locking up

"lowkey" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Skirting a certain other thread regarding locking up bikes, some seem to

be

Quoted message said:

of the opinion that it is very unsafe to leave your bike - anything nicer
than a beater - unattended and locked regardless of the quality of the

lock.

Quoted message said:

I have to ask: 'Where do you all live that bike theft is so pervasive?'

Toronto. 11000 bikes stolen in one year.

In a large city with a significant amount of poverty and, more importantly,
drug addiction, bike theft is gonna be high. And they'll steal anything to
get that 20 bucks.

My "beater" is actually a pretty nice bike - a beat up old concord lugged
steel frame with a fixed rear wheel, but I have a big lock and I'm always
worried about it nonetheless,

Paul

lowkey said:

Skirting a certain other thread regarding locking up bikes, some seem to be
of the opinion that it is very unsafe to leave your bike - anything nicer
than a beater - unattended and locked regardless of the quality of the lock.

I have to ask: 'Where do you all live that bike theft is so pervasive?'

Certainly a lock is nothing more than temporary impediment and
discouragement against an impulse theft. I would not spend a lot of money
on a lock. Rather I view it as a deductible on my insurance. I often leave
my bike, better than beater, locked around town. Which is not to say I
would leave it for extended periods of time, like overnight, but I am
comfortable locking it up for a lunch or, shopping or such.

I would not spend a lot of money on a lock.

In the past decade and a half I have had one theft and one known attempt.
The theft was really my own stupidity. I was positioning the bike unclipping
the blinkies, puter, water bottle and had a brain freeze and did not lock
it! Needless to say when I returned 10 minutes later the bike was gone.

The attempt occurred with my 'first' bike when I was deciding whether or
not I was serious about cycling - not expensive but not a beater. I was a
newbie and got a flat while riding around at night. Instead of walking it
all the way home then back I figured I would lock it up downtown and return
the next day to take it to the bike shop when it opened. I thought it would
be safe enough to lock it up outside of City Hall. Well, when I returned
the hefty cable lock had cut marks on it but was not severed. The bike was
intact.

I guess what I'm wondering is if people really do have a different
experience with regard to the incidence of bike theft.

While I don't use my bike for transportation, just enjoy riding and at
one time racing, I do lock the bike to the car rack. Locks do not keep
criminals from stealing your stuff, they keep the honest folks honest.

--
Roy Owen

Keep the leather side up,
and the rubber side down.

On Thu, 23 Jun 2005 10:33:36 -0400, "lowkey" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Skirting a certain other thread regarding locking up bikes, some seem to be
of the opinion that it is very unsafe to leave your bike - anything nicer
than a beater - unattended and locked regardless of the quality of the lock.

I have to ask: 'Where do you all live that bike theft is so pervasive?'

Certainly a lock is nothing more than temporary impediment and
discouragement against an impulse theft. I would not spend a lot of money
on a lock. Rather I view it as a deductible on my insurance. I often leave
my bike, better than beater, locked around town. Which is not to say I
would leave it for extended periods of time, like overnight, but I am
comfortable locking it up for a lunch or, shopping or such.

I would not spend a lot of money on a lock.

In the past decade and a half I have had one theft and one known attempt.
The theft was really my own stupidity. I was positioning the bike unclipping
the blinkies, puter, water bottle and had a brain freeze and did not lock
it! Needless to say when I returned 10 minutes later the bike was gone.

The attempt occurred with my 'first' bike when I was deciding whether or
not I was serious about cycling - not expensive but not a beater. I was a
newbie and got a flat while riding around at night. Instead of walking it
all the way home then back I figured I would lock it up downtown and return
the next day to take it to the bike shop when it opened. I thought it would
be safe enough to lock it up outside of City Hall. Well, when I returned
the hefty cable lock had cut marks on it but was not severed. The bike was
intact.

I guess what I'm wondering is if people really do have a different
experience with regard to the incidence of bike theft.

I live and work in NYC. Not only do bikes get stolen, I've had a
mirror, kickstand, seat (with post), and wheel all get stolen at
various times. Oh, and once someone took one of the cable adjusters
from the brake lever on the handlebar. Just that little thingie that
turns and tightens or loosens the brake cable. That was a weird one.

Plus, when I was going to college, two bikes got stolen. One was the
new bike I had bought for college, the second was my old bike that I
brought in to replace the new one. I didn't get another bike until I
bought a house thirty years later and it came with it.

Oddly enough, I'm waiting for that bike to be stolen. It's been locked
near where I work for almost two years now. Feeling somewhat guilty
about leaving it locked to a subway grate for that long, I borrowed
the BIG clippers from my building's maintenance department and cut the
two rusted old cables just yesterday. So far, the bike remains, with
nothing to hold it there, except for rust. If no one takes it in a
week, well, I'll have to take it to the dump. Or, home, to practice
fixing bikes. But it will be a struggle to get it home.

"Paul R" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"lowkey" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I have to ask: 'Where do you all live that bike theft is so pervasive?'

Toronto. 11000 bikes stolen in one year.

I used to live in Toronto, in the 80's and still visit on occasion. I have
never cycled in Hogtown so I bow to your experience.

Hereabouts in a city of ~100,000 people I must have locked my bike up
thousands of times and have never had even a saddle taken, excepting those
two incidents I described: one being much my own fault and the other rather
unsuccessful.

--
'I may crack
But I'll never shatter' -meredith brooks

lowkey said:

Skirting a certain other thread regarding locking up bikes, some seem to
be of the opinion that it is very unsafe to leave your bike - anything nicer
than a beater - unattended and locked regardless of the quality of the
lock.

You might find this article interesting:

http://www.camcycle.org.uk/newsletters/33/article14.html

Mike

"lowkey" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Between 1957 (when I was 6) and 1976, living in Chicago and Philadelphia,
every bike I ever had was stolen. At least 8 bikes, all locked when they
disappeared. When I got married in 1971, my wife's bikes started getting
stolen along with mine. I still long for the lovely matched pair of white
Peugeot 10-speeds, one mixte and one diamond frame, locked but stolen
outside the supermarket, that finally crushed our spirits.

I then went too long without a bike.

Nowadays I have an office where I park my bike at work, and a "bike room" in
my suburban home. When I run errands, the bike is rarely out of my sight for
more than a few minutes, and locked. But I still worry.

RichC

"lowkey" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Skirting a certain other thread regarding locking up bikes, some seem to
be of the opinion that it is very unsafe to leave your bike - anything
nicer than a beater - unattended and locked regardless of the quality of
the lock.

I have to ask: 'Where do you all live that bike theft is so pervasive?'

Certainly a lock is nothing more than temporary impediment and
discouragement against an impulse theft. I would not spend a lot of money
on a lock. Rather I view it as a deductible on my insurance. I often leave
my bike, better than beater, locked around town. Which is not to say I
would leave it for extended periods of time, like overnight, but I am
comfortable locking it up for a lunch or, shopping or such.

I would not spend a lot of money on a lock.

In the past decade and a half I have had one theft and one known attempt.
The theft was really my own stupidity. I was positioning the bike
unclipping the blinkies, puter, water bottle and had a brain freeze and
did not lock it! Needless to say when I returned 10 minutes later the bike
was gone.

The attempt occurred with my 'first' bike when I was deciding whether or
not I was serious about cycling - not expensive but not a beater. I was a
newbie and got a flat while riding around at night. Instead of walking it
all the way home then back I figured I would lock it up downtown and
return the next day to take it to the bike shop when it opened. I thought
it would be safe enough to lock it up outside of City Hall. Well, when I
returned the hefty cable lock had cut marks on it but was not severed. The
bike was intact.

I guess what I'm wondering is if people really do have a different
experience with regard to the incidence of bike theft.

Well I will not leave anything unlocked where I live. Here in south Florida
there is a real problem with the wandering crackheads and the rotten kids
that will take ANYTHING that is not locked. The crackheads take for drug
money and the kids take just to steal something that doesn't belong to them.
I have a couple of bikes that where not worth all that much when I got them
but have added upgrades to them to make them better, they still look ugly
but a quick look by a thief might tell them hey this guy spent some money on
this so lets take it. I have a cheap cable lock combination unit lock and
cable all in one deal that I use for most of the time if the bike is going
to be out of my sight.

Ken

Rich Clark said:

"lowkey" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Between 1957 (when I was 6) and 1976, living in Chicago and Philadelphia,
every bike I ever had was stolen. At least 8 bikes, all locked when they
disappeared. When I got married in 1971, my wife's bikes started getting
stolen along with mine. I still long for the lovely matched pair of white
Peugeot 10-speeds, one mixte and one diamond frame, locked but stolen
outside the supermarket, that finally crushed our spirits.

I long for the day of electric shock anti-theft devices.

Quoted message said:

I then went too long without a bike.

Nowadays I have an office where I park my bike at work, and a "bike room" in
my suburban home. When I run errands, the bike is rarely out of my sight for
more than a few minutes, and locked. But I still worry.

RichC

lowkey said:

Skirting a certain other thread regarding locking up bikes, some seem to be
of the opinion that it is very unsafe to leave your bike - anything nicer
than a beater - unattended and locked regardless of the quality of the lock.

I have to ask: 'Where do you all live that bike theft is so pervasive?'

Certainly a lock is nothing more than temporary impediment and
discouragement against an impulse theft. I would not spend a lot of money
on a lock. Rather I view it as a deductible on my insurance. I often leave
my bike, better than beater, locked around town. Which is not to say I
would leave it for extended periods of time, like overnight, but I am
comfortable locking it up for a lunch or, shopping or such.

I would not spend a lot of money on a lock.

In the past decade and a half I have had one theft and one known attempt.
The theft was really my own stupidity. I was positioning the bike unclipping
the blinkies, puter, water bottle and had a brain freeze and did not lock
it! Needless to say when I returned 10 minutes later the bike was gone.

The attempt occurred with my 'first' bike when I was deciding whether or
not I was serious about cycling - not expensive but not a beater. I was a
newbie and got a flat while riding around at night. Instead of walking it
all the way home then back I figured I would lock it up downtown and return
the next day to take it to the bike shop when it opened. I thought it would
be safe enough to lock it up outside of City Hall. Well, when I returned
the hefty cable lock had cut marks on it but was not severed. The bike was
intact.

I guess what I'm wondering is if people really do have a different
experience with regard to the incidence of bike theft.

Look at it another way- if in that same 15 years you had experienced
one successful burglary and one aborted attempt would you view home
security in the same light?
I don't have any statistics to back it up but IMO bicycles are likely
the second most stolen item of personal property in the US. The most
stolen *class* of item would be tools but I'd bet more bikes are stolen
than say nail guns.. Attend a police auction sometime and you'll see
tons of bikes. The bikes you'll see are just those that the PD property
clerk thinks will sell. In the cities and towns I'm familiar with the
PD destroys far many more bikes than they sell at auction. Also
remember that those bikes that make it to the auction only represent
the relatively tiny percentage of bikes that are *recovered*.

Regards,
Bob Hunt

"Collin" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Rich Clark said:

"lowkey" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Between 1957 (when I was 6) and 1976, living in Chicago and

Philadelphia,

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

every bike I ever had was stolen. At least 8 bikes, all locked when they
disappeared. When I got married in 1971, my wife's bikes started getting
stolen along with mine. I still long for the lovely matched pair of

white

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Peugeot 10-speeds, one mixte and one diamond frame, locked but stolen
outside the supermarket, that finally crushed our spirits.

I long for the day of electric shock anti-theft devices.

I'd like to see some kind of anti-theft mechanism that shoots a barbed,
poison tipped rusty steel spike right up the seattube...

Paul R said:

I'd like to see some kind of anti-theft mechanism that shoots a barbed,
poison tipped rusty steel spike right up the seattube...

Would that go hand in hand with the infra-red sphincter recognition system?

"maxo" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Paul R said:

I'd like to see some kind of anti-theft mechanism that shoots a barbed,
poison tipped rusty steel spike right up the seattube...

Would that go hand in hand with the infra-red sphincter recognition

system?

I kinda figured a thumbprint would suffice..

I wonder if sphincters are like fingerprints?

On Fri, 24 Jun 2005 16:43:41 GMT, maxo <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Paul R said:

I'd like to see some kind of anti-theft mechanism that shoots a barbed,
poison tipped rusty steel spike right up the seattube...

Would that go hand in hand with the infra-red sphincter recognition system?

IRSRS (pat. pending)

Paul R said:

"Collin" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Rich Clark said:

"lowkey" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Between 1957 (when I was 6) and 1976, living in Chicago and

Philadelphia,

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

every bike I ever had was stolen. At least 8 bikes, all locked when they
disappeared. When I got married in 1971, my wife's bikes started getting
stolen along with mine. I still long for the lovely matched pair of

white

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Peugeot 10-speeds, one mixte and one diamond frame, locked but stolen
outside the supermarket, that finally crushed our spirits.

I long for the day of electric shock anti-theft devices.

I'd like to see some kind of anti-theft mechanism that shoots a barbed,
poison tipped rusty steel spike right up the seattube...

Until the time you forget to turn it off....

Much better is a GPS based locator system, nothing ruins a thiefs day
like the properties rightful owner showing up at their door step with
the local constabulary, and the locator beeping wildly.

W

Paul R said:

"maxo" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Paul R said:

I'd like to see some kind of anti-theft mechanism that shoots a
barbed, poison tipped rusty steel spike right up the seattube...

Would that go hand in hand with the infra-red sphincter recognition

system?

I kinda figured a thumbprint would suffice..

I wonder if sphincters are like fingerprints?

That's pretty much where I was going with this LOL In the movies they put
on contact lenses to bypass the retina scans, but what's the alternative
for your ass? :P

Paul R said:

I'd like to see some kind of anti-theft mechanism that shoots a barbed,
poison tipped rusty steel spike right up the seattube...

Somehow reminds me of this:

http://www.uel.ac.uk/subaqua/site/images/jokes/cat-carrier.jpg

You could contain the thief this way till the cops arrive.

😄

lowkey said:

Skirting a certain other thread regarding locking up bikes, some seem to be
of the opinion that it is very unsafe to leave your bike - anything nicer
than a beater - unattended and locked regardless of the quality of the lock.

I have to ask: 'Where do you all live that bike theft is so pervasive?'

Haikou City, Hainan Island, Hainan Province, People's Republic of
China.

I'm at an internet bar right now. I brought my bike inside with me and
I still locked the rear wheel.

Earlier tonight I was at a shopping mall. My bike went in paid parking
with a parking attendant whose specific job it is to watch the bikes.
I still locked the rear wheel. If I had planned to be inside for more
than 30 minutes I would have used the cable (with which I immobilize
the wheel) AND locked it to a pole AND paid for a bike watcher.

Before that I spent most of the day swimming at a very nice upscale
beach resort. I put my bike over with the bikes for rent. And I
locked it.

If I had known how far out of town the resort was I'd've taken a bus
out there. As it was I made a production out of taking my bike on the
bus back to town because I was unwilling to ride it alone into the
countryside that close to sunset. (Taking the bus meant I was able to
stay until 9:00pm)

-M

lowkey said:

The impression I get from those who argue against it is that they would not
leave there bike locked and unattended for even short periods of time. And
perhaps I might agree if I did live in a New York or a Toronto. But that is
why I asked. Anomalies excepted I am perfectly comfortable leaving it locked
and unattended for 30 minutes, a couple hours or so.

As in most discussions of this type, we've heard mostly the bad news.
People who have never had bikes stolen have nothing to report, so the
reporting gets a bit skewed.

As "lowkey" seems to imply, there are plenty of places where bike theft
is simply not a problem. I've lived in three cities in my 30+ years of
adult cycling, and I've toured very extensively. Although I own a
couple (now useless) Kryptonite locks, I've used them only a few times.

My standard bike lock is a vinyl-covered cable I made myself, about
1/4" diameter by about six feet, locked with a 1.5" square brass
padlock. I won't leave bikes outside overnight, but I frequently have
the bike locked that way when I'm in a library for over an hour, or in
meetings at various agencies, or at a shopping mall, restaurant, etc.

If possible, I'll try to keep the bike in my view, or in the view of
someone "official" (maybe just the librarian as she passes by her
office window). Failing that, I'll try to keep the bike out of sight
of passers-by.

In all these years, we had one bike - my son's - briefly stolen by a
neighborhood kid. It was returned the next day by another kid. And on
tour in Ireland, we had two cyclometers stolen as we ate in a
restaurant. Our bulging panniers, etc. were unmolested. No other bad
experiences.

I don't doubt that many areas require much more defense and caution.
But there are lots and lots of places where only a minimal lock is
necessary.

- Frank Krygowski

"JK" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On 25 Jun 2005 10:13:48 -0700, [email hidden] wrote:

Quoted message said:

If I have to go inside a store for a while or where I can't see or
reach the bike easily, I don't lock the bike, I take it with me. If
a store owner objects I tell him he can have my business with the bike
or my bike and business will leave. I have had some say goodbye and
others say no problem. I patronize the latter and not the first.
Surprisingly, I have never had anyone say anything to me in a large
department store. By the way a bike doesn't take up as much space in
a store as a baby carriage or stroller and I don't see anyone asking
them to leave the stores. Store owners are used to carriages in the
stores and don't even think about it.

You actually walk through the store with your bike? Or you leave it inside?

I've done a little experimenting. Call it: Death Wish 2005

Thursday night I went for an 11 pm-ish spin and ended up in a not so nice
part of town. [You should understand in a city of 100,000 the not so nice
section does not compare with a NY or LA or even Toronto bad area.]

I stopped at a plaza with the usual teens and banished smokers hanging out.
There was a storefront pizza place where I decided to get a slice. I left my
bike unlocked leaning against the storefront but it full view and not 4
steps from the pizza place counter where I stood. While waiting the group of
teens strolled down the plaza past me, the bike, and the pizza place eyeing
me and the bike it seemed. I made a point of making eye contact with them
and they moved on.

Friday I went for an 8 pm-ish spin downtown to a local licensed
establishment and locked my bike as I normally do; U-Lock through the frame
and front wheel. Saddle & post left on - and it is a quick release seat
post. I did take of the'puter, and blinkies though.

Although I've most given up alcohol I decided in the interests of
scientific experiment to settle down in the pub at the window and had 2
pints of ale while watching my bike. In 90 minutes it took to finish the 2
pints one trio of younger teens did seem to eye the bike. One actually did
a double take as he walked by. It might have been just to admire it but no
one made any attempts to steal it or mess with it in any way.

After the two beers I had to go for an extra long ride to work it off - all
in the name of sociology of course.

🙂

--
'In a world of postmodern fad
What was good now is bad' -jewell