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My bike was stolen (2017)

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Re: My bike was stolen (2017)

#71

Post by nostromo »

BashiBazouk wrote: post #38

A long time ago I had a bicycle stolen. I had registered the bike with the city as "required" had filled out a police report with license number and serial number. Found the bike locked up in town on a Friday night. Flagged down a police officer and told him about the bicycle theft, police report and had a copy of the paperwork with all the relevant info. Cops reply: I can't get a locksmith out until Monday. Went hom…

This is entirely dependent on what city you live in and who you elect to local leadership positions.

My brother's bike was stolen in college when he lived in Logan Utah. As a non-native he was shocked to find that the cops put out a description of the stolen bike immediately and it was spotted and returned within hours. I believe an arrest was also made.

There's no reason we just need to accept that you can steal anything you like and nobody will care. This is a direct response to the people we're putting in power.

Re: My bike was stolen (2017)

#72

Post by kraquepype »

dahart wrote: post #69
kraquepype wrote: post #41

Glad this had a happy ending. I'm still torn up about my own bike, stolen in broad daylight. It was my fault - it wasn't locked up. It was an old bonded aluminum frame Trek, it squeaked when you bore down on it but it was upgraded and tweaked just the way I like it. I haven't felt the same about cycling since.

> it squeaked when you bore down on it My old trek commuter just started doing that. Then I inspected the frame and found some cracks around where the cabling comes out. Went to buy a new bike and the shop said, well at least go check if they’ll warranty it. So I did, my local shop just happened to have the 15 year old original receipt archived. They sent photos to Trek, and Trek warrantied a replacement. And it was…

That is great, I'm glad they honored the warranty so well for you. Mine was really old - an early aluminum frame, it wasn't welded but bonded together - but now I wonder what they would have done if I had asked.

Re: My bike was stolen (2017)

#73

Post by Tarsul »

bowsamic wrote: post #8
JanSt wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ummm no? Two weeks ago I saw a guy trying to steal a bike and called the police. Three police cars arrived within 3 minutes and they tried to find him for at least 30 minutes based on my description.

Maybe it's a Hamburg thing then. Everyone I know who has tried to report a crime here in Hamburg has been interrogated and harassed by the police

there's a huge difference between catching the thieves in the act and trying to get your bike back afterwards. Actually, I have experienced both cases: Once my brother saw how thieves were trying to steal a bike and informed the police, who acted. Another time I saw my stolen bike basically 300m next to a police station and went there and everything they said was: We don't have policemen here who have time for this. And all I could think (I was a teenager then): WHAT? You are at the reception and not doing anything... I didn't think about stealing it back, though.... (both cases were in Bergedorf ;))

Re: My bike was stolen (2017)

#74

Post by jjtheblunt »

thatguy0900 wrote: post #48
jjtheblunt wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

around 1996 I had my bike, locked up on campus at my University, stolen from a campus bike rack, by the campus police, in essentially a new-employee fuckup. My bike was in the database, labelled, serial number registered. So i reported it stolen, they facepalmed and said they took it off a campus bike rack (cutting the lock), and sold it, with others, at a campus auction. I found it locked up at the engineering libra…

So they just take bikes that arnt registered with them? That seems very aggressive and strange to me to begin with. I've never heard of trying to tax bycicles like that.

My bike was clearly registered with them. It had a clear sticker on it too, besides serial number. It was just a noob mistake, gone haywire.

Re: My bike was stolen (2017)

#75

Post by jjtheblunt »

bombcar wrote: post #52
thatguy0900 wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So they just take bikes that arnt registered with them? That seems very aggressive and strange to me to begin with. I've never heard of trying to tax bycicles like that.

University is the key. They're often trying to deal with absolute masses of bikes but even so this sounds like an overreach (and probably should have been handled via small claims court or similar).

Yep it was a mistake, and they admitted such. I thought of small claims but for a then old 10 speed bike no longer made, i figured i'd squander more time and effort than the cost of replacing it.

Re: My bike was stolen (2017)

#76

Post by Fatnino »

jjtheblunt wrote: post #75
bombcar wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

University is the key. They're often trying to deal with absolute masses of bikes but even so this sounds like an overreach (and probably should have been handled via small claims court or similar).

Yep it was a mistake, and they admitted such. I thought of small claims but for a then old 10 speed bike no longer made, i figured i'd squander more time and effort than the cost of replacing it.

Small claims court is self serve, no lawyer needed. It's as simple as filling out a form and plonking down $75 or so. And you can add that fee to the damages so it costs you nothing.

Re: My bike was stolen (2017)

#77

Post by collyw »

ndsipa_pomu wrote: post #23

I wish bike manufacturers would start including GPS devices into the frames of high-end bikes. The devices would need some access to insert SIMs and charge them and then it should act as a deterrent.

Cyclists can get incredibly OCD about weight, they will buy bolts from more expensive material to save tiny amounts of weight. Peron anally I always found this a bit strange as things like cutting your hair would likely save more weight.

Re: My bike was stolen (2017)

#79

Post by SeanLuke »

I have an unusual folding bike. It's a Bike Friday Tikit, and basically has a Steal Me sign attached to it. But it also can be folded extremely rapidly and covered with a custom built-in cover so it looks like, oh, a tuba case.

My anti-theft strategy is: my bike has never had a lock. This forces me to fold and cover it and take it in with me wherever I go. Office buildings, federal buildings in DC (really), offices in the Smithsonian, labs. Restaurants nearly universally allow me to bring it in and tuck it somewhere because as long as it's covered no customer is going to complain; they don't even notice it. It's like a Jedi mind cloak. This was the case for Rome as well, when I had the bike there for about a year.

The only place I ever had an issue was the National Science Foundation. I biked to a panel meeting only to discover they wouldn't let me take the bike in. There was a bike cage in the basement but for "employees only". And the guard station wouldn't let me tuck the bike there out of liability concern. However it turns out that the panel meeting was on a second floor room which coincidentally was attached via a sky bridge to a shopping mall across the street with no guard station. The guards hinted that I take the bike to the mall, up the escalator, across the bridge, and right into the room. Which I did.

Re: My bike was stolen (2017)

#80

Post by Kalium »

subroutine wrote: post #31
ndsipa_pomu wrote: post #23

I wish bike manufacturers would start including GPS devices into the frames of high-end bikes. The devices would need some access to insert SIMs and charge them and then it should act as a deterrent.

Something like an airtag would probably work.

Airtags and similar can work, but there are downsides. For one, AirTags specifically have a series of anti-stalker features. That means a thief knows the bike is being tracked. Second, any tracker you hide on the bike can be found by a thief and removed.

Having it integrated by the manufacturer means both avoiding Apple's measures and making it much harder to find and remove. So it's generally a preferable option when possible.

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