The Chainlink

Spotted this morning in Uptown. It was clearly a targeted attack, as nothing else in the area was tagged and it was done to make the bikes uncomfortable to ride (note the paint all over each saddle). Has anyone else seen significant vandalism on Divvy's? This is the worst I've seen since its inception.

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Honestly, it doesn't make Divvys look any more stupid than they look normally.  I kind of like the contrast!  :D

How does that  make them uncomfortable to ride?

Well.. having to stand the whole time because you're afraid to sit on the saddle for fear of your pants being ruined by potentially still wet-ish paint comes to mind.  

notoriousDUG said:

How does that  make them uncomfortable to ride?

Someone was really disappointed that they didn't get to ride #DIVVYRED when it was out and about in July, and wanted to increase their odds?

But seriously, this seems really weird. Most spray-painting of property is done as some form of communication, with words or symbols or pictures getting a message across. But this wasn't a case where the bikes were simply being used as a public canvas; it was pretty clearly an attack on the bikes themselves. Makes me think it was done by someone who was pissed about one too many Divvy riders passing her too closely on the sidewalk, or by a really passive-aggressive anti-bike person.

It's not very hard to tell if paint is wet or not before you sit down.  Paint on your butt, while inconvenient, I don't think has much of an effect on actual comfort.

I would say its more of an annoyance or irritation, perhaps quite vexing. 

Don't forget that in some parts of town Divvy (and bicycling in general) is seen by some as a symbol of gentrification.

Pilsen, Uptown, Humboldt Park come to mind as parts of town where you may be likely to see backlash.

skyrefuge said:

Someone was really disappointed that they didn't get to ride #DIVVYRED when it was out and about in July, and wanted to increase their odds?

But seriously, this seems really weird. Most spray-painting of property is done as some form of communication, with words or symbols or pictures getting a message across. But this wasn't a case where the bikes were simply being used as a public canvas; it was pretty clearly an attack on the bikes themselves. Makes me think it was done by someone who was pissed about one too many Divvy riders passing her too closely on the sidewalk, or by a really passive-aggressive anti-bike person.

Makes sense as a possible motivation for this vandalism.

h' 1.0 said:

Don't forget that in some parts of town Divvy (and bicycling in general) is seen by some as a symbol of gentrification.

Pilsen, Uptown, Humboldt Park come to mind as parts of town where you may be likely to see backlash.

Chicago colors!

Well you were obviously confused by it so you're welcome.

Sorry but I can't help but feel you are way over stating the severity of the problem here.  Some bikes got painted by vandals, big deal.  How much stuff gets tagged in Chicago every night?

rwein5 said:

Thank you for your deep insight into how paint works.

To answer the question in the OP-- I've seen some seats that looked like they were intentionally ripped, and I've seen some magic marker graffitti on bikes and kiosks.  But nowhere near the level I would have anticipated.

The paint may rub off onto clothing even if it appears to be dry.  Paint on your clothing is more than inconvenient if it ends up ruining expensive clothing.

notoriousDUG said:

It's not very hard to tell if paint is wet or not before you sit down.  Paint on your butt, while inconvenient, I don't think has much of an effect on actual comfort.

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