Avoiding bicycle theft tip

F9Devil

For the last few months I've cycled the bicycle path along the canal and stopped at a bench to enjoy a chat with a friend... because I felt uncomfortable with the thought of my bike resting to be side I started to lock it to the bench itself.

Today, two drunks (of which there seems to be many along the canal) began to harass myself and my friend (a fellow cyclist who also began to lock his bike to the bench as well). This altercation ended up with the drunks trying to steal his bike only to find it was locked, he threatened us to unlock it with a corkscrew but we just got up and ran a short distance away.

They gave up trying to tug the bike and walked on their merry way.. to be honest after the incident I was well chuffed with how something as simple as locking the bike to the bench had completely stopped an unfortunate end to our bikes.

I tip for any resting cyclists maybe? :pac:

Cookie_Monster

I'd probably go for the swing my helmet at their face option myself if they touched my bike, at least then it's actually be useful for something...

bradknowell

To be honest , and I'm not trying to be funny. The way things are nowadays, the best anti theft tip is to not bring the bike with you . I know that doesnt help the matter but anything you do nowadays , the scum will still find a way to rob it in the end.
Cookie monster has a good idea

Sunnyisland

If this is the grand canal are there not monitored camaras 24/7 with speakers there all along the cycleway ? Btw I agree with cookiemonster into the water with them.

ThisRegard

Just wondering OP, how old are you that you ran way and watched them from a distance ? I work along the canal (if it was the Grand Canal, you have south Dublin as your location) and most of the drunks there can be pushed over with a bit of breath, never mind manage to cycle away on a bike.

discus

A guy I know made a living as a burgalar/thief for years until he went clean. He's given me so much info on how bikes get stolen:

1) If a thief sees you going home from work with a nice bike, they will follow you on foot or in a car. They'll first see if you leave it down the side of your house as you go in the front door. If you don't, they'll come back later that night and take a look at your shed.

2) Don't use these, as they can apparently be cut through with ease, regardless of diameter. Sometimes, just twisting and pulling can do it (if there's enough time). If it can bend, it's ****. What you need are one of these bad boys.

3) If you leave one in your apartment block stairwell or outside your door, it needs to be locked to a hard point with multiple locks. If you can lock to a hardpoint in your garden shed, that's one better.

Cienciano

I've had 2 bikes robbed. One robbed completely, the other stripped. Best advice I can give you is to never leave it outside, or ride a shite looking bike with a good lock.
When I go into town I use the dublin bikes. The sooner it's expanded the better.

seamus

discus wrote: »

1) If a thief sees you going home from work with a nice bike, they will follow you on foot or in a car. They'll first see if you leave it down the side of your house as you go in the front door. If you don't, they'll come back later that night and take a look at your shed.

On top of this, a lot of bike theft is opportunistic. How many times have you heard of someone who just "went inside for a minute" and came out to find their bike gone?
Bikes are small and light, someone can literally walk up and disappear with your bike in less than 3 seconds. So unless you can see your bike and are no more than 3 seconds away from it, lock it.

2) Don't use these, as they can apparently be cut through with ease, regardless of diameter. Sometimes, just twisting and pulling can do it (if there's enough time).

In fact, it's worse than that. Most cable locks will break with a sharp tug on the bike. Five seconds, and they're gone. Cable locks give the thief a lot of room to work with in order to give it a good tug.
In the absence of a tug, any cable lock can be cut through like butter with a good cable snips or a small bolt cutters. Thieves will do this in broad daylight with people walking by - from the passers-by's perspective, it just looks like they're unlocking a bike, because they don't have to struggle to cut it.

Cable locks are about as effective as tying your bike up with a piece of string, and that's not an exaggeration. They will work to discourage opportunistic stuff that I mention above, but if you're going to be leaving the bike for more than a couple of minutes, a proper lock is the only way to go.

On that note, a proper lock is not determined by its shape. Just because it's a U-lock or a chain, doesn't mean it's a good lock. In general, the main factor is price - if a lock costs €15, there's a good reason for that. If your bike is a complete and utter piece of rubbish, then any old lock will likely discourage someone from bothering. But if you value the bike at all, the absolute minimum you should spend on a lock should be €50. A rough rule of thumb is that your lock should be about 10% of the purchase price of the bike.

Good chain locks generally provide the best protection, but they're not portable. There's also an issue in that a long chain lock may provide room for the thief to get their tools in, or even worse it may rest on the ground and can be pounded by a sledgehammer.
U-locks are strong and portable and if locked properly can make it difficult to get tools in. They can have one main flaw - the bike can be lifted and twisted, like a corkscrew. Cheaper U-locks will break when this is done. It's sounds far-fetched, but a bike frame allows them to apply a lot of leverage. Lift, twist, snap, five seconds and they're gone.

Locking technique can be just as important as the lock itself. Locking in a public place often makes people shudder, but it's the safest by far. Taking out a 3 foot bolt cutter or a hacksaw in the middle of grafton street will probably get you noticed before you can cut through the lock.
Locking on a quiet road or a darkened corner is often done in the belief that thieves won't see the bike, but in reality it just gives them more time to cut the lock without being discovered.

Never, ever, lock your bike by the wheel. The wheel can be popped off in seconds, and you're left with one wheel and no bike. Always lock your bike by the frame - a cable lock can be used to secure the wheels on their own to prevent opportunism.

A lock is no good if the thing you're locking it to is weak. Poles aren't great - bikes can be and have been lifted up over the top of the pole. Fences or railings aren't always great either, if they can be cut through easily. Usually these are cast-iron steel and a nightmare to saw through, but a man with an angle grinder can get through quite a bit.

Avoid leaving your bike locked in any one place for more than 24 hours. People start to notice it's there and will strip it. This isn't always thieves - sometimes just gob****es interfering with it cos it's there. The longer it stays there, the greater chance that someone will mess with it. Once parts start disappearing off it, people think it's abandoned and it will get messed with more.

JuliusCaesar

Dublin Cycling Campaign video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVd9-0HhsfA

If you can, join the campaign - it's cheap and they do a lot of good work! Also on facebook for regular updates.

(Can't say I've no interest, but I'm just an ordinary paid member who's never been to a single meeting or event that they've run.)

F9Devil

ThisRegard wrote: »

Just wondering OP, how old are you that you ran way and watched them from a distance ? I work along the canal (if it was the Grand Canal, you have south Dublin as your location) and most of the drunks there can be pushed over with a bit of breath, never mind manage to cycle away on a bike.

Waiting for leaving cert results I'm just not prepared to have any sort of physical confrontation with that lot, locking the bike to the bench means you ca do a safe runner knowing that your bikes safe for when you return!


EDIT: It is the Grand Canal yep

Piliger

What age is the guy ? what does that matter ... these miscreants might be carrying any kind of contaminated needle or weapon and is a bike worth that ?

He did the right thing - except for hanging out on the Canal in the first instance ... not a smart move. Sad ... but true

kylith

I have a couple of things that I bear in mind when I'm locking my bike
Don't have it too clean
Lock it near a nicer bike
I usually use 2 locks, and lock wheels to frame and frame to something secure
Lock it in a high traffic area

I don't use U locks after hearing how easily they can be opened with something like a car jack.

Myrddin

What do do in that situation, is to remove the lock as requested & then introduce said lock to the face off the offending toe rag {with great force}. Then ask the co-offending toe rag if he too would like to experience a u-lock to the jaw. Oblige him if he does anything other than run away.

Then cycle home, knowing you've done society a small favour.

ThisRegard

F9Devil wrote: »

Waiting for leaving cert results I'm just not prepared to have any sort of physical confrontation with that lot, locking the bike to the bench means you ca do a safe runner knowing that your bikes safe for when you return!


EDIT: It is the Grand Canal yep

They obviously thought you were easy prey being younger than most of the people you'll see around there on bikes. Normally they're either fighhting amongst themselves or in a stupor somewhere, don't see as many I used to, there was always a gang between the Mount Street and Baggot Street bridges, I used to feel sorry for the birds that made their homes along that stretch.

Piliger wrote: »

What age is the guy ? what does that matter ... these miscreants might be carrying any kind of contaminated needle or weapon and is a bike worth that ?

He did the right thing - except for hanging out on the Canal in the first instance ... not a smart move. Sad ... but true

As I said above, for the most part they're either too drunk or stupefied to notice anything, or fight amongst themselves so I was wondering why the poster was hassled, if it is the usual crowd around there. And a big exaggeration about hanging around the Canal, there's nothing wrong with it, it's a fairly safe area.

Faith+1

EnterNow wrote: »

What do do in that situation, is to remove the lock as requested & then introduce said lock to the face off the offending toe rag {with great force}. Then ask the co-offending toe rag if he too would like to experience a u-lock to the jaw. Oblige him if he does anything other than run away.

Then cycle home, knowing you've done society a small favour.

I don't condone violence but

F9Devil

EnterNow wrote: »

What do do in that situation, is to remove the lock as requested & then introduce said lock to the face off the offending toe rag {with great force}. Then ask the co-offending toe rag if he too would like to experience a u-lock to the jaw. Oblige him if he does anything other than run away.

Then cycle home, knowing you've done society a small favour.

That would be great.. if I didn't feel like passing out the second one of them threatens me. It's always when I'm sitting down as well, that defenseless situation seems to pull all the blood straight out of my head :pac: much better to do a runner! But feel free to run over and sort them out for me after I've hit my stride

Piliger

F9Devil wrote: »

That would be great.. if I didn't feel like passing out the second one of them threatens me. It's always when I'm sitting down as well, that defenseless situation seems to pull all the blood straight out of my head :pac: much better to do a runner! But feel free to run over and sort them out for me after I've hit my stride

100% right. It's only a freekin bike after all

faigs

What do these scumbags do with bikes they steal? Who buys them?

I spotted a certain place on Ryders Row near Parnell St/Capel St area the other day, which now has big signs outside offering cash for bikes. I think it's advocating bike robbery.

You can see it on Google street view.

quaalude

faigs wrote: »

What do these scumbags do with bikes they steal? Who buys them?

I spotted a certain place on Ryders Row near Parnell St/Capel St area the other day, which now has big signs outside offering cash for bikes. I think it's advocating bike robbery.

You can see it on Google street view.

Here's an article about bike theft in Dublin - it's a few years old now, but still might be of interest: http://www.indymedia.ie/article/72315

Cienciano

faigs wrote: »

What do these scumbags do with bikes they steal? Who buys them?

I spotted a certain place on Ryders Row near Parnell St/Capel St area the other day, which now has big signs outside offering cash for bikes. I think it's advocating bike robbery.

You can see it on Google street view.

There was posts about this before, the gardai know about it. If you go to the gardai in the area about a stolen bike, they even tell you that you'll probably find it there.
No idea how they haven't closed it down.