Yeah I moreso found it amusing that these people blamed the lock more than leaving a bike outside somewhere in NYC. It might as well be bike stealing capital of the world, or at least the US.
I'm not sure if I need a bike lock very much if ever, I was just considering that one time where walking or driving may be inconvenient but bringing my bike won't be. For the most part things are close enough to me where I don't need to bike there or far away enough that biking isn't feasible. At this point I'm mostly just going between work and home with it.
I bought a used bike in November and have been riding it around Brooklyn. My strategy is pretty simple: The bike was relatively cheap, thus replaceable, and it neither looks fancy enough to steal or beat up enough to scrap parts from. I use a U-lock and don't leave it unattended for very long times.
EDIT: Also, with the cigarette butts thing, if there isn't a trashcan nearby (I'll gladly walk a block or so), I've been instructed by the police to toss butts in the street, where the street cleaner will sweep them up. If I'm in a city/town without frequent (or any) street cleaners, I'll just field-strip my cigarettes and throw them away when I find an outdoor trashcan.
Buy a bike, spray it with brown Rustoleum, do a cover coat in a garish olive drab that will peel, and then slap a Tigr Lock on it. File off all the brand names from your components. No one wants an ugly-as-sin bike with no immediate value and a tough lock, and your priorities are messed up if you care what your bike looks likes. The ride is what matters.
Added security: tuck a Travel Bug inside your frame to track the bike with GPS if it's stolen.
I'm personally of the mind that bike theft should be treated exactly the same as Grand Theft Auto.
No, those locks are useless in NYC. Thieves literally carry angle grinders and bolt cutters with them.
U-locks are maybe 1% more effective than chain locks. Thieves of opportunity take bikes with cable locks, but the professional gangs take the bike they want regardless of other factors.
Bolt cutters? If you're getting through those in less than 15-20 minutes minimum with bog-standard bolt cutters, then you've been buying the wrong shackles. Cutting a properly hardened shackle is no easy task, I've seen guys with a pair of big bolt cutters with one cutter arm locked in a vice, and putting all their weight on the other arm, and it's doing very little to an equally thick piece of hardened steel. And these are the three foot long ones with the hardened steel jaws. Maybe if you had the hardened-jaw four-footers, you'd have a little easier time, but not much.
Plus, why the hell wouldn't they just get a truck, some magnetic decals, some hi-vis vests and a saber saw? Makes the job much easier. Or even just the saber saw. Noisy, but less so than an angle grinder.
If you want a truly secure bike lock, maybe you could try adapting this car security system to bike purposes:
Man, I wish I had one of those.
Totally down with shitting on smokers though. In my group of acquaintances there is only one person who smokes who also isn't a total asshole.
Nah seriously, I'd be cool with that. I fucking hate people who can't take the time to find a bin or some such for their tab ends.
EDIT: Also, with the cigarette butts thing, if there isn't a trashcan nearby (I'll gladly walk a block or so), I've been instructed by the police to toss butts in the street, where the street cleaner will sweep them up. If I'm in a city/town without frequent (or any) street cleaners, I'll just field-strip my cigarettes and throw them away when I find an outdoor trashcan.
There's a brand of mints here called Eclipse(also, various imitators) that have very nice tins that are great for using as walkabout ashtrays. Just stub them out, chuck them in, and when you find a bin, either empty it out or chuck the tin.
No, those locks are useless in NYC. Thieves literally carry angle grinders and bolt cutters with them.
U-locks are maybe 1% more effective than chain locks. Thieves of opportunity take bikes with cable locks, but the professional gangs take the bike they want regardless of other factors.
Bolt cutters? If you're getting through those in less than 15-20 minutes with bog-standard bolt cutters, then you've been buying the wrong shackles. Cutting a properly hardened shackle is no easy task, I've seen guys with a pair of big bolt cutters with one cutter arm locked in a vice, and putting all their weight on the other arm, and it's doing very little.
Plus, why the hell wouldn't they just get a truck, some magnetic decals, some hi-vis vests and a saber saw? Makes the job much easier. Or even just the saber saw. Noisy, but less so than an angle grinder.
The same reason locksmiths don't rob everybody. If you are smart enough to be so efficient, you don't need to resort to something like bike theft. If you know how to use tools, you can get a proper job.
The same reason locksmiths don't rob everybody. If you are smart enough to be so efficient, you don't need to resort to something like bike theft. If you know how to use tools, you can get a proper job.
Scott, if knowing how to use a Saber Saw was enough to get a metalworking job, then you'd be qualified metalworker. It's the trade equivalent of knowing which port to plug a DVI cable into.
You don't have to be smart to be that efficient, the only smart part about that comes in when you get to the magnetic decals and High-vis vests. That's the part that makes it smart, because you put a high-vis vest and a pair of boots on a guy, put him next to a ute or a van with a decal, and he can do whatever the fuck he likes, and nobody will ask you a single goddamned thing.
Edit - Apparently, you call them Sawsall or Sawzall. Either way, I mean a reciprocating saw. You can get one from home depot for fifty bucks.
The same reason locksmiths don't rob everybody. If you are smart enough to be so efficient, you don't need to resort to something like bike theft. If you know how to use tools, you can get a proper job.
Scott, if knowing how to use a Saber Saw was enough to get a metalworking job, then you'd be qualified metalworker.
You don't have to be smart to be that efficient, the only smart part about that comes in when you get to the magnetic decals and High-vis vests. That's the part that makes it smart, because you put a high-vis vest and a pair of boots on a guy, put him next to a ute or a van with a decal, and he can do whatever the fuck he likes, and nobody will ask you a single goddamned thing.
Someone is stealing bikes is incapable of getting any job whatsoever. They don't know what a saber saw is, let alone know it is the right tool for the job. Nor could they afford one. The number one thing that keeps us all safe is that anyone smart enough to do real harm has a job and a life, and has no desire to cause harm.
You don't have to be smart to be that efficient, the only smart part about that comes in when you get to the magnetic decals and High-vis vests. That's the part that makes it smart, because you put a high-vis vest and a pair of boots on a guy, put him next to a ute or a van with a decal, and he can do whatever the fuck he likes, and nobody will ask you a single goddamned thing.
Same goes for walking through most office buildings with a clipboard in hand. People will purposefully walk around you and avoid eye contact when you have a clipboard.
Someone is stealing bikes is incapable of getting any job whatsoever. They don't know what a saber saw is, let alone know it is the right tool for the job. Nor could they afford one. The number one thing that keeps us all safe is that anyone smart enough to do real harm has a job and a life, and has no desire to cause harm.
You don't know that many dodgy sorts, do you? The majority are perfectly capable of getting a job, but being a crook is simply the easier path. Maybe it's different where you are, but I've rarely met someone who had...less than honest employment who wasn't capable of at least entry-level work, and the ones that aren't tend to be real bottom-of-the-barrel junkies who aren't capable of doing much in the way of crime, either, leaning more toward mugging and smash-and-grab housebreaking - and even then, it never lasts too long even by petty criminal standards, because they're not capable of not getting caught, even with the lack of police attention toward petty crime like bike theft.
The assessment of opportunity for getting a job, rather than ability - well, that's a different discussion. Not everybody gets the opportunity, but that's a fault of society, rather than ability.
It didn't take long for a news article to show up with an example of people who had ill intents but not enough brains to pull it off. I wasn't even looking. I see these kinds of stories almost daily.
It didn't take long for a news article to show up with an example of people who had ill intents but not enough brains to pull it off. I wasn't even looking. I see these kinds of stories almost daily.
If guys like these had brains, I fear we might see some kind of Fight Club situation.
There are a handful of criminals with brains out there, but they either tend to be white-collar criminals or leaders of criminal organizations (mob bosses, drug lords, terrorist leaders, etc.) -- they aren't the ones doing the grunt work such as bicycle thieves or even suicide bombers. If you're a smart sociopath with a predilection towards crime, you always tend towards criminal roles where you're not actually getting your hands dirty but instead having other people get their hands dirty for you.
Interview tomorrow with the actual branch of govt. that I want to go to. YES.
It didn't take long for a news article to show up with an example of people who had ill intents but not enough brains to pull it off. I wasn't even looking. I see these kinds of stories almost daily.
If guys like these had brains, I fear we might see some kind of Fight Club situation.
I know I'm going to be great. It's with a different section of the VA that has tons of upward mobility and promotion that's all bargaining (union involved) with no managerial responsibility. The perfect thing.
@Creamsteak, that is great advice for any girl under 26. Seriously.
I know I'm going to be great. It's with a different section of the VA that has tons of upward mobility and promotion that's all bargaining (union involved) with no managerial responsibility. The perfect thing.
@Creamsteak, that is great advice for any girl under 26. Seriously.
You're welcome! At least with the VA, you feel like you're not going to be actively doing anything evil when working for the government. Not like in my case where at one point I was interviewing for a job with the spooks. In retrospect, it's for the best I didn't continue to pursue that job.
It's got three cables leading to a single lock, so you have to cut three different cables. Normally, not much of a deterrent. However, each cable has a wire in it that, when cut, sends an alert to your phone while at the same time blaring the loudest alarm possible from the lock itself. This will deter more casual thieves in urban areas, and hopefully lead to more bike thieves getting caught. It won't eliminate bike stealing, but it'll make it a much more hardcore crime because it draws so much more attention, and if given the choice the bike thief will always steal the one without this lock. Also, if I were the company making this, I'd offer free replacement for any cut cables, because I imagine this lock would be rather expensive.
The thief would just smash the speaker and keep going.
I would just submerge the whole thing in a bag of water, frying it, then cut the cables. No siren, no phone alert, no nothing.
Edit: and then Victor discovered a whole other page existed....
Tack-weld the bike to a post. Bring angle grinder, and cut it loose when you want to leave.
Have ship's anchors with chains lying around town. When you want to lock your bike. cut the frame of your bike and insert it into the center of one of the anchor chain's links. Then weld the bike back together. Cut the bike again to remove.
Tack-weld the bike to a post. Bring angle grinder, and cut it loose when you want to leave.
Have ship's anchors with chains lying around town. When you want to lock your bike. cut the frame of your bike and insert it into the center of one of the anchor chain's links. Then weld the bike back together. Cut the bike again to remove.
Tack-weld the bike to a post. Bring angle grinder, and cut it loose when you want to leave.
Have ship's anchors with chains lying around town. When you want to lock your bike. cut the frame of your bike and insert it into the center of one of the anchor chain's links. Then weld the bike back together. Cut the bike again to remove.
But what if someone steals your anchor?
Some of these professional sailors walk around town with shipbreaking equipment and full-sized vessels, just hunting for bikes with quick-release anchors.
Why don't we just have robot security guards? Then we won't even need locks on the bikes. As long as the robot recognizes who belongs to which bike, it will just shoot anyone who takes one that isn't theirs.
Someone fund my plan to build a bike storage park where you put your bike on a lift that pulls it up to the second floor where an attendant takes it off and stows it.
Comments
I'm not sure if I need a bike lock very much if ever, I was just considering that one time where walking or driving may be inconvenient but bringing my bike won't be. For the most part things are close enough to me where I don't need to bike there or far away enough that biking isn't feasible. At this point I'm mostly just going between work and home with it.
EDIT: Also, with the cigarette butts thing, if there isn't a trashcan nearby (I'll gladly walk a block or so), I've been instructed by the police to toss butts in the street, where the street cleaner will sweep them up. If I'm in a city/town without frequent (or any) street cleaners, I'll just field-strip my cigarettes and throw them away when I find an outdoor trashcan.
Added security: tuck a Travel Bug inside your frame to track the bike with GPS if it's stolen.
I'm personally of the mind that bike theft should be treated exactly the same as Grand Theft Auto.
Plus, why the hell wouldn't they just get a truck, some magnetic decals, some hi-vis vests and a saber saw? Makes the job much easier. Or even just the saber saw. Noisy, but less so than an angle grinder. Man, I wish I had one of those.
Nah seriously, I'd be cool with that. I fucking hate people who can't take the time to find a bin or some such for their tab ends. There's a brand of mints here called Eclipse(also, various imitators) that have very nice tins that are great for using as walkabout ashtrays. Just stub them out, chuck them in, and when you find a bin, either empty it out or chuck the tin.
You don't have to be smart to be that efficient, the only smart part about that comes in when you get to the magnetic decals and High-vis vests. That's the part that makes it smart, because you put a high-vis vest and a pair of boots on a guy, put him next to a ute or a van with a decal, and he can do whatever the fuck he likes, and nobody will ask you a single goddamned thing.
Edit - Apparently, you call them Sawsall or Sawzall. Either way, I mean a reciprocating saw. You can get one from home depot for fifty bucks.
The assessment of opportunity for getting a job, rather than ability - well, that's a different discussion. Not everybody gets the opportunity, but that's a fault of society, rather than ability.
http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_23492963/feds-2-ny-men-tried-make-x-ray
If guys like these had brains, I fear we might see some kind of Fight Club situation.
I know I'm going to be great. It's with a different section of the VA that has tons of upward mobility and promotion that's all bargaining (union involved) with no managerial responsibility. The perfect thing.
@Creamsteak, that is great advice for any girl under 26. Seriously.
Edit: and then Victor discovered a whole other page existed....