Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Kevin C Dormant on November 23, 2011 at 12:29pm

To the best of my knowledge, they have not gone to trial yet. I have "poked" the Wilmette Patch reporters a couple of times in the past two months, but have not received a definitive response.

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Permalink Reply by ad on November 23, 2011 at 2:27pm

I think there is a fairly big difference between Kevin C's comment about using two ulocks, which pushed along the conversation and attempted to educate people about what more they could do to protect their bike, and Chucko's comment, which for all intents and purposes called out the owner as not having done enough to protect the bike.  And by the way, I never said Chucko wasn't free to make the statement or discuss this incident here.  I "get" that this is a discussion thread.  I simply said I though his comment, which basically amounted to "he was asking for it" whether he thinks it did or not, was a bit crass.  I stand by that.  Could more have been done to protect it, yes.  But the owner here took adequate steps in my opinion.     

The shit happens comment is based on the fact that even if a person uses three ulocks and a pit bull, someone will steal the bike if they want it bad enough.  I take reasonable steps to protect against theft, which in my opinion the owner did here, and live with the fact that some a-hole may make off with my bike.  In the end that's all any of us can do.   

 

h' said:

Hi ad,

This is a discussion forum. This thread is even called a "Discussion." It's what we do here, we discuss.

If you post your stolen bike to a discussion forum, people will discuss it, if there's something interesting or unusual about it.

In this case, we have a rather well-informed 'core' of 'connected' cyclists who have a deep and accurate enough understanding of the current face of Chicago bike theft that they know that it's taking a huge chance to leave a bike unattended on a Chicago street with anything but extraordinary locking methods.

The vast majority of Chicago cyclists would not know that a decent quality U-lock is not enough to protect a desirable bike, but that doesn't mean that those who do know should not feel free to pass this knowledge along.

I'm not sure your characterization of the ideas and information offered in this thread as unsympathetic is accurate.  

 

"We live in a big city.  Shit happens."

 

Sounds like you're telling TT to "just get over it?"  Doesn't seem to fit the rest of what you posted.

ad said:

Sorry, but I think it's kind of in bad taste to come on here and suggest someone who used a high quality ulock and locked to an appropriately installed city bike rack on a busy street didn't do enough to protect their bike.  Or to suggest that a person shouldn't ride a bike around and lock it because it's too nice.  Nice bikes are only nice if you ride them.  He took reasonable precautions.  It's not like he locked it up with a cheap cable lock.  He did what the vast majority of us do--myself included--when we lock up for a relatively short period. 

 

People can always do more to secure a bike,  including using two ulocks, but this person followed completely appropriate steps to ensure their bike was secure.  I'm sure he would have locked it with 8 ulocks that day if he though a thief would target it.  We live in a big city.  Shit happens.   

 

To Mr. Hardie, I hope you get your bike back and I'll keep an eye out. 

 

Chucko said:

I wasn't really saying that thieves specifically target high end bikes, they'll definitely take anything. I think the look more for the appearance of being high end. Though they probably know in general huffy is crap and anything carbon is worth a lot. For the most part, I just wouldn't lock a bike with a $1000 frame outside for very long if at all, and even then I'd use the best protection I could find. Mostly with a better lock, you're buying time for someone to catch the thief. But because any lock can be defeated, I simply wouldn't lock that particular bike up outside for more than a few minutes anywhere near the city.

Kelvin Mulcky said:

You guys are saying that this guy didn't do enough to protect his nice bike, but is there any evidence that thieves target high-end bikes? I just took a quick survey through the first few pages of the Chicago Stolen Bike Registry and I noticed that thieves will basically take any bike. There's more low-mid level stolen bike than any other price range.

 

Edit: Maybe Howard or another CSBR guru could tell me: does the registry track the estimated value of the thefts?

 

 

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Permalink Reply by ad on November 23, 2011 at 3:39pm

And before I get slammed, my "In the end that's all any of us can do" comment is intended to mean we all roll the dice with thieves once we leave our bikes unattended for any length of time.  I recognize--and sincerely appreciate--that several people on here are dedicating time to recover bikes and help prevent thefts.

 

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Permalink Reply by mark stetson on November 23, 2011 at 7:00pm

I would post about this on some national bike forums.  I would think there's a chance it might get moved out of Chicago for resale, because of its value and ease of identification.

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