Do you carry a lock?
#51
Full Member
Join Date: Jun 2022
Location: San Diego, California USA
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Bikes: 1974 Masi GC, 1982 Trek 728 (aka 720), 1992 Trek Multitrack 750 (Stolen), 2023 Bike Friday Diamond Llama (Fat Boi Edition)
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Last June I had spent the whole day making my way north thru L.A. with a combination of cycling and Metrolink train to Emma Wood State Park in Ventura. I arrived after midnight, exhausted, threw up my tent and crashed hard. In my near delirium I did not lock my bike, and a picnic table was right there. Woke up at sunrise and my bike and panniers were gone, a white 1992 Trek Multitrack 750, built for a round the world trip. Berthoud front bag and saddle, Son generator hub and Supernova headlight, Nitto racks, Carridice Super C front and rear panniers, Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires, all gone. But it was my first bike stolen in over 50 years, so I'm crossing my fingers and holding my breath for the next 50.
I'm over it now and started over with a new Bike Friday Diamond Llama decked out for touring.
Learned my lesson!
I'm over it now and started over with a new Bike Friday Diamond Llama decked out for touring.
Learned my lesson!
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#52
Full Member
Join Date: Jun 2022
Location: San Diego, California USA
Posts: 387
Bikes: 1974 Masi GC, 1982 Trek 728 (aka 720), 1992 Trek Multitrack 750 (Stolen), 2023 Bike Friday Diamond Llama (Fat Boi Edition)
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You might be surprised at just how resistant to those two common bike-thief tools that lock is. It is a combination version of the lock i posted about above:
They had used a knife to cut away the rubber covering, which meant that the steel shell segment that they attacked with the angle grinder was totally free to spin. It had a line scored in it going all around the shell from spinning while in contact with the grinding wheel.
They did not have the sense to try on a rubber-shielded portion to see if the rubber would hold the shell in place to allow effective cutting, but i suspect that this wouldn't work much better anyway.
They had used a knife to cut away the rubber covering, which meant that the steel shell segment that they attacked with the angle grinder was totally free to spin. It had a line scored in it going all around the shell from spinning while in contact with the grinding wheel.
They did not have the sense to try on a rubber-shielded portion to see if the rubber would hold the shell in place to allow effective cutting, but i suspect that this wouldn't work much better anyway.
#53
Rider. Wanderer. Creator.
Join Date: May 2007
Location: New Jersey
Posts: 1,312
Bikes: Bike Friday All-Packa & Pocket Rocket, Cinelli Hobootleg, Zizzo Liberte, Ozark Trail G.1 Explorer
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Last June I had spent the whole day making my way north thru L.A. with a combination of cycling and Metrolink train to Emma Wood State Park in Ventura. I arrived after midnight, exhausted, threw up my tent and crashed hard. In my near delirium I did not lock my bike, and a picnic table was right there. Woke up at sunrise and my bike and panniers were gone, a white 1992 Trek Multitrack 750, built for a round the world trip. Berthoud front bag and saddle, Son generator hub and Supernova headlight, Nitto racks, Carridice Super C front and rear panniers, Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires, all gone. But it was my first bike stolen in over 50 years, so I'm crossing my fingers and holding my breath for the next 50.
I'm over it now and started over with a new Bike Friday Diamond Llama decked out for touring.
Learned my lesson!
I'm over it now and started over with a new Bike Friday Diamond Llama decked out for touring.
Learned my lesson!
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JohnMFlores.com | YouTube: JohnMFlores
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Rider. Wanderer. Creator.
JohnMFlores.com | YouTube: JohnMFlores
Insta: JohnMichaelFlores | TikTok: @johnnymotoflores
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#54
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: QC Canada
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Bikes: Custom built LHT & Troll
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HelpSingularity Sorry for your loss...
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#55
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Madison, WI
Posts: 11,550
Bikes: 1961 Ideor, 1966 Perfekt 3 Speed AB Hub, 1994 Bridgestone MB-6, 2006 Airnimal Joey, 2009 Thorn Sherpa, 2013 Thorn Nomad MkII, 2015 VO Pass Hunter, 2017 Lynskey Backroad, 2017 Raleigh Gran Prix, 1980s Bianchi Mixte on a trainer. Others are now gone.
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Last June I had spent the whole day making my way north thru L.A. with a combination of cycling and Metrolink train to Emma Wood State Park in Ventura. I arrived after midnight, exhausted, threw up my tent and crashed hard. In my near delirium I did not lock my bike, and a picnic table was right there. Woke up at sunrise and my bike and panniers were gone, a white 1992 Trek Multitrack 750, built for a round the world trip. Berthoud front bag and saddle, Son generator hub and Supernova headlight, Nitto racks, Carridice Super C front and rear panniers, Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires, all gone. But it was my first bike stolen in over 50 years, so I'm crossing my fingers and holding my breath for the next 50.
I'm over it now and started over with a new Bike Friday Diamond Llama decked out for touring.
Learned my lesson!
I'm over it now and started over with a new Bike Friday Diamond Llama decked out for touring.
Learned my lesson!
***
My community used to license bicycles, I licensed all of mine to get the sticker on the bike that the police could use to find the owner if found later.
My community stopped licensing bikes, they instead recommended using Bike Index or a similar service. I listed all my bikes on Bike Index. I also bought the Bike Index stickers and put on my bikes. I bought the generic stickers (no QR code), but it appears such stickers are no longer available on their website.
https://bikeindex.org
These stickers and registrations are no guarantee, but they can help. Several decades ago my dad's bike was stolen, months later the police called and said come and pick up your bike. It was in terrible shape, but a local bike shop straightened the bent frame and fork, I got it working again with some use parts.
Someone on this forum (I do not recall whom) had his custom Co-Motion bike with Rohloff stolen out of his garage. Many months later, a bike shop called him, someone brought a bike in for repair and it sounded like it might be the one he informed local bike shops about. It was his. All serial numbers were ground off, but it was his.
#56
velo-dilettante
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: insane diego, california
Posts: 8,519
Bikes: 85 pinarello treviso steel, 88 nishiki olympic steel. 95 look kg 131 carbon, 11 trek madone 5.2 carbon
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use the medium-sized ottolock which coils up to fit in a rear jersey pocket (or can loop under the saddle rails…but that takes extra time to deploy and hang back up). able to install/undo in about 30 seconds. good enough to prevent opportunistic theft/snatch and go but wouldn’t feel comfy using it and having the bike out of my sight for longer than a quick, two minute bathroom break or taco shop lunch order.
#57
Experiences like yours are clearly unfortunate. Rare, but they do happen. Thanks for reminding us that we need to be careful, even in a case like yours where you left your bike after sunset and it was already gone before sunrise.
***
My community used to license bicycles, I licensed all of mine to get the sticker on the bike that the police could use to find the owner if found later.
My community stopped licensing bikes, they instead recommended using Bike Index or a similar service. I listed all my bikes on Bike Index. I also bought the Bike Index stickers and put on my bikes. I bought the generic stickers (no QR code), but it appears such stickers are no longer available on their website.
https://bikeindex.org
These stickers and registrations are no guarantee, but they can help. Several decades ago my dad's bike was stolen, months later the police called and said come and pick up your bike. It was in terrible shape, but a local bike shop straightened the bent frame and fork, I got it working again with some use parts.
Someone on this forum (I do not recall whom) had his custom Co-Motion bike with Rohloff stolen out of his garage. Many months later, a bike shop called him, someone brought a bike in for repair and it sounded like it might be the one he informed local bike shops about. It was his. All serial numbers were ground off, but it was his.
***
My community used to license bicycles, I licensed all of mine to get the sticker on the bike that the police could use to find the owner if found later.
My community stopped licensing bikes, they instead recommended using Bike Index or a similar service. I listed all my bikes on Bike Index. I also bought the Bike Index stickers and put on my bikes. I bought the generic stickers (no QR code), but it appears such stickers are no longer available on their website.
https://bikeindex.org
These stickers and registrations are no guarantee, but they can help. Several decades ago my dad's bike was stolen, months later the police called and said come and pick up your bike. It was in terrible shape, but a local bike shop straightened the bent frame and fork, I got it working again with some use parts.
Someone on this forum (I do not recall whom) had his custom Co-Motion bike with Rohloff stolen out of his garage. Many months later, a bike shop called him, someone brought a bike in for repair and it sounded like it might be the one he informed local bike shops about. It was his. All serial numbers were ground off, but it was his.
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#58
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Madison, WI
Posts: 11,550
Bikes: 1961 Ideor, 1966 Perfekt 3 Speed AB Hub, 1994 Bridgestone MB-6, 2006 Airnimal Joey, 2009 Thorn Sherpa, 2013 Thorn Nomad MkII, 2015 VO Pass Hunter, 2017 Lynskey Backroad, 2017 Raleigh Gran Prix, 1980s Bianchi Mixte on a trainer. Others are now gone.
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A friend of mine had his Colnago C-40 stolen from inside a synagogue. Years later, someone walked into a shop trying to sell a C-40 for less than $200. The shop just happened to be owned by a cousin of the victim, who had sold it to him. The shop owner recognized the bike and persuaded the seller to leave it for a few days so he could inspect it. Dude agreed. The shop owner called his cousin who told him to look inside one of the bar ends. Sure enough, his business card was still inside. The shop owner also removed one of the tires to check for his signature, which he always put on his hand-built wheels. There it was. They ended up paying the asking price to avoid trouble later.
Most of my bikes have bar end shifters, not an easy place to hide a note.
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#59
Senior Member
Experiences like yours are clearly unfortunate. Rare, but they do happen. Thanks for reminding us that we need to be careful, even in a case like yours where you left your bike after sunset and it was already gone before sunrise.
***
My community used to license bicycles, I licensed all of mine to get the sticker on the bike that the police could use to find the owner if found later.
My community stopped licensing bikes, they instead recommended using Bike Index or a similar service. I listed all my bikes on Bike Index. I also bought the Bike Index stickers and put on my bikes. I bought the generic stickers (no QR code), but it appears such stickers are no longer available on their website.
https://bikeindex.org
These stickers and registrations are no guarantee, but they can help. Several decades ago my dad's bike was stolen, months later the police called and said come and pick up your bike. It was in terrible shape, but a local bike shop straightened the bent frame and fork, I got it working again with some use parts.
Someone on this forum (I do not recall whom) had his custom Co-Motion bike with Rohloff stolen out of his garage. Many months later, a bike shop called him, someone brought a bike in for repair and it sounded like it might be the one he informed local bike shops about. It was his. All serial numbers were ground off, but it was his.
***
My community used to license bicycles, I licensed all of mine to get the sticker on the bike that the police could use to find the owner if found later.
My community stopped licensing bikes, they instead recommended using Bike Index or a similar service. I listed all my bikes on Bike Index. I also bought the Bike Index stickers and put on my bikes. I bought the generic stickers (no QR code), but it appears such stickers are no longer available on their website.
https://bikeindex.org
These stickers and registrations are no guarantee, but they can help. Several decades ago my dad's bike was stolen, months later the police called and said come and pick up your bike. It was in terrible shape, but a local bike shop straightened the bent frame and fork, I got it working again with some use parts.
Someone on this forum (I do not recall whom) had his custom Co-Motion bike with Rohloff stolen out of his garage. Many months later, a bike shop called him, someone brought a bike in for repair and it sounded like it might be the one he informed local bike shops about. It was his. All serial numbers were ground off, but it was his.
#60
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Madison, WI
Posts: 11,550
Bikes: 1961 Ideor, 1966 Perfekt 3 Speed AB Hub, 1994 Bridgestone MB-6, 2006 Airnimal Joey, 2009 Thorn Sherpa, 2013 Thorn Nomad MkII, 2015 VO Pass Hunter, 2017 Lynskey Backroad, 2017 Raleigh Gran Prix, 1980s Bianchi Mixte on a trainer. Others are now gone.
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I rode from Astoria to San Francisco in 2014. Twice reported some unsavory types to park rangers.
First was a big guy walking into my camp area with a large dog, he apparently did not see me at first, he was about 20 feet from a picnic table with a lot of our stuff on it. When he saw me, he seemed unsure, should he pretend he is innocent or threaten me with his dog. I pulled out my phone and opened it up (flip phone) so I could call 911 if I had to, he then chose to leave after saying that he paid taxes and had as much right to be there as I did.
Second time was two homeless people that moved into our site after we called it a night. Ranger chased them out.
I think part of the problem is how the staff treats their campers at campsites. In Oregon, the park staff were great, very helpful. In California I started to give some constructive criticism to a park staffer, and she immediately informed me that we were very lucky that they allowed us to have hiker biker sites because we were low revenue and the RV owners were the ones that deserved good service. At other California parks, I found the attitude to generally be similar to that. When that poor attitude of not supporting hiker biker site users is prevalent, that encourages the lawless faction to take advantage of that.
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#61
Senior Member
The beach one nearest me (San Elijo) is $15 apiece. Since they can jam eight people in that site, I don't think $120 has them losing money on the deal. And it's a terrible HB site anyway.
They have two campgrounds at 4000' and 5000' inland in Cuyamaca Rancho State Park, and they still have the deal where you can use the huge day use areas for HB for $5 overnight--multiple nights OK, or the camps are only five miles apart. You just have to break down your sleeping arrangements when the picnickers are there. Lots of oak and pine, deer, turkeys, hiking, and you're away from the main campground with all its smoke and noise.
They have two campgrounds at 4000' and 5000' inland in Cuyamaca Rancho State Park, and they still have the deal where you can use the huge day use areas for HB for $5 overnight--multiple nights OK, or the camps are only five miles apart. You just have to break down your sleeping arrangements when the picnickers are there. Lots of oak and pine, deer, turkeys, hiking, and you're away from the main campground with all its smoke and noise.
#62
I strap mine to move weight forward
I use two short Voile straps to secure my cable lock around top tube and head tube to avoid adding even more weight to my rear-heavy touring rig. If I used a front rack then I would put it there.
I'll have to find a lighter lock then. What I have is pretty heavy duty. But yea, I only need it to stop an opportunistic thief. Even my Kryptonite NYC Fuhgeddaboudit was broken. I had bike parking inside in my office, but they didn't want locks left on the rack so I'd leave the lock outside locked to a public rack. I did it for years. One day I ride up to get my my lock and it was gone. It just showed me how any lock can be broken. My guess is that someone decided to clean up all the dead locks because mine wasn't the only one on the block. Some of them looked like they hadn't been touched in years. Anyway, I bought a new somewhat lighter one since I had to carry it with me now, but it is still heavier than I want to carry 500 miles.
#63
Used my combination cable lock twice during last week’s 5-day trip. Once when I shopped at a large grocery store. Brought the bike inside the vestibule and put the lock around the frame and front wheel. The second time I locked the bike to a rack at a restaurant.
#64
Senior Member
Experiences like yours are clearly unfortunate. Rare, but they do happen. Thanks for reminding us that we need to be careful, even in a case like yours where you left your bike after sunset and it was already gone before sunrise.
***
My community used to license bicycles, I licensed all of mine to get the sticker on the bike that the police could use to find the owner if found later.
My community stopped licensing bikes, they instead recommended using Bike Index or a similar service. I listed all my bikes on Bike Index. I also bought the Bike Index stickers and put on my bikes. I bought the generic stickers (no QR code), but it appears such stickers are no longer available on their website.
https://bikeindex.org
These stickers and registrations are no guarantee, but they can help. Several decades ago my dad's bike was stolen, months later the police called and said come and pick up your bike. It was in terrible shape, but a local bike shop straightened the bent frame and fork, I got it working again with some use parts.
Someone on this forum (I do not recall whom) had his custom Co-Motion bike with Rohloff stolen out of his garage. Many months later, a bike shop called him, someone brought a bike in for repair and it sounded like it might be the one he informed local bike shops about. It was his. All serial numbers were ground off, but it was his.
***
My community used to license bicycles, I licensed all of mine to get the sticker on the bike that the police could use to find the owner if found later.
My community stopped licensing bikes, they instead recommended using Bike Index or a similar service. I listed all my bikes on Bike Index. I also bought the Bike Index stickers and put on my bikes. I bought the generic stickers (no QR code), but it appears such stickers are no longer available on their website.
https://bikeindex.org
These stickers and registrations are no guarantee, but they can help. Several decades ago my dad's bike was stolen, months later the police called and said come and pick up your bike. It was in terrible shape, but a local bike shop straightened the bent frame and fork, I got it working again with some use parts.
Someone on this forum (I do not recall whom) had his custom Co-Motion bike with Rohloff stolen out of his garage. Many months later, a bike shop called him, someone brought a bike in for repair and it sounded like it might be the one he informed local bike shops about. It was his. All serial numbers were ground off, but it was his.
The beach one nearest me (San Elijo) is $15 apiece. Since they can jam eight people in that site, I don't think $120 has them losing money on the deal. And it's a terrible HB site anyway.
They have two campgrounds at 4000' and 5000' inland in Cuyamaca Rancho State Park, and they still have the deal where you can use the huge day use areas for HB for $5 overnight--multiple nights OK, or the camps are only five miles apart. You just have to break down your sleeping arrangements when the picnickers are there. Lots of oak and pine, deer, turkeys, hiking, and you're away from the main campground with all its smoke and noise.
They have two campgrounds at 4000' and 5000' inland in Cuyamaca Rancho State Park, and they still have the deal where you can use the huge day use areas for HB for $5 overnight--multiple nights OK, or the camps are only five miles apart. You just have to break down your sleeping arrangements when the picnickers are there. Lots of oak and pine, deer, turkeys, hiking, and you're away from the main campground with all its smoke and noise.
The site under construction can be viewed with Google Street View. Good locks/alarms are recommended. Here's an image from a few years ago; the small tree in the tent area has now been cut down to a small nub less than a meter tall. https://kartaview.org/map/@33.018960...0532805098,21z
Last edited by stevepusser; 05-10-24 at 11:57 PM.