“How to avoid buying your bike again every 6-12 months and tips for how to apply the same reasoning to other things, like computers”
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Has he considered the possibility of Percy, Nigel and Rupert working together? The first two loosening things up for the third one to simply walk away with the bike?
In any case if a cycle thief really wants your bike they are going to get it. No one on the street is going to challenge them, and if the value is high enough they’ll break into storage units, sheds, office buildings, houses, blocks of flats, whatever.
If your route is predictable, isolated enough and you’ve been spotted, they’ll just push you off your bike and nick it mid journey.
The only real deterrent I have is that my bike is so crap that the resale value isn’t worth the effort of cutting through the three D-locks or specifically hunting me down. If for any reason that maths changes, there’s not much else I can do.
they’ll just push you off your bike and nick it mid journey.
I kid you not, there’s a guy who does this on a regular basis off a popular trail I frequent.
So much so that I met a random cyclist 40 km from my area, who mentioned that this guy tried to do the same to a friend of his.
I know two people personally who’ve been nearly thrown off of their bike or e-scooter by the same guy.
He’s attempted to do the same to me three times, with the last requiring that he get up from a laying down position and RUN at me full force.
There’s absolutely nothing that our justice system can/will do to get this asshole off the streets.
Nasty stuff. There was an incident that made the UK national news when a professional cyclist was hunted down by thieves on motorbikes.
Beyond submitting camera footage or calling law enforcement when an incident has occurred, I do not know how you would go about stopping the guy you’re describing.
There was an incident that made the UK national news when a professional cyclist was hunted down by thieves on motorbikes.
Terrifying. I wouldn’t have a minimum for jail time for animals.
Beyond submitting camera footage or calling law enforcement when an incident has occurred, I do not know how you would go about stopping the guy you’re describing.
For starters, the legal system could allow me (and other Canadians) the option to carry defensive weapons, and not punish us for using them in self-defence. I would have no hesitation using bear spray or an extendable baton if I had to, especially on this POS.
I’m a pacifist and would never want to see violence being used as an option. However, if the police are unwilling to help and the courts don’t want to lock people up, I fully support the use of non-lethal force for self-defence and the protection of property. If we simply allow these criminals to do what they want, that’s what they’ll do.
My defence against power tools is rudimentary and hardly perfect - carry the bicycle inside and wheel it with me.
As a rule I try and keep bike parking to 10 mins or less, making sure it is somewhere well lit or a camera nearby covers it. The one time my bike was parked for longer than that, someone tried to steal it, and ended up making off with my bike computer, front light, and ride camera. Law enforcement were as useless as you’d expect, even after I’d done the work for them and tracked down where the camera had been sold on (even calling the pawn shop to confirm some details). The bike computer is useless secondhand, as it requires discontinued proprietary software and a unique license key to pull the ride data from it.
Since then I’ve made sure all accessories on my bike are quick release to follow me wherever, and anything that isn’t requires larger tools to remove. For visits into the city, I leave my bike at their free staffed bike park, and use the free bus and my legs to get around.
Edit:clarification
Capital punishment for bike thieves is another option.
Kidding aside, there is nothing you can do to stop a determined thief.
People have had their LOCKED bikes kept in a BIKE STORAGE LOCKER inside their APARTMENT BUILDING stolen in the middle of the night. Others have their bikes stolen while onlookers record the crime on their phones in broad daylight.
The more layers you add to preventing bike theft, the more barriers you put up to cycling.
Myself? I only consider locking up my older MTB, despite it being worth a lot more to me than the $150 I paid for it (count the racks, upgrades, fenders, and tires, and it’s no longer a “cheap” bike in any case).
My expensive folding bike never leaves my sight. I’ll even bring it inside wheelchair accessible porta potties, if needed.
My MTB will have one or two locks on it, depending on the stop, and it has a motion alarm, too. I’m never inside a store long enough for someone to have enough time to defeat three layers of security. But… I have a QR seat that’s not secure, my tool saddle bag is always on the bike, and I have various mounts that could be unscrewed and stolen.
Any more effort to prevent theft would make repairing and general use of my bike considerably less convenient, and would force me to take even more weight (in locks) with me if I wanted to secure even more parts.
They used to hang horse thieves, so, yeah. Same same.