and a separrate cable isn't really going to help, as the casual thieves would probably have a pair of wire-cutters.
Are you REALLY that naive ? https://support.kryptonitelock.com/hc/en-us/articles/231014107-How-much-should-I-spend-on-my-bike-lock-
"Kryptonite suggests that you consider spending 10% of the total cost of your bike towards security".
"What's your opinion on how much to spend on beating thieves in relation to bike value? Years ago I read the recommendation was 10% of cost of your bike. Is that still worth it? "
I suggest you read and learn from others who know more than you it is a known fact
Of course the do. They sell locks.
How about this then. I suggest that you spend 20% of your income on me. I look forward to getting the money soon if you're that naiive.
Lock I posted is cheaper than yours and offer better security, so who is naive here?
I have nothing against spending money on locks and security. I just pointed out there is no 10% rule. As Seneagle mentioned above, Kryptonite sell locks, so it is in their interest to encourage people to spend more. Anyway it was just a suggestion, not a rule.
Last edited:
Related Articles
-
Bosch eBike announce new motors, batteries & anti-tuning software- Started by: Pedelecs
-
Member reviews: 2017 KTM Fogo 271- Started by: EddiePJ
-
2018 Giant – E+1 SX Pro Review- Started by: EddiePJ
-
DiamondBack Ranger debuts in UK- Started by: