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This is also a big problem for multi-modal commuting. Do I really want to lock up my bike in a location that screams 'the owner won't be back for 9 hours', know

This is also a big problem for multi-modal commuting. Do I really want to lock up my bike in a location that screams 'the owner won't be back for 9 hours', knowing police won't investigate bike theft?

moffkalast 2y ago
If all those e-scooter rental startups can have remote GPS tracking and theft alarms then it really shouldn't take much to implement that into personal ones too. I mean people leave those things absolutely everywhere and they never get rightfully stolen. A 4G modem would probably be overkill, but one might be able to do it for free with lorawan. Or alternatively a big label saying "this bike is GPS tracked" with absolutely no extra hardware at all and hope that bike thieves are dumb fucks.
- devnullbrain 2y ago
  That advice might not travel well: until recently I lived in a city where the bike rental service pulled out because too many were thrown in canals.
  - aqueueaqueue 2y ago
    Let me guess ... probably drunks so guess drinking culture. Maybe UK. Big city with enough canals for this to be an issue ... probably Birmingham?
    - devnullbrain 2y ago
      Close, think more northern.
      - aqueueaqueue 2y ago
        Liverpool was my other guess
    - michaelt 2y ago
      It doesn’t have to be drunks. I know plenty of people who, if they’re forced to move hire bikes left blocking the pavement, will do so carelessly as a matter of principle.
    - itishappy 2y ago
      It's everywhere. Here's some American news stories: NY: https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2024/09/12/the-river-wild-bikes-and-scooters-are-ending-up-six-feet-under-in-the-bronx https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2024/09/12/the-river-wild-bikes-... Michigan: https://www.mlive.com/environment/2024/08/seriously-waterway-group-pulls-260-scooters-from-lansing-area-rivers.html https://www.mlive.com/environment/2024/08/seriously-waterway... DC: https://irrigationleadermagazine.com/not-so-convenient-why-so-many-scooters-are-ending-up-in-canals/ https://irrigationleadermagazine.com/not-so-convenient-why-s... Ohio: https://www.nbc4i.com/news/local-news/columbus/30-electronic-scooters-pulled-from-the-scioto-river-during-cleanup-effort/ https://www.nbc4i.com/news/local-news/columbus/30-electronic...
- michaelt 2y ago
  Rental bikes use heavy, incompatible components so it’s pointless to steal them for resale, or to strip for parts. And they have a tracker. My bike, on the other hand? A thief could just find and remove the tracker - or strip the bike for parts.
  - moffkalast 2y ago
    Time to start using bikes made out of heavy incompatible parts and welding on the tracker then? But yes I do partially agree that it probably wouldn't help much, since it's more about the thieves not wanting to mess with a company with funding and a legal department behind it vs. some random bloke who they can rob with impunity. Private bike security firms might be an answer to the issue, you pay a monthly subscription, they put their own trackers on your bike, employ licensed people who retrieve stolen ones at gunpoint and guarantee protection up to some total cost. Probably not cost effective though I guess, given that the police themselves have given up.
vladak 2y ago
I know this is not a very helpful w.r.t. protection, however there is https://bikeindex.org/ https://bikeindex.org/ - recently I was listening to a Darknet diaries podcast https://darknetdiaries.com/episode/153/ https://darknetdiaries.com/episode/153/ which has a nice story about stolen bikes and what to do about it.

moffkalast 2y ago

If all those e-scooter rental startups can have remote GPS tracking and theft alarms then it really shouldn't take much to implement that into personal ones too. I mean people leave those things absolutely everywhere and they never get rightfully stolen. A 4G modem would probably be overkill, but one might be able to do it for free with lorawan. Or alternatively a big label saying "this bike is GPS tracked" with absolutely no extra hardware at all and hope that bike thieves are dumb fucks.

devnullbrain 2y ago
That advice might not travel well: until recently I lived in a city where the bike rental service pulled out because too many were thrown in canals.
- aqueueaqueue 2y ago
  Let me guess ... probably drunks so guess drinking culture. Maybe UK. Big city with enough canals for this to be an issue ... probably Birmingham?
  - devnullbrain 2y ago
    Close, think more northern.
    - aqueueaqueue 2y ago
      Liverpool was my other guess
  - michaelt 2y ago
    It doesn’t have to be drunks. I know plenty of people who, if they’re forced to move hire bikes left blocking the pavement, will do so carelessly as a matter of principle.
  - itishappy 2y ago
    It's everywhere. Here's some American news stories: NY: https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2024/09/12/the-river-wild-bikes-and-scooters-are-ending-up-six-feet-under-in-the-bronx https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2024/09/12/the-river-wild-bikes-... Michigan: https://www.mlive.com/environment/2024/08/seriously-waterway-group-pulls-260-scooters-from-lansing-area-rivers.html https://www.mlive.com/environment/2024/08/seriously-waterway... DC: https://irrigationleadermagazine.com/not-so-convenient-why-so-many-scooters-are-ending-up-in-canals/ https://irrigationleadermagazine.com/not-so-convenient-why-s... Ohio: https://www.nbc4i.com/news/local-news/columbus/30-electronic-scooters-pulled-from-the-scioto-river-during-cleanup-effort/ https://www.nbc4i.com/news/local-news/columbus/30-electronic...
michaelt 2y ago
Rental bikes use heavy, incompatible components so it’s pointless to steal them for resale, or to strip for parts. And they have a tracker. My bike, on the other hand? A thief could just find and remove the tracker - or strip the bike for parts.
- moffkalast 2y ago
  Time to start using bikes made out of heavy incompatible parts and welding on the tracker then? But yes I do partially agree that it probably wouldn't help much, since it's more about the thieves not wanting to mess with a company with funding and a legal department behind it vs. some random bloke who they can rob with impunity. Private bike security firms might be an answer to the issue, you pay a monthly subscription, they put their own trackers on your bike, employ licensed people who retrieve stolen ones at gunpoint and guarantee protection up to some total cost. Probably not cost effective though I guess, given that the police themselves have given up.

vladak 2y ago

I know this is not a very helpful w.r.t. protection, however there is https://bikeindex.org/ https://bikeindex.org/ - recently I was listening to a Darknet diaries podcast https://darknetdiaries.com/episode/153/ https://darknetdiaries.com/episode/153/ which has a nice story about stolen bikes and what to do about it.