Forks stolen - I feel so stupid :-(

[icogs]

Boy do I feel dumb!!!

I was working along the Thames towpath between Richmond and
Teddington, just cutting back overhanging scrub etc. My bike was
locked up in the car park nearby with a big D lock securing back wheel
and frame to railing and a cable looped through front wheel and
attached to D lock.

About 10 - 15 mins later I see two lads cycling towards where I was
cutting back a fallen shrub so I quickly clear away the stuff I cut
from the path to let them pass. "That's a coincidence" I think, "those
forks they are carrying are just like mine." Brain engages too late,
they are bombing off towards Teddington Lock. I run back to the car
park but I know what I will see :-o

If only I had looped the cable through the forks too (they were
suspension forks). If only I had challenged those lads - I had a
bloody great bow-saw in my hand, I am sure I could have at least
retrieved the forks.

To make matters worse the forks were on loan from the shop as mine
were returned for repair as they were faulty!

 

[Nat]

Deepest sympathy. it's one of those 'if only I had just...' moments.
They are the worse!

At least is wasn't the whole bike!

 

[icogs]

On Jun 20, 4:34 pm, Nat <[email protected]> wrote:
> Deepest sympathy. it's one of those 'if only I had just...' moments.
> They are the worse!
>
> At least is wasn't the whole bike!

And lucky I was working with a group who had a van to take me+bike
home.

 

[Paul Boyd]

icogs said the following on 20/06/2007 16:19:

> If only I had looped the cable through the forks too (they were
> suspension forks).

Tsk - fancy forgetting to do that!

(Ahem!!!) Mental note duly made

--
Paul Boyd
http://www.paul-boyd.co.uk/

 

[p.k.]

icogs wrote:
> Boy do I feel dumb!!!


Like the time I put 3 bikes on the back of the car the night before an early
ferry and forgot the multiple locks i had prepared to make them one big lump
attached to a bigger lump.

The bigger lump was still there in the morning

pk

 

[al Mossah]

<snip>
> If only I had looped the cable through the forks too (they were
> suspension forks).


Probably a silly question... How do you loop through the forks?
(question posed from the point of view that I think I've taken all
reasonable precautions by looping through both wheels and looping
through saddle; never thought about the forks being detached)

Peter.

 

[[email protected]]

On 20 Jun, 16:19, icogs <[email protected]> wrote:

<- snippity snip ->
> If only I had looped the cable through the forks too (they were
> suspension forks). ...

Hmm, I would have thought they'd need a toolkit to remove the forks,
and said toolkit would likely have included something capable of
cutting the cable anyway...
I wouldn't beat yourself up over it. In my experience locking a bike
effectively in these sort of situations just ends up with the bike
being vandalised out of frustration. The most effective solution seems
to be to use a hack- a bike that doesn't engender envy. Even then
there's a small minority that will try and wreck it because they think
it'll be funny to make you walk home. I don't think there's anything
much you can do, in the long run, except to avoid the situation as far
as possible.

Cheers,
W.

 

[Alan Braggins]

In article <[email protected]>, al Mossah wrote:
><snip>
>> If only I had looped the cable through the forks too (they were
>> suspension forks).
>
>Probably a silly question... How do you loop through the forks?

Typical suspension forks have a bracing arch above the brakes (or
where rim brakes would be) that makes a crescent shaped closed hole
with the actual top of the forks.
At least it does until the forks are dismantled, which someone with
enough tools to take the forks out of the frame might do.

 

[Rob Morley]

In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] says...
> On 20 Jun, 16:19, icogs <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> <- snippity snip ->
> > If only I had looped the cable through the forks too (they were
> > suspension forks). ...
>
> Hmm, I would have thought they'd need a toolkit to remove the forks,
> and said toolkit would likely have included something capable of
> cutting the cable anyway...

An allen key or two is all you need to remove the forks from many bikes.

 

[[email protected]]

On 21 Jun, 14:27, Rob Morley <[email protected]> wrote:
> In article <[email protected]>,
> [email protected] says...
>
> > Hmm, I would have thought they'd need a toolkit to remove the forks,
> > and said toolkit would likely have included something capable of
> > cutting the cable anyway...
>
> An allen key or two is all you need to remove the forks from many bikes.

Really? Wow, Isn't progress wonderful. I think virtually every bike
I've had has needed an allen key or spanner, a hammer and at least one
oversized spanner to detach the forks from the frame, plus whatever
tools are needed to detach the brakes and (usually) mudguards, though
I suppose in a few cases those could leave with the forks.

Ya lives and ya learns... my sympathies to icogs. Can I recommend
fettling up a £50 fixie from eBay to use for this sort of excursion!

Cheers,
W.

 

[Paul Boyd]

[email protected] said the following on 21/06/2007 13:09:

> Hmm, I would have thought they'd need a toolkit to remove the forks,
> and said toolkit would likely have included something capable of
> cutting the cable anyway...

My forks can be removed with nothing more than an Allen key...

--
Paul Boyd
http://www.paul-boyd.co.uk/