Really, bike rack thief, really?

I've been out of the country for the past year so I could be out of the loop on bike accessory thievery.  I didn't realize it had come to this.

Sometime between late Friday night and Saturday morning someone with tools took the back rack off my bicycle, parked outside a friend's house.  Just the rack, left everything else.  It's a little hard being grateful to still have a bike when you've got a set of very full saddlebag panniers and no place to put them.  I just don't understand how it could possibly have been worth anyone's time to remove something that was maybe worth $20 when it was new.  And it is 5 Chicago winter's worth of riding away from new.  

Was it just a time-consuming jerk move or are bike racks worth more than I think?

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Permalink Reply by Eric on June 28, 2011 at 8:42am

When homeless peeps can sell them for 5 bucks...its worth it to them...Where was this at street wise? Someone said on another post that some guy goes around taking accessories off bikes and then keeps him in his little homeless area where he sleeps and then somehow will sell the parts.

 

Im sorry for your loss, I love my rack. Would hate to see it disappear. I have an extra one if you need one.

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on June 28, 2011 at 8:52am
Sorry to hear it.  That stinks.
Permalink Reply by Kevin C Dormant on June 28, 2011 at 8:54am
The post to which Eric refers is HERE, and refers to accessory theft at the Clybourn METRA station.

Eric said:

When homeless peeps can sell them for 5 bucks...its worth it to them...Where was this at street wise? Someone said on another post that some guy goes around taking accessories off bikes and then keeps him in his little homeless area where he sleeps and then somehow will sell the parts.

 

Im sorry for your loss, I love my rack. Would hate to see it disappear. I have an extra one if you need one.

Permalink Reply by Adam "Cezar" Jenkins on June 28, 2011 at 9:34am
Sometimes I think there are cyclists out there who are willing to steal something like a rack instead of buy it.
Permalink Reply by A.K.A Paul on June 28, 2011 at 10:51am
There has also been someone stealing the accessories off of bikes near the Ravenswood and Lawrence Metra.  It's been going on for at least a year.
Permalink Reply by Sara Gmitter on June 28, 2011 at 11:23am

It was the corner of Arthur and Newgard in Roger's Park.  It has never even occurred to me that anyone would steal the rack.  I thought it was the one thing I didn't have to worry about locking.  Silly me. 

What kind of rack is your extra one?  I can't remember the brand mine was but the panniers attached over bars at the front and back and then bungee hooked at the bottom.

Eric said:

When homeless peeps can sell them for 5 bucks...its worth it to them...Where was this at street wise? Someone said on another post that some guy goes around taking accessories off bikes and then keeps him in his little homeless area where he sleeps and then somehow will sell the parts.

 

Im sorry for your loss, I love my rack. Would hate to see it disappear. I have an extra one if you need one.

Permalink Reply by in it to win it 8.0 mi on June 28, 2011 at 11:27am
If you live in Chicago and leave dog poop in a bag unattended, someone will steal it for the bag...
Permalink Reply by Kevin C Dormant on June 28, 2011 at 11:28am
if the rats don't eat it first.

in it to win it said:
If you live in Chicago and leave dog poop in a bag unattended, someone will steal it for the bag...
Permalink Reply by Tank-Ridin' Ryan on June 28, 2011 at 12:26pm

Sara,

 

Do you know if the eyelets on the seat stays (frame tubes connecting to seat post tube on an angle) are threaded all the way through?  According to a friend of mine, they are on Surly's Long Haul Trucker, so the rails can be attached on the inside of the eyelets instead of the outside making unscrewing the bolt a lot slower.

 

This might be an option for you when attaching a new rear rack.

Permalink Reply by Jamais716 on June 28, 2011 at 3:56pm
too true...  I keep a small trashcan under my front steps so I don't have to carry doggy bags to the back every time I take my dog out.  A friend left the gate open one day and somebody did steal a trashcan half full of dog poop.

in it to win it said:
If you live in Chicago and leave dog poop in a bag unattended, someone will steal it for the bag...
Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on June 29, 2011 at 4:04am

People will steal anything aluminum to sell at a scrapyard for pennies a pound.  It's not much money but enough for a 40oz of booze.  I would imagine that neighborhoods very close to scrapyards are more intensely targeted for this kind of annoying theft.    

 

Every time I ride down Cortland past the scrap yard by the bridge I see numerous bums wheeling shopping carts full of "material" -and more often than not there are bike parts and even whole bikes jammed in their shopping carts.  I have wondered if it would be a good idea to go into the yard and make a contact with some of the guys who work there and buy some of the "good stuff" that comes in there off of them at double what they pay for in scrap value.  I'm sure many good bike parts, wheelsets, and frames have met an ignoble end there in those crushers/shredders :(

 

Perhaps someone has already done this.

 

Permalink Reply by April on March 19, 2012 at 5:00am

Someone tried to steal my front rack over the weekend.  It's missing a bolt from one of the connectors to the fork.  It seems they gave up, maybe when they realized my dynamo light was threaded through the other side?  I don't know.  This is pretty damn low.  Does anyone have an suggestions for securing your rack from theft?  Do those pinhead bolts work for racks as well as other components?  My rack is specially designed for my bike and would be a pain in the ass to replace, not to mention damage to my dynamo system would be detrimental.   Thanks!!!

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