4 ms·

In my city there's very little point in having an expensive bike (like all electric ones are) because you are either limited to only going places where you can

by Paul_S 4y ago

In my city there's very little point in having an expensive bike (like all electric ones are) because you are either limited to only going places where you can stay with the bike (parks, etc) or it will inevitably be stolen. Any bike over a 1000 is guaranteed to be stolen no matter the amount of locks or cameras. Police in my city has an online form you can use to to report it to get the case number so you can claim on your insurance but they do not prosecute or investigate bike theft as policy.

crazygringo 4y ago
Yup. E-bike bike share is the way to go here. I'd never purchase an e-bike myself for that exact reason, but I still use them several times a week. I actually wonder how many American city bike share programs have e-bikes by now, if it's most, or only a few.
worldsayshi 4y ago
Yeah this seems like a big problem especially for e-bikes. I get that law enforcement can't really prioritize it because it seems impractical to investigate. Couldn't we solve this by embedding geo trackers in the bikes? That should make it much easier to catch thieves and make theft much less appealing. It could also be partially solved by flooding the city with cheap alternatives, like electric bikes that anyone can afford to rent on demand.
- pjmlp 4y ago
  Bike sharing services already use trackers, and even those get stolen.
CalRobert 4y ago
This was a big reason I got a folding bike. My Brompton never gets locked up outside - It fits inside a shopping cart so I even keep it with me when I'm getting groceries.
- pklausler 4y ago
  My Brompton becomes my shopping cart.
- password4321 4y ago
  Costco's 350w/15.5mph Jetson Haze folding e-bike is $100 off ($550) until Sunday. https://www.costco.com/jetson-haze-electric-bike.product.4000025081.html https://www.costco.com/jetson-haze-electric-bike.product.400...
akvadrako 4y ago
Where do you live that you can't get insurance? Here in Amsterdam you can insure an E-Bike for about $10 / month, which is well worth not having to worry about theft.
- xraystyle 4y ago
  I keep seeing replies like this. Insurance is not the point. Come to Venice Beach in Los Angeles and you'll quickly understand that you'll be calling the insurance company once every couple days to replace your bike if you leave it locked up outside for more than a few minutes at a time. Around here bike theft is a sport. If they can't get the entire bike, they'll strip every single part off the frame in under 5 minutes. On top of that, I have quite the emotional attachment to my bike. It means something to me. A cash payout doesn't replace what was lost if it were to be stolen. Bike insurance is a nice consolation prize if you get ripped off, but it's absolutely in no way a viable solution to the problem of widespread, organized bike theft.
  - pjmlp 4y ago
    Same in Germany, if the bike can't be stolen, they will either take what they can, or just destroy it as revenge action.
  - akvadrako 4y ago
    The insurance company is not going to give you affordable premiums if it's so likely to get stolen. If it's available then they must have good data that theft isn't that bad.

by Paul_S 4y ago

crazygringo 4y ago

Yup. E-bike bike share is the way to go here. I'd never purchase an e-bike myself for that exact reason, but I still use them several times a week. I actually wonder how many American city bike share programs have e-bikes by now, if it's most, or only a few.

worldsayshi 4y ago

Yeah this seems like a big problem especially for e-bikes. I get that law enforcement can't really prioritize it because it seems impractical to investigate. Couldn't we solve this by embedding geo trackers in the bikes? That should make it much easier to catch thieves and make theft much less appealing. It could also be partially solved by flooding the city with cheap alternatives, like electric bikes that anyone can afford to rent on demand.

pjmlp 4y ago
Bike sharing services already use trackers, and even those get stolen.

CalRobert 4y ago

This was a big reason I got a folding bike. My Brompton never gets locked up outside - It fits inside a shopping cart so I even keep it with me when I'm getting groceries.

pklausler 4y ago
My Brompton becomes my shopping cart.
password4321 4y ago
Costco's 350w/15.5mph Jetson Haze folding e-bike is $100 off ($550) until Sunday. https://www.costco.com/jetson-haze-electric-bike.product.4000025081.html https://www.costco.com/jetson-haze-electric-bike.product.400...

akvadrako 4y ago

Where do you live that you can't get insurance? Here in Amsterdam you can insure an E-Bike for about $10 / month, which is well worth not having to worry about theft.

xraystyle 4y ago
I keep seeing replies like this. Insurance is not the point. Come to Venice Beach in Los Angeles and you'll quickly understand that you'll be calling the insurance company once every couple days to replace your bike if you leave it locked up outside for more than a few minutes at a time. Around here bike theft is a sport. If they can't get the entire bike, they'll strip every single part off the frame in under 5 minutes. On top of that, I have quite the emotional attachment to my bike. It means something to me. A cash payout doesn't replace what was lost if it were to be stolen. Bike insurance is a nice consolation prize if you get ripped off, but it's absolutely in no way a viable solution to the problem of widespread, organized bike theft.
- pjmlp 4y ago
  Same in Germany, if the bike can't be stolen, they will either take what they can, or just destroy it as revenge action.
- akvadrako 4y ago
  The insurance company is not going to give you affordable premiums if it's so likely to get stolen. If it's available then they must have good data that theft isn't that bad.