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So I have a shiny new bike (On-One Bootzipper). It's to be used as a town bike and for bike camping adventures with the kids. It's great, and not super posh or anything, but it is shiny. We live in Oxford where bike theft is somewhat common... so I'm thinking of ways to make it look less tempting when locked up places.
So... Hammerite? Complete wrap in inner tubes? Loads of stickers (any ideas where to get a frame-full)? I don't really want to take a sander to it and properly rough it up!
Have you misaligned the tyre logos? Would make some on here cross the street in disgust 😉😄
convert to 26"
instantly worthless
Wrap in 3M reflective tape - that's what my town bike is covered in. That was 10 years ago and now most of it is flaking off in different states of disintegration - looks truly terrible - which is perfect for a town bike.
A rack and some really crappy panniers.Plus some really bendy bars.
Some Saracin decals?
Spray rust paint job?
Some fake looking algae pond weed trim?
Plastic bag over the saddle. Sorted.
Not Waitrose.
I came here to say fit on-one stickers.... But I guess you got that covered 🙂
Look on Gumtree/Facebook for a crappy, but serviceable town bike with panniers/basket for around £50. Something that if it were stolen would not upset you, other than in wondering how you are going to get home.
Save your shiny new bike for adventures that deserve the bike.
It's already got an on one logo on it so it's a good chunk of the way there 😉
Is it not cheaper and less desirable to do a £75 Gumtree Apollo for town duties?
Failing that - matt paint in dull colour, cover or remove all logos, cover in reflective stickers, mudguards and rack.
One life live it stickers
Pop it in the shed until next year’s colourway is released.
I'm in the buy a gumtree shed of a bike for town category. No way I would leave a nice bike locked up in a city like Oxford.
An old hi-ten steel framed hybrid with 15 gears, mudguards and a pannier rack and replace the inevitable horrid plastic cantis with the cheapest v's you can find. Added bonus for a brand that was uncool even in its heyday.
colour code the whole thing, tyres, bars n all, with a spray can of kawasaki green
Another vote for a £30 Gumtree/FB Marketplace bike for town duties. Something with bolted axles, etc. Can't go wrong!
Single-speed it?
You're in Oxford so no hills - buy a chain and single speed conversion kit and then when you're wanting out for a 'proper' ride, swap- the gears back on.
Go at it with a toffee hammer
I like the full reflective tape wrap idea, but it might look a bit smart to start with.
Get a couple of tester pots of exterior emulsion, brown and green, slap them on with the brushes. The brush marks will attract dirt and algae. Extra marks for the shittest fade paint job ever.
Paint it with cream cheese and see what grows.
Look on Gumtree/Facebook for a crappy, but serviceable town bike with panniers/basket for around £50. Something that if it were stolen would not upset you, other than in wondering how you are going to get home.
+1 used a £10 (Ebay) rusting Saracen Somethingtrax with a basket on the front for ages. Now use a really nice handbuilt lugged tourer with a rain-cover on the seat, full mudguards, but it looks like a throwaway grandad bike to 99% of the population. I used my Longitude for a while before the latest beater, and I was a jumpy/perspiring/neck-craning wreck while at a checkout (even though the bike was locked).
I had one MTB stolen from outside a shop and although it was a very mediochre bike it was my pride and joy and was gutted.
Shopping bike is the ultimate N+1. Beaten up stepthru with a basket, guards, side/centre stand and rear rack. Just keep it mechanically sound and oily-rag running.
I bought a Giant hybrid shopper for a £20 from a legit local ad and it’s indestructible. Even had it on the turbo during lockdown 😅. It’s an aluminium frame and wheels etc so can be stored outside and keeps going.
like this:
Just don't leave it anywhere.
Encase the downtube in shoe boxes and zip tie a massive battery to it so it looks like an e-bike.
Get some cheesy stickers .. not bike related at all.
Could be anywhere has cheap stickers... but you could support RHS or Nat Trust etc. for laughs
Then get some cheap heli-tape rip-off ... get the frame dirty in a decently contrasting dirt then apply over the top.
Wrap a inner-tube round the chainstay...
I can see we have most bases covered here already :-0
The self amalgamating rubber tape linked to above is great.
Applied with some overlap keeps the water out, the screw fix stuff I've found is self healing (to a degree) and gives a nice cushion when locking against metal bike stands.
Added benefit is that, in my experience, unwraps to leave nicely protected paint.
or ....... £50 bike from gumtree or local recycling centre.
Thanks all. We debated the idea of getting a crapper town bike, but, well, we don't have infinite space and life's too short to ride bad bikes. (There you go, another set-up for On-One comments!)
I think I'll wang on a load of self amalgamating tape and get it nice and muddy. Maybe some stickers too for good measure!
dark brown insulation tape top to bottom