With regards to the Ford bikes, that's actually by design. The Ford bikes are basically the same as Montreal's Bixi, which uses custom parts; this means that si

With regards to the Ford bikes, that's actually by design. The Ford bikes are basically the same as Montreal's Bixi, which uses custom parts; this means that since the parts only fit the Ford bikes, there's no reason to chop them for parts, as they won't fit on a regular bike. They also require custom tools to work on them, making it less likely that they'll be chopped up for parts in the first place. You can read more about the bikes at http://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/fixing-bixis-nearly-indestructible-and-theft-proof-the-bike-sharing-fleet-still-needs-tune-ups-part-ii http://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/fixing-bixis-near...