BIke Stolen last night:mad:

[skilewis74]

I was at Safeway last night and I did something really careless. I locked my bike around the frame instead of through it and when I came back out over 90 min. later it was STOLEN! (I now realize all they would have had to do is remove the front wheel and undo the two allen bolts to remove the handle bars and pull it through the lock.) I imediately called 911 and an officer came out, and wrote a report, but said there was likely no chance of recovery w/o the serial #. I spent 3 hrs. looking for it last night and this morning and I finally found the manual, but no serial # . I'm going to try to call the bike shop I bought it at in Sacramento and hopefully they are still in business, kept a record and still have it on file. Since it was 8 1/2 years ago It doesn't look too hopful.

I go there a couple of times a week and read some of the magazine articles before leaving, so I'm often in there untill they close at midnight (1.5 - 2 hrs). I bet there was some guy who knew this, saw me go in and said "He's not gona come out for over a hour, so I can take his bike and he's not going to see me."

After loosing my cell phone this is turning out to being a really crappy week. Luckily I have insurance on that, so I'm only out the $50 non-refundable deposit and not $200.

[oneisenough]

thats sucks srry to hear all that. i hope you find it

[skilewis74]

Thanks.

It was just like this one, but yellowish orange main frame and V-breaks in stead of disks.

[johnfoss]

Too bad about the bike. Maybe you should just buy the magazine next time...

If the thief actually knew your Safeway habits, it's likely somebody you know. A bike thief is highly unlikely to "profile" potential victims; bike theft is usually a crime of opportunity. Know any thieves?

If you're having trouble finding the bike shop where your bike originated let me know. If they've changed names or similar I might be able to help track them down.

[Uniman_3]

that suks alot..looks like a super nice bike!!
when me and my lil bro were in the 3rd grade we went to church with our dad one day and we had our bikes on the bike rack and we didnt think anyone would steal them so we didnt lock them up..but we didnt know that side of town that well so when we came back me and my lil bro cried cuse we were missing our awesome toys r us bikes...

[kerosian]

that sucks... What did it cost you?

[Brian O.]

You called 911? Was it really an emergency? You could have been holding up the lines for someone who really needed it. What were you doing out on a bike anyway?

[john_childs]

Bike thieves suck. People involved in property crimes like bike theft, car theft, and burglary need to be prosecuted and investigated more strongly.

I'm paranoid about leaving my bikes and unicycles. I used to only have a mountain bike and I never rode it anywhere where I'd need to lock it up. Mountain bikes are too high profile and popular for theft and it's a nice bike with bling (an old Santa Cruz Heckler). I won't even leave it in a locked car after a ride while I go to an after ride coffee shop. Some people in the local MTB club have had their bikes stolen from locked cars while they went for a coffee or after ride meal. So my MTB never got used for rides to the store or around town.

A few months ago I got a singlespeed/fixie bike to use as a commuter. Something I'd be willing to leave locked up around Seattle. I use a combination of a u-lock and cable to lock it up. The u-lock is a mini size so it has less space inside for tools to be used to pry it open. The mini size is also easier to carry on the bike (full size u-locks are big). The cable just gives an easy way to secure the front wheel.

Here's my bike locked up in Seattle (mine is the black one the other bike is a Surly and it was neat to see two singlespeeds locked up so I took a picture):

The u-lock fits around both the seattube and wheel, but locking just the rim though the rear triangle is enough if you can't also fit it around a frame tube. The lock is an OnGuard Pitbull Mini. The size of the Pitbull Mini is just right for easily locking that bike around both the wheel and the frame.

Now that I have a bike that I'm willing to leave locked up I've been using it for commuting type rides and for errands and such. It's actually getting ridden regularly. The MTB only goes out on trails and since I usually use the muni for trail riding the MTB hasn't been getting much use.

[mscalisi]

That sucks, sorry to hear it. Cable locks are near useless anyways. I use one for my uni, but only if I'm going to be very quick or in restaurants where I can see my uni.

Also, I agree with Brian about using 911. Those lines can get clogged, and you potentially could have delayed someone with a real emergency.

Generally, once a bike is stolen, its just gone.

[skilewis74]

Thanks for the sentiments.

Originally Posted by kerosian

that sucks... What did it cost you?

$1,000 on sale from $1,500 eight and a half years ago. Considering a bunch of parts were worn or wearing out, I'd estimate it was worth $200-$300.

Originally Posted by Brian O

You called 911? Was it really an emergency? You could have been holding up the lines for someone who really needed it. What were you doing out on a bike anyway?

I was conserned about that as well, which is why the first thing out of my mouth was "My bike was stolen." I was prepared to wait for a long time on hold and/or long for the officer to show up or talk to him the next day. Apparently it was a relatively slow night.

Originally Posted by mscalisi

That sucks, sorry to hear it. Cable locks are near useless anyways. I use one for my uni, but only if I'm going to be very quick or in restaurants where I can see my uni.

My lock is a 4 pound hardened steel chain Master Lock similar in design to this one. I don't think they would have gotten through that if I had taken an extra minute and locked it up proberly.



I got a free "new" bike!
My friend Seth offered to give me an old mountain bike that has a lot of missing parts. So I went over there to check it out and his neighbor is all "I'm trying to get rid of a bike." So I looked at it and it's a realy nice rode bike and in great shape considering it's 15-20 yrs old and left in his back yard for the last six months. So I switched the seat w/ an old one he had lying around, put some air in the tires and I was set! MUCH faster than my mtb.

Seth also gave me some barely used paniers for $15 (they go for $50-70), and I plan to get a rack soon, to put them on. They ought to make grocery shopping and getting to the trails with my uni easier.

[James_Potter]

That does suck...sorry man.
I like living in a small town where I can pretty much leave my bike anywhere for a few hours and count on it still being there when I return.
Well not quite, I always leave it at a bike rack or somewhere like that, but I never lock it up anymore....

[Gumby]

My brother is mentaly disabled and he used his bike to get to work. He left it out side of the neighborhood corner store one night and when he came back out it was stolen. Having a bike stolen really sucks.

[puresyn]

Originally Posted by Gumby

My brother is mentaly disabled and he used his bike to get to work. He left it out side of the neighborhood corner store one night and when he came back out it was stolen. Having a bike stolen really sucks.

That is hella sad. Stealing from the disabled and children should be punishable by having a bag of hungry rats tied around a man's neck. I hope he was able to get another form of transportation.

And getting your anything stolen still sucks even if you are not a kid or not disabled.

[skilewis74]

Originally Posted by puresyn

...or not disabled.

I qualify for that one. Sometimes I'm amazed I was actually able to learn to uni, but sometimes when I watch one of the amazing videos here I get frustrated at my rediculusly slow learning pace. I've thought of puting a disabled parking label on my bike/uni. I really wasn't looking forward to walking home (now it would be more awkward and long than difficult), luckily the officer gave me a ride.

[john_childs]

Originally Posted by skilewis74

My lock is a 4 pound hardened steel chain Master Lock similar in design to this one. I don't think they would have gotten through that if I had taken an extra minute and locked it up properly.

You'd be surprised. But locking up properly might have saved it since there aren't that many thieves carrying big bolt cutters around. Most are looking for the easier take that they can get without resorting to big tools.

Most chains can be cut easier than you'd think with large bolt cutters. Here's video of several motorcycle chains being cut. They're using some big big bolt cutters to do that. But they're also cutting motorcycle chain which is generally heavier and has larger links than bicycle chain. And they're using huge huge bolt cutters.

Bike thieves can use big bolt cutters too and make short work of bicycle chains. The thieves shorten the arms of the bolt cutters so they'll fit in a backpack or messenger bag. Then they'll use two sections of pipe to extend the short arms to full big big bolt cutter length.

Cables are useless since even small bolt cutters can cut through them. Most chains are less useless but big bolt cutters can still go through them. U-locks with large diameter shackles (13mm or more) are better. Big bolt cutters can go though lesser u-locks (especially the ones you find at stores like WalMart).

The cheap older style u-locks that have the lock on the end of the crossbar and sticks out an inch or so can be leveraged open, especially if they're of the style that only locks one side of the shackle. Fit a long pipe over the protruding part of the crossbar (where the lock is) and twist around and leverage. You do have to be careful when leveraging a lock like that not to crush the bike frame tube. But if the lock is positioned suitably and oriented suitably for the thief it can be leveraged open. It's that style of leverage attack that is why modern u-locks have the lock in the middle of the crossbar rather than sticking out at the end of the crossbar.

The serious bike thieves have battery powered hydraulic tools hidden in a messenger bag. There are small bottle style hydraulic jacks that can be modified to fit in larger u-locks. The jack can pry the lock open. There are also portable hydraulic bolt cutters that are even more powerful than the big big hand operated bolt cutters.

An angle grinder will get through any of the chains or u-locks.

Carrying around a bolt cutter and cutting chains is easier than you'd think. People don't see someone like that and think thief. They think "Oh, he lost his key". See the little experiment done by Willamette Week on the streets of Portland OR: Steal This Bike. The video that goes along with that story.

My current bike lock strategy is to use an Onguard mini u-lock for the frame and rear wheel and a cable for the front wheel. I know the cable is useless if a thief has bolt cutters. I've been locking it up in safe areas and for only short periods. I'm thinking about a better locking strategy though for when I have to leave it for longer periods or in riskier areas (Seattle has some high bike theft). I'm thinking about getting a New York Fahgettaboudit U-lock by Kryptonite and using two mini U-locks. On most bike racks I'd only be able to lock one of the locks to the bike rack. The other lock would have to just be locked free around the bike frame and wheel. Better than a cable and there will be times when both locks will be able to be locked to something stable and secure. That would make about 7 pounds of u-locks and about $100 of locks for a $550 bike that would be worth less than $50 to a thief trying to get rid of it to a fence.

More theft-proofing can be done by filling in the heads of some allen bolts with solder or some sort of glue that can be chipped out. The solder trick would make the seatpost and seat more theft-proof. If I have to change the seat height or change the seat it is easy enough to melt the solder at home.