Have you ever had a bike stolen in Ireland? Lock poll.

Piercemeear

If so, I wish to reduce you to a statistic.

Further to recent discussions on the levels of bike theft in Dublin, and also the effectiveness of various lock combinations, I thought it might be interesting to compile some anecdotal evidence.

I've tried to keep the options simple, but I'm sure I've missed something obvious. Of course, this poll takes no account of the value or desirability of different bikes, or the different levels of quality within each category.

Ideally this information would be factored against proportions actually using these locks, but for now I'm just interested in seeing whether it's possible to consider your bike sufficiently secure. The general answer given here is: "No, it's not. With enough time the thief can break anything." Which is true, of course. Anything is possible, but I'm curious to hear of anyone actually having a bike taken with two locks on it.

Anyway, vote!

Mr. Presentable

Someone stole your Poll!

And you got it back

Never had a bike taken.

Cookie_Monster

I had a heavy chain lock on mine but it was only from the wheel to the frame

Piercemeear

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

I had a heavy chain lock on mine but it was only from the wheel to the frame

You mean the parking frame? Did they just remove the bike frame and leave the wheel? I guess everyone has learning stories... painful ones.

Cookie_Monster

Piercemeear wrote: »

You mean the parking frame? Did they just remove the bike frame and leave the wheel? I guess everyone has learning stories... painful ones.

nope. the bike frame was locked to nothing but the wheel...

Piercemeear

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

nope. the bike frame was locked to nothing but the wheel...

I still do this regularly when popping into the shops. So long as I'll be less than two minutes. It's stupid but convenient.

Cookie_Monster

Piercemeear wrote: »

I still do this regularly when popping into the shops. So long as I'll be less than two minutes. It's stupid but convenient.

Indeed. Was stored under the stairs out of site in an underground carpark of the complex I lived in so seemed reasonably secure, and was for over 1 year without any issue...

Still, the silver lining is despite losing a really nice 14 year old mountain bike, it's theft is the reason I got into road biking (via borrowing road bikes off others for spins) and now I have a nice shiny road bike, a huge amount more distance done than I would have otherwise, lost weight and got fitter

So it's a loss I don't really regret

Vélo

I put other as my bike was stolen by some toe-rags when I was about 13. They just stopped me as I was cycling along and took it from me.

My beloved Raleigh Super-Tuff Burner was gone.:(

listermint

Vélo wrote: »

I put other as my bike was stolen by some toe-rags when I was about 13. They just stopped me as I was cycling along and took it from me.

My beloved Raleigh Super-Tuff Burner was gone.:(

Similar bike, My little bro had stolen from him. some lads just came up and took it off him. He came into the house roaring crying. So I took off in the car. Knew the area to to go get it back and found them. Chased the little (expletives) into a house and got the bike back. needless to say the 'homeowner' ( i use the term loosely) didnt know who the 2 lads where that just went into her house... and out the kitchen door at the back. :rolleyes:


Got it back anyway he had a happy smiley face from his big bro.

Piercemeear

Evidently I should have added "mugging".

leeroybrown

Two bikes stolen. A light cable lock on one a heavier cable lock on the other. On my current bike I use a u-lock through the rear wheel and frame, and a medium cable lock around the front wheel and frame.

tomasrojo

I've never had a bike stolen, but I thought I had. I was at a party, and there was nothing solid to lock the bike to so I "locked it to itself", as Cookie_Monster described, and hid it down the side of a parked car outside the house. When I came out it was gone. I was very broke at the time, so this was a very big deal. But the person who threw the party rang me the next day to say that some of the wags at the party had hidden my bike on me, and I went back that day to pick it up. Great relief.

HivemindXX

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

nope. the bike frame was locked to nothing but the wheel...

Unfortunately wheel bender style bike stands encourage this sort of thing by making it a lot more difficult to lock your bike properly.

I'm in a brand new building now and they have sheffield style stands in the basement which I was very pleased to see. In the old building it was wheel benders.

With regards to the poll I agree that frequency of use is an important bit of information. If you had "tied up with rope" on the poll you might get 0 thefts reported but it would be foolish to assume that's the most secure way to protect your bike.

daragh_

In the olden days, before I got wise to 'proper cycling' I used to have my bikes robbed on a regular basis. Combination of stupidity and laziness on my part (cheap crappy locks, leaving bikes for days on end because I had forgotten where I left them!) and where I lived at the time. I reckon I had 9 or 10 beaters stolen between 1992 and 2005.

Piercemeear

HivemindXX wrote: »

With regards to the poll I agree that frequency of use is an important bit of information. If you had "tied up with rope" on the poll you might get 0 thefts reported but it would be foolish to assume that's the most secure way to protect your bike.

Yeah. Novel solutions such as "I spread yoghurt on the saddle" might be taken as completely foolproof.

youcancallmeal

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

nope. the bike frame was locked to nothing but the wheel...

Yep I've done this in my younger days and paid the price for it. Twice actually now that I think of it! First time a porter in college caught the guys as they nonchalantly wheeled it away and second time was outside the pub and it was never seen again. I do like to learn things the hard way so I've never made that rookie mistake again.

cdaly_

daragh_ wrote: »

In the olden days, before I got wise to 'proper cycling' I used to have my bikes robbed on a regular basis. Combination of stupidity and laziness on my part (cheap crappy locks, leaving bikes for days on end because I had forgotten where I left them!) and where I lived at the time. I reckon I had 9 or 10 beaters stolen between 1992 and 2005.

You forgot where you lived?! :eek:

wayne0308

I was incredibly lucky when I was young. Twice I caught people in the act of stealing my bike and intervened before the theft took place. I remember the 1st time, they guy was probably 16 or 17 and I was only about 12 and I came running out of the lobby of the swimming pool straight for him shouting bloody murder. He just dropped my bike on the ground and walked off with a smirk on his face. The 2nd time I was a bit older and got in a bit of trouble as I hurt the thief pretty badly.

The only time a bike was actually stolen from me was from my back yard. It was a bike I got a lend of from my then girlfriend. She wasn't very impressed with me. It had no lock on it. The yard was enclosed by a high wall and two locked gates (one outer gate to the lane that ran behind the yard, and another into our yard).

Lemag

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

now I have a nice shiny road bike

Shiny, maybe. Nice, only after you've removed that pie plate

daragh_

cdaly_ wrote: »

You forgot where you lived?! :eek:

What can I say. Drink was taken.

Cookie_Monster

Lemag wrote: »

Shiny, maybe. Nice, only after you've removed that pie plate

it's gone actually and so are the aero bars (they went into a shipping box though)

Edwardius

Had one nicked from outside busaras about a year ago when I left it there for the weekend, crappy cable lock and all. I have no idea why anyone would bother though, bottom bracket was fubared and the rear wheel had a decent buckle in it (had to replace it with one off a banger after someone kicked it and broke some spokes when I left it.... outside busaras!). I actually didn't think anyone would bother seeing as it'd probably cost more to fix than anyone could sell it for . I'd purposely used that bike for cycling to the bus because I thought its crappiness would be security enough!

I won't be using cable locks or locking bikes near that end of town again!

jaqian

Three bikes robbed. One with U-lock with extended cable and two with thick cable locks. IMO if they really want it they will have it.

Piercemeear

Cable locks were making a poor show in the early stages but have returned to something more like what I'd expect, proportionally.

HivemindXX

Piercemeear wrote: »

Cable locks were making a poor show in the early stages but have returned to something more like what I'd expect, proportionally.

I feel the urge to defend heavy cable locks (probably because that's what I use). There are three choices for U-Locks and between them they currently count 10, same as the heavy cable lock.

Certainly from a statistical point of view the U-Lock plus supporting cable shouldn't really count as a seperate choice since all the cable does is stop the wheels being stolen, if the U-Lock is broken then the cable goes as well.

Piercemeear

HivemindXX wrote: »

Certainly from a statistical point of view the U-Lock plus supporting cable shouldn't really count as a seperate choice since all the cable does is stop the wheels being stolen, if the U-Lock is broken then the cable goes as well.

Very fair point. I felt compelled to include U-lock + support cable as it's the setup I currently use. How quickly power corrupts us.

Seve OB

donkeys years ago myself and a pal kicked our football off a cliff onto beach so we got up on our bikes and round to get it. left the bikes at the top of beach steps and luckily i had the cheapest, crappiest lock ever, but used it anyway, and managed to squeeze the two bikes together and lock them to a railing.

5 maybe 10 minutes later got back and the 2 bikes were stripped of all the padding etc (BMX Bikes) but main thing was they were both still there!

moral was even a chaep lock can be good enough to stop an opportunist thief, so i always lock my bike to something now. have to get a new lock though now for my new bike and want something decent, but not overly expensice, any recomendations?

Khannie

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

it's gone actually and so are the aero bars (they went into a shipping box though)

You're letting me down CM. I'm the only one flying the pie plate flag now.

austinbyrne21

Any opinions/advice on this deal?

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/kryptonite-evolution-mini-7-lock-and-4-foot-kryptoflex-cable/

doozerie

I had a heavy cable lock attaching my bike's frame plus back wheel to a sturdy railing, and a crappy u-lock attaching front wheel to frame. Thieves cut the cable lock and ran with the bike. I didn't see them but ran in the direction I reckon they'd gone, and found the bike hidden in the stairwell of some flats with the u-lock still in place. I thought the cable lock would have been the challenge for a thief but turns out it was made of butter while they obviously didn't think the rubbish u-lock would be so easy or so quick to cut. I've put that down as "Heavy cable lock" in the poll as the u-lock wasn't touched.

The cable lock was an Oxford one and its bulk and price suggested it might actually work as a lock. As it turns out some bailing twine would have been more effective, cheaper, and more versatile (it can also hold entire cars together in the war against rust, it can hold up reluctant trousers, etc.).

wile1000

The other week there was a break in at the apartment complex underground carpark. I had my bike locked to a bike rack: u-lock from bike rack to bike frame and a separate cable lock from front wheel to bike frame. The thieves had plenty to play with in the carpark but took a go at my bike as well. My u-lock had some cut marks on it but only minor damage and still working fine. They appeared to leave the cable lock alone. I still have my bike. (phew)

One friend of mine who had a similar locking setup to mine notably "left her u-lock at home" one day; tied bike up at UCD as per usual but on this occasion with just a cable lock... bike gone. Were I to respond to the survey for her I would say 'light cable lock'.