A stolen bike
Two weeks ago, my MTB got stolen. It was a cheap bike and, after 700Km during the last 5 months without any servicing, it was in a really bad shape. I used a cheap lock to “protect” it. I relied on the bike’s bad condition and assumed that noone would want to steal it. So, it was a piece of cake for someone to pick it up one night. This article goes into some of the details of that experience and outlines the minimum countermeasures you can take against bike theft.
If I don’t take into account the last 12 years, I’ve always had a bike as a child or teenager. Noone had ever stolen one from me before. This is why I took the current situation very hard.
I use the bike to move around in the city, go to the university, library, gym, etc. During the last five months, it had become a necessity. But there is one really big problem. It is impossible to keep it indoors. I have to leave it outside, in the wild.
Now, I have bought a new MTB. I really wouldn’t like it to be stolen again. That would make me extremely pissed off. During the last two weeks, I’ve read various articles about bicycle theft, about ways to properly protect a bike, et cetera. I even went out late one night, as if I was about to steal a bike, just trying to see things through a thief’s eyes and realize what the weaknesses of leaving a bike outdoors are.
I won’t be writing about any things you do not know already. A determined soul or a sophisticated thief will always get what he wants. There is nothing you can do about it. But, the good news is that sophisticated thieves are not really interested in bike theft, unless we are talking about a very expensive bike. On the other hand, a very expensive bike is very unlikely to be left outdoors at night. Sophisticated thieves are of course a problem, but not the real problem. The real problem in such cases is opportunist thieves. Usually, such thieves do not know whether the bike they have stolen is an expensive or a cheap one, whether it is in good condition or not, and they usually sell it for almost nothing afterwards. They are usually victims themselves. Junkies or people in great need for some money who would steal anything that is an easy target.
Below you will find a very small checklist with the things one should take into account in order to protect a bike which is left outside. These of course represent my own thoughts after evaluating all the things I’ve read and seen. If you can contribute to the list, be my guest. I will really appreciate it.
- Buy a real lock. Most of the locks I’ve seen in bike shops are not locks upon which you can rely for more than a few minutes. From what I’ve read, it is very easy even for opportunist thieves to bypass or destroy them and get your bike. I would say that 40-50 EUR should be the absolute minimum you should spend on a lock. Don’t waste your money on 10-15 EUR locks. Invest. Go to a motorcycle shop and buy the best lock you can afford. If you cannot afford a decent lock, buy a cheaper bike. It is (collectively) cheaper to upgrade your bike’s parts at a later time than to upgrade a lock. Opportunist thieves aim for easy targets. If they realize that the strength of the lock is beyond their abilities, they will not bother with your bike and go for an easier target. Of course, you should learn how to properly lock your bike. Even if you use the best of the locks, but attach the bike to a fixed object which is not reliable, then a thief would destroy the fixed object and get your bike. All locks can be opened. But some locks are a lot harder to be opened. Get a good lock and lock your bike wisely. It is the least you can do to protect it. I now use a lock from ABUS.
- A thief needs privacy. Do not give it to him. Locking up the bike in a shady corner may be an advantage for the thief as he will be able to work on the lock being unnoticed for a longer period of time. Make him feel uncomfortable with the spot at which you have locked your bike. Make him feel unsafe. A regular opportunist thief will not bother to steal the bike if he does not feel secure enough.
Of course, this list is not complete. There are many other things you can do to further protect the bike, but most of them really depend on the location and any other special conditions of the area you live in. Bike theft is a problem of all big cities. I will be glad to read your thoughts on what else should be done in order to protect a bike which is left outdoors at night.
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Tags: Security
March 28th, 2009 at 6:03 pm
Hey George,
Really sorry to hear your bike got nicked. That’s a miserable thing to have happen.
I have never had a bike stolen, and now that I live in the middle of nowhere the only way it’s going to happen is if the house gets broken into.
However I lived just outside Dublin city centre for years and used to lock my bike up in the city centre every day. It was a good bike and I put the non robbing of it to come from the fact that I always used two locks of a different style.
So one lock was a stretchy heavy duty wire type one, the other was an unusual folding solid steel type lock. I always figured if someone comes along with a tool for breaking through one type of lock, they might not have a tool to do the other type of lock. Also, I’d always lock my bike where there were plenty of other bikes nearby, figuring that a potential thief would look at my bike, see two locks, and then look at another bike and see one lock.
“Hmm, which one will I steal…”
That’s my two cents on the topic.
Alex
March 28th, 2009 at 6:36 pm
Hey Alex,
using two locks, each of which requires different tools to break through it, is an excellent idea. I currently use a quality lock-chain combo. I was told that this type of lock is the hardest to break. I was also thinking about buying a U-lock, but this will have to be extra strong as I’ve read bike thieves use modified car jacks to break them and that’s extremely easy if the U-lock is not made of extra hardened steel and does not have a strong locking mechanism.
I also agree with locking the bike to a place with other bikes nearby. I’ve read somewhere that one should lock the bike next to one with an inferior lock system. This is kinda cunning, but well… things are wild out there! :-)
Thanks for your feedback.
Regards
March 29th, 2009 at 3:49 pm
Oh, just noticed your reply there. I definitely think you should get a second lock :)
You could have years of happy theft free cycling ahead.
Or else you could just move to the middle of nowhere like I did ;)
Here’s a recent cycle I did – http://tinyurl.com/dzlf74
Oh, you should install the subscribe to comments plugin. It works really nicely and gives people an easy one tick option for keeping track of replies.
I looked at WP’s recent acquisition of IntenseDebate, but I think it’s going to require a bit of thought to get it to fit into my current site comment styling – so I’ve disabled it for the time being. It’s a nice idea, but yeah, have to think about it a bit more.
March 29th, 2009 at 7:12 pm
Aww, seems like an attempt to leave a response failed :(
I think I was mentioning that it’d be great if you added the Subscribe to comments plugin – I find that really handy for keeping track of comments I’ve left around the place.
March 29th, 2009 at 9:17 pm
Now, that’s what I call a professional approach to cycling! :) BTW, this route is over 25Km! I usually go for 10-12Km max at the Thessaloniki bay area. Would love to cycle in the countryside, but that would be a bit too far…
Finally, I think I will order a U-lock too.
Regarding the “subscribe to comments” plugin, I think I will give it a shot. My only concern was about if it could be exploited and I turn out to send emails to people that haven’t subscribed themselves. But, it seems many blogs use it, so I guess it will be allright.
Also, IntenseDebate sounds interesting. Will keep a note about it.
Thanks :)
March 30th, 2009 at 6:22 pm
It was a couple of months ago that I had my bike stolen, in front of my flat door. The lock I used was a £20-£25 one made of thick steel cable. Then I got my new bike but a better lock, solid chain steel. I remember the guy at the shop telling me that any lock can be broken, so actually depends on how patient they guy(s) will be and what tools they’ll have. I remember him saying that usually the time it takes to break a lock is between its price X 2 and price X 3.
April 2nd, 2009 at 4:11 pm
@Panagiotis: I am sorry to hear about another stolen bike. Indeed, any lock can be broken. But, a really good lock is probably the key in protecting a bike, taking into account that, if a thief realises that the lock is too strong for his tools or techniques, he will go for an easier target.
Thanks :)
April 13th, 2009 at 10:05 pm
Hi George!
A friend told me about an article by me . . . uh you. Turns out we have the same name and look both to be writers. An example of my work can be found at:
http://lifestyle.brash.com/articles/detail/bmw_drops_the_bangle_butt/
There are more pieces up there and new ones are added each week.
I am in the US. I am assuming by your posts that you are in Greece? Would love to chat via Skype.
George J. (US)
April 15th, 2009 at 1:52 pm
Hi George!
This comment was indeed a pleasant surprise! It was mistakenly caught by the spam filter, so it took me some time to actually see it.
Well, I am just an amateur writer or, better, a blogger for fun. From what I can say by reading your writings you must be a pro.
I am currently located in Thessaloniki, Greece. I’ll be away until next week for Easter. It would be really nice to chat over Skype!
Thanks for stopping by.
George [GR]