OK to leave Bike at DART station?

Jelly 292

Hi all,

How safe do you think it is to lock your bike at a DART station, Malahide in my case, any problems?

I want to ride the few miles to DART and then train it in and out of town and ride home.

My bike is a fairly nice looking Hybrid thats not too dinged up yet so im hoping it wont attract to much attention!

Any thoughts?

beans

Leave it out on the main street tied to a pole or something, less chance of it being randomly assaulted if it's in public view.

Leaving your bike anywhere there will be a high volume of people passing is leaving it open to vandalism and thievery though... I wouldn't do it personally! If it's parked in the carpark of the station, even if it's locked, it's just asking to be nicked.

Ghost Rider

I'd lock it in Malahide village - it's only a minute's walk away and it's so busy I very much doubt anyone would try and rob it, unless you leave it there overnight.

Jelly 292 wrote:

Hi all,

How safe do you think it is to lock your bike at a DART station, Malahide in my case, any problems?

I want to ride the few miles to DART and then train it in and out of town and ride home.

My bike is a fairly nice looking Hybrid thats not too dinged up yet so im hoping it wont attract to much attention!

Any thoughts?

Stereophonic

I wouldn't leave it tied to a poll in the middle of the town. It should be fairly safe enough at a station if there are plenty of bikes there. I believe there is because alot of people cycle to stations like Rush, Skerries, Balbriggan & Malahide from their Homes.

I'd leave nothing on it. Take off any lights, mudguards esp. I left my bike at Skerries station and came back and mudguard was broken on the ground. It was no vandal, it was someone late for work and just hoofed their bike beside mine and broke my mudguard. Informed the station master and Garda but I knew nothing would happen.

Get a good lock, leave it parked beside a group of others bikes and it should be safe...

Jelly 292

Thanks for the advice guys.
There are dozens of bikes in the station carpark and its always quite busy so Im thinking it may be OK if I remove all the bells and whistles and also get a bloody big chain.
May take my front wheel off and take with me maybe?

Ghost Rider

Granted, it's been a few years since I lived there, but I've never heard of a bike being robbed from Malahide town centre. It's a stone's throw from the Garda station so, if you can find a legitimate place to lock your bike, I reckon it'd be as safe as a house.

Personally, I always operate on the principle that the most visible place is the safest place, all other factors being equal.

Stereophonic wrote:

I wouldn't leave it tied to a poll in the middle of the town. It should be fairly safe enough at a station if there are plenty of bikes there. I believe there is because alot of people cycle to stations like Rush, Skerries, Balbriggan & Malahide from their Homes.

I'd leave nothing on it. Take off any lights, mudguards esp. I left my bike at Skerries station and came back and mudguard was broken on the ground. It was no vandal, it was someone late for work and just hoofed their bike beside mine and broke my mudguard. Informed the station master and Garda but I knew nothing would happen.

Get a good lock, leave it parked beside a group of others bikes and it should be safe...

rubadub

Visible and possible that the owner will return soon. A bike seen at a dart station says the owner is gone. I lock mine outside petrol stations, could be the customer, could be the guy on the till, so I have it in view of the till, plus there are usually cameras at petrol stations.

Stereophonic

No don't wheel the wheel with you , Get a lock which is quite long or extends, I lock my frame, along with the front and rear wheel to a Pole or bar. The reason is that my wheels are quick release, all thefts do is release the skewer and of they go wheeling your wheel down the road getting a great laugh out of it.

It's you have a quick release saddle, I'd opt to bring that in my bag, rather than a wheel. The council aren't too happy having bikes ditched around the place either. i've seen plenty of bikes locked along roadsides and wheels bent 45 degrees

Cabaal

Stereophonic wrote:

It's you have a quick release saddle, I'd opt to bring that in my bag, rather than a wheel. s

Personally I'd opt for getting rid of the quick release instead and its less hassle to get a normal bolt then bringing it with you all the time, plus it costs hardly anything

tuxy

If I was you, I would use a really crappy bike that I wouldn't care about.

Marathon Man

rubadub wrote:

Visible and possible that the owner will return soon. A bike seen at a dart station says the owner is gone. I lock mine outside petrol stations, could be the customer, could be the guy on the till, so I have it in view of the till, plus there are usually cameras at petrol stations.

Damn right. I employ this strategy too.

Marathon Man

tuxy wrote:

If I was you, I would use a really crappy bike that I wouldn't care about.

Very good point. I have a couple of bikes, one is a pretty good road bike for the mountains, the other a solid enough commuting bike. If I came back to a pole and the commuting bike was gone I'd just shrug my shoulders and say eaaaa. Anyway my commuting bike's brakes only work for me (theres a knack) so hopefully the scumbag who took it would cycle into a wall.

Stereophonic

My friends bike got robbed, It was a custom made bike and he seen it about 3 months later. Some hairy guy was cycling it. Honestly, this is true to god. I was with him talking and suddenly he ran over to the guy, did a flying kick and the guy was floored along with the bike. He said 'it's my bike mate' and he just got up and walked away. Shows you that it can be anyone robbing bikes, he seemed fairly educated.

Civilian_Target

Maybe he'd bought the stolen bike...

Trojan

Don't every lock up, or let your mates lock up, outside Killester Dart station. It's a really nice and quiet area, but too quiet. I've seen loads of bikes vandalised there, a shame.

emact

I've been leaving my bike in Malahide station for 8 years on a regular basis (4 or 5 days a week). Someone took my saddle once but apart from that, no other problems. I even leave it over night now and again. My current bike's a hybrid worth €300ish new. I use one decent lock.

The bike shelter fills up soon after eight in the morning so then you have to use the exposed bike stand.

markpb

Trojan wrote:

Don't every lock up, or let your mates lock up, outside Killester Dart station. It's a really nice and quiet area, but too quiet. I've seen loads of bikes vandalised there, a shame.

I can agree with that, I had a bike stolen from right outside the front door a few years ago. Camera was a fake then, might have been replaced since.