Grrrr.. bike stolen in Dublin city centre tonight (photo inside) - Good News !!

Mec-a-nic

Damn it. It's been over 10 years since I had a bike stolen, now someone has lifted my locked, commuting bike from the LUAS stop outside Jervis shopping centre within 20 minutes of me leaving it. :mad:

I'm hoping they will dump some/all of it as it's not your usual hybrid, it has double kickstand, hub gears and dynamo, full mudguards and lights, a fixed dutch lock on the back wheel (no fun to get off), red Ortlieb pannier and a big aluminium spike on the stem (for babyseat).

In the unlikely event of anyone spotting any of this, please let me know. No CCTV pics (yet...) but I did have a good one of the bike:-


Oh, the (covered up) model is a Specialized Globe City 6 with serial number ending in **630 (reported to Gardaí)

p15574

Sorry to hear that. In the hope of possibly helping others avoid the same fate, how was it locked - what type of lock, what part of the bike, to what?

Mec-a-nic

Thanks p15574.

The bike had two high quality, Trelock locks, a Frame Lock and folding Bar Lock.

Neither were left behind at the scene so I don't think they were broken, I guess the lock location wasn't immovable enough. (Not admitting fault here, that's still with the f**kin' thieves :mad: ).

I guess the celtic tiger really IS dead, bicycles are being targeted again after years of being ignored for mopeds/motorbikes/cars... </sarcasm>

michael196

it realy is about time that the best paid police force in western europe set up a specific watch on locked up bikes and started catching some of these guys, or do we have to wait for enda's wheels to go missing.....


maybe the gardai dont know whats going on , on the streets.......


I had my first ever racer stolen in dublin in the early nineties....i noticed a guy looking at me locking it up and moving towards the bike as soon as i left it.

kumate_champ07

if bike crime goes down then another crime will go up, junkies still have to get their fix

its a non violent crime, if it went down maybe muggings would go up.
perhaps thats how the police view it

(its not just junkies tho)

tomasrojo

Mec-a-nic wrote: »

Thanks p15574.

The bike had two high quality, Trelock locks, a Frame Lock and folding Bar Lock.

Without wishing to appear critical (I certainly don't), neither of those are high-quality locks. The frame lock is only to stop people swooping and cycling off with your bike when you leave it outside a shop for a minute, or to stop them stealing your rear wheel.

The folding lock is a lovely design, but it's not very strong (rated 4 out of 6, where 6 is maximum security).

You really need a top-rated U-lock to secure your bike, in my opinion. Or two mid-rated U-locks.

EDIT:
You had the FS455, which has a rating of 4. Bikeradar reviewed the FS300, which has a rating of 3.

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/accessories/locks/product/fs-300-10-39830

Levering two links against each other puts massive stress on the rivet until it eventually pops, and that’s what happened to the FS 300 within 45 seconds.

I don't know whether the 4 rating means that this weakness is not a factor, but a good U-lock (Abus Granite or Kryptonite Fahgettaboudit) is a lot stronger.

Lumen

Yes, those locks are useless against a professional thief (as evidenced by the theft).

The ratings systems for locks (Sold Secure etc) are designed to satisfy the needs of product marketing rather than security.

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/lock-strategy.html

Mec-a-nic

tomasrojo wrote: »

You really need a top-rated U-lock to secure your bike, in my opinion. Or two mid-rated U-locks.

No lock is completely secure, but these were not micky-mouse locks that can be easily broken/cut.
They have flat keys so avoiding the Bic Pick, and don't pop when the thief uses the flame as a lever to twist the lock.

(My brother had this brand on his bike which saved it after someone tried to pop it open by twisting the lot. The U lock ended up as a pretzel but never broke, keys still worked but it took us 30mins with a disc grinder to cut the remains off the frame.)

Apart from losing this bike I'm annoyed that it doesn't appear possible to buy a replacement:- i.e. a bike with internal gears/chainguard, proper mudguards, fitted lights, carrier and simple v-brakes. I don't need a Rohloff, nor hydraulic brakes, just a low-maintenance bike for getting around town in normal clothes. Looks like a trip to the UK or even the Netherlands to get another..

kona

Mec-a-nic wrote: »

No lock is completely secure, but these were not micky-mouse locks that can be easily broken/cut.
They have flat keys so avoiding the Bic Pick, and don't pop when the thief uses the flame as a lever to twist the lock.

(My brother had this brand on his bike which saved it after someone tried to pop it open by twisting the lot. The U lock ended up as a pretzel but never broke, keys still worked but it took us 30mins with a disc grinder to cut the remains off the frame.)

Apart from losing this bike I'm annoyed that it doesn't appear possible to buy a replacement:- i.e. a bike with internal gears/chainguard, proper mudguards, fitted lights, carrier and simple v-brakes. I don't need a Rohloff, nor hydraulic brakes, just a low-maintenance bike for getting around town in normal clothes. Looks like a trip to the UK or even the Netherlands to get another..

carrera subway 8?

petethedrummer

Mec-a-nic wrote: »

Bic Pick

That issue was solved years ago.

tomasrojo

Mec-a-nic wrote: »

No lock is completely secure, but these were not micky-mouse locks that can be easily broken/cut.

I hope that this is taken in the right spirit, but I think a frame lock almost by definition is a Mickey-Mouse lock. They are easy to defeat. So that leaves you with one good lock (I'm assuming for the sake of the argument that the folding lock is as good as a u-lock). Even if the frame lock were made of something like adamant from Greek mythology, a thief can carry away your bike once the one good lock is defeated, or put it in a van.

Would Bear Bikes have something that would suit you as a replacement? Something like this?
http://www.bear-bicycles.com/bike-shop/14-bear-bike-men-s.html

Mec-a-nic

While looking for second hand bikes I was offered my own bike back by a non-reputable establishment in Dublin. I'm not saying where as arrest(s) were made so it's Sub Judice. Some non-required parts (bell, kickstand, etc) were removed but it was still identifiable.

tomasrojo wrote: »

The frame lock is only to stop people swooping and cycling off with your bike

From the damage to the rear brakes, carrier and stays it appears this lock did not give in and the back wheel had to be dumped (the nuts and twist control were left on the bike). So there's a nice 8speed hub wheel somewhere with the lock still around the rim.

If anyone was relieved of a rear, 700c, 7 speed wheel (Weinmann ZAC2000 rim, Quando hub, Shimano 14-34t block), you can have it back. Actually, anyone who needs this wheel can have it, I'm building a new replacement.

If you want to replicate this (partial) win, make sure you have the details of your bike ready (serial, photos) so you can prove to the Garda you are the lawful owner of the stolen property, and they can go from there.

Safe riding everyone.

Vélo

Great to hear you got it back and arrests were made.:)

Hail 2 Da Thief

Good stuff! Glad to finally hear of someone on here actually getting their bike back!

Mec-a-nic wrote: »

While looking for second hand bikes I was offered my own bike back by a non-reputable establishment in Dublin. .

So the bike shop bought it off the thiefs & tried to sell it on?

Mec-a-nic

Hail 2 Da Thief wrote: »

So the bike shop bought it off the thiefs & tried to sell it on?

Hail 2 Da Thief, er..., I'm not saying anything more about that part except, this establishment was NOT a bicycle shop.

-Chris-

Fair play and congrats for not giving up!

tomasrojo

That's great news. Really nice to hear of someone getting their bike back.

I should really drop the subject, but I'm pedantic by nature, and I'm also interested in locks.

If your frame-lock was configured as in this photograph, how could they get your wheel off the bike without breaking or opening the frame-lock?



Do you think they removed the frame-lock from the bike frame and then took it and the wheel out via the drop-outs, where the gap between seat stays is wider? Seems just about wide enough.

kona

Mec-a-nic wrote: »

Hail 2 Da Thief, er..., I'm not saying anything more about that part except, this establishment was NOT a bicycle shop.

Would this Establishment be withing walking distance of parnell street by anychance?

Also, How did a regular wheel fit onto your frame? the rear spacing on those hub geared bikes is huge. Also I take it there was no drop out for a derailleur?

Also WTF **** were the garda at? Id be looking for those scumbags to pay for the bits removed and damaged.

humbert

I'm glad you got it back OP. I'm curious about what part the gardia played in the recovery.

The gardai have a list of stolen bikes with descriptions, often pictures and serial numbers. Do they send plain clothed officers to the dodgy second hand markets and do they keep an eye on the various buy and sell sites and magazines for matching bicycles?

Mec-a-nic

humbert wrote: »

I'm glad you got it back OP. I'm curious about what part the gardia played in the recovery.
The gardai have a list of stolen bikes with descriptions, often pictures and serial numbers.

I've no idea of the operational tactics of the Gardai, but I found the bike and they did their job. Legally they have to have proof the item belonged to me (I had reported it with serial number), and that it was now being offered for sale. If people don't do this then there's nothing for them to work on.

There's a lot of stuff being bought/sold and some fraction of that is stolen/illegal so I guess bikes get their (tiny?) allocation of investigation.
It goes both ways, we all know the Gardai have hundreds of bikes recovered but cannot find owners, prompting annual sales, to clear out space. Check their gallery of recovered bikes awaiting owners.