Stolen Bike

[Warren]

So on Saturday night, a U-Haul pulled up to the bike rack, the assholes jumped out with bolt cutters and stole as many bikes as they could, including mine. I'm in total depression now, I loved my bike, seriously loved it, we did everything together, it was a gift from my aunt who's a super cycling enthusiast. It was locked up and everything... It was a . So the police are trying to find it but admit it is very unlikely. My aunt is looking into if the lock has a guarantee, so we'll see about that. I'll lease a bike from the university bike project (a junker) for the rest of the semester and get a real one later. I have enough money for a new nice one, I may get it as school ends (I may have to stay an extra week here, might as well use that time riding on the trails). I want a , it's not much more than the 3700 Hardtail ($390, the 3700 is $300), and this one will take the bumps of the uneven sidewalks. Oh, I miss my bike so much! If I'm to get a new one, I'm going to keep it in the residence hall whenever I'm not in class, I'll guard with my life and soul, and be sure to get lock guarantee.

[Chris Edwards]

My bike was jacked last year too. It sucks, but yeah, I think I'm over it .

[eminefes]

That's pretty low to steal some fucking bicyles. That sucks.

[David Horn]

Trek bikes are pretty good. I used to have a 4300 (until it got squashed under a car while I was riding it) and now have a 4500 with disc brakes.

First up, you need one of these:

http://www.kryptonitelock.com/inetisscr ... em&pgrp=20

This lock can't be cut through with bolt or hydraulic cutters.

Secondly, you need insurance. Probably not much but knowing Murphy's Law, taking out insurance will reduce the chance of your bike getting nicked to near-zero.

Are there any other places you can chain your bike? Somewhere very public and away from a road (so they can't drive up) is a good place. Don't forget that the strength of the lock is only as good as what you attach it to. They might be able to cut through a bike rack, but probably not a railing or a lamppost.

Otherwise - bad luck. It sucks when someone steals something of yours. If you registered it with Trek, they'll pass the serial numbers on to police if you ask them.

[glenthemole]

Are kryptonite locks the ones some guy discovered you could open with a ball pall pen or something similiar, or am i thinking of another brand?

[sponge]

They pulled up with a TRUCK?

That's just crazy.

[Matt Keys]

yes, I watched a video of someone cracking a kryptonite lock with a ball point pen, it took less than 30 seconds.

[Presto]

My bike was stolen at college too... It was missing for a month or two, and then my roommate brought it in one day. Several of the spokes were bent out and too damaged to try to put back...

He said he saw some guys riding it, which would've been impossible. I still suspect he was involved in its abduction, perhaps as a fraternity pledge thing.

Anyway, after snipping off the broken spokes and tweaking a few other things, it worked, but not well at all.

I hope things go better for you.

-John

[Warren]

David Horn, that thing looks pretty heavy duty, and $3000 protection is pretty confident. It's $55, which is worth not having your bike stolen. The bike racks here are very thick, I've never seen a broken one. Also, insurance is impossible, the deductible is $500, so it wouldn't be worth it unless I have a bike that's over $1000, and in that case, I'll probably be out of college.

Also the odds of finding the bike here is extremely low, there's 15,000 bikes on campus. There's the MSU Bike Project that leases out free bikes, I'll go there tomorrow, but they'll all be rusted piles of mangled steel, we'll see though.

Today it got all the way up to 42*F, the hottest, yes hottest, it's been this year, so EVERYONE was outside riding around and running, and I was so sad...

I'm considering the , it's on sale at the local bike store for $400 (normally $520).

[Maf54]

I wish it got down to 42* more often.

[David Horn]

Yup, nearly any lock with a circular key can be cracked with a big pen. Dunno how much the company has had to spend replacing them, but it's almost impossible now to get a bike lock with that sort of key.

[Warren]

After doing much research into Trek and Gary Fisher bikes (because that's what the local bike shop offers, though I also like Giant and Specialized), I've narrowed my list to the ($400) or, and preferably, the ($400). The Gary Fisher is overall a very nice bicycle with high end components and a 100mm travel fork suspension, the frame is an aluminum magnesium lithium alloy. The Trek is a beast with 2.4" wide tires, a 120mm travel suspension, very high quality wheels and saddle, and I think the better buy. We shall see.

[David Horn]

I was in this position a couple of weeks ago - unless you're into downhill stuff, the Bruiser is pretty pointless. Don't know how much the 4500 is over there, but try to get a bike with disc brakes. Make a world of difference.

Worth looking at is the Giant Terrago, as it has hydraulic brakes and a decent spec. Unless you're a serious rider you'll never use all the travel on a 100mm fork.

[Warren]

I want to get into mountain biking, there's a track actually on campus that I wasn't aware of, I'll have to try it. But the 4500 is $600, that's just out of my budget. Also, I like the Bruiser for it's wheels and tires, that wide 2.4" tire will be fantastic for snow riding, and that's the majority of what I do (because it's usually snow here...). My 3700 has 2.0", and those were fantastic, but 2.4" will do even better. Disc brakes are simply too expensive, but the bikes are upgradable if I ever so choose so.

[Bjorn Keizers]

Wow, that's gotta suck. I've never had my bike stolen personally, but it's a huge problem here in Holland. Did you know we have more bikes then people here? It's true. And over a million of them get stolen each year - and that's on a population of 16 million people!

I wouldn't even park my bike indoors in some cities like Amsterdam - nobody owns a bike there, but everyone has bolt cutters...