|   TWO bikes stolen...grrrr & a warning | Zaphod
Oct 25, 2001 11:22 AM | | My fiancee's Bontrager gets stolen a few weeks ago. It was locked with a reasonable cable lock at the Rapid transit station (BART). Surrounded by other bikes, it's the unlucky one. A commuter bike with slicks. Fairly old. It's the privateer flavor, as in, the whole bike's worth a grand vs the "real" bontrager where the handbuilt frame is worth that. I have styled this bike with an xtr/ceramic wheelset. A bit posh for a commuter but I had these wheels lying around & the wheels needed replacing, the rims were concave and had antilock brakes, thu thump thu thump thu thump.
So that sucks. She's saddened. She's ridden that bike EVERY DAY for 4 years. While it didn't see much dirt, it was certainly loved.
We file the insurance claim. When we tallied everything up, it was $1500, incl things like f/r blinky lights, cable lock, upgraded wheels, tires, seat...blah blah blah. amazing 1500. $500 deductable.
Check's on its way.
So I set her up with *my* bontrager. An identical bike minus the sweet rims but with a bitchin' old marzocchi xc700 air/oil fork. I style it with speedy commuter tires @$30 each, replace the trashed wheels with new ones, not super stylin; but good ones laying around.
Yesterday she arrives, sad, cable in two pieces. Fark! So *this time* the bike was locked outside her office. The downstairs is a bustling mexican restaurant. The bike rack is literally in between tables in the outdoor patio. Someone had the balls to walk up, snip cable, and ride away amidst diners. This was between 2-4pm on a sunny day. The restaurant is always busy. The cable was a good kryptonite one ...not good enough I suppose.
When filing the second police report they inform us that someone has stolen two other bikes in the area with the same nerve, broad daylight, busy shopfront, cut the cable & go. The cut was very clean, the thief probably had it done in 10 seconds.. max.
This is happening in Berkeley, W of San Pablo road. Warning is, cable locks are a joke against this type of thief. Get a square link chain or a cable that's thicker than the jaws of any cable cutters. & ride a crappy bike.
If you see anyone in Berkeley/Oakland on a Bontrager with a marzocchi xc700 fork and a shiny red sparkly seat, call the police & have them busted. @$1400 the crime = grand larceny. dabastids.
Zaphod |
| Yikes. That's the kind of stuff that makes me want to... | TheWanderer
Oct 25, 2001 11:31 AM | | Sit outside the restaurant with one of those extendable steel batons in my pocket and wait for the stroke to come and try and steal a bike. Then I'd break his knees.
Good luck, hope you can recover this one.
TW |
| Yah, and kick'em in the nad's too! | Beavis
Oct 25, 2001 1:03 PM | | |
| That would be cool... Ehh.. Bike thieves thuck. | Butthead
Oct 25, 2001 1:08 PM | | |
| Set up a sting | Jive
Oct 25, 2001 11:32 AM | | No mercy for bike thieves, IMO.
Give them a good kick in the yams for me if you catch them. |
| That's too bad. Cable locks make it too easy, though. You need to get... | Biking Viking
Oct 25, 2001 11:36 AM | | ...get this one.
Just don't repeat my mistake and lock the bike to the cheesiest part of a cheesy railing.
BV |
| I've got that lock... | Doc
Oct 25, 2001 11:46 AM | | Presently it's being used to lock my doggies in their kennel. I leave them outside while I'm at work and apparently dog napping is big here. I've talked to about 20 people in the last year who've had their puppies stolen. Luckily (or un-luckily if you are the victim) they usually target puppies, as opposed to full grown dogs. However, if you have a pure breed of anything, any age, you lock it up- or it get's taken.
My puppies are more important than the bike at this point, so they earn the lock. |
| I've had that lock for four years | Howard Roark
Oct 25, 2001 1:13 PM | | And I'm extremely glad i spent the dough on it, it's more than worth the money. They are unbreakable.
HR |
| I have it | Zaphod
Oct 25, 2001 2:30 PM | | But it's really heavy. If you have it wrapped around the seatpost and losely hold the handlebars, the bike will tip over as the seat is now the heaviest bit. No big deal but if you have the handlebars in one hand a steaming hot beverage in the other, you end up having this unwieldy thing.
In hindsight probably better but the first theft was in the dark with easy entry exit. This was a much bolder theft... alas live & learn
-Zaphod
ps, I'm going to build up a fixed gear ugly commuter with the insurance $$. Really fun but with little market value & MY BIGASS LOCK. |
| 6.1 lbs.?!? That's heavier than my frame! | DeRanger
Oct 25, 2001 6:38 PM | | My only real problem with this lock is that the chain is too short - can't lock up the frame and both wheels. Of course nothing will stop someone from 'parting out' the rest of the bike with nothing more than an Alien and a few uninterrupted minutes.
Bike thieves make me ponder the virtues of "cruel and unusual" punishment.
DeR |
| Damn mexican.... | TNJED®
Oct 25, 2001 11:45 AM | | restaurants |
| Podia ver sido un McDonalds no loco... | elperro
Oct 25, 2001 4:34 PM | | translation:
I see no relevance of the type of restaurant to the crime. Now type of lock, that was relevant.
_EL Perro |
| Senior Perro | Zaphod
Oct 30, 2001 10:15 AM | | I doubt you'll read this old post but I did not intend to infer anything by the type of restaurant. I was describing the scene. Great food though.
-Zaphod |
| Depressing | Spike
Oct 25, 2001 11:46 AM | | That is infuriating and depressing. Sorry, Zaph & AC.
Spike |
| i should probably mention | Zaphod
Oct 25, 2001 2:34 PM | | That the two bonty's *were* our crappy bikes. Yeah, rough life having bontrager be your lowest bikes. Our serious mtn bikes are on a whole different level. Custom steel with a choice parts pick. Those bikes are never out of view unless while getting the post ride burrito on the roof rack. double locked as well. |
| re: TWO bikes stolen...grrrr & a warning | tommy turpin
Oct 25, 2001 1:59 PM | | Sorry to hear about your bikes! However, cable locks suck, period! Get yourself a Kryptonite New York lock(the U lock one!) It cost me 120 dollars canadian, and is as good as it gets! It has an insurance policy for 1500 dollars. I have'nt had to use it yet though! I don't think i will, because this thing is so beefy in comparison to cables and regular U locks that most thieves will think twice before trying! |
| Jeeeezus | FP
Oct 25, 2001 3:41 PM | | Wish I could use what they cut the cables with to cut their- well, you know.
Sorry to hear it, man.
Gary |
| Sorry to hear. | celly
Oct 25, 2001 4:14 PM | | Bike theft sucks.
celly (August 2000, I was a victim) |
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