How long on the street before the bike is stolen?

[Andre Jute]

On day 190 or thereabouts the lock is stolen but the bike is left. Is this an ironic comment on the quality of the bike?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXxDeBRkd-Y]

(Thanks to Andy Marchant-Shapiro for that sharp-eyed observation.)

[il padrone]

It lasted 160 days before even the bidon was taken  

The Neistat brothers had a different outlook on bicycle security in New York

http://youtu.be/Ooa3NVfFlEU

[JWestland]

Depends on:

Perceived bike value (here they steal mountainbikes, racers, but vintage not so much)
Bike culture (more bikes are used/sold, more likely it has a resell value on secondhand market. In London they will steel your darn wheels)
Lock used (that looks like a Kryptonite these take some time or a good thief)
Actual bike (beater VS obviously valuable fancy new road crabon bike)
Area (lots of light/people less likely than dark alleyway)
Luck (why was your bike there, one next to it gone?)
Being intact (once saddle is gone, it's seen as a leaver and will deffo be stripped)
Amount of people passing (more passing, more chance of a thief if bike is not locked or very easy to take)
Thief knowledge (more cycling culture more knowledge what's worth "jocking")

So Amsterdam = culture + people + resell and you have to diligently lock everywhere.
Belfast is less of a culture and people near where I live drop expensive MTBs outside shop but around my way I'd take a bet there's 10 people that know the value and they're all cyclists and wouldn't do that to another cyclist

I once got a bike stolen in NL...it was found thrashed two weeks later by my parents. Now THAT sucks I'd rather have somebody make a tenner from it! It was a beater anyway.

[julk]

I live in Dalkeith, about 9 miles SSE of Edinburgh.

As a test I locked an old bike up outside the library with an even older bike bottle left in the bottle holder.
Went back 10 minutes later and the bike bottle had gone, not totally unexpected.

I use an Abus Granite-X lock plus an n'lock stem to secure my Thorn when I am shopping in Dalkeith - so far I still have the bike.

[Andre Jute]

I use an Abus Granite-X lock plus an n'lock stem to secure my Thorn when I am shopping in Dalkeith - so far I still have the bike.

When a fellow with Julian's expensive history says he carries the heavy Abus lock as well as the n'lock, I start wondering if I shouldn't start carrying the Abus again. -- AJ

[jags]

my bike is seldom out of my sight i never carry a lock. but seriously thinking of fitting the axa frame lock . i find younger guys will steal a bike just for the hell of it.

[ianshearin]

Working out in Saudi a few Years ago I had a Carrerra MTB which I took out with me, not a greatly expensive bike but worth its weight in gold out there.
One Morning I woke and found it gone from outside my villa, I made some enquiries and later that day a friend came to see me and said he had seen this guy on it last night.
I didnt know him but it was a small community so I went to see him, after a difficult conversation he admitted he took it the night before when he was drunk, he didnt know where it was now. I indicated how difficult it was to get a bike out to Saudi and how annoyed I was. He promised to find the bike and if he coudnt find it he would pay for a new one and ensure it was delivered to me.
After 3 days he finally came to see me and said he had scoured the compound, been all round the local desert and could not find the bike, he was very apologetic and reluctantly asked me what it was going to cost to have a replacement sent out.

Nothing I said, I found the bike on the way over to see him 3 days ago.

Never nick my bike!

[jags]

nice one put him through the mill first then torture him a while longer i like it.

[Danneaux]

How long on the street before the bike is stolen?

Here -- sadly -- the answer is "about 30 seconds or until your back is turned", thanks to the methamphetamine-driven property theft and a lack of police funding by taxpayers. The bikes are turned on street corners for about USD$5 regardless of value and provide enough money for the next hit of something, a bottle of Night Train fortified wine, or transport to another street corner to stand with a cardboard sign and beg drivers stopped at traffic lights for cigarette and booze money.

Knockoffs and high-jackings of bikes are becoming more common here'bouts, and a major reason for installing the ring-lock was to prevent a ride-off while I am off the bike standing next to it while changing a jacket or tights. Once out in the open countryside, I'm fine. It is here in town and near my house where the bike is most at-risk, and why it is locked up inside the house, as well. When riding, I try not to leave it all and take it into restrooms (sometimes stalls) with me. I now use the plug-in cable and motion alarm to secure the bike when I am using a portable toilet, and of course, the more easily detached things come in with me (handlebar bag, always).

Sigh.

Best,

Dan.

[Andybg]

We are very fortunate here that theft is very rare. All my cars are sat in the drive with the keys in the ignition and a couple even have sat navs in the window. The bike sits in front of the house most days unlocked. In town I put a cheap letter combination lock through the front wheel but I am the only one of the few bikers there are here that bother.

We only bother to lock the house up if we are going out all day rather than a couple of hours (although the german shepperds are probably a bigger deterant to someone actualy braking in than the locks)

Although Bulgaria is thought to be affeected by crime in the 7 years we have been here we have found the opposite to be true. Here theft is taken very seriously indeed.

Andy

[revelo]

Where do you live, Danneaux? Reno, NV which is notorious for methamphetamine use but there is only minor bicycle theft, though I'd definitely use a U-lock here in the city. I had little worry about leaving my bike outside convenience stores and the public libraries locked with just a cheapo cable lock in small towns like Susanville and Chester in northern California, or Baker, Beatty, Bullhead City, Blythe, Barstow in southern California. All of these areas have plenty of methamphetamine users. Still I'm probably going to switch from the cable lock to a padlock through the chain ring and then a cable attached to the padlock for touring. (The u-lock is too heavy for touring.) All cables are easy to cut through compared to a good padlock. A padlock through the chain ring will prevent riding the bike, and a Nomad is not exactly easy to carry for most people.

One thing that I think helps in the United States is to look like the sort of person who might be carrying a concealed handgun. Wear a cowboy hat or bandana rather than a bike helmet, regular pants and big leather boots rather than tights and cycling shoes, dark colors for clothes, black for panniers and the bike itself. A dark beard and mirror sunglasses would also be nice touches. Basically, look like a motorcycle gang type, except on a bicycle. Nobody, not even a methamphetamine freak, f*cks with a gang member's motorcycle other than maybe another motorcycle gang member looking to start a fight.

I think wearing normal-looking clothes also helps get a polite response from motor vehicles. Some bicycle tourists look so silly with their clown-colored helmets and tights that I think the natural response by many drivers is to want to run them down or throw a beer bottle at their head or even shoot them.

[Danneaux]

Unfortunately, bike theft is a big problem in Eugene, OR, and it sounds as if the situation is a bit different than in your area.

I do wish it was different, but have learned I have to take precautions when riding the bike or leaving the bike even within arm's reach while in town. Too many friends have now lost very expensive bikes for me to do otherwise. It is so discouraging to see people riding by on bicycles with big, red bolt cutters in one hand and a nice, freshly stolen Trek Madone over one shoulder, as I saw when walking with my father on the sidewalk last month. Police here have publicly announced they will no longer investigate or even respond to property crimes of any sort or value, and they do not take theft reports or conduct investigations. If one wishes to do so, reports can be filed online, but there is no human assistance or intervention; it is only to provide proof of reportage for insurance purposes. Apart from drugs, the underlying culprit is a lack of funding for public safety. The city-county jail staged releases of prisoners monthly since last summer, and today's paper reports that if budget cuts continue, even those arrested for homicide will do no jail time: http://www.kval.com/news/local/Sheriff-forecasts-further-cuts-to-jail-patrols-186347402.html

It is a sad and worrisome state of affairs, but the Federal government is the largest landowner in the county and pays no taxes that would support public safety. Timber revenues are at an all-time low (logging was the mainstay of the local and Oregon economy forever until it wasn't anymore), and in the present poor economy with high unemployment, the citizenry are unable or unwilling to support tax levies to make up the funding shortfall. Couple the lack of public-safety funding, the loss of jail time as a deterrent, and the release of convicted criminals, and it is open season

Everyone has their preferences and as a longtime high-mileage road cyclist, I prefer the comfort and function of bicycle-specific clothing when riding 300-400km in a day; more casual stuff just doesn't work for me, and I deliberately wear bright colors so I will be visible to drivers.

Some bicycle tourists look so silly with their clown-colored helmets and tights that I think the natural response by many drivers is to want to run them down or throw a beer bottle at their head or even shoot them.

Yikes! The death penalty seems severe punishment for an aesthetic offense or fashion faux pas. Ah, well; to each his own on clothing preferences.

Best,

Dan. (...who sometimes wishes his beautiful corner of the world wasn't so beset with social problems)

[il padrone]

I think wearing normal-looking clothes also helps get a polite response from motor vehicles. Some bicycle tourists look so silly with their clown-colored helmets and tights that I think the natural response by many drivers is to want to run them down or throw a beer bottle at their head or even shoot them.

Crikey, where did that come from??  

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

[mickeg]

I am in a city in USA without much crime, but I still use a good lock.  I picked up a five dollar bike at a neighbor's yard sale, it had been stored outside for over 10 years and was in sad shape.  It took three days and $100 in parts to make it useable, but it is now a great errand bike. 

I thought about replacing the steel painted handlebars with some newer aluminum bars, but decided that the old rusty bars were more theft proof.  I concluded that it is nice to have a rusty bike to park in areas where I might be nervous about finding it when I return.

[Andre Jute]

http://www.thorncycles.co.uk/forums/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=5615.0;attach=3493

Don't say, It's rusted. Say, Ferrous oxide was the in-colour when the bike was made. It is one of those colours that take a few years to develop its full tone and patina, like wine ageing. Only the patient owner reaps the full spectrum.

Andre Jute