|> > Also, it is quite easy to steal parts off of bicycles (quick release
|> > wheels, panniers, pump, headlight, etc.). Any ideas on keeping thieves
|> > away?
|>
|> Still working on this one. Vetta used to have a lockable box which bolted
|> down to the rear rack, but apparently stopped making them some time ago.
|> I'll probably build something similar myself (18 ga. aluminum?).
|>
|> I also dislike quick-release accessories; I took the QR off my seatpost and
|> substituted a regular bolt, and my lights are all custom-installed and bolted
|> in place.
Replacing QR with regular bolts is not enough of a deterant, because I has a set of Profile XC Durange bars on my mountain bike. I had left it locked outside for about half an hour and when I came out, someone had come by with an allen key and had removed the Profile bars. He must have had a pretty large allen key because I had to use one more than a foot long in order to get enough leverage to tighten the expansion bolt inside the handlebar. I think that the best thing to do is to have insurance on you
r bike, so that when someone does remove a lot of parts off your bike, it won't cost too much to replace them.
I haven't tried this but how about covering/filling the head of the bolt/screw with a material which must be removed before a tool will fit.
Any suggestion on what material to use?
How about lead-tin solder which can be applied with a soldering gun. The melting point of this solder is much lower than that of steel bolts/screws. So it should be relatively safe, but the temp may be high enough to affect the strength of the bolt material near the hot solder.
