(dramatic music) (mysterious music)
- Now before I get on to the actual video itself,
I'm just gonna point out this isn't scaremongering
or anything like that, but sadly,
we do have some unscrupulous people among us
who want to steal our pride and joy,
and if you're anything like me,
you've worked nice and hard so you can save up to buy it.
So today, let's look at a few hacks
so you don't have to carry a big old chain
and padlock around with you on your training ride.
Also, this video is really just to
try and stop the opportunist thief
rather than a professional, because quite frankly,
they will get through almost anything
you put in their way. (upbeat music)
Right then, cyclists love cafes.
They also love coffee and they love cake too.
So when you go into the cafe, why not leave
your bike in the biggest gear possible.
So the big chain ring and the small little sprocket
at the back, therefore, if someone comes along
and tries to take it, unless they're built
like a track sprinter, they're probably not gonna know
how the gears work, and they're not gonna
be able to set off with enough force,
and you can just stop 'em like that!
(mysterious music) (upbeat music)
Now this next one I got from friend
of the channel Adam Hansen when I spotted
something over on his Twitter page.
What he does when he stops off at a cafe
or just somewhere temporarily on his rim brake bike,
he actually removes the wheel from the dropout,
just slides it forward or backwards slightly
so that the tire is actually resting
on the underside of the caliper or fork crown,
meaning that if someone tries to steal it,
when they try and get on, well,
they just fall flat on their face.
With this bike though, I've got this brake,
so something you could do easily
is just remove your through axle,
meaning that if a thief tries to ride off on it,
well, hopefully the front wheel is gonna fall out
and they're gonna land flat on their face.
Alternatively, you could take the rear wheel
just out of the dropout there too,
just remember to actually re-tighten
those through axles because of course,
that could land you not only sore, but also out of pocket
with some potential damage to the bike.
(mysterious music) (upbeat music)
Of course, if you do have standard rim brakes,
one bit of advice I can give you there
is just to undo the quick-release mechanism
on the caliper itself, tighten that barrel adjuster fully,
and then try and lock down that quick-release mechanism
again so that literally, if someone tries to
ride off on the bike, well they're gonna be
riding with the brakes jammed on.
It's not gonna be particularly easy, that.
Now this method is not necessarily my favorite
but I do still see people doing it from time-to-time
outside of shops and cafes, they simply
turn their bike upside down, making it just
a little bit more inconvenient
for one of those thieves to run along and take it.
Now depending on where you're going
and how much room you've got in your pockets for instance,
you could take something like this
which is an almost industrial strength zip tie if you like.
This one comes from Hiplok and it's even got
a combination lock built in within it.
So you could use that when you're out on your cafe ride
'cause it's probably small enough
to go inside of your jersey pocket,
or also, if you're on a train journey
where you're not necessarily able to
keep an eye on your bike at all times.
This could just slow down a thief and let's face it,
if one bike's locked up and one's not,
the thief is more likely to take the unlocked version.
Now another cheeky little hack you can do is to use
your helmet straps and buckle as a temporary lock.
Now myself and my cycling friends,
we've got a rule, no helmets on the table at the cafe.
So, well why not use it for that reason indeed?
So simply wrap it around a frame tube,
connect it to something you cannot move,
therefore, when the thief tries to take it, they can't.
(dramatic music)
Now this last little nugget comes from my colleague Ollie
who says why not get a bit of paper,
get all your details on it, laminate it
and then store it inside of one of the frames tubes.
So you could remove the seat post,
slide it into the top tube for instance,
take out the forks and do the same.
Therefore if your bike sadly was to get stolen
but recovered luckily by the police,
if you have to go along and formally identify it
you can tell them exactly where that note is hidden
and prove it's yours, essentially.
Then of course you could simply ask a friend of yours
when you stop off at a cafe to mind your bike
whilst you go in and get something
and vice versa, just being extra safe.
There we are, a few security hacks there
so that your pride and joy stays a little bit safer
when you go in quickly for a bit of coffee and cake.
I do hope you've enjoyed this,
let me know though your security hacks
just down there in the comments section below.
And also remember to like and share
this video with your friends, don't forget too
to check out the GCN shop at shop.globalcyclingnetwork.com,
we've got loads for you to check out.
And now for another great video,
this time, how does a freehub work?
In fact, how do different types of freehubs work?
Click just down here.