Hi, from research, a combination of locks would work best, and would optimally be a chain lock + D-lock, but that obviously comes at a pretty heavy weight cost, but which locks do you guys use/recommend for sub $500-600 bikes? Also, anybody else noticed the crazy high mark-ups on any kind of decent d-lock compared with USA prices?
And regarding tyre pressure, is there usually a PSI indicator on CO2 pumps or some other way you can tell? I don't think I've seen any with an in-built PSI reader.
Also, for floor pumps, aren't they all relatively the same? I know there are big ones, small ones, and handheld ones, but there are huge differences in prices even for the big ones. What would be the difference between a $30 one and $70?
e.g. http://www.99bikes.com.au/floor-pump-jetblack-x-air and http://www.99bikes.com.au/floorpump-99-super-deluxe
Ty,
Bike Noob
Bike Locks and Tyre Pressure
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Re: Bike Locks and Tyre Pressure
Postby bychosis » Sun Jan 21, 2018 5:48 am
Locks depend on what you want to use it for. All day at the train station or on the street get a really good one. For half an hour at the coffee shop/supermarket or within an area without much passing public you can get away with something lighter. It also depends on your financial ability and need to replace the bike. I lock my cheaper bikes up at the supermarket with a $5 cable lock, but never leave my expensive bike unattended.
I don’t think co2 is designed for setting your tyre pressure, just to pump the tyre up to firm/hard with minimum effort to be adjusted later, ie emergency usage. Also be aware that co2 leaks from tubes pretty quickly compared to normal air and will need to be re-pumped within a day or two.
I have a perfectly acceptable Aldi floor pump that cost about $20. The change is t as accurate and the cylinder seems a bit smaller than my better pump, but it works fine.
I don’t think co2 is designed for setting your tyre pressure, just to pump the tyre up to firm/hard with minimum effort to be adjusted later, ie emergency usage. Also be aware that co2 leaks from tubes pretty quickly compared to normal air and will need to be re-pumped within a day or two.
I have a perfectly acceptable Aldi floor pump that cost about $20. The change is t as accurate and the cylinder seems a bit smaller than my better pump, but it works fine.
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Re: Bike Locks and Tyre Pressure
Postby rodneycc » Sun Jan 21, 2018 10:27 am
Pump prices usually come down to quality. A good floor pump is a standard piece of equipment you will need. Cheap floor pumps usually have crappy heads that you have to be really careful with or they damage your core valve in your tubes. The Aldi ones have great barrels but mainly crappy heads so what I have is two Aldi pump barrels with a Topeak smarthead in one and a twinhead on the other that you can separetely buy in a spares kit. So you get a decent pump for $35-40.
When you start riding more then thats the time to buy a mini pump that you can take with you on the bike with spares (puncture kit, spare tube etc), or co2. But floor pump initially all the way.
On bike locks I'm not too fussy as I don't lock up in a high theft area so Ive just got a few combo locks from Bunnings for 8 or $9 for each bike. Pretty thick cable and 4 combo wheels. More for deterrant as Ive seen on the internet most combo locks can be cracked in about 45 seconds! Still I like combo over key.
Edit: Just on the Aldi floor pumps, they have all been pretty similar for the last 3 or 4 years but about 12 months ago came out a "premium" pump which wasn’t too bad actually. Its head was a Topeak smarthead and it had a wooden handle (which was a change from the plastic handle). But another six months on from that back came their standard crap-head one. So will be interesting to see what comes out next time.
When you start riding more then thats the time to buy a mini pump that you can take with you on the bike with spares (puncture kit, spare tube etc), or co2. But floor pump initially all the way.
On bike locks I'm not too fussy as I don't lock up in a high theft area so Ive just got a few combo locks from Bunnings for 8 or $9 for each bike. Pretty thick cable and 4 combo wheels. More for deterrant as Ive seen on the internet most combo locks can be cracked in about 45 seconds! Still I like combo over key.
Edit: Just on the Aldi floor pumps, they have all been pretty similar for the last 3 or 4 years but about 12 months ago came out a "premium" pump which wasn’t too bad actually. Its head was a Topeak smarthead and it had a wooden handle (which was a change from the plastic handle). But another six months on from that back came their standard crap-head one. So will be interesting to see what comes out next time.
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Re: Bike Locks and Tyre Pressure
Postby Dan_Melb85 » Sun Jan 21, 2018 7:29 pm
I’ve got a Cervélo with carbon rims that cost me a disgusting figure. That stays inside the house and always within eyeshot and arms reach when I take it out, and I’ve got a $100 fixie I bought for shopping and running errands around my local area.
Honestly, no big deal to me if the fixie got stolen, just more of an inconvenience (and a pain to find another as cool as this one), so I had a cheap as chips alphanumeric barrel lock I used on my building sites in my stock of random under the house items that I use for it as more of a deterrent.
Initially at $100 I wasn’t even going to bother with a lock, but as I said the fixie bike does kind of look cool, and could bring attention to itself if it wasn’t locked.
I’ve got a floor tyre pump I bought from 99 bikes, jet black brand I think. The cheapest they had, however I have no idea about the quality of heads or handles etc, it seems to work fine for me regardless of the price.
Honestly, no big deal to me if the fixie got stolen, just more of an inconvenience (and a pain to find another as cool as this one), so I had a cheap as chips alphanumeric barrel lock I used on my building sites in my stock of random under the house items that I use for it as more of a deterrent.
Initially at $100 I wasn’t even going to bother with a lock, but as I said the fixie bike does kind of look cool, and could bring attention to itself if it wasn’t locked.
I’ve got a floor tyre pump I bought from 99 bikes, jet black brand I think. The cheapest they had, however I have no idea about the quality of heads or handles etc, it seems to work fine for me regardless of the price.
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Re: Bike Locks and Tyre Pressure
Postby Duck! » Sun Jan 21, 2018 10:31 pm
No, a basic on-bike service kit comprising appropriate spare tube, patch kit, tyre levers & mini-pump is essential for ALL riders.rodneycc wrote:
When you start riding more then thats the time to buy a mini pump that you can take with you on the bike with spares (puncture kit, spare tube etc), or co2. But floor pump initially all the way.
I had a thought, but it got run over as it crossed my mind.
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Re: Bike Locks and Tyre Pressure
Postby Philistine » Mon Jan 22, 2018 7:25 am
I carry everything except the patch kit. My appalling record of getting punctures is matched only by my equally appalling record of repairing them (I'm lucky if 50% of my repairs "take" the first time), and I have learnt from bitter experience that I need to clamp a repair in the vice, and leave it overnight to give myself a sporting chance.Duck! wrote: No, a basic on-bike service kit comprising appropriate spare tube, patch kit, tyre levers & mini-pump is essential for ALL riders.
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Re: Bike Locks and Tyre Pressure
Postby g-boaf » Mon Jan 22, 2018 12:39 pm
If your bike is a very nice one, then there is still the problem of enterprising thieves trying to make off with components of the bike, such as derailleurs, brakes and the like. You can't lock everything down. In that case I'd be thinking of getting a cheap bike.inanout wrote:Hi, from research, a combination of locks would work best, and would optimally be a chain lock + D-lock, but that obviously comes at a pretty heavy weight cost, but which locks do you guys use/recommend for sub $500-600 bikes? Also, anybody else noticed the crazy high mark-ups on any kind of decent d-lock compared with USA prices?
And regarding tyre pressure, is there usually a PSI indicator on CO2 pumps or some other way you can tell? I don't think I've seen any with an in-built PSI reader.
Also, for floor pumps, aren't they all relatively the same? I know there are big ones, small ones, and handheld ones, but there are huge differences in prices even for the big ones. What would be the difference between a $30 one and $70?
e.g. http://www.99bikes.com.au/floor-pump-jetblack-x-air and http://www.99bikes.com.au/floorpump-99-super-deluxe
Ty,
Bike Noob
I think a combination of locks would be a good idea. It weighs you down but that's better than being without the bike. Security skewers are another idea you could try, these will deter some thieves.
I have an old Bontrager track pump, that does the job well enough.
On bike, I just use CO2 cannisters with a valve. But I don't ride far enough away from civilisation that I need the mini-pump. I'll take one if I'm going further than normal though.
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Re: Bike Locks and Tyre Pressure
Postby AUbicycles » Tue Jan 23, 2018 7:13 am
If you havn't spotted this thread, it is word reading: Tracking Stolen Bikes and preventing theft
The essence is making your bike harder to steal than other (and appear harder). Two different types of locks means a thief probably has to use two different tools and when they quickly want to steal without attracting too much attention, it is a deterrent. For a combination I would go for a solid D lock and a cheap and nasty cable-lock (best case with cable and/or fibre).
When looking at a D-Lock, don't necessarily get the biggest / largest - instead go for one that fits the bike and where you are locking. I have a nice Kryptonite through which I can get my front wheel, bike frame and bike rack. There is virtually no space for leverage and it is very hard to get tools like bolt cutters in.
Because I lock the bike regularly, I also secure other 'easy to steal bits' specifically the wheels and seatpost. The skewers for the wheels use a less common 5-sided hex key (there are also other solutions and variations out there) as is the seat post bolt. If I was going overboard, the other bolts could also be secured but it is the seat post and wheels that are annoying to lose.
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My 2 cents on pumps - start with a transportable hand-pump. C02 is ok and you can get higher pressure but it is a disposable - there are small pumps that easily fit. I never take a pump and patch while on my commuter - instead have good tyres and don't ride through glass. I am usually not riding particularly long distances on the commuter - if it was longer then I would always have a pump. On the MTB and road bike I always have the pump and tools.
For a floor pump, I think you can keep it affordable. Perhaps a pricier pump with have a much longer lifespan as the materials (such as rubber plunger) are better. Generally handheld pumps (in my experience) have been short-lived but my current micro-pump from blackburn has been doing very well.... this is also because I rarely use it because I always top-up with the floor pumps.
Shop-around as well, 99 Bike is just one retailer (or retail chain) and it can be worth dropping by a few shops to see different brands and be able to compare.
The essence is making your bike harder to steal than other (and appear harder). Two different types of locks means a thief probably has to use two different tools and when they quickly want to steal without attracting too much attention, it is a deterrent. For a combination I would go for a solid D lock and a cheap and nasty cable-lock (best case with cable and/or fibre).
When looking at a D-Lock, don't necessarily get the biggest / largest - instead go for one that fits the bike and where you are locking. I have a nice Kryptonite through which I can get my front wheel, bike frame and bike rack. There is virtually no space for leverage and it is very hard to get tools like bolt cutters in.
Because I lock the bike regularly, I also secure other 'easy to steal bits' specifically the wheels and seatpost. The skewers for the wheels use a less common 5-sided hex key (there are also other solutions and variations out there) as is the seat post bolt. If I was going overboard, the other bolts could also be secured but it is the seat post and wheels that are annoying to lose.
--
My 2 cents on pumps - start with a transportable hand-pump. C02 is ok and you can get higher pressure but it is a disposable - there are small pumps that easily fit. I never take a pump and patch while on my commuter - instead have good tyres and don't ride through glass. I am usually not riding particularly long distances on the commuter - if it was longer then I would always have a pump. On the MTB and road bike I always have the pump and tools.
For a floor pump, I think you can keep it affordable. Perhaps a pricier pump with have a much longer lifespan as the materials (such as rubber plunger) are better. Generally handheld pumps (in my experience) have been short-lived but my current micro-pump from blackburn has been doing very well.... this is also because I rarely use it because I always top-up with the floor pumps.
Shop-around as well, 99 Bike is just one retailer (or retail chain) and it can be worth dropping by a few shops to see different brands and be able to compare.
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