Thorn Cycles Forum
Community => Non-Thorn Related => Topic started by: in4 on June 30, 2025, 07:58:06 PM
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Some of you may know of and follow Noraly aka Itchy boots on YouTube. She’s a RTW motorcyclist who shares great content. Recently her motorbike was stolen in Wales UK but was recovered from close by as she had an AirTag secreted somewhere on her Yamaha.
https://youtube.com/@itchyboots?feature=shared
So, you know where this going: Does anyone use an AirTag (or a similar device) on their Thorn bike? Without disclosing your clever hiding place have you had cause to use it and if so was it a useful thing to have?
TIA
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I have not used one.
A gal I know said that her son bought a new e-bike. He put an Air Tag on it. It was stolen. (This is in USA, upper midwest, major large city.) Air Tag said his bike was in a dangerous part of town. He reported to the police where his Air Tag said it was. Police said they do not bother with bicycles. He went to try to find it. Found it in a trash pile. She did not say if it was worth recovering or it is was destroyed, so I do not know if he still had a working bike or not.
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He reported to the police where his Air Tag said it was. Police said they do not bother with bicycles.
Indeed, in many countries police will not assist with recovering a bicycle even if its precise location is known. You are supposed to file a claim with your insurance and buy a new bike.
Me, I just never leave my travel bicycle unattended in public. Sure, it could be stolen from a hotel storage, but that risk seems too low to invest in anti-theft devices.
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Me, I just never leave my travel bicycle unattended in public. ...
I stop at grocery stores to buy supplies, restaurants for a meal now and then, I often have to stop and leave it unattended.
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There was a fellow on another forum whom I advised on buying a Dutch-type commuter bike, which he intended to use for four seasons commuting -- in Chicago! Of course, he was nuts; I spent a winter in Chicago on exchange when I was a student, and thought it was a stupid place to put a city, and bloody dangerous even back then, even though I lived in an apartment block with security; but he was divorced and alimony just didn't leave him money for a car or living in a safe area, so he had no choice.
His bike was stolen shortly after he bought it. He reported the theft to the police, complete with an address where his bike could be found. The cops basically told him they were busy, so bugger off. But one relatively helpful policewoman explained to him that the cops couldn't be bothered with arresting thieves because the thief would just say the owner gave him the property, and the court would let the thief go.
I told him to hire a couple thugs off the street and fit them and himself up with steel twist-out trolley handles from the trolleys used to push heavy loads of paper around the printery where he worked, and go recover his bike, arranging with his own thugs beforehand to all tell the same story, that the thief resisted.
About a month after he got his bike back and thanked me for my advice, he dropped me a note to tell me an odd thing. Apparently one of the women in his apartment block came up to him on the street and without further ado kissed him on the cheek, and thanked him for making the block street safe for her children.
His message was on a postcard, of which he'd printed 1000 at work; the illustration on the card was a photo of the bike thief walking on crutches with his legs in plaster, which he distributed in his neighborhood. He claimed that his association with me had proved illuminating...
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Of course, I don't normally beat up thieves, mainly because there aren't too many where I live. But I instead make my bike impossible to steal with an n'lock (sic, all lower case) system, which when I park the bike uncouples the steering tube from the handlebars, much like a car steering lock, but in reverse. Anyone who grabs my bike and jumps on impetuously will immediately enjoy a faceplant.
You can read about experience with the n'lock on this forum at http://thorncyclesforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=3930.0 -- I really couldn't imagine being without it, and other members who fitted one tend to agree.
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I stop at grocery stores to buy supplies, restaurants for a meal now and then, I often have to stop and leave it unattended.
Same here.
I was nervous with my new Raven Tour at first, because it cost what was to me a lot of money.
Not any more. It would be a nuisance if it was stolen or vandalised, but I can afford to replace it and I don't want to restrict using it because of worries about theft.
Like most of my bikes it has a frame lock. I add a small cable lock to lock the rear panniers to the bike, and if I know I will be leaving it for more than a few minutes I add either a mid-price U-lock or a chain and padlock that looks serious (it isn't, I can cut a link with a hacksaw in a few minutes).
This is to discourage casual theft, a professional thief could probably take the bike away with a van a few seconds after destroying the U-lock/chain and padlock.
Apart from the house insurance, which covers the depreciated value (i.e. near zero for most of them) if bikes are stolen from my garage I don't have any insurance other than third party for the case where I cause an accident. I long ago worked out that the annual cost of insurance was enough to buy a new bike every few years.
For what I consider "high risk" local use I have two options - old bikes that aren't worth anything to a thief on resale, and a lightweight Brompton that I can take with me. The latter has also been used in Paris, which I consider a very high theft risk area.