Thinking of going over to the "dark side"

[Danneaux]

I loved it so I now own that bike.

Wonderful news, Paul! Thanks for the update. So glad you found a fit and the ride is just what you hoped for.

You still have the Galaxy for shopping trips and the RST for the rest as well, and this simply covers the "other" go-fast end of the spectrum.

Congratulations on a wonderful ride, may you have enjoyable times on both as the nicer weather comes to stay!

All the best,

Dan. (...who thinks Paul is well on his way toward the ideal +1 scheme of bike ownership)

[Cambirder]

Well my dark side adventure lasted exactly 260km. 120 km into a 200km Audax ride I had it stolen at the village hall that was acting as the organising cycle club's HQ. My pain was increased as soon as I remembered I had left my car key in the small tool bag on the saddle so had to be rescued by a freind bringing me out the spare.

I am now mightily pissed off, and over £2000 out of pocket. My bike was sitting with over 20 others (nearly all unlocked and some more expensive than mine) and there were plenty of audax riders milling about, so I guess someone wander in dressed in cycling gear and just casually road of on it otherwise someone may have spotted something amiss.

[in4]

I rarely resort to Anglo-Saxon, particularly here but: What a complete bar steward. It takes a thoroughly nasty character to steal someone's bike, particularly given the context. One could speculate endlessly as to who the culprit is and whether it was a planned or opportune theft.
Clutching at straws here but I wonder if there are any photos knocking around that might prove useful.
Also, perhaps a note here on the forum and perhaps CTC might flag up the theft to those of a keen eye. Similarly keeping an eye on Gumtree or Ebay might be worth a go. All small beer I know.
It is quite apt to cast doubt on the thief's parentage and anticipate appropriate karma will come their way soon enough.
I'll keep an eye out.

[John Saxby]

The darker side of human nature remains all too active...  What a low thing to do.  A friend here has a Domane, a lovely bike.  Accounts of bike thefts on CGOAB make me wonder if a professional thief might have done it; but if it's someone local, maybe it'll resurface.  Fingers/thumbs/toes crossed for you, Paul.

John

[Danneaux]

Oh! Paul!

What a horritragic outcome to suffer; I am so very sorry at your loss, and angered along with you at this terrible act of thievery.

Wish I was on your side of the Pond to help keep an eye open for it.

Grumbling and muttering my distaste for the culprit and sending sympathy, empathy, and condolences your way...

Best,

Dan.

[Andre Jute]

Well my dark side adventure lasted exactly 260km. 120 km into a 200km Audax ride I had it stolen at the village hall that was acting as the organising cycle club's HQ.

I feel your pain, man. And a curse on the thief, forever.

Andre Jute

[JimK]

Ach! I am so sorry to hear this! What a screwed up world!

I live in upstate New York, a small village in the woods. But I work across the internet with a small team in Seattle. We just moved offices there, from the Fremont district to the Pioneer Square district. Pioneer Square is near the central hub of the bus system, so getting to the office has become a single bus trip for several folks on the team, and hence practical, whereas Fremont took two buses plus the wait between, which was just too long for a regular commute.

My boss lives out a way - 9 miles from a bus stop. So just a couple weeks ago he started riding his bike to the bus stop, parking it there, and taking the bus in to the office. That new routine lasted less than a week - his bike got stolen!

He tells me he has now got access to a bike locker by that bus stop, so he should be able to ride again with less worries. I think the bike he lost was pretty nice. Not sure what his replacement plan is! But I was happy to hear that he wasn't throwing in the towel but was brave enough to be trying again.

Not sure how hilly his 9 miles is. For a regular commute, if a beater bike would do the job, I'd probably go that route. But with a bike locker he can get away with a nice bike.

On one of my rides recently, I was parked at a restaurant. Fellow came up to me in the line and asked if it was my bike. He said he'd had a nice Brooks saddle just like mine, a Flyer Special, stolen off his bike down in the city. I still don't have that thing secured beyond the regular hex bolts. But I figure I don' leave it anywhere for a long time or frequently in the same place. Such a tricky game, how to balance security against... not exactly convenience, more like avoiding a sort of paranoid approach to the world.

I still think about the various bikes that have been stolen from me over the years... my Raleigh Super Course (1974), the Panasonic city bike with the freewheel in the bottom bracket (1981)... even some real junker coaster brake bikes.
 

[Danneaux]

I would be just devastated to lose a bike to theft. It is truly my worst cycling nightmare. I sure do feel for Paul, as we all do.

Fortunately (truly!) I have escaped all bicycle theft so far, but it seems increasingly just a matter of time.

I know that if I were to commute locally now, I'd probably have to go with a Wal-Mart Special and consider even that disposable. Nothing can be left around here unattended, at least not overnight. A few years ago, someone made sport of driving across wet lawns, tearing them up with muddy tracks. Having had this happen once -- and then again -- I left the head of a garden rake on the lawn near the house, figuring it would at least flatten a tire as a car drove over it. Even that was gone by the next morning. A cast-iron rake head with no handle! Dunno how anyone even saw it at night, being in the shadows and all.

I'm doing my best to just not leave the bike unlocked, even next to me when changing a jacket or to/from cycling tights over shorts. The current wrinkle here'bouts is the snatch-and-grab, even when the bike is next to you, leaning against a bridge rail while you change. Hopefully the ring-lock will help; I use it faithfully whenever I'm not actually astride the bike.

Goodness, what a world at times.

Best,

Dan.

[JWestland]

So far only one old roadster got nicked as I left it overnight at train station Bad idea in Nrtherlands.

My parents found it thrashed two weeks later. That really sucks.

Luckily in Belfast it's not too bad yet but London most people have a rat / beater to go into town.

Sorry to hear this it's a lot of cash and Witj time you put into finding the bike it's a bit of emotional loss too.

[Andre Jute]

...[in] London most people have a rat / beater to go into town.

I understand that this works for commuters but it shouldn't be necessary.

And for recreational riders like me it is totally unacceptable. I have a nice bike so I can ride it. I don't want to have to ride a POS just so I don't get robbed! A good deal of the pleasure in cycling for me lies in handling fine engineering and good ergonomics, and the fine aesthetics of a well-designed bike is another pleasure. I'd resent having to give up all that.

Andre Jute

[JWestland]

Totally agree Andre, just the way it is.

In Amsterdam most people have an old roadster bike, but then you aren't in a hurry/need to go long distances so it's OK. My student bikes weren't flashy and if you use an old, but good frame,with cheap non matching parts you can still built up a nice-ish bike probably

[Andre Jute]

Each of my Dutch "stadssportief" (1) were actually sold as a "vakansiefiets" (2), implying that the manufacturer thought they would be instantly stolen down at the station....

(1) Best translation is probably "city & country bike" -- literally translated it says, "city sport [bike)", the Dutch, being civilized, taking the bicycle part as read)

(2) "Holiday bicycle"

Andre Jute

[Cambirder]

And for recreational riders like me it is totally unacceptable. I have a nice bike so I can ride it. I don't want to have to ride a POS just so I don't get robbed! A good deal of the pleasure in cycling for me lies in handling fine engineering and good ergonomics, and the fine aesthetics of a well-designed bike is another pleasure. I'd resent having to give up all that.

Andre Jute

Ditto, and the heavy duty locks insurance companies demand you use to be covered away from home would totally screw that up.

In the likely event that I don't get this back I'm not sure what I'm going to do for a replacement, part of me wants to get another Domane, but another part of my head says go for something less attractive to thieves or stick with the RST come rain or shine. Having felt the buzz of riding something so fast and responsive however I feel that the last option would be rather defeatist giving up something I enjoy because of the actions of low lives.

To cheer myself up I've been browsing the websites of custom frame builders. Oh boy! there are some lovely bikes out there.

[JWestland]

There *may* be other options such as a Boardman bike. Or another non-fancy brand that still makes a good ride but won't be such a thief magnet or break the bank. (not everybody's way I know...)

Uglifying with tape is another trick often used along with making it look dirty on purpose. We put pink rattlecan on the bike, and spoke beads to uglify our steeds in NL. Had to use a good lock to lock down to lamp post but still no guarantee...

Or...get a terrible colour used frame for cheap on the bay and build it up. Sometimes you see OMG paint jobs on good frames showing up, at least it won't get nicked and you won't notice as long as you don't look down

Second hand is a very good option too there's nice stuff on gumtree/the bay.

Steve Goff has a carbon frame for £660...made in UK and looks pretty stealthy http://www.steve-goff-frames.co.uk/carbon.shtml

[peter jenkins]

That really is terrible news.
The Stocks should be reinstated for bicycle thieves.
Bike theft is common here in Oz but apparently not as common as in a couple of Northern Hemisphere Countries. (You know who you are)
It's a fine line between carting around a Sold Secure Gold or Silver lock, which weighs you down, and going without to maximise the lightweight feeling of freedom.
I have an Abus steel o chain that I use if I have access to a car to carry it (like on holidays) but use something much lighter if I'm carrying it on the bike. I often use a vinyl covered cable and a mid range padlock for coffee rides and similar, or for touring. On Audax rides I use a cheap luggage lock with a retractable cable and a simple combination. It would be the work of about 30 seconds to defeat it but I consider the visible deterrent is sufficient to dissuade opportunists. It weighs almost nothing and is smaller than a mobile phone. I'm relying on the theory that if the would be thief is more than an opportunist, he/she will get past most locks in any case.
I hope I haven't tempted fate....

Cheers,

pj