Theft prevention: Deface make and model?
#101
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 6,036
Bikes: Colnago, Van Dessel, Factor, Cervelo, Ritchey
Mentioned: 8 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3997 Post(s)
Liked 7,485 Times
in
3,012 Posts
Likes For tomato coupe:
#102
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Bastrop Texas
Posts: 4,539
Bikes: Univega, Peu P6, Peu PR-10, Ted Williams, Peu UO-8, Peu UO-18 Mixte, Peu Dolomites
Mentioned: 13 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 996 Post(s)
Liked 1,667 Times
in
1,070 Posts
Sometimes they just steal a bike ta stay in practice...
__________________
No matter where you're at... There you are... Δf:=f(1/2)-f(-1/2)
No matter where you're at... There you are... Δf:=f(1/2)-f(-1/2)
#103
Habitual User
Join Date: Jan 2020
Location: Altadena, CA
Posts: 8,126
Bikes: 2023 Niner RLT 9 RDO, 2018 Trek Procaliber 9.9 RSL, 2018 Storck Fascenario.3 Platinum, 2003 Time VX Special Pro, 2001 Colnago VIP, 1999 Trek 9900 singlespeed, 1977 Nishiki ONP
Mentioned: 5 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 5041 Post(s)
Liked 8,281 Times
in
3,911 Posts
As for attempting to disguise your bike, it might be helpful or it might not. Certainly, an obviously high-quality bike that isn't secured very well is going to be a juicy target. However, an ugly bike and a good lock still might not be enough of a deterrent from someone determined to take it. As I posted about above, a whole flock of locked bikes were stolen from a locked bike cage at my daughter's college dorm last week. It was clearly a coordinated and planned effort by multiple people. They took the bikes they could take easily, regardless of their quality. The few bikes that survived were the ones where the owner made it too much effort for the thieves to take.
__________________
"Swedish fish. They're protein shaped." - livedarklions
"Swedish fish. They're protein shaped." - livedarklions
Likes For Eric F:
#104
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: Mission Viejo
Posts: 5,839
Bikes: 1986 Cannondale SR400 (Flat bar commuter), 1988 Cannondale Criterium XTR, 1992 Serotta T-Max, 1995 Trek 970
Mentioned: 20 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1954 Post(s)
Liked 2,199 Times
in
1,337 Posts
Likes For 70sSanO:
#105
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2015
Posts: 15,555
Bikes: 2015 Workswell 066, 2017 Workswell 093, 2014 Dawes Sheila, 1983 Cannondale 500, 1984 Raleigh Olympian, 2007 Cannondale Rize 4, 2017 Fuji Sportif 1 LE
Mentioned: 144 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 7674 Post(s)
Liked 3,550 Times
in
1,867 Posts
Even though I am the smartest person in the room .... @base2 wins the thread.
Making the bike ugly won't stop the poor folk, and the people who steal good bikes will see through the paint ... but do it if you like.
I doubt most bike thieves care if what they steal is "identifiable" because no one is "identifying" a stolen bike unless the thief gets caught ... and they don't think they are going to get caught. Either they are shipping and selling out-of-town, or selling them for drugs to people who are selling them to druggies, or will get ridden and dumped somewhere ...
Personally I am closer to @indyfabz .... I won't leave my bike anywhere I think it will get stolen, I lock it with whatever degree of security I think might be called for, and if I think my bike isn't safe somewhere I just don't leave it there.
Maybe there is some guy on an old Peugeot who leaves his bike locked with a cheap cable in a high-crime area 55 hours a week .... and maybe he is just very lucky. Maybe he has good karma. maybe his bike got stolen while I was typing this.
I have had three bikes stolen (one recovered) and I don't want to lose another so I take care. And no matter what, anything can happen.
As to the efficacy of making a decent bike look trashed .... the only people who care what the bike looks like are stealing really high-end bikes and they would see past the camouflage. Otherwise there are two categories---easily stealable bike or hard-to-steal bike. The latter gets stripped, the former stolen.
Or .... you might be right. Testing is how things are proven. Science is driven by experimentation and observation of results. Do it and find out.
Making the bike ugly won't stop the poor folk, and the people who steal good bikes will see through the paint ... but do it if you like.
I doubt most bike thieves care if what they steal is "identifiable" because no one is "identifying" a stolen bike unless the thief gets caught ... and they don't think they are going to get caught. Either they are shipping and selling out-of-town, or selling them for drugs to people who are selling them to druggies, or will get ridden and dumped somewhere ...
Personally I am closer to @indyfabz .... I won't leave my bike anywhere I think it will get stolen, I lock it with whatever degree of security I think might be called for, and if I think my bike isn't safe somewhere I just don't leave it there.
Maybe there is some guy on an old Peugeot who leaves his bike locked with a cheap cable in a high-crime area 55 hours a week .... and maybe he is just very lucky. Maybe he has good karma. maybe his bike got stolen while I was typing this.
I have had three bikes stolen (one recovered) and I don't want to lose another so I take care. And no matter what, anything can happen.
As to the efficacy of making a decent bike look trashed .... the only people who care what the bike looks like are stealing really high-end bikes and they would see past the camouflage. Otherwise there are two categories---easily stealable bike or hard-to-steal bike. The latter gets stripped, the former stolen.
Or .... you might be right. Testing is how things are proven. Science is driven by experimentation and observation of results. Do it and find out.
#106
Grupetto Bob
Join Date: Sep 2020
Location: Seattle-ish
Posts: 6,342
Bikes: Bikey McBike Face
Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2650 Post(s)
Liked 5,820 Times
in
2,997 Posts
If I want to buy a piece of art, I'll buy a piece of art.
I'm not buying a new bike to appreciate its aesthetics, I'm buying a new bike to get from point-A to point-B. When I'm not riding it, it will be locked up, often outside, often not where anyone is watching it.
fwiw, it's being built with almost nothing higher-specced than Deore. It'll be an good bike to ride, regardless of what the paint looks like. I've never cried when any of my commuter bikes got scratched up; if I didn't want them getting scratched up, I'd lock them in the garage and never ride them.
I'm not buying a new bike to appreciate its aesthetics, I'm buying a new bike to get from point-A to point-B. When I'm not riding it, it will be locked up, often outside, often not where anyone is watching it.
fwiw, it's being built with almost nothing higher-specced than Deore. It'll be an good bike to ride, regardless of what the paint looks like. I've never cried when any of my commuter bikes got scratched up; if I didn't want them getting scratched up, I'd lock them in the garage and never ride them.
__________________
Road 🚴🏾♂️ & Mountain 🚵🏾♂️
Road 🚴🏾♂️ & Mountain 🚵🏾♂️
#107
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 39,457
Mentioned: 211 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 18504 Post(s)
Liked 15,818 Times
in
7,428 Posts
#108
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 39,457
Mentioned: 211 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 18504 Post(s)
Liked 15,818 Times
in
7,428 Posts
One time I broke a spoke while riding a train to the start of a charity event. Got off the train, rode home, swapped the wheel and tire, blew the tube on the first try (terrifying the cat), rode back to the train and did the ride in great time despite having to navigate through many slower riders due to my late start.
Last edited by indyfabz; 09-27-22 at 05:34 PM.
#109
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: Mission Viejo
Posts: 5,839
Bikes: 1986 Cannondale SR400 (Flat bar commuter), 1988 Cannondale Criterium XTR, 1992 Serotta T-Max, 1995 Trek 970
Mentioned: 20 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1954 Post(s)
Liked 2,199 Times
in
1,337 Posts
#110
Vegan on a bicycle
Thread Starter
One of the places where I go a few times a week; I've lost count of how many bikes have been stolen from a rack just outside the front door. I know someone who had a bike stolen, came back the next week with a beater-bike, and that was stolen. She lost two bikes from the same place, one week apart.
To borrow from George Orwell: How often, or on what system, the Thought Police plugged in on any individual wire was guesswork. It was even conceivable that they watched everybody all the time. But at any rate they could plug in your wire whenever they wanted to.
There may not be a thief lurking behind every lamp post, but there may well be a thief lurking behind the lamp post where I'm parked; if you didn't consider this possibility, you'd never even use a bike lock.
#111
Vegan on a bicycle
Thread Starter
Who did that? I am not "offended" by the idea. I simply think it's dumb because it offers nothing. It is certainly not worth 4 pages of thread.
Indeed, if you think the idea has merit why even start a thread about it? (To start controversy? Oh. Wait. Now I remember. You were asking what others think of the idea--until you weren't asking that. ) Just do it. Make it as fugly looking as you want. Just make sure you post proof-of-life photos after you do. A before and after comparison so we know you are for realz. That might redeem this thread.
Indeed, if you think the idea has merit why even start a thread about it? (To start controversy? Oh. Wait. Now I remember. You were asking what others think of the idea--until you weren't asking that. ) Just do it. Make it as fugly looking as you want. Just make sure you post proof-of-life photos after you do. A before and after comparison so we know you are for realz. That might redeem this thread.
Complain all you want about how much bandwidth it's taken up, you've contributed significantly to that wasted bandwidth, while doing exactly what you claim isn't happening.
#112
Vegan on a bicycle
Thread Starter
Your advice in action...Last week, my daughter moved into her college dorm along with a bunch of her classmates who brought bikes. The bikes were put in a locked cage at the dorm, and each bike had its own lock(s). That first night, the cage was broken into, and most of the bikes were stolen by sawing though the steel frame of the bike racks. One of the few bikes to survive was that of a non-freshman who used 8 u-locks on his bike.
Also; If it's stupid but it works, then it isn't stupid.
Seems a lot of people here have committed the first axiom to memory, but they're not interested in the second.
#113
Vegan on a bicycle
Thread Starter
#114
Vegan on a bicycle
Thread Starter
While most everyone else is just complaining about being offended by defacing, defiling, and sullying a new bike, base2 actually raised issues that have me reconsidering my original plans.
Still pissing off the people who consider a new bike more art to look at than utility to use, I'm now leaning towards a more conservative approach to defacing, defiling, and sullying a new bike.
#115
Vegan on a bicycle
Thread Starter
This new bike was literally scratched before I picked it up from the shop. I appreciate that they gave me a small discount for that, but I'm not upset about it.
#116
Vegan on a bicycle
Thread Starter
#117
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 39,457
Mentioned: 211 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 18504 Post(s)
Liked 15,818 Times
in
7,428 Posts
What it potentially offers, is that it would be unattractive to thieves who would otherwise break good locks to take decent bikes. You don't understand that???
Complain all you want about how much bandwidth it's taken up, you've contributed significantly to that wasted bandwidth, while doing exactly what you claim isn't happening.
Complain all you want about how much bandwidth it's taken up, you've contributed significantly to that wasted bandwidth, while doing exactly what you claim isn't happening.
Again, go ahead with your plan. Until you do and provide proof, you’re obviously trolling and have nothing of value to add. You can’t even post a photo of the bike you plan to alter.
And I love how you misrepresent what I have written. Never stated I was offended. Just stated that I think your idea is stupid. Never complained about you wasting bandwidth. Just stated a fact. Here’s another statement of opinion: You’re not good at what you’re trying to do.
Iggy list updated in 5, 4, 3..,.
Last edited by indyfabz; 09-27-22 at 08:45 PM.
#118
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2015
Posts: 15,555
Bikes: 2015 Workswell 066, 2017 Workswell 093, 2014 Dawes Sheila, 1983 Cannondale 500, 1984 Raleigh Olympian, 2007 Cannondale Rize 4, 2017 Fuji Sportif 1 LE
Mentioned: 144 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 7674 Post(s)
Liked 3,550 Times
in
1,867 Posts
You had the answer all along.
Likes For Maelochs:
#119
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2021
Posts: 8,685
Mentioned: 16 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4525 Post(s)
Liked 5,023 Times
in
3,103 Posts
Bizarre thread! I guess I don't want to live wherever "smasha" lives. Honestly, if I was THAT worried about my bike being stolen I would probably not bother owning a nice bike. There's always insurance of course. Over the years I know a couple of people who have had nice bikes (and cars for that matter) stolen and their insurance paid out without issue.
I don't personally think the concept of "trashing" your bike's cosmetic look will make a big difference, except if you come to sell it on!
I don't personally think the concept of "trashing" your bike's cosmetic look will make a big difference, except if you come to sell it on!
Likes For PeteHski:
#120
Vegan on a bicycle
Thread Starter
So it does not answer my question.
#121
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Mich
Posts: 7,505
Bikes: RSO E-tire dropper fixie brifter
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 6 Post(s)
Liked 3,071 Times
in
1,960 Posts
My explanation has been provided, it is not my job to make sure someone doesn't manipulate my words in there favorable way for false interpretation.
__________________
-Oh Hey!
-Oh Hey!
#122
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 6,036
Bikes: Colnago, Van Dessel, Factor, Cervelo, Ritchey
Mentioned: 8 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3997 Post(s)
Liked 7,485 Times
in
3,012 Posts
Likes For tomato coupe:
#123
Habitual User
Join Date: Jan 2020
Location: Altadena, CA
Posts: 8,126
Bikes: 2023 Niner RLT 9 RDO, 2018 Trek Procaliber 9.9 RSL, 2018 Storck Fascenario.3 Platinum, 2003 Time VX Special Pro, 2001 Colnago VIP, 1999 Trek 9900 singlespeed, 1977 Nishiki ONP
Mentioned: 5 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 5041 Post(s)
Liked 8,281 Times
in
3,911 Posts
If I'm spending $5k+ on a brand new bike, the first significant scratch or chip is going to irk me. I bypassed that by buying bikes a couple of years old. Not only are they a lot more tolerable for my budget, but they came pre-scratched. It doesn't change how much I enjoy looking at them, and riding them.
__________________
"Swedish fish. They're protein shaped." - livedarklions
"Swedish fish. They're protein shaped." - livedarklions
Likes For Eric F:
#124
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 39,457
Mentioned: 211 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 18504 Post(s)
Liked 15,818 Times
in
7,428 Posts
Likes For indyfabz:
#125
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2016
Posts: 3,947
Bikes: Trek 1100 road bike, Roadmaster gravel/commuter/beater mountain bike
Mentioned: 5 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2281 Post(s)
Liked 1,710 Times
in
936 Posts
It kind of does. In that sometimes thieves will destroy a lock to steal even a beater bike, so it likely won't make any difference if you deface your good bike to look like a beater.
Likes For Milton Keynes: