Bicycle theft at Dart stations

bullpost

Hi,
I park my bike at Glenageary Dart station. I noticed this morning when locking my bike that someone has recently tried to cut through the lock , with what looks like a hacksaw. Just wondering how safe bikes are around Dart stations and if anyone else has had their bike interfered with or stolen while parked.

PS: I've only been using a bike for the last 6 months so apologies if you think this is a naive question!

shadowmanman

Bikes arnt safe anywhere around Dublin, if you take a walk on Morre street at nearly anytime youll see kids/teens with stolen bikes trying to sell them for €20, best advice I can give is get multiple locks and dont get the horse shoe ones

bullpost

I use a cable lock at the moment.
Its not an expensive one so I might look at getting a better one - What's wrong with the horseshoe type locks - They look solid enough?

penexpers

I have an 80-something euro Trelock horse show lock and it's as solid as anything. The best lock on the market is reckoned to be the Kryptonite New York Fahgettaboudit lock. Cable locks are a waste of time, I spent 45 euro on one and then broke the key on it. I used a bolt cutters to break it - took me all of five seconds to get through it.

silverharp

I saw dublin corp removing damaged bikes from Stephens Green, no more then 20 seconds per lock, seems like you need a crappy bike for town as it seems too easy to break the locks

Cabaal

bullpost wrote:

I use a cable lock at the moment.
Its not an expensive one so I might look at getting a better one - What's wrong with the horseshoe type locks - They look solid enough?

car jacks can break them afaik, unless you get the really small one's then nobody can fit anything between the lock when its locked to the frame

rubadub

Since you go to the station every day just get a good lock and leave it there, you can get a good big heavy motorbike lock for about €30 on www.chainreactioncycles.com

I have read a guy who wanted to remove links from one of them, said 30mins with an angle grinder only did cosmetic damage. In this case the thing you lock to can be the "weakest link", i.e. they might cut through the gate or pole. Best lock to a street lamp.

If I go to town I cycle into the numerous carparks for shops like arnotts or stephens green. I reckon the thieves are less likely to go there, thinking there would be no bikes. they would usually be policed by security for the shops too. sheltered from the rain too.

cast_iron

It's not just the bikes they steal. I've had my mudguard stolen twice in the last few weeks.
A mudguards ffs!!!

gzoladz

I bought a €50 second hand bike in a shop about two years ago and a €72 lock.
The bike doesn't look nice at all and I always park near other bikes, as there always are nicer with weaker locks.

For serious cyclying I own a really good bike that I never ever park on the street, but take always with me.

cunnins4

:mad: GODDAMMIT! Some little sh1t stole the saddle clamp off my bike on o'connell st. Always meant to change it from quick release to a bolt, but never got round to it. Had to cycle home with the saddle twisting between my legs.

Pr1cks.:mad:

ferdi

my bike looks like a bomb hit it so i dont have to worry about scum robbing it:D

rubadub

cast_iron wrote:

It's not just the bikes they steal. I've had my mudguard stolen twice in the last few weeks.
A mudguards ffs!!!

And they didnt even fit my bike! neither pair!

rubadub

cunnins4 wrote:

:mad: GODDAMMIT! Some little sh1t stole the saddle clamp off my bike on o'connell st. Always meant to change it from quick release to a bolt, but never got round to it. Had to cycle home with the saddle twisting between my legs.

Pr1cks.:mad:

Worst thing is it is probably in the liffey.

I keep meaning to paint my bike to look crap, the saddle is fancy too, must but insulation tape to make it look all torn up. I was thinking of getting security type screws for components.

chicoben

was talkin to a security guard in dcu when i was unlockin my bike, he started talkin to me cause i carry my saddle around, he asked why and i said i didnt want it nicked or to get wet, and he said he caught a load of little scummers walkin out of dcu with a load of bike parts like guards and saddles and **** and they were just gonna throw them in the bin....is there some sort of mental imbalance or something wrong with these people?

rubadub

chicoben wrote:

is there some sort of mental imbalance or something wrong with these people?

Yes the medical term is arseholeism, I never got the attraction of non-revenge vandalism, why commit a crime that you could be done for if you have nothing at all to gain from it, except for reaffirming that they are a useless prick.
If some kunt robbed my bike, sold it for €50 and bought his kid a christmas present, at least 2 people are happy, the kid and the guy who got the bargain. What is the point of going to the effort of removing parts just to be a bastard.

cunnins4

rubadub wrote:

If some kunt robbed my bike, sold it for €50 and bought his kid a christmas present, at least 2 people are happy, the kid and the guy who got the bargain. What is the point of going to the effort of removing parts just to be a bastard.

I totally see your point. Why oh why the senseless vandalism, with no gain but a 10 second thrill in case i come along and catch you. If i had've caught them at it they'd get some beating.

I had my pride and joy stolen on me about 3 years ago and i was gutted. Then about a year later i was going through rathmines and there it was, chained to a pole. I got off the bus to make sure, and sure enough it was. I was 110% certain it was it. It was ABSOLUTELY WRECKED. Everything on it had gone from immaculately maintained to rusted, warped, bent, scratched and so on. I was so pissed off. All sorts of thoughts went through my head. I was going to wait for the new owner to come along, but then i figured they'd probably bought it out of the buy and sell, so beating them up would make it a double crime. Then i was going to kick the wheels in, in kind of an "if i can't have it, no one can" way. But i eventually just left it. I see it there regularly when passing on the bus. It seems that who ever has it certainly gets use out of it so i guess that's something to take from it. Not much, but something.

Trojan

Warning to anyone near Killester dart station.... your wheels will be kicked in if you leave your bike outside on the bridge, guaranteed.

I don't know what motivates the vandals, or where they're from (it's a decent area) but I do know that it will definitely happen.

Theft can be prevented to some degree - vandalism is my #1 worry.

jman0

imo bikes get vandalised a lot more often than cars do.
Why do you think that is?
Cars obstruct people more than bikes plus it can be easier to produce more visually dramatic results (smash windscreen, kick-in grill, break headlamps).
So why is it that bikes get targetted?

Maybe it's just a simple matter that bikes are generally chained-up in the same vicinity as pedestrians, so is an easier, more immediate target.
Maybe there is also a risk of getting caught vandalising cars?
The gardia would more likely stop someone doing damage to a car but would probably be less likely to stop them kicking in a bike.

markpb

jman0 wrote:

The gardia would more likely stop someone doing damage to a car but would probably be less likely to stop them kicking in a bike.

I think you're close.... people, not gardai, are more likely to stop someone smashing a car. Kicking the wheels on a bike is fine, no-one will bother about that

There's a video on you tube of a guy showing how easy it is to steal a bike in NY and no-one stops him. The only person to talk to him suggests a better way of doing it!

Victor

One reason for stealing parts is to render it immobilised, so they can steal it later.

Sniipe

Kryptonite locks - espically the New York city lock is one of the best u can buy it is a U lock and has rolling bars inside the outer bar, so that when u do go at it with a hacksaw the saw will not be able to saw thru the whole lot. I thinks its strong enough to be impervious to a lug hammer and also a car jack. But if I was using my bike in town I'd have it and a cable lock.

KRYPTONITE LOCK - NEW YORK.

They will sell them in Kearney Cycles in Galway, don't know about dublin tho. I have 3 bikes, 1 mountain, 1 road and 1 for town (hybrid), and the town one is a piece of ****, but gets me from A to B.

pokypoky

bullpost wrote:

Hi,
I park my bike at Glenageary Dart station. I noticed this morning when locking my bike that someone has recently tried to cut through the lock , with what looks like a hacksaw. Just wondering how safe bikes are around Dart stations and if anyone else has had their bike interfered with or stolen while parked.

PS: I've only been using a bike for the last 6 months so apologies if you think this is a naive question!

hey man,

I've actually had my bike robbed from outside that very station, but I'm very unlucky when it comes to bike robbery. Once i was stopping off in my gaf for a few minutes to take a pee, I left my bike outside the front door with the door open. I returned to see some scumface cycling off down the road with it and although I chased with all my might it was gone.

Coming from my bitter and unhappy experience I'd say ur bike will be robbed and pillaged within a fortnight. Whatever you do don't leave anything removeable on it when ur locking it and it advise having the clip on part of ur clip on saddle removed post haste.

daymobrew

Sniipe wrote:

KRYPTONITE LOCK - NEW YORK.

I found two on wiggle.co.uk - the Kryptonite New York Fahgettaboutit Chain for 130 euro and the Kryptonite New York 3000 lock for 78 euro. It has "Hardened steel sleeve over crossbar provides double security protection."

Mucco

I used to think my expensive lock would prevent theft, then I saw this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VC3hFr8p2ck&mode=related&search=

Mind you, I suppose it's relative. If your lock is the best of those in the area, your bike is unlikely to be nicked (unless it's a super-duper Ti Airborne or something)

frost

i rode in dublin for years, kept bike overnight just inside trinity gates at pearse station (was taking the train in). lost 2 bikes - one had the U lock broken. no vandalism that i can recall. the one which lasted the course was a brush-painted beat up generic mountain bike with no decent components and no quick releases. it got me from A to B and i didn't ever worry about it.

worse that happened to it was crossbar dented in after unsuccessful attempt at prying off the U lock.

i'd say go for a cheap uninteresting bike, make it look even worse with tape, paint, etc.

btw i once had to take a hacksaw to my own bike because some jerk had set the built-in wheel lock (you know, the ones they used to include near the rear brake pads that passed through the spokes). this was during morning rush hour; i'd say about 200 people walked past me while i cut my bike free and not a single one asked me what the hell i was doing cutting a bike lock!

rubadub

Mucco wrote:

I used to think my expensive lock would prevent theft, then I saw this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VC3hFr8p2ck&mode=related&search=

That is worrying, though I have never seen a chain cutter that big before. With enough leverage any of those would be cut in seconds, just weld on bigger arms or have one that clips on.