Author Topic: How long on the street before the bike is stolen?  (Read 6418 times)

JWestland

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Re: How long on the street before the bike is stolen?
« Reply #15 on: January 13, 2013, 05:21:30 PM »
LOL  ;D

A rustbucket or "roest op wielen/rust on wheels" as we call em in NL is good against thieves too.

Not a bad bike that actually...frame is quite nice.
Pedal to the metal! Wind, rain, hills, braking power permitting ;)

Danneaux

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Re: How long on the street before the bike is stolen?
« Reply #16 on: January 13, 2013, 05:57:18 PM »
Quote
Not a bad bike that actually...frame is quite nice.
I agree! Mick', that bike looks almost too nice for a "beater"!

I think you're wise to leave the handlebars rusty as a deterrent. When I was commuting regularly to uni, I found anything making the "human interface" on the bike less palatable...also made it less prone to theft. Padded saddles with the stuffing coming out, gum-wads stuck to the grips (ew!), turgid water in a half-full bottle...all those dampened the theft appeal. At least, those were the bikes still left by the end of each school term.

Best,

Dan.

JWestland

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Re: How long on the street before the bike is stolen?
« Reply #17 on: January 14, 2013, 10:06:52 AM »
LOL Dan the gum is brilliant!

Did you put skunk spray on it too?  ;D

NL method is lots of tape and put kiddies spoke beads on it.

And rattlecan it, but that's a bit drastic for a Thorn...unless it's very easy to remove w/o damaging Thorn.
Pedal to the metal! Wind, rain, hills, braking power permitting ;)

revelo

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Re: How long on the street before the bike is stolen?
« Reply #18 on: January 30, 2013, 11:52:37 PM »
Crikey, where did that come from??  :o

Thinking I need to re-assess my plans to tour in the US.... certainly in Nevada at least.

Nevada and the rest of the Great Basin is where you want to be in the US. This is where people are most friendly. Lots of murders, but mostly between people who know one another. Guns are everywhere, and when people get drunk and start to fight, out come the guns and someone dies. If you stay away from that crowd, you will face little danger from criminals. Almost anyone who wants can get a concealed carry license for a handgun in Nevada and lots of people do. There are guns everywhere and the law both in theory and practice looks favorably on shooting criminals, whether to avoid injury or simply to protect property. The government here has funding problems, but they'll cut the schools and healthcare before they cut police and prisons. All things considered, it's not a hospitable environment for petty criminals, so those who want to make a living stealing bikes move to Oregon or California.

Nevada is actually a paradise for bicyclists, if you like wide open spaces. Read some of my trip reports. Little traffic, few fences, vast network of dirt roads. Just make sure you tour in Sept/Oct, with Sep 15 to Oct 15 being ideal. Nov is possible, but keep a close eye on the weather. Temps of 0°F (-18°C) with strong winds are not uncommon in Nov. Summer is too hot and sunny for me, and winds in the spring can be ferocious.

The really vicious people in the United States are mainly in what we call the south, or the former slave states. I grew up there. Not only is the culture vicious, but there is little provision for bicyclists in road planning, and because the area is much more heavily populated than the great Basin, there is more traffic, more congestion, more people in a rush and hence ready to lose their temper and go on the rampage become a bicycle is blocking their way, etc. Lots of guns, and a VERY tolerant attitude towards shooting criminals, so not a lot of petty theft, at least not in the rural areas, but I'm not sure this single advantage outweighs all the negatives from a bicycle tourists point of view.

There is supposedly a southern culture element in southern California and southern Arizona, but they seem to be fading away. I've never felt unsafe in the deserts of southern California.

Viciousness is not confined to the United States. I've read about bicyclists being deliberately run off the road in northeast Australia, for example. When I was hiking the Pennine Way in Britain and about to cross a peaceful little country road, some lout in a car came racing around a curve, way over the speed limit, and I'm sure wouldn't have hesitated to run me down if I had been in his way. And don't get me started on how cheap life is in the developing world.

I'm not saying clown clothes are wrong. But I am acutely aware of how vulnerable I am on a bike. The best policy is thus to keep a low profile, so that if I do encounter really vicious people, they will not be attracted to me as their victim.