Subcultural engagement for the 21st Century...
Barbelith is a new kind of community (find out more)...
You can login or register.

Underground > Conversation >

Bicycles!

12:08 / 24.06.04

I've had TWO brand-new bikes stolen from me in the last three weeks.

Bit of back story - I'm quite embarrassed to admit this but at 28 years old I only just learned to ride a bicycle a few weeks ago (hey, when all the other kids were outside playing sport and riding bikes and all that stuff, I was indoors copying drawings of Judge Dredd out of 2000AD, ok?). I borrowed a friend's bike and taught myself how to ride, and soon after bought a nice new bike of my own. I fell in love with it and made any excuse to ride it.

Two weeks ago I left it outside my studio while pulling an all-nighter to finish off Seaguy #3. In the morning when I went down to get some coffee, I couldn't find it...and then noticed the smashed (expensive) lock on the ground. I was pissed off but friends told me that it with Toronto supposedly being the bike-theft capital of the world, it was almost a rite of passage for me to have it stolen. I went back to the shop and got another.

Perhaps it was my own fault that for my second bike I got a flashier, more expensive looking bike (despite not actually being more expensive), but just this morning, one week after my first bike was taken, I discovered that the new one is gone too - nicked from right outside my house. And I had TWO locks on it this time, the usual U-bar and a thick steel cord with a padlock. Gone.

So now what do I do? I've spent nearly 800 dollars in the last few weeks on bike equipment (because it's not just the bike I have to replace, it's the locks, the lights, the bell, etc etc), and I'm getting sick of spending money just so some motherfucker can break the locks in the dead of night and make off with my stuff. Do I buy a junky-looking second hand bike that isn't attractive to thieves? Do I submit to the hassle of trying to bring it into my tiny apartment rather than lock it outside?

12:15 / 24.06.04

Da fug!

That's annoying. Not least because no matter how lofty your liberal sensibilities, whenever something like this happens you just want to find those responsible and disembowell them before parading their mutilated bodies on a big stick all around town as a warning to others. And, no, you don't care what a shit upbringing they had or that their dad used to beat them for forgetting to tape the big game while he was out a-whoring, you just want them to pay.

Do you need a bike? To get around and stuff? Shouldn't a famous sleb like you have a big, gas-guzzling sports car? For the ladeez?

pointless and uncalled for

12:22 / 24.06.04

As far as Toronto is concerned do not leave your bike locked outside unless it looks like the bike that you see chained to the railings for three years straight.

I know it's a pain but it's worth the effort to get the bike in and out of buildings but you will get used to it.

Also, get your bike registered with the police and then insured. This will mean that you can stop paying for someone else to have a bike. It's important to understand the full extent of coverage and requirements of the insurance though, so make sure that they are very clear on this point.

12:24 / 24.06.04

oh no!
Shit, poor you. I do keep all my bikes inside, which can be a pain in the arse but at least they're still there the next day.
And yes, people do recommend buying the ugliest bike you can find, to put thieves off, but I think that's .. well, if they don't want it, neither do you.
Is there somewhere you know of that sells 'secondhand' bikes? I'm told that going along to Brick Lane in London, for instance, is often a good way to find a bike you just had nicked.
Oh, and maybe get it insured?
Well done on learning to ride, I hope this doesn't spoil it all for you.

12:25 / 24.06.04

Well, one of the other things I don't know how to do is drive a car.

I don't NEED a bike but I was really enjoying it, and I do want one. I'm just wary of spending another few hundred dollars and getting bike #3 stolen too...

And yeah, I'm not a violent guy but if I'd happened to come down when they were sawing through the locks I would have wanted to pulp their faces with a tire-iron.

pointless and uncalled for

12:30 / 24.06.04

Should have mentioned,

I personally refuse to leave my bike locked outside for more than 30 minutes. It's a little limiting but not to the point of being prohibitive.
30 minutes is the approximate amount of time required to cut through the cable and the lock is key not combination. Admittedly someone could get it in about 5 minutes with power cutters or by picking the lock but the odds of that are low and those with power cutters or lock-picks tend to go for something a bit more lucrative than stealing bikes.

Of course, if I find the scum who slashed my tires two years ago I'm going to force them to choke on the skin that I flay from the bastard who nicked my bike when I was 16.

12:30 / 24.06.04

Umm...bring it inside, Cam. I know it's kind of a drag, but EVERYONE I know who has ridden a bicycle on a regular basis (and I've known several bike messengers, so "everyone" is kind of a lot of people) has had at least one bike stolen. Hell if I know where all these pilfered bicycles actually go; are there bicycle chopshops?

pointless and uncalled for

12:33 / 24.06.04

There are bicycle chopshops but I'm guessing that Cam is not inclined to go trawling Jane & Finch asking if he can have his bike back.

Hattie's Kitchen

12:41 / 24.06.04

I have had FOUR fucking bikes stolen, so I sympathise totally. I'm acutely pissed off about the last one being stolen, which happened outside my flat, because I begged and pleaded with my landlord to let me keep it inside the flat, but he flatly refused on the grounds that he didn't want the hallway carpet getting dirty. Never mind that I offered to put a sheet down to protect the carpet, and wash the bike tyres each evening to ensure this didn't happen. Neither would he let me chain it outside to railings or to pipes etc, so I had to resort to hiding it underneath a large hedge outside. Needless to say, it vanished.

So I've taken the rather drastic step of finding somewhere else to live, because I love bikes and I hate my landlord with an unnatural passion, and when I get another bike, I will be able to keep it inside.

Wherever you go, INSIST that you be allowed to take your bike inside with you. I've perfected the art of staring down anyone who dares to refuse my bike entry, with an accompanying snarl of: "How the fuck would YOU like to have your car stolen and be forced to walk to work?" So far, it's working.

12:42 / 24.06.04

If you have someplace inside to keep the bike, do it. AND get it engraved and registered. Also, if you don't want a crap bike, just get one in a hideous color. It might help.

Around here, most people take the front wheel and the seat off the bike if they're leaving it outside. This is because people will otherwise steal those parts, and it also discourages somewhat from the entire bike getting stolen, as the thief can't subsequently make a quick getaway on it but has to walk a one-wheeled seatless bike away. Not as appealing.

I once had a bike stolen in bits. One night someone nicked the wheel, and before I could replace it the seat disappeared. Then the handlebars. You get the idea. At some point I just stared checking every morning to see what else was missing, and it ended up just the frame with no hardware eventually. I left it next to a trash bin and it disappeared. Saw an old ragged guy riding it a few weeks later (with completely different hardware on, he obviously wasn't the one taking the bits). I actually felt good about it, I think he needed the bike more than I did.

12:55 / 24.06.04

1. Go rent Beijing Bicycle and see if you've got the steel to get a bicycle back.

2. I've always had crappy-looking bikes. Often with homemade paint jobs. As long as the tires are good, the chain is well-lubricated and the brakes work, you're set.
I've never had a problem, but...

2a. ...a friend of mine, who named his crappy bike "Rosinante," actually had his inner tubes stolen. Apparently there was a rash of tube thefts in the area. Theory was junkies were using them as tourniquets or something.

3. Most biking urbanites I know take their bikes in, and the cool ones have hooks on the wall to hang the bikes on, which seems to be a very sensible thing. The big, flat hooks.

13:23 / 24.06.04

I would just go for the nasty looking second-hand bike... and insurance. I've never had a problem, but I've also had my bike since 1989 and it only has one brake...

There was an article in eye or NOW a few months ago about someone finding their stolen bike in a particular bike shop, but being the helpful people they are, didn't mention which bike shop... there is a second-hand bike shop on Spadina, south of college... it may be worth a look around.

13:28 / 24.06.04

Damn but that's annoying. I had five bikes stolen in the seven years I lived in The Hague (including the hand-built mountain-bike I slaved like an idiot to buy the parts for). The last one was a granny-bike, and I followed the advice to paint it a hideous colour. Result: two years of having the same bicycle. Nobody wants a crap-looking bike. You could theoretically muss up your new bike a bit, using frayed duct tape and the like (similar to the messengers in Gibson's Virtual Light)...although that does defeat the purpose of having a nice bike a bit.

The big flat hooks are the best way of storing your bike out of harm's way. Short of rigging up a pulley system and hauling your bike up to the ceiling.

14:30 / 24.06.04

A missing bike? This could be the start of a Big Adventure!

I bet its in the basement of the Alamo. Or maybe Francis took it. Who knows??1?

Just make sure that somewhere along the way you dance to 'Tequila' for the amusement of some biker dudes.

Dare I say it... Adventures ahoy!

14:48 / 24.06.04

Ha, i like the way the first thing you read here is : Da fug!

Sorry to hear that man, that's a lot of cash to go down the drain so fast. If i was you i'd get an even more expensive one and bring it inside.

And insurance!

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

15:15 / 24.06.04

OK... I'm a lazy cunt, therefore don't own a bike. (Well, I do, but I've been too lazy to get it fixed and in rideable condition).

But a lot of my friends do.

And EVERY ONE of them who's left them outside has had them stolen. (Dunno anything about Canada, but you don't go leaving your bike in full view in Hackney).

Only the most unreasonable fuckers won't let you bring 'em inside (as Hattie's ex-landlord sounds to have been)... I know it's a hassle, but it's less hassle than replacing the thing.

I LOVE bikes on principle... I'd hate to see this putting you off riding one. But yeah... the general public are thieving bastards. Keep your bike away from their sticky fingers.

15:18 / 24.06.04

That sucks, Cameron.

Get a really shitty-looking bike. In NYC there is a special breed of street bike that looks like crap and has no individual part worth more than $20. Get one of those heavy-ass chains, or get 2 Kryptonite locks, one for the front wheel/frame and one for the rear wheel and gears.

Spyder Todd 2008

16:21 / 24.06.04

In case Superman tries to steal it...

Spyder Todd 2008

16:26 / 24.06.04

Sorry. My compulsive need to occasionally be an asshole bled through there.
But that seriously sucks. I've never had a bike stolen, but someone came to my house once on their bike, was there for a half an hour, and the bike was just gone. It's no good, I tell you.

19:25 / 24.06.04

I'd reinforce what someone said earlier - to remove front wheel and saddle. That means that thief has to carry bicycle away with them.... and doesn't make for a hasty gettaway. That's what I do. Much theft is opportunistic... in the walking-around-with-their-hammer-and-bolt-cutters sense. If your bike looks an easy target they go for it.

Something that I think is worse than theft, is vandalism. Here in Edinburgh a favourite pastime of bored teenagers is jumping on the wheels (seriously buckling) of parked bicycles. I've seen 'em do it... they do it in a mob... think it's a right old laugh and run off. No-one does anything. Passersby think it's your own stupid fault for parking it in a public place. You can't get your bike home or to repair other than carry it into a taxi. Plus, as we all know, the cost of 2 new wheels isn't that much less than a new bicycle. And the old wheels are useless and just get tossed. What a waste.

20:45 / 24.06.04

You know, I never really understood the practice of hanging horse thieves until I had my bike stolen.
The people I know who have had great success in keeping their bikes have brought them inside when possible and have given their bikes a good coat of urban camouflage; leave no logos visible, period, doubly so on an expensive bike. Tape over them, or better yet hit the bike with a good coat of primer.
It's better to ride an ugly bike than walk.

21:48 / 24.06.04

Hey - I think I had the same two weeks in 2001 (I live in Toronto, too)- first my bike cut stolen off my porch at my old apartment in the Annex, and then the next one got nicked in front of my old office, right in the busiest part of the Financial District. There are a few things that I have learned since (I got a new bike shortly thereafter, and I still have it). Here they are...
1: It does not have to be an ugly bike.
2: It does have to have quick release on the front tire (in other words, you need to be able to take the tire off the frame in a couple of seconds).
3: You need two locks - a U-shaped lock, and a cord lock. The U-shaped lock holds the frame to whatever you're locking the bike to. The cord lock goes through the front tire (which you've conveniently removed and leaned against the back tire), through the back tire, through the frame of the bike, and if at all possible, attached to whatever you're locking the bike to.
4: When the bike is at home, you don't have to bring it in, but take the front tire into your apartment - it's a lot easier than taking the whole bike in, but still pretty effective. (This means a slight adjustment to item #3.)
5: Insurance is not a bad idea.
And, I'm really sorry about your bikes.

23:53 / 24.06.04

Thanks all for the advice, I've already gone and bought bike number 3.

I'm seriously tempting fate, too, because while the first two were kind of cheap, mediocre bikes (though they LOOKED flashy) from Wal-Mart, I actually decided to splash out and get a proper, decent bike from a proper, decent bike shop. So it's actually the most expensive bike yet, but certainly the one with which I'm going to take the most care.

Best thing about this one is that it was a custom-built job, so it has a generic frame, rather than a bright red one with silly words like "INTENSITY" emblazoned all over it, which should hopefully make it not quite so eye-catching to thieves. I'm also going to think about giving it some urban camouflage and paint "rust" all over it. And lastly I'm bringing it inside wherever possible - which actually isn't so hard at all. I can bring it inside my house without much problem and even though the elevator is a tight squeeze, I can get it up to the studio too. I just didn't think that leaving it outside would be quite so dangerous, you know?

Anyway, lesson learned, hopefully the third time's the charm and I'll get to keep this one for more than a week. Wish me luck...

04:57 / 25.06.04

sUCKS TO BE YOU. GOTTA ROCK IT TOOTIE STYLE.

SERIOUSLY.
10TH GRADE. COMPUTER GOD GANGSTER MAFIA STOLE MY BIKE.

sucked.

HAHA.

Walmart. Thank you George W.

Nice. I like your artwork though. Riverdale style, byatsch.
Even though i think its lame to dis people on your first commercial job.

10:30 / 25.06.04

Uh, yeah, it IS lame, and I made the apologies and learned the lesson. Thanks for the advice.

11:20 / 25.06.04

Ok, you've got a bike, you haven't got a sports car.

Please tell me you've got a yellow-and-black speedboat called Bumble-B.

11:22 / 25.06.04

Oh, and Nun4Q or whatever, yeah, you're right. Someone who disses an employer should never be allowed on Barbelith. We don't hold with that kind of crap round here.

I mean.