Lock your damn bikes!!!
10-11-20, 03:06 PM
#101
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Location: Northern CA
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Bikes: Cannondale tandems: '92 Road, '97 Mtn. Mongoose 10.9 Ti, Kelly Deluxe, Tommaso Chorus, Cdale MT2000, Schwinn Deluxe Cruiser, Torker Unicycle, among others.
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That's the game folks. Find the weakest link and attack it. In invincible chain through a hardened floor anchor? Break the concrete!
20mm cable and u lock around a tree? Cut the tree!
U lock to a tubular steel rack? Cut the rack!
Bonus points if you do it while driving a nondescript white van and wear a high vis vest while doing it!
20mm cable and u lock around a tree? Cut the tree!
U lock to a tubular steel rack? Cut the rack!
Bonus points if you do it while driving a nondescript white van and wear a high vis vest while doing it!
And if you have a really expensive bike or bikes, that's what insurance is for. I go to the extra trouble because most of my bikes are very special to me with custom paint, unique history, and lots of stuff I've sourced over the years (Ti King headset, for example) that's harder to replace.
So yes locks can be picked. Liquid nitrogen might work. Blow torches definitely work. Racks can be cut. BUT in the grand scheme, this rarely, if ever, occurs.
Play the numbers with the odds in your favor and you'll do fine. But you first have to EMPLOY your security for this all to work. Thus the Title, "Lock your damn bikes!"
10-11-20, 03:17 PM
#102
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As someone who has had 5 different bikes stolen, I could not agree more. I saw movie about boot camp where a certain overweight private forgot to put a padlock on his footlocker, and the drill sergeant excoriated the private for leaving his person belongings unlocked in a barracks, where they could be stolen. "If it wasn't for (obscene term) like you, there wouldn't be any thievery in this world, would there?" He's right in a way.
Beware of grifters too, they can steal your bike just as effectively as the much-feared guy in a trench coat late at night with bolt cutters. In fact, I would venture to guess, that's probably how half the stolen bikes out there were obtained.
Beware of grifters too, they can steal your bike just as effectively as the much-feared guy in a trench coat late at night with bolt cutters. In fact, I would venture to guess, that's probably how half the stolen bikes out there were obtained.
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10-11-20, 04:36 PM
#103
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Join Date: May 2016
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Bikes: Trek 1100 road bike, Roadmaster gravel/commuter/beater mountain bike
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I'm just glad I live in a place where I don't have to constantly worry about my bike getting stolen. Only time I lock my bike is when I'm stopping at a convenience store or somewhere, and yes, I use a cable lock. Mainly to prevent thefts of opportunity, and I don't plan to be stopped anywhere long enough for someone to come back with bolt cutters or an angle grinder. Plus my bikes aren't high-end bikes in the first place, so I doubt professional bike thieves are constantly on the prowl for them. Just mainly want to keep the local methheads from trying to get a quick score.
