Tips for preventing bike theft.
Thread started by
SPOOK at 04.15.09 - 1:05 pm
With the rash of bike thefts lately, this thread is meant to be a resource for people wanting to know how to prevent it.
First and foremost: REGISTER YOUR BIKE.
While this may not be a theft prevention measure, it will certainly help in recovery of your lost bike, and proof of ownership (not to mention it's the law).
Helpful links:
- leave you bike unlocked! Even if it's in your work area, yard, friend's place, back of your car. I'd go so far as to even say lock your bike when it's in your home or car.
- assume your bike is safe -unlocked- when it is in your line-of-sight. You never know when you may get distracted. Think about Katie's bike being stolen of the front of her bus.
- Replace your cable lock with a more secure U-lock. As it has been mentioned in the threads before, U-locks are not impervious, they just require more time for thieves to break.
- Be vigilant. This can be the easiest step, but hardest to remember. Keep an eye out for Sketchy Magoos loitering around your bike parking area.
- If you can, lock your bike in a well-lit area.
- If you can, lock your bike indoors. Especially if running into a store or bank or other 'quick' errand.
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(not to mention it's the law).
not anymore?
mattspeed04.15.09 - 1:09 pm
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Well yes, but rather the LAPD is not enforcing it. Whether or not the law is still on the books, I don't know.
SPOOK04.15.09 - 1:14 pm
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when using the bus rack, is it possible to lock to the rack?
or should you just lock ur wheel to the frame as a deterring measure?
KiMS104.15.09 - 1:34 pm
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I think it's
possible to lock your wheels to the bus rack. I don't know what Metro's policy is on that, though.
SPOOK04.15.09 - 1:37 pm
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yeah,
i take the orange line bus here and there and i am fucking TERRIFIED of someone just running up and grabbing it on a stop.
i try to stay as close to the front as possible but sometimes if it's packed it becomes a shoving match.
if metro doesnt allow you to lock it to the rack, i think a lamer alternative would be to just lock the frame to the wheel.
it's not much but it's SOMETHING. at least they cant ride off with it.
KiMS104.15.09 - 1:45 pm
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if your bike is important to you than you wouldn't mind investing more for a lock and paying more attention to it, right? pretend your bike is this person you've been trying hard to get with. that shit is never out of sight.
meow04.15.09 - 2:01 pm
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what if you're bike told you to stop being creepy?
KiMS104.15.09 - 2:04 pm
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Good links and great advice..After having 3 bikes stolen from inside my apartments over the years, I now always lock my bike up indoors.
(It's my understanding that the LA's bike registration law is going to be removed from the books.)
angle04.15.09 - 2:13 pm
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matt's bike has chlamydia.
the tip of it's saddle drips puss in the mornings and burns when it pees.
KiMS104.15.09 - 2:22 pm
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Today I was riding through Burbank and saw TWO KIDDIE BIKES LOCKED WITH A ULOCK. I'm going to go back and take a picture. I mean, seriously. If they can do it, why can't you lock your WAY nicer, so called precious bike with a ulock? I don't understand.
imachynna04.15.09 - 2:22 pm
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Okay let's just say for shits and giggles that you own a 500 dollar bike but can't afford to buy a lock. At least completely unlock the front or back wheel so that when the Mother bleepin bike crook swoops in like a smooth criminal to jack you for your 2 wheels of hotness. you can be there to watch him get a free ride in the back of the ER Taxi, or you can stop being cheap and just get a damn lock.
ridetime04.15.09 - 3:56 pm
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Kryptonites are going for cheap on Amazon right now, get then while they're cheap.
Gav04.15.09 - 4:10 pm
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I used a semi no name u lock from Helen's and it's served me well for at least 5 years. I've just recently replaced it. I would trust that old lock over just about any cable lock I've seen.
User104.15.09 - 4:11 pm
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I got a good Bulldog U-lock from Cynergy for about $35
SPOOK04.15.09 - 8:44 pm
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As far as bicycle licenses go... I just got mine license from Rudy's bike shop in Arleta.... he's still got some. Call first.. In Arleta, next to a Jack in the Box off osborne. Across the street from Vallarta.
He's been there for the longest and Rudy is closed on Wednesdays. Buy a tube at least... this guy is really cool.
digablesoul04.15.09 - 10:14 pm
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what alotta kids in TX do is buy thick industrial chains & krypto u-lock mini's.
PRO: shit's beef as fuck and intimidating.
CON: if you wear it around your body, you're prone to breaking a pelvis or a collarbone. (see my left collarbone)
ALTERNATIVE
another great investment is the Krypto Mini or the Fahgedaboudit.
never leave one wheel unlocked, take off the front and lock it to the back, it takes 2 extra minutes, tops.
HANDBONE04.15.09 - 11:16 pm
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correction:
Industrial Chain and "Kryptonite New York Mini" (what i use - the longer the chain, the better - you can use a carabiner to wear it around your waist.)
HANDBONE04.15.09 - 11:18 pm
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Somebody posted on Craigslist about this site::
http://stopbicycletheft.org/
DJwheels04.26.09 - 10:13 pm
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"what if you're bike told you to stop being creepy?"
lol
Avis_One04.28.09 - 9:29 am
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Metro has a policy aginst locking a bike on a bus bike rack to the bike rack.
My guess is that most drivers don't know, won't notice or don't care if you lock up to the rack. You can do this as quickly as it takes other folks to load or unload their bike from the rack.
If the driver says something to you, which he/she has a right and obligation to do, then lock your wheel and frame before mounting the bike on the rack.
Do anything and everything to deter/slow down any SMOOTH CRIMINAL who even thinks about jacking your junk.
Creative Thing04.28.09 - 10:29 am
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