The Chainlink

A Quick Warning: The Bike Shop in Glen Ellyn *UPDATED 7/10*

Went there with a friend today who got a flat and didn't have a tube.  We went around back cause he was going to just have them swap it.  They wanted $10 to put in a tube so we just bought it our selves and installed it.  While we were back there we noted two bike racks.  They appear to be customers bikes waiting to be worked on.

There were two REALLY nice bikes there, easily $1000+.  Sitting in the rack on the back, no cameras, no locks, nothing.  Just sitting out there.  The area isn't even viewable from the area,  I know Glen Ellyn is different than Chicago and it's probably fine.  But, if it was MY bike and I knew they were storing them out back with no locks or supervision, I wouldn't be happy.  At all.  

To be fair, these could have been the shops bikes.  However, judging by the fact that they told my friend to put his bike there when they thought they'd be working on it, i was rather certain they are customer bikes.  

*UPDATED* Molly, a mechanic from The Bike Shop has informed us that they are now locking the bikes in the back!  Great to see a bike shop take a bit of criticism and resolve the complaint!  Two thumbs way up!

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Must be tough for the folks in Glen Ellyn to know that whenever anything gets stolen out there, it's quickly whisked into Chicago by those "city" thieves and there's no chance of recovering anything!

Have you thought about building a wall on the Chicago side to cut down on thievery?

Molly Shough said:

 an easy target for thieves coming from the city.

Attention bike thieves! Leaving bikes unlocked, as I have noticed from travelling outside of the city, is very common for shops as well as home owners leaving their garages unlocked and bikes laying on the ground ect.

HAPPY HUNTING

Wake up suburbanites!

So sorry to have offend any Chicagoans "h" .. I live in the city of Chicago and can personally attest that thieves tend to be more aggressive within the city limits, I've had two bikes stolen and everyone who knows anyone has had something stolen.. This is my personal bias as someone who works in Glen Ellen but lives in Chicago.

The last part of my post did get a little snarky but it's hard not to get a little upset when folks criticize your place of employment based on one visit without all the information. my sincere apologies.. 

Molly, 

To be fair, I was behind the store for around a 1/2 hour on saturday waiting for my friend to finish getting a new tube and installing it, and the door to the service area was shut for most of the time.  I'm assuming this was due to the extreme heat.  

And like I said, I wouldn't be comfortable if a bike shop left my bike unlocked behind the shop, regardless of its area, even if I was assured that IF it got stolen, i'd get a free upgrade.  Either way, you guys know your area best and I don't.  I just know I'd be very hesitant to leave my bike there knowing where it's stored, even in an area as nice as Glen Ellyn.  

There is no crime outside the Chicago city limits.  It's a fact.

I understand getting upset over a critical comment about the shop, but this sounds like a valid concern.  I know I would be reluctant to leave a bike in that situation.  Even with things visible in the window it only takes a few seconds for someone to silently ride off on an unlocked bike.  Growing up in the suburbs, there is less theft than the city, but it still happens.  

I'm glad you will be addressing it by putting some locks on the bikes and cameras in the area.

Molly Shough said:

So sorry to have offend any Chicagoans "h" .. I live in the city of Chicago and can personally attest that thieves tend to be more aggressive within the city limits, I've had two bikes stolen and everyone who knows anyone has had something stolen.. This is my personal bias as someone who works in Glen Ellen but lives in Chicago.

The last part of my post did get a little snarky but it's hard not to get a little upset when folks criticize your place of employment based on one visit without all the information. my sincere apologies.. 

+1.. and who probably would never have to visit said LBS.


Chris C said:

So this will be implemented at the owner's expense to remedy a risk that has manifested itself only once in ten years because a bunch of people in Chicago are so outraged that such a condition could exist in a town they couldn't find on a friggin map.

 

Thanks Liz,

I get it, I really do.. It took me a couple times of "are you sure it's okay to leave my bike unlocked?" to feel comfortable with it. I guess I forgot about that as it was so long ago :)

I leave my bike out behind the shop all day long, which is a lot longer than the other bikes of course.. Coming from the city I wouldn't leave my bike unlocked or (free locked for that matter!) anywhere if I felt it would get nabbed.

I understand that crime and bike theft can happen anywhere but it tends to be more common in denser more populated areas where someone can see thousands of people daily without talking or knowing any of them which is hardly what I've experienced in G.E.

Thanks again for giving me the opportunity to try and clear the air.

Hopefully there's no lingering hard feelings for my knee jerk reaction response concerning these legit concerns of bike storage safety.

ms



Liz said:

I understand getting upset over a critical comment about the shop, but this sounds like a valid concern.  I know I would be reluctant to leave a bike in that situation.  Even with things visible in the window it only takes a few seconds for someone to silently ride off on an unlocked bike.  Growing up in the suburbs, there is less theft than the city, but it still happens.  

I'm glad you will be addressing it by putting some locks on the bikes and cameras in the area.

Molly Shough said:

So sorry to have offend any Chicagoans "h" .. I live in the city of Chicago and can personally attest that thieves tend to be more aggressive within the city limits, I've had two bikes stolen and everyone who knows anyone has had something stolen.. This is my personal bias as someone who works in Glen Ellen but lives in Chicago.

The last part of my post did get a little snarky but it's hard not to get a little upset when folks criticize your place of employment based on one visit without all the information. my sincere apologies.. 

Have you read this thread through? There was no serious intent expressed to lock the bikes or install cameras.  Describing the concern expressed here as "outrage" is just shitty.

If you're going to be superior it helps to be right, too.

Chris C said:

So this will be implemented at the owner's expense to remedy a risk that has manifested itself only once in ten years because a bunch of people in Chicago are so outraged that such a condition could exist in a town they couldn't find on a friggin map.

 

It's much easier to prevent bicycles from being stolen by locking them properly and keeping an eye on them, than it is to recover them after being stolen.  That's a fact.

The shock and dismay of many here, is the evident naiveté displayed by this bike shop in believing no one will ever steal their customers' unlocked bikes from out back.  Their customers' bikes....not theirs.  Many of us cringe when we watch a rider leave a bike unattended, unlocked, or perhaps barely locked with an easy to cut cable. The stolen bike registry is filled with sad tales, one after another, of bikes that disappeared when the rider took their eyes off their bike for just a moment, left them on a porch, in a gangway, in a yard, in a bike room, believing that no one would ever steal their bike.  But the thieves go on stealing.  And a bike shop should know better than that.  If they don't, how can they teach vigilance to their customers?

Further, the implication that Glen Ellyn is somehow too fancy and special a place to have any thieves living there (or even just passing through) just seems even more unbelieveable. 

 

yes there was. I believe I said just that. I wasn't being sarcastic when writing that the bikes from now on would be locked and further security measures were to be put in place. I really don't see the need to attack each other anymore on this forum. Concern was expressed and we're taking actions to try to make people feel better about the situation. thanks.

h' said:

Have you read this thread through? There was no serious intent expressed to lock the bikes or install cameras.  Describing the concern expressed here as "outrage" is just shitty.

If you're going to be superior it helps to be right, too.

Chris C said:

So this will be implemented at the owner's expense to remedy a risk that has manifested itself only once in ten years because a bunch of people in Chicago are so outraged that such a condition could exist in a town they couldn't find on a friggin map.

 

Molly, 

As the starter of this thread, I'm very glad to hear that the bike shop will now be locking bikes back there.  I'll update the first post (if i can, if not maybe the mods can update it) that the shop heard my concerns, listened, and has taken action to correct it.  I know I'm just a city guy who will probably never visit your shop again, however, the fact that you guys are able to take a little criticism and be proactive in protecting your customers bikes speaks volumes of the quality of your shop

Thanks for listening!

TehDoak


Molly Shough said:

yes there was. I believe I said just that. I wasn't being sarcastic when writing that the bikes from now on would be locked and further security measures were to be put in place. I really don't see the need to attack each other anymore on this forum. Concern was expressed and we're taking actions to try to make people feel better about the situation. thanks.

h' said:

Have you read this thread through? There was no serious intent expressed to lock the bikes or install cameras.  Describing the concern expressed here as "outrage" is just shitty.

If you're going to be superior it helps to be right, too.

Chris C said:

So this will be implemented at the owner's expense to remedy a risk that has manifested itself only once in ten years because a bunch of people in Chicago are so outraged that such a condition could exist in a town they couldn't find on a friggin map.

 

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