The Chainlink

Two weeks ago my friends bike was stolen.

He didn't have much cash or transportation so I bought him a cheap bike from craigslist.

 

Last night someone stole his seat!

 

This is absolutely insane!

You don't see people stealing parts off of cars... Do we have to completely dismantle our bikes whenever we park? Take the whole thing inside?

 

I'm feeling really violated even though it's not even MY bike.

 

Does anyone have a seat and post that would fit on my friends cruiser?

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I don't get it . . . you'd bring it into the grocery store with you? You'd bring it in to a crowded restaurant?

Apart from the impracticality it sounds a lot like letting the thieves win.


Eric Vann said:
So I'll ask my age old question. Why are not folder bikes more popular. I would assume that bikes get left outside unattended because they can't be brought inside. I would think that commuters of all people would be the biggest proponents of folding bikes on the planet.

Am I misguided in my thinking?
Taking from others is never right or expected.

When I was a kid I never had a lock and never had anything stolen.

You don't fold up your car and drag it through the store. We SHOULDN'T have to worry about any of this.
I left my bike outside because I didn't think I was staying at my friends house and wound up sleeping there, one night and my light was stolen off of it.
I've only lost accessories (light, seat-seatpost) on the north side (Bucktown/Wicker Park.)
Would be interested to hear where others are losing these things . . .
if something has value and is easy to remove from your bike, don't be surprised if someone removes it.

the OP said the thief had pulled the lever on his bike, so this seems a good time to mention that it's not expensive to replace a quick-release seat post collar with something that requires an allen wrench/hex tool to remove. if your saddle is nothing special, this will most likely prevent your seat post and saddle from walking off.

as far as pricey saddles go, practically all all the brooks owners i know use old bicycle chains to attach the saddle rails to one of the bike's seat stays. (http://wallbike.com/blog/2009/03/31/locking-saddles/) the riders who haven't chained their saddles to their frames all seem to put a cable through the seat rails when they lock outside.
If someone has a cheap bike and a cheap seat the first thing they should do is ditch the QR for a bolted seat clamp.

People will steal it just to spite you (and maybe hope you'll buy a nicer new seat so they can come back next week and steal that TOO).

If you aren't going to actually USE the QR and bring the seat with you then leaving a seat (even a cheap one) on the bike is just not a good idea.
If you cover the old chain in an old tube it protects the frame from getting scratched and ensures that only someone with a chain breaker will walk off with your seat.

lauren sailor said:
if something has value and is easy to remove from your bike, don't be surprised if someone removes it.

the OP said the thief had pulled the lever on his bike, so this seems a good time to mention that it's not expensive to replace a quick-release seat post collar with something that requires an allen wrench/hex tool to remove. if your saddle is nothing special, this will most likely prevent your seat post and saddle from walking off.

as far as pricey saddles go, practically all all the brooks owners i know use old bicycle chains to attach the saddle rails to one of the bike's seat stays. (http://wallbike.com/blog/2009/03/31/locking-saddles/) the riders who haven't chained their saddles to their frames all seem to put a cable through the seat rails when they lock outside.
A seat/seatpost is an accessory? :)

H3N3 said:
I've only lost accessories (light, seat-seatpost) on the north side (Bucktown/Wicker Park.)
Would be interested to hear where others are losing these things . . .
I bought a nasty looking beater Nishiki MTB with a truly disgusting saddle - basically the bike saddle equivalent of the 'worst toilet in Scotland' from Trainspotting. Seriously, it looked like some place a bum would go to the bathroom. I made the mistake of locking up at the ground-level racks above the Logan Square Blue Line station (aka the 'bike rack of broken dreams') and that horrible saddle and attached post were gone the very first day. A lesson learned, and probably for the best that I don't actually sit on that putrid effing saddle anymore.

I picked up the bike chain technique from a cyclist from Croatia who had taught school and commuted in Brooklyn. I suspect, thought, that these would snap pretty easily in a bolt-cutter attack.
Often it costs more for a decent seatpost than it does for a new cheap saddle -and since bike manufacturers refuse to even half-ass standardize seatpost sizes some of them can be a real PITA to source (like your LBS will be ordering it -and if you are really unlucky it'll be sort of expensive if you are riding a classic bike with an odd size).
I started this post so the topic is up to me. If YOU want a different topic YOU make a new one. Don't steal mine.

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