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I don't get it - that competition is of bike thefts for unguarded and _unlocked_ bikes. Surely it means nothing. Do people not buy bike locks in those regions?
by ramy_d 9y ago
I don't get it - that competition is of bike thefts for unguarded and _unlocked_ bikes. Surely it means nothing. Do people not buy bike locks in those regions?
Is it typical for a 13mm+ Ulock in Amsterdam to get broken?
- chrisseaton 9y ago> Surely it means nothing Well I guess it means that you can't leave your bike unlocked in parts of Amsterdam, which is a shame.
- ramy_d 9y agoYou can't leave your bike unlocked anywhere. Ever. At anytime. How come this isn't the initial reasoning? In fact, you can't leave anything unattended or not secured. This goes for cars, bikes, luggage, homes, i don't know what else.
- vpribish 9y agoour brave total surveillance future does have this silver lining!
- chmod775 9y agoThere's still quite a few places on this earth where people don't even bother to lock their front doors, or don't worry about leaving their bike lying around somewhere unsecured. What you said is mostly for true for major cities though.
- honestoHeminway 9y agoPlaces where paranoia is still a disease..
- pfranz 9y agoI was surprised to see hundreds of unlocked bikes in Japan. Sounds like it's common over there: https://www.reddit.com/r/bicycling/comments/3loaqx/bikes_parked_outside_my_lab_in_japan_not_a_ulock/ https://www.reddit.com/r/bicycling/comments/3loaqx/bikes_par...
- glandium 9y agoBike theft is also common in Japan.
- pfranz 9y agoInteresting, since the discussion talks about bikes laying around for 9+ months, and gathering and tagging "abandoned" bikes every 6 months. When I was in Tokyo I saw hundreds of bikes unlocked. There was a poster with a security photo saying "bike thief." My wife mentioned it was likely that person had just grabbed the wrong bike. I'm not saying bike theft doesn't happen in Japan, it just seems to be significantly more rare in Japan compared to most other places. I remember hearing San Francisco was trying to cut down on the secondhand market as a way to reduce bike theft. I see Japan has a registration system for bikes. I wonder how much that contributes?
- s73ver 9y agoThat being true doesn't mean I can't lament the fact that these shitty people exist and are able to get away with it.
- pmontra 9y agoI remember Tokyo in 1998, almost every bicycle was unlocked. I hope it's still like that.
- herbst 9y agoI've lived in a 250 people Swiss mountain town with 500 bed tourism and nothing was locked ever.
- mercer 9y agoI've had three bikes stolen in about three months time. Each time, I used what was considered a high-end lock. I was usually more bummed out at losing the lock because they cost me more than the bike. The best strategy, I find, is to avoid leaving the bike in theft 'hot spots', especially in the weekend. If that can't be avoided, make sure to put the bike behind another bike, preferable a fancy one or one with a shitty lock.
- stingraycharles 9y agoYes. Another point is that even when you lock your bike, thiefs often carry the bike in its entirety or just screw off one of the wheels. Just don't buy a new bike when you're frequently in a hot spot.
- mercer 9y agoLocking just a wheel is a rookie mistake, of course! Always wrap it around the frame and something that is solidly rooted in the ground. It's just that even all that isn't always good enough if the homeless guy or professional bike thief has a power-cutter thingy.
- gozur88 9y agoMy sister locked her bike to a pole through the frame in San Diego. When she came back literally every other part was gone, and the frame remained locked to the pole. They even took the cranks, the forks, and the brake cables. Who steals brake cables?
- jimbokun 9y agoIt's clearly meant to be humorous.
- jlg23 9y ago> Is it typical for a 13mm+ Ulock in Amsterdam to get broken? Yes. One thing that still works is to get two different high-end locks and to always use both. Most thieves specialize in one lock only. But I'd still not leave a decent bike outside over night.
- nisse72 9y agoI would imagine that an angle grinder works equally well with all locks regardless of brand.
- jacquesm 9y agoCold spray and a hammer is faster and much less noisy and does not come with a free pyrotechnics display.
- collyw 9y agoDoes that work? And what do you mean by cold spray exactly? Ralgex?
- jacquesm 9y agoIf it wouldn't work I wouldn't write it. https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=cold+spray+bike+lock https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=cold+spray+bike...
- honestoHeminway 9y agoSecond to that. Metall becomes brittle at -20. Bing.
- oe 9y agoThere's a video where a guy breaks a bicycle lock with a angle grinder, in the middle of the day in a city center. Nobody bats an eye. Breaking the lock doesn't have to subtle.
- 9y ago
- Nanite 9y agoIt's not competition with unguarded/unlocked bikes. In order to minimize chance of theft you're competing for least desirability and most effort to steal. Most if not all Dutch bikes are by default fitted with an O-lock, which is a good first line of defense, combined with attaching your bike to a railing/bikestand/tree with a decent hardened steel chain lock.
- ramy_d 9y agoI heard 2 horrible things about O-locks. 1 - Every bike has them in europe, 2 - you can open them by jamming a flathead screw driver through the keyhole and twisting. Any truth to that?
- mercer 9y agoO-locks are pretty much just a nice place to keep your keys while you're biking. Everyone I know goes for separate chains, usually on the pricier end. From what I hear the ones that look like round padlocks are ridiculously easy to break, and the ones with the square lock part with two pins is considered among the best (but sadly also annoying to use). But that's what multiple bike shop owners told me and they all wanted to sell me a lock, so I don't know if this is true. Edit: Oh, I forget. O-locks are also very convenient if your bike is still within eyesight and you just want to avoid run-by-thefts. Perfect if you're popping into a shop for food or cigarettes or whatnot.
- sharpercoder 9y agoThe thing with an O lock is that is locks the rear wheel. A chain lock then can lock both the frame and front wheel to a pole. Although not 100% safe, most thieves will look for easier targets.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- wila 9y agoThat's the very old style one, you could also just open it with a piece of wire. You can't easily open the lock, but as people can still walk away with the bike it isn't a real deterrent either.
- city41 9y agoU locks don't deter thieves at all. If they want a bike, they will get it no matter what. Almost everyone commutes on beaters for good reason. https://www.citylab.com/navigator/2014/10/your-u-lock-is-basically-worthless-but-dont-worry/381818/ https://www.citylab.com/navigator/2014/10/your-u-lock-is-bas...
- ramy_d 9y agoI always heard that a small U lock[1] is always better than a larger one and I never understood why. Now i know, that modified carjack is something else. [1] https://www.amazon.com/Kryptonite-Evolution-Mini-Bike-U-Lock/dp/B000AMPRG0 https://www.amazon.com/Kryptonite-Evolution-Mini-Bike-U-Lock...
- city41 9y agoAlso just a crowbar can be used instead of that jack. Small ulocks do help. But they have their own problem: they increase the chance of you being unable to lock your bike at all. Sometimes your destination doesn't have great bike racks, and you have to make due with something a small ulock won't fit on.
- vacri 9y ago> If they want a bike, they will get it no matter what. There's a god-botherer in my city who gets old bikes, attaches a placard with how you're all going to hell if you don't let jesus into your life, and then leaves them around the city... locked with homemade steel u-bolt locks filled with concrete, so that authorities have more trouble getting rid of them. Admittedly they're not valuable bikes, but I've never heard of one being stolen...
- city41 9y agoI'd be willing to bet those bikes don't meet the "want" part of the equation. They sound interesting though, any links on them?
- 9y ago