My work has decided that all bikes must be stored outside now. Hitherto they were allowed in the back of the store. 🙁
This is a big problem for me especially because I work nights. My current bike is worth well over a grand so I don't want it stolen or vandalised.
Any recommendations for something suitable that I won't have to spend more than £200 or £300 quid on? Something that I don't have to worry too much about.
One requirement is that I must be able to fit full mudguards. I'm thinking single-speed too or at least to convert to single-speed.
I use a 2010 Carrera hybrid thing.. full guards, panniers on the back ... can’t see that you’d need much more for the money tbh!
Decathlon do a cheap single speed and I’ve had one of their cheap road bikes as a commuter for years and it’s been fine
Have a look about for a Real Classic town bike, Halfords sold them for years so there's always a few about on ebay and gumtree. Three speed, fully enclosed chain, V brakes, mudguards and racks designed in from new. Upright Dutch style bike and you can make good speed on them. I bought one from the classifieds on here about ten years ago, and it gets used most days, hardly needs any maintenance and doesn't attract thieves(no jinx please). Like this:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/393437600674?hash=item5b9ab55ba2:g:bZwAAOSwYoJg6yrd
Loads more of the ladies version for sale usually.
How far is the commute?
I've got an OFO which cost me about £80 and is possibly the most reliable and practical way to cover <3 miles.
I've also got a Charge Cooker 1 (aluminium framed SSCX) setup fixed which does longer commutes, currently 25 miles each way, but not everyday. Cost me £100, although I then upgraded a lot of it. New wheels, dynamo lighting, guards, better brakes, better tyres.
Go to your local recykabike type scheme - £150 will see you sorted with some old hybrid with mudguards on.
Rattle can of paint £5 to hide what it is. Tesco carrier bag for seat.
Job jobbed.
I got an old kona dew hybrid off ebay
Battered & been stored outside for a while, even tho it's got discs (crappy hayes cable ones, but still much better than Vs) , it's battered enough that no one will nick it (tho some have tried)
I leave a heavy dlock & a motorbike chain at work and at Euston where it lives overnight and its not been nabbed in 5 years!
There is a fine balance between keeping it crappy enough to be undesirable to a thief & still OK to ride
Go on FB marketplace. Search for Batavus and/or Sparta. Choose bike. If it's city commuting and you see a stepthru the right size then get the stepthru. Fit suitable sprocket/chainring for journey. Job done. Will likely be a very good quality, low-maintenance (choose alu frame if available) and tea-leaf repellant/stealthy choice, with the added benefit of good visibility/road presence when in use.
(Happy Batavus commuter)
it’s battered enough that no one will nick it (tho some have tried)
I attempted to process that sentence and must admit defeat!
Another option is an older tourer.
I bought mine from a grandad cyclist and it’s an honest dream to ride.
In stealth grandad commute mode:
In holiday rando mode:
Still prefer the Dutch Bike for low theft-worries, low-maintence and easy-riding in traffic though. Especially in town/city. Also you can wear any clothing on it. Just step on, turn the key in the lock and ride. Lights are always on (hub dynamo) and never a spot of mud or water on me from the wheels as the guards are wide, sturdy and long. Thought punctures might be a problem with hub gear etc but have never had one in 9 years since owning it. Another fan writes of his here: https://therantyhighwayman.blogspot.com/2020/11/say-thats-nice-bike.html and I concur. I’m also glad mine is a large size, as it cruises like a battle class destroyer, silently and in perfect balance. It’s long too, so any luggage I put on it always is far away from my limbs, pedals etc. Mounting and dismounting is a breeze in any clothing. It’s just a much better thought-out commuter/townie/ute than most (ok all) UK & US bikes I’ve ever ridden. Like Apple said - it just works. It ‘gets out of the way’ and you just ride it. Certainly puts me in a different frame of mind than all of my other bikes which was a total surprise. I bought it used because it was economical (£100) and could carry stuff, but I never expected it to offer so much bikey-zen.
Have you tried talking to your employer about having a secure bike area?
A few years ago one of my work mates had his bike stolen from the bike rack at the back of the building
A few of us who cycle to work got together and spoke to management about making a secure area to keep our bikes in, we argued that if there was no secure area for bike parking then it would mean more people would drive to work which in turn means less parking spaces and as our company like to promote their green credentails it would be something they could use as a way to promote the buisness more
They agreed to install a bike shelter surrounded by a 7ft spiked fence with a padlocked gate and repostitioned one of the CCTV cameras to cover the bike shelter
Another option is a cheap fold up bike, someone i used to work with at another company had one and he just folded it up and put it in his locker
I built an unstealable bike for thing2 when he went Uni in Edinburgh(Scotland's bike theft capital) .It was an old steel Saracen road frame with straight bars and home made mudguards .He was under strict instruction never to clean anything other than the chain and to look after the brakes. He used it most days,left it all over the town and nobody touched it.I would look around for something old and non disk (not as nice as P7's tourer though 😉 ) that isn't going to attract attention from the scrotes.
Go to your local recykabike type scheme – £150 will see you sorted with some old hybrid with mudguards on.
Rattle can of paint £5 to hide what it is. Tesco carrier bag for seat.
Job jobbed.
Even cheaper is just wrap the whole bike in old inner tubes. It protects it and makes it look like a piece of sh1t.
Met a bloke in Africa cycling. He'd cycled round the world with his bike like this and no one had touched it. He never even locked it up. He might have also been very lucky!
not as nice as P7’s tourer though
When it has the grandad bars fitted (top pic) and the shopping bag tied onto the saddle it would take a knowledgable scrote to discern that the wheels are handbuilt. I could always put some gaffer tape over the Reynolds stickers
Even cheaper is just wrap the whole bike in old inner tubes
Rattle-can job would weigh a lot less tho? And wouldn’t tubes be a moisture trap unless expertly applied? I did once cover a bike in black electrical tape. It looked much less nickable but the tape-glue turned to goop in a short time.
Another tip is to use security QR wheel-skewers. Decathlon do a set with a seatclamp pin included for £10 all in. Silly me lost my key tho, so need to buy another set now.
Another tip is to use security QR wheel-skewers.
Yup,I just tapped the front axle 6mm then used Allen bolts with counterbored thick alloy spacer/washers #airskewers 🙂
I bought a early 90s Peugeot step through hybrid for my OH. It looks knackered and nobody will ever try to pinch it but rides fantastically!
