MTB safety in SA

[King Wakanda]

Hey guys. 

I'm new to MTBing and just wanted to know how do you guys handle bike safety in SA. I used to ride my bike around my neighbourhood before as a kid in Bloemfontein, but now that I have a trail-ready hardtail MTB as an adult living overseas, I wanna start going out to bike trails but I wanna know how you guys keep safe while riding in Sa. Do you have trackers for your bike? Do you ride in groups? Do you carry pepper-sprays? My hardtail cost me close to R18000, which is a lot of money to spend as a student, the idea of having someone steal it while on a ride alone, freaks me out! I'm moving back to Bloemfontein next year, and I have no idea what the biking culture is like in SA. 

[BaGearA]

Insurance , don't ever escalate these situations 

 

Hand over the bike or just throw it and get away , claim it later and still be able to ride 

[King Wakanda]

5 minutes ago, BaGearA said:

Insurance , don't ever escalate these situations 

 

Hand over the bike or just throw it and get away , claim it later and still be able to ride 

Awesome! Thanks for the reply. And which insurance companies insure bicycle in SA?

 

Edited May 22, 2022 by Tebogo Podile

[BaGearA]

38 minutes ago, Tebogo Podile said:

Awesome! Thanks for the reply. And which insurance companies insure bicycle in SA?

 

Many 

 

Cyclesure , Miway , Kingprice (not a fan of them)

 

Nearly anyone who does household will insure your bike under household or on its own.

[King Wakanda]

On 5/22/2022 at 10:55 PM, BaGearA said:

Many 

 

Cyclesure , Miway , Kingprice (not a fan of them)

 

Nearly anyone who does household will insure your bike under household or on its own.

Thank you so much! Gosh! I just realized that there's even a "Stolen Bike" tab on this website. This is so not cool, we're living under so mjch threat in our country

[madmarc]

You could also just not come back - be a lot safer 🤣

[droo]

Awareness and insurance. 

If you grew up on a bike in SA and survived, your situational awareness is probably already pretty decent. So just find an insurer who will cover you for out-and-about theft. There's a whole thread on insurance around somewhere if you do a search.

[porqui]

You can get a tracker and there are many forms of them.

A tracker however does not mean that you can retrieve your bike though.

[bluewhite]

I carry pepper spray tucked under my bib on the right side of my leg not just for attackers but baboons trying to steal a bananna or a crazy dog (which I have sprayed before ) in  my back pocket. I’d never jeopardise over  life  over money I’d gladly hand over my bike to a guy carrying a gun or 2 or more attackers………..but if it’s one guy on his own without a gun Mabey a knife  and I feel the I got a very good chance I’ll make sure  he will never ever be able to try that again …… ever!

[TheoG]

15 minutes ago, bluewhite said:

I carry pepper spray tucked under my bib on the right side of my leg not just for attackers but baboons trying to steal a bananna or a crazy dog (which I have sprayed before ) in  my back pocket. I’d never jeopardise over  life  over money I’d gladly hand over my bike to a guy carrying a gun or 2 or more attackers………..but if it’s one guy on his own without a gun Mabey a knife  and I feel the I got a very good chance I’ll make sure  he will never ever be able to try that again …… ever!

Agree, this blindly hand over the bike thing is not for me.

Assess the situation FIRST, if the odds is firmly against you, yes then by all means hand over your bike and anything else they want, if NOT, don't be a pissie, stand your ground.

By doing so you might spare someone else the ordeal since the thug will think twice next time.

Edited August 19, 2022 by TheoG

[porqui]

35 minutes ago, bluewhite said:

I carry pepper spray tucked under my bib on the right side of my leg 

You are never going to get to that pepper spray - that's a fact!!!!

They operate on surprise.

[TheoG]

10 minutes ago, porqui said:

You are never going to get to that pepper spray - that's a fact!!!!

They operate on surprise.

Awareness ALL THE TIME when riding goes a long way not be be caught by surprise.

Observe all the time and avoid places that can provide "surprise opportunities".

I like riding alone but recently prefer to seek the relative safety of a group, still need to be wide awake though ...

Edited August 19, 2022 by TheoG

[porqui]

5 minutes ago, TheoG said:

Awareness ALL THE TIME when riding goes a long way not be be caught by surprise.

Observe all the time and avoid places that can provide "surprise opportunities".

There will always be opportunity for surprise on a ride they create it.

[bluewhite]

12 minutes ago, porqui said:

You are never going to get to that pepper spray - that's a fact!!!!

They operate on surprise.

Firstly it’s not a fact . There are a few scenarios that will determine the outcome of one individual attacking another  Many factors come into play too many to mention but in certain cases  with certain people who have a certain mindset and certain skills it would be best to avoid trying to take that specific persons bike . And I’ve peppered sprayed more than one person before so if I see an opportunity to to fight back it’s going to happen 

[porqui]

16 minutes ago, bluewhite said:

Firstly it’s not a fact . There are a few scenarios that will determine the outcome of one individual attacking another  Many factors come into play too many to mention but in certain cases  with certain people who have a certain mindset and certain skills it would be best to avoid trying to take that specific persons bike . And I’ve peppered sprayed more than one person before so if I see an opportunity to to fight back it’s going to happen 

Here they hit you with a baseball bat before you even know it and that IS a fact (been done) !!!

[SwissVan]

On 5/22/2022 at 9:08 PM, Tebogo Podile said:

Hey guys. 

I'm new to MTBing and just wanted to know how do you guys handle bike safety in SA. I used to ride my bike around my neighbourhood before as a kid in Bloemfontein, but now that I have a trail-ready hardtail MTB as an adult living overseas, I wanna start going out to bike trails but I wanna know how you guys keep safe while riding in Sa. Do you have trackers for your bike? Do you ride in groups? Do you carry pepper-sprays? My hardtail cost me close to R18000, which is a lot of money to spend as a student, the idea of having someone steal it while on a ride alone, freaks me out! I'm moving back to Bloemfontein next year, and I have no idea what the biking culture is like in SA. 

Where overseas?
Horse flies are the biggest problem in summer where I ride my mtb, and then the blue fly swarms from piles of horse pooh on the trails.

When I left SA it was already dicey with criminals robbing cyclists, 19 years later i think I would struggle to adapt to riding in SA