Theft prevention: Deface make and model?
#126
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Whatever.
This is all moot. You wanted opinions but are unhappy with almost all the opinions ... if you Really care, go do the test. Paint your bike however, and lock it up wherever.
You have been on this site for quite a while .... none of this is new to you. None of what you have posted is accidental.
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#127
Grupetto Bob
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I never lock my bike, never. I take it with me into the bank, the optometrist, the dentist, the convenience store BUT I always ask first if it is permissible. If a store owner says NO, I thank them and go to another that does. My bike lives in a locked garage. When I didn’t have a garage, it lived in the house. If I am riding with someone, one of us stays with the bikes while the other goes in and vice versa. I will even carry my bike up two flights of stairs or put it in the elevator to take it with me. Never had anyone complain.
One guy asked me how much my bike cost and when I told them, they said the would do the same thing. Yes more booger flinging since I didn’t directly answer your question, but that is my solution to bike theft.
One guy asked me how much my bike cost and when I told them, they said the would do the same thing. Yes more booger flinging since I didn’t directly answer your question, but that is my solution to bike theft.
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#129
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I’ve done that. Remember those cylindrical locks where it was so easy to open them by just feeling for the click. This was back when I was living in the dorm at UCSD. I would always return the bike after using it. Not always at the same place on the rack though.
#130
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“My job is the false interpretation to manipulate the words in their favorable explanation to make sure someone has been provided my job. Not”
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#131
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I do this regularly without asking permission. I just wheel in my bike as if it's the most normal thing in the world. No one ever says a word.
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#132
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I never lock my bike, never. I take it with me into the bank, the optometrist, the dentist, the convenience store BUT I always ask first if it is permissible. If a store owner says NO, I thank them and go to another that does. My bike lives in a locked garage. When I didn’t have a garage, it lived in the house. If I am riding with someone, one of us stays with the bikes while the other goes in and vice versa. I will even carry my bike up two flights of stairs or put it in the elevator to take it with me. Never had anyone complain.
One guy asked me how much my bike cost and when I told them, they said the would do the same thing. Yes more booger flinging since I didn’t directly answer your question, but that is my solution to bike theft.
One guy asked me how much my bike cost and when I told them, they said the would do the same thing. Yes more booger flinging since I didn’t directly answer your question, but that is my solution to bike theft.
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#133
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This does explain a lot.
I’ve worked with engineers for many years and have a similar tendencies.
I don’t think I’d deface a bike, but part of the logic behind this is doing something no one (possibly in their right mind) would think to do.
I’m guessing if the bike doesn’t get stolen it is a success regardless of whether there was any deterrent. And if it gets stolen, then a step was missed.
Where I differ is not locking the bike and doing what rsbob does. If I can’t take the bike with me, I won’t go in, or I’ll drive.
John
I’ve worked with engineers for many years and have a similar tendencies.
I don’t think I’d deface a bike, but part of the logic behind this is doing something no one (possibly in their right mind) would think to do.
I’m guessing if the bike doesn’t get stolen it is a success regardless of whether there was any deterrent. And if it gets stolen, then a step was missed.
Where I differ is not locking the bike and doing what rsbob does. If I can’t take the bike with me, I won’t go in, or I’ll drive.
John
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#134
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#136
Vegan on a bicycle
Thread Starter
Will they break a good lock (properly used) to steal a beater-bike? Anecdotally, I don't know of that happening.
So the real question remains unanswered.
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#137
Vegan on a bicycle
Thread Starter
Right? The evidence shows that thieves will remove/defeat even a good lock (and you have no idea what a "good" lock even means---it could have been a gym locker lock and a cable) to steal an average bike, and will steal any bike. Unless the first bike could be resold for a grand or more (which means a $2500 bike) then this proves that common thieves will steal anything, an ordinary bike or even a cheap beater bike ...
Whatever.
This is all moot. You wanted opinions but are unhappy with almost all the opinions ... if you Really care, go do the test. Paint your bike however, and lock it up wherever.
You have been on this site for quite a while .... none of this is new to you. None of what you have posted is accidental.
Whatever.
This is all moot. You wanted opinions but are unhappy with almost all the opinions ... if you Really care, go do the test. Paint your bike however, and lock it up wherever.
You have been on this site for quite a while .... none of this is new to you. None of what you have posted is accidental.
The question that remains unanswered, is what's the sweet spot of "ugly" where they won't break a good lock, to steal a bike?
#138
Vegan on a bicycle
Thread Starter
I never lock my bike, never. I take it with me into the bank, the optometrist, the dentist, the convenience store BUT I always ask first if it is permissible. If a store owner says NO, I thank them and go to another that does. My bike lives in a locked garage. When I didn’t have a garage, it lived in the house. If I am riding with someone, one of us stays with the bikes while the other goes in and vice versa. I will even carry my bike up two flights of stairs or put it in the elevator to take it with me. Never had anyone complain.
One guy asked me how much my bike cost and when I told them, they said the would do the same thing. Yes more booger flinging since I didn’t directly answer your question, but that is my solution to bike theft.
One guy asked me how much my bike cost and when I told them, they said the would do the same thing. Yes more booger flinging since I didn’t directly answer your question, but that is my solution to bike theft.
#139
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It's obvious that those thieves targeted that bike, regardless of the lock. It's not like most locks are hard to get through in a few minutes anyway, I'm sure they wouldn't have been deterred had the beater bike been locked with a heavy duty lock.
#140
As I mentioned above, the only bike of mine that was ever stolen was stolen from inside my house while I was home and awake. We accidentally left the front door unlocked after coming home from a night of shopping and dining a week before Christmas, 2010 (Fortunately, the two custom IFs were left behind.)
I would bet most of the US population does not have a garage. I don’t. I secure my super fly, custom ti Engin road bike when I go on tour in case the cat sitter accidentally leaves a door unlocked.
I would bet most of the US population does not have a garage. I don’t. I secure my super fly, custom ti Engin road bike when I go on tour in case the cat sitter accidentally leaves a door unlocked.
Last edited by indyfabz; 09-29-22 at 08:12 AM.
#141
Vegan on a bicycle
Thread Starter
When better bikes with crappy locks are parked in the area, why would anyone spend more time and effort fighting with a better lock, to steal a worse bike???
It seems "obvious" to me that they saw a crappy lock, and they recognised it as opportunity, without any consideration of the bike.
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#144
Theft is a function of bike value and ease of defeating the lock and also bikes nearby.
I spray painted mine to look loke crud. Black all over, then reddish brown near joints to look like rust. This keeps actual rust at bay and makes the bike look bad to most, despite having good or new parts at any given time. (Except I do not bother with the chain.)
I have decent locks and park next to bikes that are more expensive and/or more poorly locked if gone for a few hours. My bike is never the best looking or most easily stolen bike in that area.
It is like that joke about two people walking in the woods who encounter a bear. One puts on his sneakers. The other says, "Man cannot outrun a bear." The first one replies, "I don't need to outrun the bear; I just need to outrun you."
No locking system can prevent thieves with tools and time from dismantking every pedal and crankshaft. But, you can make it so that your bike is the last to be targeted and that can buy you 6 hours perhaps in even a high-crime area.
I spray painted mine to look loke crud. Black all over, then reddish brown near joints to look like rust. This keeps actual rust at bay and makes the bike look bad to most, despite having good or new parts at any given time. (Except I do not bother with the chain.)
I have decent locks and park next to bikes that are more expensive and/or more poorly locked if gone for a few hours. My bike is never the best looking or most easily stolen bike in that area.
It is like that joke about two people walking in the woods who encounter a bear. One puts on his sneakers. The other says, "Man cannot outrun a bear." The first one replies, "I don't need to outrun the bear; I just need to outrun you."
No locking system can prevent thieves with tools and time from dismantking every pedal and crankshaft. But, you can make it so that your bike is the last to be targeted and that can buy you 6 hours perhaps in even a high-crime area.
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#145
Grupetto Bob
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How about stuffing some batteries down the seat tube and adding some simple wiring thus electrifying the bike so that anyone who touches gets a very unpleasant jolt - not enough to kill but to prevent them from touching it again. It could be controlled remotely or maybe with a switch hidden under the seat. No need to deface the bike unless they return with thick rubber gloves.
Or there is the highly controversial bike mine: https://bikerumor.com/bike-mine-thef...e-off-thieves/
Or there is the highly controversial bike mine: https://bikerumor.com/bike-mine-thef...e-off-thieves/
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Last edited by rsbob; 09-29-22 at 01:46 PM.
#146
#147
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#148
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...was-emaciated/
#149
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You might fool the meth-heads but they will be deterred by any serious lock ,,,, or two cheap locks, which is what I have been using successfully, The question remains, will your crappy paint fool anyone willing to tackle a decent lock to steal a decent bike?
At this point, test it or go away, I'd say. Too much talk, no data,
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#150
Cut off its food supply, folks.
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