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A Dragnet for Pee-Wee

blog.priceonomics.com

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Re: A Dragnet for Pee-Wee

#41

Post by pyoung »

Camillo wrote: post #22

Let's say a bike would normally last you ten years, but it gets stolen every two. Each time you buy a new one. Therefore, there are now five as many bikes as needed. But then, why isn't the market saturated? How can it sustain such a high churn rate? It seems to me that bike thieves need a way to get bikes out of the market, too. They can do it in two ways: by hoarding bikes ( http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y171/FO…

You are ignoring the high demand for used bikes. I imagine a lot of people buy cheap used bikes because they now that there is a high likelihood of their bike getting stolen. Ironically, this behavior fuels the demand for the very same bikes that are getting stolen.

"Reporting people who have abnormal numbers of bikes"

There are a few well none spots in the bay area where most stolen bikes end up. The problem is it's hard to prove that these are the guys that steal the bikes, and the police don't really care that much.

Re: A Dragnet for Pee-Wee

#42

Post by mahyarm »

pmahoney wrote: post #39
msrpotus wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or just buying a cheaper bike on the assumption that you'll need to get a new one sooner or later?

I don't know how it is in "nicer" climates, but where I am, my commuter bike has gradually accumulated various things: - taillight which I don't bother to remove - expensive headlight which I do remove when parked (but I leave the mounting bracket) - pedal straps (a must, in my opinion, for safe riding in traffic; feet slipping off pedals can mean a crash) - thorn resistant tires - stronger wheel (I'm above-average h…

I mount head and tail lights on a helmet so I don't have to care about that part. You can also put lights on your bags too. The lights are often the most expensive part.

For stronger wheels & tires, I'd just get a thicker tire bike. For a strong frame I just go with cromoly. You don't need anything special then as far as strength goes. The rack, fenders and strap can be had for $50 total after all of that.

Re: A Dragnet for Pee-Wee

#44

Post by ghayes »

cjfont wrote: post #40

I've always thought that bicycles should have a standard ID number similar to how vehicles have a VIN (a BIN maybe?). This would go a long way in allowing victims to search for their bike in a registry, and also allow buyers to confirm the bike they're buying from some flea market wasn't nabbed the week prior somewhere. To me this would be the first step no-brainer to helping discourage this kind of theft.

I think this is clearly the easiest solution to the problem if we want to fix it in the long run. It requires people to boycott bikes with a scratched off BIN, but shaming can go a long way to adjust demand. +1

Re: A Dragnet for Pee-Wee

#46

Post by di »

This is yet another Craigslist scraper, no?

So it's vulnerable to the same issue that Padmapper, Carsabi, etc. have met...

Re: A Dragnet for Pee-Wee

#50

Post by ipsin »

phreeza wrote: post #10
kunle wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

2 ideas: 1. stolen bike finder button should stand out a bit more. maybe in red (btn-danger) 2. Dont have a stolen bike but is there a way to flag listings so that other browsers know they are browsing a stolen bike. Might auth with a social network and require a couple friends to flag it as well (so individuals dont do it maliciously). But would massively improve your data and would help the community self police.

How would people identify stolen bikes that are not their own?

I've seen suspicious craigslist ads in the past.

Many bikes photographed in the same spot. Poor-quality photographs (blurry, etc.) that make it difficult to pick out distinguishing marks. Very little detail about the bike's components.

None of these are proof of a stolen bike, but each is a useful flag, an indicator that the ad is worth further scrutiny, and flagging could help people looking for their bike.

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