Stolen Bikes Thread - Mod Note please read post #1 before posting

quozl

Planet X wrote: »

I don't really get it with the 2 U locks idea? And a cable or not.
If the thieves can "dismantle" one U lock what's going to stop them doing two? If they want your locked bike..................

The typical advice is to have two different types of lock. A U-lock and a chain. Rather than two of the same lock.

You need different tools to break both of those locks (unless you've an angle grinder, that'll do everything). The advice (from all those edu-ma-cational videos with ex-bike thieves or current police in them) is that the large majority of thieves don't come equipped for more than 1 type of lock as the tools are bulky and heavy and there's plenty of bikes with one (crap) lock on them.

I use a good u-lock (new york) and a decent chain (evolution mini chain) for the above reason.

I'd guess that 2 u-locks would be enough to discourage most thieves anyway - at a luas stop there's lots of bikes and why spend more than twice as long breaking two decent u-locks when there's bound to be two other bikes with worse u-locks that you could nick quickly instead.

I honestly think that a single really good u-lock properly used so that there's no room for a bottle-jack to be inserted would be good enough for most day-time purposes anyway. I read this whole thread a while back and I think there was only one theft of a bike with a new york lock on it - if I recall correctly it was when an entire bike-shed in an apartment building was cleaned out over night. So the thieves presumably came with a van and angle grinders. Nothing's gonna save your bike in that situation, but out in daylight, surrounded by much more easily stolen bikes, I'd be optimistic.

Squidgy Black

2 u-locks takes twice as long. More of a chance of the thief being apprehended, the harder it is for them to get your bike free. They'd more than likely move on to another bike that's not as well locked.

endacl

Planet X wrote: »

I don't really get it with the 2 U locks idea? And a cable or not.
If the thieves can "dismantle" one U lock what's going to stop them doing two? If they want your locked bike..................

The idea I suppose, is move the problem along to the next bike. If a scummer is going to nick a bike, make yours look just that bit trickier than the one next door. I agree on the 2 u locks bit though. Ideally use 2 different types. I use a ny fahgeddaboutit and an Abus Bordo Granit x plus. That's 200 quid right there though. I'd be rightly pissed of if they were cut through. All good so far. Fingers crossed...

Planet X

They seem to be more than "scummers" some of them. If they are tooled up and want your bike, regardless if it takes twice the time, they'll have it.
Twice the time? How long to angle grind one U lock?

They're taking catalytic converters off jeeps in carparks for Gods sake.

quozl

Planet X wrote: »

They seem to be more than "scummers" some of them. If they are tooled up and want your bike, regardless if it takes twice the time, they'll have it.
Twice the time? How long to angle grind one U lock?

Most of them aren't going to be massively tooled up - according to the experts (police, ex-thieves) and they are trying to get the best return on their time/risk.

If locking your bike properly means that 90% of bike thieves will ignore it, then you've made it much safer.

I'd say that locking it properly in the middle of a mass of poorly locked bikes would mean that close to 100% of bike thieves will ignore it. Assuming that your bike isn't worth vastly more than the next best couple of bikes.

As for how long to angle grind them -
http://gizmodo.com/5922074/the-best-bike-lock

2 minutes for an evolution mini . So maybe 4 minutes for a new york lock - I'd swear I've seen 5 minute figures for it online but can't find them now. That's with a battery powered grinder.

It's a matter of seconds to break a bad u-lock by using the bike frame as a lever.
Two decent locks could be 6 or 7 minutes of angle-grinding, or you could cut a half dozen or more poor locks in that time.
If the bikes are remotely comparable in resale value then why would you not target the bikes with the bad locks?

Planet X

I concur with your points.
But alot of assumptions.

quozl

Planet X wrote: »

I concur with your points.
But alot of assumptions.

All my assumptions are based on the best advice of experts. There are a lot of police force guides and ex-bike thief guides on how to lock your bike.

I don't see who else to trust in this rather than the people who made a career of stealing bikes (the real experts) and the people whose job it is to stop it.

Even this thread is evidence in itself - almost every bike stolen in this thread was either locked with a poor lock or unlocked in a shed. It's very noticable - I read through the entire thread when trying to figure out what I needed to secure my bike.

Squidgy Black

yosser hughes wrote: »

Quoting deleted post.

Can we please refrain from turning this into a Gardai bashing thread. Not exactly their number one supporter myself, but this isn't the place for sweeping generalisations and accusations about the people providing protection and security around the country.

Qualitymark

This is what we need - a few of these around Dublin and the other cities:

http://www.broadsheet.ie/2013/07/11/this-changes-everything-10/#comments

sid waddell

Had my maroon (or very dark red) Raleigh Clubman (circa 1983 vintage) stolen from Distillery Road (across Clonliffe Road at the back of Hill 16 at Croke Park) during or after the Dublin-Galway hurling match on Sunday July 7th.

It's pretty much identical to this except with the mudguards taken off and flat black pedals. The frame is a big one - I'd say 59/60 cm at least. Had it for 6 years. It had a silver metal drink holder on the down tube, and a rear light on the seat post.



It was locked with a padlocked chain which was cut through. The thieves left the chain lying on the side of the road.

It's the first bike I've ever had stolen, but certainly the last time I ever cycle to Croke Park.

CramCycle

MOD VOICE: Read the 1st post, the next person to blame or verbally insult the Gardai will get a ban. If that's what you want to discuss, start another thread about it. Posts have already been deleted.

aloyisious

Anyone want a replacement (mountain bike) for their stolen cycle, some gent named Max has put up posters (of bike he's selling) between Grafton St and O'Connell Bridge with photo of same

MB Lacey

Just seen this in Broadsheet

They're using angle grinders on locks in Dublin City Centre:

http://www.broadsheet.ie/2013/07/17/five-stolen-in-the-last-half-hour/

David Burke writes:
My bike (above) was robbed this morning between 10.20am and 10.45am outside the Westin Hotel on Westmoreland Street [Dublin]. An eyewitness saw a guy with an angle grinder cut through the kryptonite lock. A bystander approached and was threatened to back off…. I reported it at Pearse St Garda Station but the feedback was that “5 bikes have been stolen in the last half-hour”.
It also seems that a person fitting the description supplied was spotted stealing bikes in various parts of the city including Castle Street. The guards suggested that I reach out to my insurance company.

aloyisious

MB Lacey wrote: »

Just seen this in Broadsheet

They're using axlegrinders on locks in Dublin City Centre:

http://www.broadsheet.ie/2013/07/17/five-stolen-in-the-last-half-hour/

Traffic CCTV in these areas might be useful, plus any cameras that the hotel might have outside it's premises. I assume from the angle-grinder he's either with a van (Reg No, make etc) or has a bag for the grinder (coming equipped for a theft).

ChainWhip

Posting this on behalf of a friend.

White Trek 1.5 stolen from Drury Street car park at 3pm today, Sat 20/7/2013. Kryptonite cable lock snipped and taken.

I have a picture of the alleged thief but will not post for legal reasons.

NB: The Security guard confirmed the culprit is a repeat offender.
He visits the Drury St. car park during weekdays wearing a suit, parks a bike, lifts one that looks good, and a companion comes soon after to take his bike.
He was recently seen on CCTV exiting with a TT helmet so as not to raise suspicion on the TT bike he had just taken.
A German tourist staying in the nearby hotel also recently had his €2k+ road bike taken

Picture of bike taken earlier today:

yosser hughes

ChainWhip wrote: »

Posting this on behalf of a friend.

White Trek 1.5 stolen from Drury Street car park at 3pm today, Sat 20/7/2013. Kryptonite cable lock snipped and taken.

I have a picture of the alleged thief but will not post for legal reasons.

NB: The Security guard confirmed the culprit is a repeat offender.
He visits the Drury St. car park during weekdays wearing a suit, parks a bike, lifts one that looks good, and a companion comes soon after to take his bike.
He was recently seen on CCTV exiting with a TT helmet so as not to raise suspicion on the TT bike he had just taken.
A German tourist staying in the nearby hotel also recently had his €2k+ road bike taken

Have the security in Drury street reported this person to the guards? Why,if they know who this guy is have they not prevented him from doing it again?
Does anyone care about bike theft in Dublin/Ireland?Really Can anyone tell me; is there a blind eye policy or what?

Qualitymark

yosser hughes wrote: »

Does anyone care about bike theft in Dublin/Ireland?Really Can anyone tell me; is there a blind eye policy or what?

There will be a blind eye policy until cyclists get together and run a campaign to stop it. When we cycle back and forth continuously from Dáil and Government Buildings when the government is in session (and the IMF are staying in the Merrion Hotel, opposite Government Buildings. When we have cycling demos from the Garden of Remembrance to the Dáil, when we put posters of people stealing bicycles up where they've been stolen, asking "What have the Gardaí done about this?", when we go en masse to local pubs and buy a soda water each, and request that they show the video of bicycles being shown locally on their pub TV, when we print out all the stolen bicycle reports from this page, cycle to the Dáil and (having called a press conference) present it to the Minister for Justice - and so on.

We can't expect action until we act ourselves.

yosser hughes

Qualitymark wrote: »

There will be a blind eye policy until cyclists get together and run a campaign to stop it. When we cycle back and forth continuously from Dáil and Government Buildings when the government is in session (and the IMF are staying in the Merrion Hotel, opposite Government Buildings. When we have cycling demos from the Garden of Remembrance to the Dáil, when we put posters of people stealing bicycles up where they've been stolen, asking "What have the Gardaí done about this?", when we go en masse to local pubs and buy a soda water each, and request that they show the video of bicycles being shown locally on their pub TV, when we print out all the stolen bicycle reports from this page, cycle to the Dáil and (having called a press conference) present it to the Minister for Justice - and so on.

We can't expect action until we act ourselves.

All fair points. However if crimes are being committed why does there appear to be nothing done? Why should it take the action you describe, to get those in positions of authority and enforcement to simply do their jobs?
But yes, I agree that cyclists need to get more organised and make this an issue and to bring it to the fore.

Squidgy Black

yosser hughes wrote: »

Have the security in Drury street reported this person to the guards? Why,if they know who this guy is have they not prevented him from doing it again?
Does anyone care about bike theft in Dublin/Ireland?Really Can anyone tell me; is there a blind eye policy or what?

Between wage cuts and stations being closed/reduced hours, the Gardai don't have the man power to deal with smaller crimes like bike theft.

You need to remember that unfortunately bike theft is one of many crimes that are being committed in Dublin, the number of stabbings, shootings and assaults etc are on the rise

Unfortunately they seem to have the same attitude to car theft as they have to bike theft, we've had cars robbed from outside the house a couple of times and you get the usual "we'll see what we can do," and then you never hear anything again.

aloyisious

I talked to Drury St Security when my bike was stolen there and was told by them that the Gardai said the recording did NOT provide a good enough image of the alleged thief to get a conviction in previous theft cases there. I don't know if the was a good image of the thief who stole my bike. The trick is to catch the thief in the act of cutting open a lock on a bike he/she doesn't own.

The thief always leaves the park when challenged. You'd need to detain him (with provable good cause) for proper I/D to get a court order baring him/them from the car-park. As it is, due to the notice from the car-park owners telling you that you park your bike there at your own risk, I don't see any S/O working there on his own actually getting physically "in his face" with thieves and trying to detain one for the Gardai.

Qualitymark

stetyrrell wrote: »

Between wage cuts and stations being closed/reduced hours, the Gardai don't have the man power to deal with smaller crimes like bike theft.

Bike theft isn't a small crime. It's thousands and thousands of euro worth of property stolen every day.

Surveyor11

Qualitymark wrote: »

Bike theft isn't a small crime. It's thousands and thousands of euro worth of property stolen every day.

Agreed, but I have to sy I was a bit underwhelmed when I reported my stolen bike to the guards in Blanchardstown. The report was taken on a scrap of paper that the guard tore off a piece of paper that was hanging around the desk, that sort of said it for me.:(

aloyisious

Surveyor11 wrote: »

Agreed, but I have to sy I was a bit underwhelmed when I reported my stolen bike to the guards in Blanchardstown. The report was taken on a scrap of paper that the guard tore off a piece of paper that was hanging around the desk, that sort of said it for me.:(

Umm, when I reported the theft to Pearse St, a form was completed by myself and the Desk Garda, he entered the details on PULSE, signed the form and gave it to me. I also got a follow-up posted-letter from Pearse St Gardai (on behalf of the Supt) about my bike-theft with an info sheet on Nat and local victim support groups.

lecker Hendl

This has to be one the most frustrating threads to read on boards. Every day there's a new update with a stolen bike. Boils my blood. Traps need to be set up to entice thieves.

aloyisious

I was thinking that one way out of the problem would be for a cage to be built around the bike park with the door-key kept by security in their office and given out on request. That way the thief (known or otherwise) would not be able to breeze-in so easily and steal bikes. He could be refused access to the cage, with access to it's key only through security. I know the result could a slow-down in genuine cycle-owners accessing their bikes but.... it's just a thought I had. Part of the bike park could be left uncaged with cycle owners taking the option of better or lesser security for their cycle at choice.

Edit: Just seen this on another site, reposted there from broadsheet:

Drury Tampering
3:19 pm July 22, 2013 Bodger

Drury Street Bike Park, Dublin.

Stephen Rodgers writes:

Just a little note of warning to anyone using Drury Street Bike Car Park.. I just witnessed a guy with a bolt cutters trying to get the lock off a bike at lunch time today. Luckily he was disturbed and ran away. Worth noting though that They obviously have their eye on the place.

Mr.Fred

aloyisious wrote: »

I was thinking that one way out of the problem would be for a cage to be built around the bike park with the door-key kept by security in their office and given out on request. That way the thief (known or otherwise) would not be able to breeze-in so easily and steal bikes. He could be refused access to the cage, with access to it's key only through security. I know the result could a slow-down in genuine cycle-owners accessing their bikes but.... it's just a thought I had. Part of the bike park could be left uncaged with cycle owners taking the option of better or lesser security for their cycle at choice.

Edit: Just seen this on another site, reposted there from broadsheet:

Drury Tampering
3:19 pm July 22, 2013 Bodger

Drury Street Bike Park, Dublin.

Stephen Rodgers writes:

Just a little note of warning to anyone using Drury Street Bike Car Park.. I just witnessed a guy with a bolt cutters trying to get the lock off a bike at lunch time today. Luckily he was disturbed and ran away. Worth noting though that They obviously have their eye on the place.

As an add on to that why not put a small indiscreet barcode or QR code on your bike and have it scanned on exit which would bring up a picture of the owner on security guards screen.

There'd be no way of any bikes being removed from this bike park then if the security was doing it's job correctly.

It may even be possible to make it automated in that the bike has it's code attached and owner has a gate release code on him (card/keyfob) so once you scan your bike you have to have your gate release to exit both working together or not at all.

I'll leave someone with the know how and time market this just leave me 10%

aloyisious

An answer to the Drury St Car-park theft problem might be through DublinCityCycling.ie. It's a cycling site set up by Dublin City Council, the same people who fund the bike park in Drury St. An email campaign (polite) to DCC pointing out that the park is being targetted by bike thieves and asking them to review anti-theft methods employed there. A similar campaign could be used to inform the Car-park Co of how the cyclists feel about the problem. I'm sure they are well aware of it. I'm thinking of something like this message -- (There have been a lot of thefts, and attempted thefts, of bikes from the bike park at the A/M car-park lately. There are threads on Boards.ie "stolen bikes thread" and on Broadsheet "Drury tampering" about the theft-problem there and how cyclists are being affected. Is it possible for a meeting with the DC.Council staff and the DCcycling group to address what's becoming a major crime problem at Drury St. Your's)

Edit: One thing I am now having a problem with are the regulars sitting outside the park pedestrian doorway. They are in a very good position to see who's going in and out with cycles, inclusive of thieves.

RunRoryRun

aloyisious wrote: »

One thing I am now having a problem with are the regulars sitting outside the park pedestrian doorway. They are in a very good position to see who's going in and out with cycles, inclusive of thieves.

Now forgive me if I'm reading this incorrectly, but I don't think that I am.....are you suggesting we empower that homeless fella that sits there pan-handling 24/7 to act as a security guard for our bikes?

If so, that's a whopper idea.

Zyzz

Never used the Drury St bike park but has anyone invested in an alarmed bike lock? So if a thief tries to get break the lock/locks on your bike it'll bring attention to the security guard on duty?

aloyisious

RunRoryRun wrote: »

Now forgive me if I'm reading this incorrectly, but I don't think that I am.....are you suggesting we empower that homeless fella that sits there pan-handling 24/7 to act as a security guard for our bikes?

If so, that's a whopper idea.

:eek: Eh no, not that, rather the reverse.