LexRides

andy

this bike was stolen from the co-op last night. its a small, 47-50 cm royal blue felt road bike from early 2000s with white fizik bar tape, a blackburn light clip around the seatpost, and some gnarled spots on the chain stays. it was locked up with a new kryptonite mini. please lock this baby up if you see her, or josh us a holla so we can get down with the biznasty. mary elizabeth says 'fuckin A!'
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brokebike · cutter Joined: 21 Oct 2007 Posts: 2434 Location: local

sucks to hear about that, M-E. I'll keep my eyes peeled.

What's with all the bike thefts recently? I mean, everyone's locking their bikes up correctly, right??? How was it locked up, and what was it locked to? Is there any possible way that you can see that might have made it more vulnerable to getting jacked?

You mentioned having a new Krypto Mini, which is the same thing I use... but damn, this recent rash of bike-jackings is making me reconsider going back to the heavier stuff.

brokebike · cutter Joined: 21 Oct 2007 Posts: 2434 Location: local

was it this kind of Krypto mini:

or this kind?

just seems really hard to imagine the lock being compromised, especially in front of a highly visible area such as the Co-op. Neither of these are cheap, light-duty u-locks, and their small size makes it harder to get a jack or some sort of tool inside the space of the "U" to leverage it.

don't get me wrong, I'm not questioning anyone's ability to lock their bikes at all, I'm just wanting to get as much info as possible about the ways in which all of these recent stolen bikes were locked and/or situated in hopes that all of us might learn something that we can either use, or avoid.

Let's see, in the past year or so, the following people have all had their bikes stolen:

Lola, Scott B., Abbye, Pat B., Chris' friend from the BCC, Lauren, and now Mary Elizabeth.

mary elizabeth · Joined: 12 Nov 2007 Posts: 5 Location: downtown

the first picture of the u-lock is what is was locked with. I hooked it up to the bike rack that is in front of the coop. I checked it yesterday before I left work to make sure it was locked properly, because I let someone ride it around.
I thought buying a good lock would help...

alex · Posted: Sun Jan 06, 2008 7:39 pm Post subject:

was it parked long-term at the co-op, like multiple days? that`s what can get you noticed by the thieves, especially with such a nice bike

sorry about your loss

brokebike · cutter Joined: 21 Oct 2007 Posts: 2434 Location: local

Alex is right, because thieves take notice of such things... heck, even bored teenagers who don't have anything better to do.

I'd say leaving your bike locked up anywhere outside for an extended period of time, even overnight, would put you in a high risk for theft or vandalism regardless of what kind of lock you use.

All it takes for any determined thief (even the ones who don't know what they're doing) to jack a locked bike is time and the right tools for the job. Carbide-tipped hacksaw blades would cut through even the thickest u-lock in about a half-hour... so plenty of patience, and the cover of darkness or a bit of seclusion and the lock is toast. Power tools with the right cutting wheels will make short work of any u-lock or thick chain.... even the NYC locks from Kryptonite.

This doesn't happen too often of course, because both of these methods either take a lot of time, or attract too much attention... which is why you should avoid giving thieves the opportunity to take advantage.

iridetoobs · Posted: Mon Jan 07, 2008 8:58 pm Post subject:

what really sucks about this is that its the first time in the five or six years that ive been around the coop that a bike has been fucked with. ive left bikes there plenty of times and its never been a problem, never crossed my mind. maybe the southland drive skaters the cops are always harassing are finally moving on past graffiti. jokin of course.

DHB · Posted: Tue Jan 08, 2008 12:50 am Post subject:

Kryptonite's anti-theft insurance process seems like it might be complicated. Have you tried to file anything with them yet?

Myke Dronez · Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2008 12:41 am Post subject:

Sorry to hear about the loss Mary Elizabeth.. I know the feeling.

Krypto's anti-theft ins. is like an asshole on an elbow...

...and with gear like this:

...rigs locked up overnight are as good as gone. Between cordless grinders, sawzalls, and grinder arbor chuck adaptors, you can 'fughettaboutit'.

I roll with a chain cause they're harder to attack due to their janglieness but
with all these fancy tools you can never be 100% safe.

Crying or Very sad

_________________
"If you don't want stupid answers don't ask questions."

mary elizabeth · Joined: 12 Nov 2007 Posts: 5 Location: downtown

sorry mike but with a comment like yours I can't help but laugh. I filed a police report, I'm not expecting much from lexington.

John Reaves · training wheels Joined: 04 Dec 2007 Posts: 15

See http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/news/2004/09/64987 Kryptonite locks don't have the best reputation.

brokebike · cutter Joined: 21 Oct 2007 Posts: 2434 Location: local

iridetoobs · Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2008 11:27 am Post subject:

if you want the link to work just delete the period at the end of the url. for some reason the period in the sentence is highlighted as part of the link.

alex · Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2008 1:32 pm Post subject:

yeah, that's super old news.

i could never get the pen thing to work, but lots of people did

i sent in 3 of the shittiest, oldest, kypto locks I could find and they sent me back three brand new ones, and even paid for shipping. not many times will you get such a good deal. i haven't bought a lock since.

willard · training wheels Joined: 30 Oct 2007 Posts: 42

Does Kryptonite still offer that deal? A new lock for free would really make my day. I am ashamed to say that I am still using that lock to secure an old beater mountain bike in my garage.

I tried the pen trick on it and couldn't get it to work either.