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I became the internet’s most notorious bike thief

cyclingtips.com

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Re: I became the internet’s most notorious bike thief

#91

Post by jmnicolas »

josefresco wrote: post #74
ThePhysicist wrote: post #26

Slightly off topic, but I think bike thieves are becoming more and more professional recently. Here in Berlin many now use small cordless screwdrivers with a custom gearing mechanism that operates a bolt-cutter. With that they can even cut through thick steel-bar type bike locks in a few seconds, without making any noise. I saw that in a police report lately but I can't find a link with a photo of the device now, unf…

Two (lame) lock stories below: We inherited a bike with a cable bike lock around the handlebars. The local bike shop was able to cut through it easily with bolt cutters. My truck came with a locking hitch. I recently forgot my keys and a family member pried it off with a crowbar in 10 seconds. Security theater.

> Security theater.

I'm always amazed how the Lockpicking Lawyer on YouTube defeats any lock within seconds. I think the hardest one was a couple minutes.

Re: I became the internet’s most notorious bike thief

#92

Post by usrusr »

kuschku wrote: post #88
usrusr wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Meanwhile, for enthusiast bikes, 10k€ has stopped being exotic. I do blame it on e-bikes, because enthusiasts will happily pay whatever is required to distance themselves from whatever the average consumer does.

It’s honestly entirely foreign to me, I grew up in an environment where everyone cycled, but that meant most bikes were somewhere between omafiets (old, used bikes) and very cheap mass produced bikes. To me a bicycle is a mode of transportation, not a sports device or a lifestyle product. What would they even do with such a bike?

Certainly not ride it to the grocery store. Why do golfers by golf clubs? Not for the grocery store. And yachts aren't routinely used for sailing to the office either. The big lure of the enthusiast bike is doing things because you can. In a good year I can do rides for hundreds of kilometers in a day, I certainly wouldn't want to do that on my omafiets (which is just fine for anything <5km). 2020 was the first year in ages that I haven't crossed the Alps at least once. And sure, you don't need a bike costing 10k for that, in fact as it happens the bike I prefer for those occasions is the cheapest of the enthusiast bikes that I own, but that's beside the point. How many people do you own that drive a car that costs 10000 more than the cheapest car that would be perfectly adequate for the driving they do? Chances are most of them don't even consider themselves car enthusiasts!

Re: I became the internet’s most notorious bike thief

#93

Post by globular-toast »

kuschku wrote: post #87
globular-toast wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I didn't say thousands actually (also specifically said it wasn't normal). It's just that I own a fairly mid-high end road bike (that I bought 10 years ago) that cost more than €1000. I used to ride a road bike that cost around €800 as my commuter bike until it got stolen. The quality at this price point is definitely worth it, with diminishing returns above it. I would strongly recommend upgrading to a road or town…

I’d honestly consider 800€ already enthusiast grade, but I’m interested. What does your 800€ bicycle have that mine doesn’t have? For reference, I’m currently using https://www.boc24.de/p/bocas-bari-trapez/217333/ (which I bought at 320€ on sale) with some changes (B&M 100 lux front light, seat post with suspension), and I don’t think I’d get any major improvements with other changes. Due to cycling in city traffic,…

Yours isn't a low end bike and this might be the price point for you if you aren't enthusiastic about it at all. I don't know a lot about town bikes, though. I prefer road bikes (even for commuting and getting around town with panniers).

Higher end bikes don't have any "features" that yours doesn't have. But you could also spend half as much as you did and still get the same features. Higher price points get you lightness and stiffness. This translates into speed or less effort, depending on your preference. You also get higher quality components that will last a long time or you can swap out and sell if you wish. Low end bikes tend to be disposed of as a unit as they are not worth taking apart.

Re: I became the internet’s most notorious bike thief

#94

Post by usrusr »

pjc50 wrote: post #90
kuschku wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s honestly entirely foreign to me, I grew up in an environment where everyone cycled, but that meant most bikes were somewhere between omafiets (old, used bikes) and very cheap mass produced bikes. To me a bicycle is a mode of transportation, not a sports device or a lifestyle product. What would they even do with such a bike?

Like NFTs, the important question is not "what can you do with it" but "how much did you spend on it". It's a https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veblen_good

At last those bikes are clearly in the subset of veblen goods where you need more than just cash to gain the status. A bike not ridden "adequately" (whatever that means) is like owning art without even pretending to know something about the art in question. You could do it as a provocative statement, but that would get old quickly.

Re: I became the internet’s most notorious bike thief

#95

Post by owenwil »

Freak_NL wrote: post #38
ThePhysicist wrote: post #26

Slightly off topic, but I think bike thieves are becoming more and more professional recently. Here in Berlin many now use small cordless screwdrivers with a custom gearing mechanism that operates a bolt-cutter. With that they can even cut through thick steel-bar type bike locks in a few seconds, without making any noise. I saw that in a police report lately but I can't find a link with a photo of the device now, unf…

These days not having an e-bike is probably one of the easiest deterrents. Next step seems to be to avoid design bikes like Van Moof. And finally, have your bike look used. Then again, my bike is probably not the first one they'll consider, given that it has a 70cm frame making it all but impossible to ride for anyone under 195cm (being 200cm myself). If you steal a bicycle you have to be able to sell it, and given t…

It’s interesting because in my 5 years in the Netherlands, the general opinion was the opposite of this: bike theft is such a common occurrence because everyone rides the same, probably stolen and resold, black bike that you should ride a new, design bike that stands out, like a VanMoof–because no thief would be dumb enough to go for it since it would be obvious where you got it (and more importantly, almost certainly registered/traceable vs an old clunker).

Re: I became the internet’s most notorious bike thief

#96

Post by owenwil »

mrsuprawsm wrote: post #72
Freak_NL wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

These days not having an e-bike is probably one of the easiest deterrents. Next step seems to be to avoid design bikes like Van Moof. And finally, have your bike look used. Then again, my bike is probably not the first one they'll consider, given that it has a 70cm frame making it all but impossible to ride for anyone under 195cm (being 200cm myself). If you steal a bicycle you have to be able to sell it, and given t…

I do wonder how often Van Moof bikes get stolen, despite their tracking features. Fear of theft is the one thing that puts me off buying one.

I had two stolen over the years I owned one in Amsterdam. The first one was recovered in about a week. The second was never found, but they replace it when they don’t find it as a part of that guarantee–which is why it’s actually a really great deal.

Re: I became the internet’s most notorious bike thief

#97

Post by kuschku »

globular-toast wrote: post #93
kuschku wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’d honestly consider 800€ already enthusiast grade, but I’m interested. What does your 800€ bicycle have that mine doesn’t have? For reference, I’m currently using https://www.boc24.de/p/bocas-bari-trapez/217333/ (which I bought at 320€ on sale) with some changes (B&M 100 lux front light, seat post with suspension), and I don’t think I’d get any major improvements with other changes. Due to cycling in city traffic,…

Yours isn't a low end bike and this might be the price point for you if you aren't enthusiastic about it at all. I don't know a lot about town bikes, though. I prefer road bikes (even for commuting and getting around town with panniers). Higher end bikes don't have any "features" that yours doesn't have. But you could also spend half as much as you did and still get the same features. Higher price points get you ligh…

But what’s that gonna provide for me? There’s diminishing returns beyond this point, the efficiency gains are in the single digit percentages or often only placebo effects, and I’ve never even seen a bicycle that stopped being used out of old age. A new coat of paint every decade or two, replacing the tires and brake pads every two years, and maybe the chain every decade, and it’ll run forever.

I feel like it’s just like people buying expensive sports cars, purely because they can, not because they actually need any of it.

Re: I became the internet’s most notorious bike thief

#98

Post by hexedpackets »

hutzlibu wrote: post #53
ThePhysicist wrote: post #26

Slightly off topic, but I think bike thieves are becoming more and more professional recently. Here in Berlin many now use small cordless screwdrivers with a custom gearing mechanism that operates a bolt-cutter. With that they can even cut through thick steel-bar type bike locks in a few seconds, without making any noise. I saw that in a police report lately but I can't find a link with a photo of the device now, unf…

"It seems the only way to protect against theft is to ride an old bicycle." Or move to the countryside, where you can usually leave your bike unlocked outside of the supermarket ... And reading all the bike theft horror stories here, I was wondering, why GPS tracking is not more of a thing? It seems to exist, but might be hard to make use of in reality? (because professionals jam them or remove them and the police is…

There's a complete lack of enforcement for bike thefts (at least in the US cities I've lived in). Even if you have GPS coordinates that unequivocally lead to the thief, the police won't take any action. Maybe this is different in other countries.

Re: I became the internet’s most notorious bike thief

#100

Post by WelcomeShorty »

owenwil wrote: post #95
Freak_NL wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

These days not having an e-bike is probably one of the easiest deterrents. Next step seems to be to avoid design bikes like Van Moof. And finally, have your bike look used. Then again, my bike is probably not the first one they'll consider, given that it has a 70cm frame making it all but impossible to ride for anyone under 195cm (being 200cm myself). If you steal a bicycle you have to be able to sell it, and given t…

It’s interesting because in my 5 years in the Netherlands, the general opinion was the opposite of this: bike theft is such a common occurrence because everyone rides the same, probably stolen and resold, black bike that you should ride a new, design bike that stands out, like a VanMoof–because no thief would be dumb enough to go for it since it would be obvious where you got it (and more importantly, almost certainl…

Funny anecdote, but the initial reason for us to all drive shit looking bikes was the reason that these did not get stolen so often :)

Not so sure your design / desirable bike will last long thou. See here (1) where an absolute unique Audi RS6 DTM was stolen WHILE being used in a film shoot.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n53U_HlIs_Q (sorry, Dutch only)

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