Bike seat thefts in Lakeview: Anyone else?

A few weeks ago my Brooks Saddle was stolen outside of Guthrie's Tavern on Lakewood and Addison. It was 4pm, after a Cubs game, I was working at the bar. I work the door, I was standing outside when a customer asked me a question. I went into the bar for 3 minutes at the most, and my saddle was gone when I came back out. My KHS was double u-locked to the bike rack outside the bar, 15 feet from where I was sitting. The thief used a 4mm allen wrench and unbolted my seat post collar and took the post and saddle. 

I was livid. I accepted that I would never see the seat again and bought a new saddle. I ordered a new seat and seat post. When I installed it, I locked it down with a section of chain inside a tube, an extra precautionary step between a thief and my seat. 

Tonight, my girlfriend Amanda u-locked her bike to a post at Barry and Kenmore in Lakeview. We walked over to a restaurant for no more than a half hour, and when we came back her seat and post were gone. Unlike my (debatably unnecessarily over-priced) Brooks, she had a stock seat and post that came with her standard, non-fancy, single-speed Torker. The thief also used a 4mm allen wrench and swiped the post and seat.

Her seat/post couldn't be worth more than $30 together. Why would they take hers?

As residents of Logan Square, I can't help but be taken off guard by the duplicate thefts in fancy Lakeview, outside my mother's 3-flat. Has anyone else had stuff taken in Lakeview or this area lately? Are seats getting stolen everywhere? Any tips as to where these things are going?

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Permalink Reply by Sol on August 15, 2012 at 8:51pm

Last year, I had plastic fenders stolen off of my hybrid bike at Sheffield and Fullerton and a bolted on blinky stolen off of the same bike (they broke it to steal it so it was useless to them-I saw the plastic bits on the sidewalk) at Armitage and Webster. It seems to me that parts theft is greater in the nicer neighborhoods. I have never had parts stolen off of my bikes in Uptown or Edgewater!

Permalink Reply by Minh on August 16, 2012 at 12:30am

A few days ago someone stole my friend's fork, front wheel, and handlebars right in front of her apartment. This was near California and Montrose which is in Ravenswood Manor a pretty "nice" neighborhood. Why steal from the poor when you can always steal from the "rich"? Which she is, but that doesn't mean it's okay.

Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on August 16, 2012 at 1:12am

I think a lot of this type of theft is sick klepto-type behavior.  Some folks just get off on stealing stuff from others and getting away with it -the rush and the thrill of violent power over others.   Something like a saddle probably isn't worth anything to anyone unless it is a high-end unit like a Brooks or the like which can maybe be resold.   It's like that Winona Ryder chick who stole for the thrill and could well afford the stuff she took -it's not like she was trying to feed her starving baby or something.

Some folks have theorized that many saddle thefts are committed by saddle-theft victims themselves trying to "get back" at the world or making things right.  But since seatposts are not very interchangeable because there are so many different sizes one would need a caliper to find a matching one for your own bike unless it was the same brand/model of bike you are looking at.  

I just think sometimes that humans are petty horrible little creatures and feel that the universe would be much better off if a huge meteor took out this fetid over-grown filthy planet infected with this wretched virus of humanity -which seems to be polluting it like mold on an old stale piece of bread.  But sooner or later it will eventually kill itself with its own poisons or just run out of resources to steal from each other or just the room to keep expanding and burn itself out.

Permalink Reply by Sarah D. on August 16, 2012 at 2:25am

Remy, I'm so sorry to hear about your seat/post thefts. And am now paranoid about my seats/parts - I didn't know about this phenomenon and live and work in Lincoln Square - h': where do those neighborhood statistics come from?

And oh my. Someone needs a bike ride...

James BlackHeron said:

I just think sometimes that humans are petty horrible little creatures and feel that the universe would be much better off if a huge meteor took out this fetid over-grown filthy planet infected with this wretched virus of humanity -which seems to be polluting it like mold on an old stale piece of bread.  But sooner or later it will eventually kill itself with its own poisons or just run out of resources to steal from each other or just the room to keep expanding and burn itself out.

Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on August 16, 2012 at 2:32am

Now would be a good time too.  My bike needs a good washing after the muddy Green Bay Trail yesterday.   Just a short spin around LS should do it -although the wet stuff on the ground around here probably isn't very clean...

Sarah D. said:

And oh my. Someone needs a bike ride...


Permalink Reply by dan brown on August 16, 2012 at 4:37am

Remy sorry to hear about the two thefts - especially the brooks.

 

RE : The torker saddle theft : Ironically, I bought my girlfriend peggy a torker (two speed) and it came

with a stock saddle that *looks* like a brooks (at least to a novice). when I realized this; I bought a seat

leash (I like the chain idea better ;-) and installed it.maybe the thief thought it was a low-level brooks ?

 

Also (for anyone) don't they make a binder bolt that is not a standard allen wrench size to remove ?

 

DB

 

p.s. I agree with James that it is probably often klepto/vandals that cannot keep their hands off other

people's stuff. a real shame IMO

Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on August 16, 2012 at 4:42am

There is always the bearing ball trick but it is a real PITA when it comes time to adjust the seatpost or remove it.  Then it is dremel-time -although I've heard of folks who use a smaller-sized ball and glue it in with a type of glue that can be removed with solvent.  But even so, if you are out on a ride and your seatpost starts slipping you are SOL until you can get home.  

Permalink Reply by spencewine on August 16, 2012 at 5:21am

An interesting story about bike seat/part theft in SF:

http://sf.streetsblog.org/2010/09/28/what-do-you-do-when-bike-thiev...

Permalink Reply by spencewine on August 16, 2012 at 5:24am

or crackheads

dan brown said:

 

p.s. I agree with James that it is probably often klepto/vandals that cannot keep their hands off other

people's stuff. a real shame IMO

Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on August 16, 2012 at 5:51am

Ah, candlewax to hold the bearing ball in...

That's the ticket!

But crackheads do have lighters.  That's how they smoke the crack!  All they need is the ceramic tube broken off a spark plug exposed on some poor motorcycle to smoke it out of...

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