Bike thefts in Dublin

poskantor

Is it just my luck or is there a hugh problem with bike thefts in Dublin? I've just had my 4th bike stolen in the last 3 years, with a combined value of about €2000. I always use a sturdy lock and try to park it somewhere 'safe' - the last one was robbed from outside the american embassey in ballsbridge and the one before that from the car park of my apartment block! It seems that nowhere is safe.

Its a sad state of affairs but now I'm just going to have to go and buy a piece of crap because it seems that if you have a decent bike in dublin its just a matter of time before its robbed.

What locks did you use? Sorry to hear about your thefts.

ednwireland

think your right, if you look at the number of stolen bike threads in here.

if i was commuting in dublin i would be looking for a rat bike

thankfully i dont live in dublin

WanderlustQueen

I had a bike stolen from outside Cineworld on Parnell Street in Dublin- apparently the knackers use car-jacks to pop open the u-locks.

So (after borrowing money off my parents) I bought a double lock for e60, its an un-poppable u-lock and one of those cable locks, I've had it 9 months and the only problems I've had so far is that my basket and light got robbed! So I would suggest buying a super expensive small kryptonite lock, if its small they can't fit the car-jacks inside. and don't forget to lock the wheels! it's worth the money!

poskantor

I used armored cable locks but they just come along with bolt cutters or something, and off they go. These guys aren't all bad though, they do tend to leave you the lock!

happy_acid_face

This sounds to me like some people are going extremely out there way to rob bikes. Are they being robbed for the sake of it or are they being robbed to be sold? Please describe everything you can about the bike and I'll keep an eye out for it too. Two heads are better than one I suppose.

horizon26

Reading this is upsetting,all thieves are scum bags.We could all do with a little extra cash does not mean we resort to stealing bikes.

poskantor

Cheers happy acid, it is/was a black specialized rockhopper mtb.

ED E

I lock my bike with one cheap lock outside cineworld all the time. Whats my trick? GET A SH1T BIKE.

Anything other than that is just thick.

poskantor

Yep, thick indeed. I guess we should all start dressing like homeless people too to deter pickpockets.

Gavin

OR

Lock your bike properly. As above, a small ulock which leaves no room for leverage attacks. Then:
Use in conjunction with a heavy chain in dangerous areas/long stays.
OR
Use in conjunction with a light cable for short stops, safe areas.

Also, perhaps avoid being lazy. Lock your bike in a safer area and walk to your destination.

Dr_Colossus

Dublin and the scum that go around thieving bikes and vandalising parts are destroying an otherwise pleasant place. I've had three bikes stolen in two years, all of which were mediocre mtbs and not worth much but you do become attached to your bike and have it set up just right and then some low life takes it from you. The guards seriously need to have more undercover detectives reprimanding these scum like that incident on Clarendon Street a while back, the only problem is that the laws are too lax and the scum are on the streets again within hours.
In Dublin you just have to have the worst possible piece of crap of a bike that can get you from A to B as anything decent just gets robbed. Still there's no fun in that and one should be able to spend some of your hard earned money for an enjoyable ride.

Funsterdelux

I had my bike stolen from right outside my appartment door when I lived in Dublin, so it had to be someone who had access to the apt building.
It was properly locked too. Good job it was a cheapy, second hand bike. If it happened me now, I'd be grieving for months

happy_acid_face

Gavin wrote: »

OR

Lock your bike properly. As above, a small ulock which leaves no room for leverage attacks. Then:
Use in conjunction with a heavy chain in dangerous areas/long stays.
OR
Use in conjunction with a light cable for short stops, safe areas.

Also, perhaps avoid being lazy. Lock your bike in a safer area and walk to your destination.

Don't mean to be smart Mr. Mod, but he stated in his first post that he did use a sturdy lock and in safe destinations in my opinion...

- black specialized rockhopper mtb

No problem, I'll keep an eye out

AMontague

Dublin City Council have just opened the first "Bike Park" in Dublin. They own Drury Street Car Park, and they have converted the ground floor into a bike park with space for 200 bikes. Although the bikes aren't guaranteed, there is CCTV and the security guard in the kiosk beside the bikes. The service is free.

If it proves successful, we hope to open another one on the northside of the city.

We're hoping to get some publicity on this soon so that the message gets out there.

Gavin

happy_acid_face wrote: »

Don't mean to be smart Mr. Mod, but he stated in his first post that he did use a sturdy lock and in safe destinations in my opinion...

I used armored cable locks

Sorry, cable locks are useless. Thieves carry bolt cutters with two pieces of pipe. Put the pipe over the cutter handles and with the extra leverage they will get through any cable lock.

>13mm boron alloy chain and small ulock.

http://wiki.boards.ie/wiki/Locks_%26_Security

Yes, a thief can get through these with power tools, but not a casual thief. The Drury St bike lockup is a great idea

Doctor Bob

AMontague wrote: »

Dublin City Council have just opened the first "Bike Park" in Dublin. They own Drury Street Car Park, and they have converted the ground floor into a bike park with space for 200 bikes. Although the bikes aren't guaranteed, there is CCTV and the security guard in the kiosk beside the bikes. The service is free.

If it proves successful, we hope to open another one on the northside of the city.

We're hoping to get some publicity on this soon so that the message gets out there.

I used it tonight!

Sadly, I was one of only three- definitely need to spread the word a bit. Good facility, though- I especially liked the dedicated lanes into and out of the car park.:) Onwards and upwards!

*** ***

Re the OP- in almost 20 years of regular city and suburban riding, I've only ever had one bike nicked, and that was from my parents' garage while I was out of the country. (Sorry- don't mean to rub it in. Just pointing out that it's not all bad news in the city.)

monument

ednwireland wrote: »

think your right, if you look at the number of stolen bike threads in here.

I don't like to bring it up because people have lost their bike and I know how that feels, but many stolen bikes are down to being badly locked or locked with a bad lock.

Canis Lupus

Only bikes I've lost are A: Not locked up outside back of my house (silly) and B: one locked with a cable lock.

C: Happened recently where the cable lock was cut through but they hadn't noticed the d lock (kryptonite ftw) which saved my bike. I only really understood the importance of d locks after watching the security footage of the scummer casually cutting through the "armored cable lock" of B faster than it took me to lock it up in the first place and this was in broad daylight on a busy street outside my gym.


Cable locks are ****ing rubbish. I saw outside my gym the other day a nice Bianchi tied up with a cable lock so thin you could have broken it by bending it enough times. I cringed and almost hung about in the hopes of telling the owner he wouldn't have the bike long if he/she locked it up like that. (oddly enough I haven't seen the bike since.....)


EDIT: Like Monument said I also reckon most of the bikes nicked are likely to have been locked up poorly. I don't necessarily blame people for that. Lock research/knowledge just isn't something people usually think about until their first bike is nicked.

tomasrojo

Gavin wrote: »

OR

Also, perhaps avoid being lazy. Lock your bike in a safer area and walk to your destination.

Locking directly outside the cinema is a bad idea. It says: I'm going to be gone for about two hours.

Charley Horse

My bike got stolen from Camden St on Wednesday night, so annoyed, i've been parking it there for months and then some scumbag steals it, its old and rusty and not worth anything so can't fathom why they'd want it. But now i'm without my only mode of transport and can't afford to buy a new one.

Is there any point in reporting it to the Guards?

Lumen

Charley Horse wrote: »

Is there any point in reporting it to the Guards?

You won't get your bike back, but IMO non-reporting of crime=surrender.

Charley Horse

Yeah i guess, and if it highlights to the police that that area isn't safe at least i'm doing something!

Doctor Bob

Lumen wrote: »

You won't get your bike back, but IMO non-reporting of crime=surrender.

Not just surrender- unreported thefts don't count towards end-of-year Garda stats. If all thefts were reported, the issue might be taken a bit more seriously.

VERYinterested

Yes, I agree report the theft, you never know they may bust a premises with a lot of bikes and yours might be present.

Recently I caught a little fecker messing at the gear changers on my bike, what is the fascination with gear changers? I had just got off the Luas in Balally and I park the bike down on the platform, at least with the cctv it gives small peace of mind. I was waiting for the Luas I got off to pull away and I could see him messing at the bike. When I got over, I asked him what the hell he was doing. Apparently I had imagined the whole thing and he feigned innocence. The bell had been reefed off the bike too. He was with another fella and a couple of girls. They all thought it was great gas.

I went to report the damage to a security guard in the complex, he didn't want to know as he 'doesn't work for Luas' I told him that criminal damage was caused in the complex and it was his problem. I asked if I punched the young fella would he object, of course he would. So I told him where to keep his double standards. I went back to leave the station and got the two fingered salute from these scumbags as they boarded a Luas to town.

I went home seething and then thought that the next day my bike would have lumps kicked out of it for daring to confront so I rang the Guards in Dundrum and was promised a call back the next day. At noon the next day and with no sign of a call back I rang the school that I reckoned these kids were from. I gave a description to the Vice Principal and he said he'd see what he could do. About 4pm that afternoon a First Year head rang me to say that they had identified the culprits and the lad who vandalised the bike was to be given detention and his parents would be told. I was told he was very remorseful (unlike the day before), I told her I just wanted an assurance that I could leave my bike without interference, she assured me there'd be no repeat from this group of kids at least.

Then surprise surprise the Guards rang me the next morning and I told him how I got on with the school. He asked me if I knew the lads name that caused the damage, I didn't know, so he was going to ring the school to find out and file a report about it. I was genuinely surprised at the level of response by both parties, so the moral of the story is that it is well worth reporting damage or a theft.