251–260 of 286 posts
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Take a really good picture including his face. Send picture to the local police department in case someone reports that bike stolen. Presumably if it's actually his bike, he'll be thankful.
I was under the impression recording people requires their consent in most of western europe?
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Can you get GPS tracking systems that are reliable enough that insurance companies take note enough to discount if they are installed?
Where would you install them on the bike where they couldn't be removed easily? I've thought you could place one in the frame, but that would be difficult to do aftermarket and the GPS and WWAN antennas would need to exit it somewhere.
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Take a really good picture including his face. Send picture to the local police department in case someone reports that bike stolen. Presumably if it's actually his bike, he'll be thankful.
I was under the impression recording people requires their consent in most of western europe?
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That's beside the point. If you have a bike and puncture a tyre, you do not wait for the state to give you money before you repair it. France is one of the world's richest countries so I'm thinking that the French were not saving up to change their bikes' tyres... They've been given free money to spend on bikes, so they will spend it on bikes (repairs or not, let's be honest, because it's ridiculous to think that the…
> France is one of the world's richest countries Not even in the top 20. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(PPP)...
[0] with respect to classifying countries as rich or not as it ignores the fact that the category is not fixed in size.
[1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_wealth_pe...
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Where would you install them on the bike where they couldn't be removed easily? I've thought you could place one in the frame, but that would be difficult to do aftermarket and the GPS and WWAN antennas would need to exit it somewhere.
If it's carbon frame then the antennas can be in the frame. Power source sounds more annoying though.
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When I lived in Sweden, on average one bike would get stolen per year. My experience in California is similar. Once you accept that, it's not that much money. The bad part is that you can never buy that Really Nice bike you'd really want.
You seem to have incredibly bad luck. I got 2 bikes stolen in 20 years and I think its similar for my friends (all central Europe).
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> What I've learned while I lived in Amsterdam is that you want to invest ~30% of the value of your bike to purchase a bike lock. That advice predates the battery-powered angle grinder, which many bike thieves in Western Europe now use. Even the toughest, most expensive U-lock can be broken in about a minute with an angle grinder.
Having two locks can also be a good tactic, especially two locks in a different style e.g. a d-lock and a cable lock. The theory being that a thief would need to have two tools to steal your bike which means it's likely more hassle than other bikes that'll only have been secured with a single lock.
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> Often some beaten up thing they probably paid €30-200 for at a flea market or bike shop In Belgium, Belgian people buy mostly new ones in the range of 500-1000. People who don't earn much or students, buy the cheap/used bikes you mentioned. Electrical bikes are > 2000 € and pretty popular. In general, a whole family can bike together and it's very popular during the summer. We can bike were-ever we want during Covi…
One thing confused me about this. In major American cities bike theft is incredibly common, to the point that the police won't help at all. I've had bikes repeatedly stolen out of locked garages at home! I'd never buy a bike that was worth any reasonable amount of money, my commute pre-covid was a good candidate for an electric bike, but no way would I spend more than a 2 or 3 hundred dollars on something that will g…
Are you happy spending 2 or 3 hundred dollars on burning gas within 3 months?
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Everything wears out of course, but I've had mine for 7 years going back and forth to work every day and never replaced my breaks or chain or cassette. Maybe you experience a quality issue if it's a frequent issue?
If the motor is in the hub, then I can believe wear on the chain and cassette is minimal. And if you use brakes very sparingly, they could also last for a long time. I'm interested in the brand of your pads, I need those! I have to change mine every 1000 kilometres.
Is this referring to motor as in an electrical bike? I am not using that.
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This is the only reason I don't ride anymore. I don't get why my complex car full of caustic liquids and burning them to drive a bunch of parts super fast can go tens of thousands of miles with nothing but oil changes and nothing breaks or doesn't work almost-like-new unless I run over a nail, but bikes? Ugh. Every time I go to get on it, something's broken. Flat tires constantly. Changing them sucks and takes foreve…
> Give me a bike that doesn't break all the time What you need is a 'commuter bike' with an aluminium frame, Shimano Nexus 8-speed hub gear and Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres. Should cost less than $500. You'll need to pump up the tyres every 3 months, and have a bike shop service it every 2000 miles or so. But I've been riding this configuration twice a day for 5 years and had maybe 3 punctures in that time and no pro…
Those old caliper brakes need constant replacement, constant adjustment, replacing them requires even more calibration, and tiniest little wobble in your wheel or dent in your rim will make the brake very erratic and wear quickly. I get bad shivers down my spine every time i see such brakes, knowing how much time and frustration I've wasted on maintaining them in the past.
Quality of bike components have gone up past decades so don't be hung up on old experiences. Build quality matters a lot so make sure to get a reputable brand also, not something from the corner of the hardware store, doesn't have to be their top of the line model though, something like 400-800€ should give you a good one.