I built my first (and so far only) ebike in 2013. Thing was a death trap (did not upgrade the brakes 🤦♂️) but I loved it, and it was crazy fun to ride.
Lived too far to e-bike to work but would bring it with me to do around-town errands on breaks at work. Every time I had to park it outside to run into a store, I felt exactly like the meme. The battery alone was $700 sitting out in the open.
In my experience, batteries aren’t really targets. The folks in Seattle just want the tubing that they can fence it for cash.
There’s a brand of ulock that is grinder resistant. Takes like 3 discs to finally get through.
You can get hardened steel chains at hardware stores, ones where the links are 1cm thick. My ex bought one and said it took forever to cut a length off. Got a hardened steel lock to go with it. The thing has notches about 1mm deep from where someone tried to use bolt cutters on it. Grinder would eventually get through it, but it’ll make a lot of noise doing so. And some of the kids that use the bike stands here don’t even bother locking their bikes and yet they are still there (oddly enough in the same town that lock got its notches), so I think the security of having much easier targets will keep my bike safe.
And then they steal everything but the locked down tire
So you lock the frame, not the wheel?
Boom, stole the wheels and not the frame
Cheaper wheels, expensive af frame
You still got stolen thought
Lock the frame.
You come back and they stole the two wheels and left the frame
You know you can do both.
I think you’re trying to be funny but you’re just being dumb.
From my point of view, the jedi–ah nm.
Part of it a joke, part of it what actually happened to me when I was in high school, I was pissed over it Nowadays I just laugh at it cuz for some unholy reason, I never thought of locking both at the same time
Bought my bike used from a flea market and gave it a year to be stolen given that im living in a city. It’s not really junk, it’s a low end single speed but still…
Thing is, it got never stolen and am still commuting with it, 4years and counting. I’ve got so attached to it i wouldn’t know how to live without it any more. I even got a little tracker thing (in one of the three possible places you can put one on a bike…)
Ahaha, right? We buy these beater bikes so we won’t be sad when they get borrowed permamently but then they do so well for us that we gotta protect 'em.
I’ve wondered about the tracker thing but I figure one of the local open air chop shops would take that out pretty quick. (Best hope is the bike is so shitty they wouldn’t think anyone would bother with one…)
Back in college, I parked mine closeish to downtown and campus. I was running late and going to miss the bus for an away lacrosse game. Normally I’d walk or skate but I knew I was going to miss the bus if I did, so I booked it on the bike, barely making it on time. I parked it in the closest bike rack with a U Lock and when I came back into town 3 days later someone kicked the shit out of it. The wheels were destroyed, but the frame was salvageable. It was either a thief that was angry they couldn’t get past the lock, or just some drunk idiot who thought it’d be funny to kick a bike. People suck… I had to spend a hundred bucks or so that I didn’t have on new wheels.
I just wanna link The Decemberists’ “Apology Song” because it’s a very endearing song about how the lead singer borrowed his friend’s bike and it got stolen and he’s really really sorry:( 😄
I literally came in to post this. Awesome track. Poor Madelyn.
SUCH a good song
Ooooh, thanks for the recommendation!
Do people still steal bikes? Used bikes are so cheap around here no one even tries to sell them, especially kid’s bikes. I’ve picked up 6 little ones and 2 adult sized. I often see unlocked bikes. Not super nice ones obviously.
For example, I can get a pretty nice bike at the thrift for $10-$20.
Used bikes are cheap where I live because junkies keep stealing and selling them
My old bike was a POS. Dented rims, scuffed frame, Frankenstein’s bicycle hodgepodge of parts. Even the tires, though they were really nice, were definitely at the end of their life. Long story short, I thought nobody could want this bike but me. The bike was a hunk, but it used to be my dad’s, I practically grew up on that bike, I learned to turn a wrench on it.
Still got stolen.
Funny enough I did replace it with a $20 thrift store bike.
They certainly do.
Of course people will steal anything that isn’t nailed down (and even then, someone might nick the nails to sell the metal), the value is irrelevant.
Must depend on the place. Biking isn’t a big thing here. About the only bikers are people who can’t afford a car. This is a pretty poor town, but again, bikes are so cheap no one cares. Both my wife and a neighbor have bikes in the front yard as decorations.
“GCN” video from a couple months ago showing their bait bike being stolen^. They cut through a UL lock in 36 seconds but unfortunately didn’t test one of the few-hundred-dollar angle-grinder-resistant locks.
That’s wild. Do you live in a city or more a town?
In my city, the bike thefts are wild. So far I’ve had two stolen and my my current bike kicked to absolute shit when they couldn’t break the lock.
Edge of town in a poor(ish), redneck, American suburb. Like I said, people don’t usually bike unless they have to, just no demand I guess.
I should note, not talking about the nice sorts of bikes like you probably have. Anyone with a truly nice bike is parking it in their garage. But I can’t imagine someone trying to break a lock for anything short of an e-bike.
If you need a pair of wheels that goes? They’re everywhere. Bet I could find one on the curb (as trash) right now, nothing wrong but a busted tube, if that. We’ve hauled home loads of kid’s bikes, had people come out and ask us to take them when we stop and look.
My wife and I are continually astonished at the things people toss, even in this lower-middleclass hood. I could show you our house and all the things we found/repurposed/recycled, for an hour straight without repeating myself.
That’s wild to me. I guess if there’s no one biking, there’s no resale market so no incentive to steal them. In my city, plenty of cyclists so wild theft problem. My bike is an absolute beater of cobbled together ridiculousness. I love her but she looks like trash.
Love the repurposing stuff! My coffee table is one my partner at the time found in our alley and I love it.
It blew my mind to learn how valuable some city bikes are. Worth much more than my car.
Nice solid non-cable bike lock. Preferably a large hardened steel u-bolt lock.
I’ve been a big fan of Kryptonites New York Lock as well as their Kryptolok. Both have really nice mounts to attach the lock to the bike when not in use and the kryptolok comes with a robust cable that makes locking up the wheels easier. (do not use the cable to secure the main bike)
Using them correctly is important as well. Lots of people lock one of the wheels and not the frame. You’ve got to lock the frame itself to a solid object that it can’t be slid off of and optionally lock the wheels to the frame using a cable or chain.
I use three locks; a beefy bike chain through the back tire and frame to the rack, a cable lock joining the front tire to the mix, and a wheel lock on the back tire.
Plus, my bike looks kinda lame so that helps too.
My kryptonite stood up to some would be thieves! They then kicked the shit out of the bike, stole the bracket that holds the headlight as well as the kryptonite lock holder. It was almost impressively petty and made me laugh until I paid more to fix her than it cost to buy her.
Ahahaha that’s great
After having my bike stolen while locked on the side of a Walmart, I am more protective of the new one. I’m a bit more aware of where I lock it, but I also bought a decent U-lock instead of just a cable.
But I also stopped using my own bike if it isn’t an absolute necessity. Sometimes I need the bike for the panniers or the trailer, so I take a risk. But if possible, I’ll use a bike sharing system when I go to some sketchy places.
I even got a bike stolen in the garage of my apartment complex, so now it lives with me, in my studio.
Yep I’ve learned that no locks are thief-proof and keep my bike with me everywhere always. It’s super inconvenient but that’s the only way to guarantee theft prevention.
