In article <[email hidden]>,
landotter said:(Tom Keats) said:In article <[email hidden]>,
(Dennis P. Harris) said:On Sat, 22 Dec 2007 23:23:57 GMT in rec.bicycles.misc, "nash"
<[email hidden]> wrote:
Quoted message said:> I have had 2. the new Yorker and the evolution both worth upwards of $70
> and they are perfect if this is any kind of survey.
Quoted message said:I watched a thief break a Kryptonite on someone's Cannondale in a
few seconds. Guy jumped out of a pickup, jammed an 8 foot 2x4
between the lock & the signpost to which it was locked, twisted
it, snapped the lock, grabbed the bike & jumped into the back of
the waiting pickup, which zipped away.
Quoted message said:It all happened in front of several hundred people at Westlake
Plaza in downtown Seattle on a sunny summer Saturday afternoon.
That's why it's a good idea to supplement/encumber
a U-lock with a cable lock (around the U-lock.)
IOW, lock the lock.
Of course, thieves may have something with which to
cut the cable, as well as to crack the U-lock.
That's why I'd never lock a bike that's "sexy" to thieves outside. I
locked a $800 Nexus bike in sketchy areas of Chicago overnight all the
time--with hand painted fenders, electrical tape, and a plastic bag on
the seat. Never a problem.
If they want your bike, it's easy enough to pop any lock short of the
most heavy and hardened NYC models. Trick is to remove the "want".
When I had a Brodie Energy city bike last year, strangers would ask me
"dude, how much was that" as it had an air of exoticness (this *is*
Tennessee) and they'd drool. Sold it and bought a Redline 925 last
fall and a Kona Dew with fenders/racks/stand this fall. The dudes at
the liquor store keep asking me where my "cool" bike is, meaning the
Brodie. The only person who's commented on the Kona is a Korean native
that said, "well, that looks practical" and she's not a thief. :-P
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2201/2105535405_afda203cd5_b.jpg
Around these parts, Brodies have a rep as Police bikes.
Never seen an "Energy" city bike (that I recognized as such,)
though.
I note that the orig MTB guys (Fisher & Breeze, particularly)
want to crack the "city bike" market. Heh.
If it's loose enough, some crackhead despot will take it,
no matter how ugly it is. China sorely needs the metal,
and the crackheads sorely need the crack.
And if they can't free it from its mooring, they'll
just wreck it in a fit of tweeky rage.
There was an attempt to catch bike-thieves in the act
with "bait bikes":
http://tinyurl.com/2o97ns
in long form:
http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/capital_van_isl/story.html?id=acfe8aac-bf6e-411f-a12c-6f89bb
but as we know, crooks just laugh at cops and carry on
in their merry way. The cops keep trying, but the courts
keep the the revolving door ... revolving.
I think you're right on the money in terms of rendering bikes
looking less desirable.
Maybe I should restore those foundling '70s Peugots, after all.
cheers,
Tom
--
Nothing is safe from me.
I'm really at:
tkeats curlicue vcn dot bc dot ca