U-G-L-Y Your Bike

To deter thieves, camouflage your bicycle as a piece of crap while keeping it a first-class ride. By Rick Polito

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ABOVE: The author’s piece of crap. Or is it? FACING PAGE: A Bianchi Milano without the urban camouflage.

Nature is the master of disguise. The tiger swallowtail caterpillar starts out camouflaged as a bird dropping to discourage hungry birds. Take a tip from the crawling turd and keep your bike from getting swiped: dress it down as a pile of rolling junk.

Having an ugly bike doesn’t mean having a junky bike. Looks and performance have no exclusive relationship. A savvy bike thief may see the gem under the Krylon, but he also knows he can’t sell it as quickly as the tricked-out speedster at the other end of the bike rack.

Photograph by Sam Polito

74 Make: Volume 11