<p>^So am I. You’ll see me and my sweet ride.</p>
<p>rofl, awesome, can’t wait. </p>
<p>are you dorming over summer? and what sessions will you be there? fssp right?</p>
<p>Been-there-done-that advice:</p>
<p>to keep your seat from being stolen, use a plastic zip-tie and cover it all up with duct tape. not pretty, but most theft is a crime of opportunity and you just made your seat a difficult target</p>
<p>use a hardened U-shape lock. anything else is asking for trouble. the cable-type locks can be snipped in a couple of seconds with a small pair of bolt cutters. </p>
<p>save your wheels with anti-theft security skewers that can only be removed with a wrench, rather than quick-release levers.</p>
<p>register your bike with the campus. that proves you had a bike there, in case you need to file an insurance claim.</p>
<p>finally, buy some insurance. it’s not terribly expensive, and it will cover not only your bike but that laptop or ipod that you leave unattended in the library or drop on the pavement. here’s a link to one company but there are others: [CSI</a> College Student Insurance Home](<a href=“http://www.collegestudentinsurance.com/]CSI”>http://www.collegestudentinsurance.com/)</p>
<p>and remember to file a police report. you’ll need it for the insurance claim.</p>
<p>i almost got my bike stolen once. i was using a cable which was thinner than anybody else’s cables so it was easy to cut. they didn’t succeed because the police happened to be patroling in that area (actually it was right in front of my dorm building) so they got caught lol. so i decided to get a U-lock and nothing ever happened to my bike again. </p>
<p>my friend got his bike stolen a few times because he forgot to lock it…</p>
<p>Wow, yeah, I’ve changed my mind about the cable lock. I’m definitely going to get a U-lock, but probably one with a combo instead of a key? Is that in any way less safe? I just… don’t want the hassle of using the key… unless anyone has anything to say about that!</p>
<p>I will def. register my bike with UCSB and i’ll look into the insurance. However, about the bike seat and duct tape thing… I’m going to have to think about it…</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice guys!</p>
<p>It’s just plain horrid we have to do all this to insure the safety of our objects. People need to get a life and not steal from other’s, its just plain rude and immoral.</p>
<p>i’ve heard of people actually taking the wheels of their bikes to class so that people wouldnt steal their bikes. imagine bringing ur bike wheel to class. sorta funny 
but it really does sound like it prevents people from stealing ur bike. who would want a bike with no wheels?</p>
<p>It’s just plain horrid we have to do all this to insure the safety of our objects. People need to get a life and not steal from other’s, its just plain rude and immoral.</p>
<p>but that’s the way it is in life. do you not insure your house/car? do you leave your door unlock throughout the day? college prepares you for life. i dont see why because you’re in college you shouldnt have to worry about the same things in life/do the same things in life. and ps. i dont insure my belongings nor did i register my bike with the police. it was almost stolen once because i locked the wheel to the frame because the bike racks were full. but i found it about 20 feet away with drag marks on the wet grass. apparently they got too lazy.</p>
<p>I realize what real life is, tr1p7s. I was just simply stating that I wish no one would have to worry about his or her items being stolen is all.</p>
<p>if you lock the door when you leave and lock up your bike properly like locking the frame to the bike rack, you should be fine otherwise you’re just asking for it. but no one really walks around the dorms checking for unlocked doors.</p>
<p>What if the bike racks are full? What do you do then?</p>
<p>most bike racks are in bike lots, which means they won’t be full, they’ll just be full closer to your class/enterance to the hall it’s next to. the only one that seems to get really full to where you have to look for awhile is the one next to the ucen/music hall. and if it gets down to that most people just lock it to the fence or to itself, though the latter is not really safe.</p>
<p>Also the campus isn’t really that large once you’re on it. Many people find it better to bike to campus, park their bike, and leave it in 1 place during the day. The one next to the Ucen is small, but the lot by the library right in the middle of the campus always seemed to have room.</p>
<p>I had an old mountain bike that I hadn’t ridden in forever. It was all rusty and didn’t work well. I had the brakes replaced and the wheels checked out, and then added a basket, but I kept the rust on it. WAHLAH! A great bike that can go anywhere, but looks like **** :]</p>
<p>I’ve heard that called “ugly protection” - works better than any lock!!</p>
<p>how much are beach cruiser bikes?</p>
<p>Beach cruisers are fine but if your going to bike outside of campus a road bike or a mountain bike with street tires would probably work better. They also make it a lot easier to get to campus if your living a bit further away from campus…</p>
<p>uggo insurance : tear off your grips, let the frame gather rust, dirty up your tires, and tear a rip in your seat. noone will touch it.</p>
<p>im scared cuz i have a road bike, and will NOT be leaving it at home. ill prob take it in and out of my room; hopefully i have a roomy that understands. i almost bought a new carbon frame but decided its probably a bad investment for ucsb bike racks</p>
<p>oh and as my friend puts it: college is like a big bike exchange. you get drunk one night and ride a bike home, wake up and realize its not yours. go back on campus, put it back. someone else takes it… the bikes all cycle around. if you dont lock your bikes up well, you are going to be part of this cycle</p>