anyone had their beater stolen?

fatbottomedgirl

I put a bit of money into reviving my cute little old bike ( centurion signet) , and now I have a great shopping bike that I love. I'm nervous about locking it up and leaving it for a few hours . Since it's : 20+ years old , not a big name brand, womens, bike with a huge rear basket on the back , Is it just too nerdy to steal?

Anyone had a bike that they thought was just to old/ugly/weird to steal, but it happened anyway?

HellonWheels

It depends on where you live. In the cushy burbs, the more expensive bikes are liable to be stolen..you know, the ones that make people look like Lance wannabes? (lol)

But in major cities, where a lot of deliveryboys use the old bikes, you are more likely to lose it. Especially if its customized (as two of mine are) with side metal baskets, front wire baskets, etc. In Philly, Chinese deliveryboys LOVE those for delivering food.

On South street in Philly, for example, a lot of people engage in "uglifying" their old bikes, to make them even more unappealing. The best thing, IMO, is to double lock your bike with two different KINDS of locks...one U lock and one cable, etc. Most thieves don't carry around tools to get through all kinds of locks, so if you use two different KINDS at once, the chances are great that they'l pass your bike and go look for an easier one to snatch.

__________________
"He who conquers himself is the mightiest warrior"--Confucius

kitk

Back in the days when I lived in San Francisco, EVERY single beat up, garage sale/thrift store bike I had ended up getting stolen. Some of them only cost 5 bucks. It was always a mystery to me why anybody would want those bikes, true I didn't have fancy locks, but to me the bikes were just too too ugly! Desperate people do desperate things I guess...

HellonWheels

I highly recommend this book:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...=glance&s=books

The key seems to be using two diff KINDS of locks.

__________________
"He who conquers himself is the mightiest warrior"--Confucius

scoty

Okay so when I moved into my recent apartment about 10 mo. ago I had 4 bikes. All of them cheap. The one that I rode was a 7-8 year old mountain bike from Target that was given to me. The other three had been bought at pawn shops, one a mountain bike of undeterminable age that was absolute junk. The other 2 were 20-30 yr old road bikes. The apartment I live in is very quiet and faces a fence at the edge of the property. Bikes must be kept either in the apartment or under the stairs, as mine were all kept under the stairs, I come home from work my target bike is stolen.

My fault wasn't locked been there for 6 months, no problems boom they take my good bike. About 3 weeks later my other junk mountain bike gone. One 10 sp is in the shop getting rebuilt, whew the other still lying under the stairs.

Yes they will steal anything if given a chance.

Scoty

JTE83

Yes, anyone will steal an unlocked bike. You're being really stupid leaving your bikes unlocked.

ohiobiker

I had a cheap mountian bike stolen off my porch when I went in the house to get my wallet for a beer run. My own damn porch. At this point I have 6 bikes that my kids and I ride at different times and we always lock them up when we're out-n-about. When you least expect it someone will invariably grab it.

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centralmail

The bastids stole my Giant Expression. They jumped over the side gate, and nicked the bike. I was so damn furious. I will probably get a folder and store it inside.

STS901

I have a Schwinn (Pacific Cycles, not real schwinn) that I do leave outside unlocked in my fiancee's Courtyard but the ONLY reason it is unlocked is it has a flat and no handlebar. I keep the functioning bikes inside.