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In praise of the humble Sheffield stand

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Re: In praise of the humble Sheffield stand

#171

Post by ithkuil »

analog31 wrote: post #143
blamazon wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For the simplest case yes, a way of bending big pipe and some way to make two big holes in the ground to then cement the thing in. (Or similar) But it quickly gets complicated - making smaller holes in concrete type surfaces is easier, less intrusive, less permanent than making bigger holes, which can lead to the flange method, but then you need some way to make or buy flanges, and then stick them onto the pipe. I ma…

>>> With a grinder and some elbow grease you can make it look like it was never welded. Like my 1963 Schwinn! As an alternative, how about threaded pipe and elbows?

Wouldn't that allow a thief to just unscrew the pipe? (Yes a tool is necessary, but no need to cut)

Re: In praise of the humble Sheffield stand

#172

Post by m000 »

twelvechairs wrote: post #69
mrsuprawsm wrote: post #37

For most bike "racks" here in NL it seems like the primary purpose is not security, but just having somewhere to lean bikes against and give people a sensible place to park their bikes (as opposed to "in a huge pile") Most people don't bother physically locking their regular city bikes to anything (only using a ring lock on the bike itself), primarily cheap beater bikes but also there's a guy in my street with a €200…

In the UK you absolutely need security - London especially anything not held down will be stolen quickly. Battery powered jigsaws to go through locks and chains, bikes stripped of components, etc. Its a whole different world from the safety of NL Granted some of this is because of a culture of more expensive bikes but still if you used a beater bike it wouldnt be safe either

> In the UK you absolutely need security

No. You absolutely need to get a theft insurance for your bicycle.

All bicycles parked outside can be stolen. Any "security" measures you may take just tip the risk-reward calculation of the bicycle thief in your favour, and against the folk parked next to you who didn't know better.

Re: In praise of the humble Sheffield stand

#173

Post by silversmith »

ls15 wrote: post #170
collaborative wrote: post #165

Anecdotal. My new life of biking to work ended on day 1: bike stolen in less than 1 hour. And it was from a Sheffield stand too

How was the BIKE_VALUE / LOCK_SECURITY ratio, compared to the surrounding bikes? I always try to achieve the lowest score at the corner where I lock my bike and haven't had a bike stolen for a while.

This really is the key. Make it not worth the effort to go for your bike. Your A->B bike needs to be just capable enough to get you from A to B. Have a secondary cool bike for racing / weekends, if you're into biking.

My current commuter bike that I got after having one stolen is a beater, and the lock that's on it cost me more than the bike. Sure, it's not the greatest to ride, but I can leave it locked to the closest lamp post next to wherever I need to go, and not worry a single bit.

Also, I like to think that the big, shiny registration sticker helps persuade would be thieves not to bother. Where I live, bike registration costs just couple EUR, but judging from the absence of stickers in bike racks, hardly anyone does it.

Re: In praise of the humble Sheffield stand

#174

Post by ssl232 »

Cockbrand wrote: post #45

In general, the author is right, and the simple design is by far the best. But the classic Sheffield stand with a circular cross section can be easily cut with a pipe cutter. Contrary to an angle grinder, a pipe cutter doesn't make any noise. Thus, the design has been improved by making it solid instead of hollow and giving it a rectangular cross section, like [1]. I used to hate the improved design because it's obvi…

It just has to be strong enough to require marginally more effort to cut than a typical high security bike lock. A good planner will anyway choose a design that's significantly thicker to avoid the replacement cost when someone does try to cut it.

Re: In praise of the humble Sheffield stand

#175

Post by nickkell »

opjjf wrote: post #159

In Germany, we call them "Kreuzberger Bügel", named after Berlin's Kreuzberg district, where the same design was first used. ( https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kreuzberger_Bügel )

I don't remember seeing any here. Usually they're the crappy small stands where you slot the front wheel of the bike in. You can either only lock that front wheel to the stand or lock a wheel to the frame of the bike. Neither tactic is really secure though.

Re: In praise of the humble Sheffield stand

#176

Post by wink »

m000 wrote: post #172
twelvechairs wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the UK you absolutely need security - London especially anything not held down will be stolen quickly. Battery powered jigsaws to go through locks and chains, bikes stripped of components, etc. Its a whole different world from the safety of NL Granted some of this is because of a culture of more expensive bikes but still if you used a beater bike it wouldnt be safe either

> In the UK you absolutely need security No. You absolutely need to get a theft insurance for your bicycle. All bicycles parked outside can be stolen. Any "security" measures you may take just tip the risk-reward calculation of the bicycle thief in your favour, and against the folk parked next to you who didn't know better.

Not sure it's that easy. My contents insurance includes bikes but there are some weird clauses and this is in line with what I have seen with standalone theft insurance. I'm not hopeful they'll actually pay unless you maybe hand in a photo of your locked bike with 2 "good" locks.

Re: In praise of the humble Sheffield stand

#177

Post by mkl »

m000 wrote: post #172
twelvechairs wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the UK you absolutely need security - London especially anything not held down will be stolen quickly. Battery powered jigsaws to go through locks and chains, bikes stripped of components, etc. Its a whole different world from the safety of NL Granted some of this is because of a culture of more expensive bikes but still if you used a beater bike it wouldnt be safe either

> In the UK you absolutely need security No. You absolutely need to get a theft insurance for your bicycle. All bicycles parked outside can be stolen. Any "security" measures you may take just tip the risk-reward calculation of the bicycle thief in your favour, and against the folk parked next to you who didn't know better.

Theft insurance isn't going to get you to your next destination. It's sensible to have, but not an alternative to a couple of good locks.

Re: In praise of the humble Sheffield stand

#179

Post by kqr »

mkl wrote: post #177
m000 wrote: post #172

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> In the UK you absolutely need security No. You absolutely need to get a theft insurance for your bicycle. All bicycles parked outside can be stolen. Any "security" measures you may take just tip the risk-reward calculation of the bicycle thief in your favour, and against the folk parked next to you who didn't know better.

Theft insurance isn't going to get you to your next destination. It's sensible to have, but not an alternative to a couple of good locks.

Depends on the conditions of the insurance. It could hypothetically pay for a new bike and a few taxi fares.

Though at the premium required for that, I suspect locks would be cheaper.

Re: In praise of the humble Sheffield stand

#180

Post by sweezyjeezy »

m000 wrote: post #172
twelvechairs wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the UK you absolutely need security - London especially anything not held down will be stolen quickly. Battery powered jigsaws to go through locks and chains, bikes stripped of components, etc. Its a whole different world from the safety of NL Granted some of this is because of a culture of more expensive bikes but still if you used a beater bike it wouldnt be safe either

> In the UK you absolutely need security No. You absolutely need to get a theft insurance for your bicycle. All bicycles parked outside can be stolen. Any "security" measures you may take just tip the risk-reward calculation of the bicycle thief in your favour, and against the folk parked next to you who didn't know better.

Are you suggesting not to lock up your bike in London? That's insane - you will get your bike stolen every time you leave it somewhere for more than an hour - your insurance is not going to be happy with you after a short while.
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