I leave my panniers on my bike and some stuff in my panniers. I appreciate this is not the most secure option, and obviously I take valuables with me, but I reckon the faff of carrying around all of the 'stuff' outweighs the potential inconvenience of having it nicked. Over many years this has worked well for me, but sadly not tonight. I think it must have been from Broughton St Lane behind Real Foods, between 5 and 7, and I have lost one of those canvas reusable bags containing: a spare inner tube, a Spokes map, an emergency pair of rubbish (very non-breathable) waterproof trousers, a pump, a multi-tool thingy, a puncture repair kit. And, annoyingly, a pale blue Berghaus fleece. Seems to me this is the kind of stuff any self-respecting scally would chuck straight away, so if you do happen to spot said bag of stuff then please do give me a shout! Thanks.
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Stuff
"Stuff" nicked from pannier
(26 posts)-
Posted 10 years ago #
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Hope you get your stuff back. I stopped leaving anything on the bike when I had a dirty white not-very-waterproof waterproof jacket taken off my Carradice when I popped into the Scotmid on Leven Street. I hope they tried to use it in the rain and realised it smelled and they got wet.
Amazingly I did once leave the bike, with a wide-open pannier attached, outside a certain city centre hostelry once, unlocked, for 3 or 4 hours, only to come out and find it exactly where I left it and nothing gone from (or "added to") the pannier!
For the record, yes I was walking the bike both to and from the pub.
Posted 10 years ago # -
Early on in my return to the bike I had a cheap bike computer of no use to anyone? Taken from my bike parked outside my work at McDonald Road. this led to me removing everything. loads of people at my work now Waverley Court leave tons of stuff on their bikes and I often see bikes left with open panniers. I would say if you are still going for that open, trusting approach don't leave anything in your panniers that will annoy you if it gone when you get back.?
I did leave my bike unlocked evening rush hour last Wednesday in middle of George st. I have confessed this in the confession box thread.
Posted 10 years ago # -
Its not so much the stuff in the panniers but the panniers themselves. At around £90 for a pair of Ortleibs Im not leaving them on the bike. Although saying that, we did leave 4 of them attached to the bikes in Kirkcudbright while we walked round the town one afternoon (with no adverse affects).
Posted 10 years ago # -
I have often wondered what the chances are of getting panniers nicked as it is indeed a hassle to keep taking them on and off. But I have Ortleibs too so I always take them off.
Vez, was your canvas bad inside the pannier, ie the pannier is still there? Just so I have a better idea of what to look for - I'm still taking my Ortly's off!
Posted 10 years ago # -
Thanks everyone. Yes, maybe it should have gone in the confessions thread. I have been known to (accidentally) leave the keys in the lock as well... Panniers still attached, they would be a complete pain to remove so not too worried about them, so yes it's just the bag which may be lying in an alley somewhere. I'm going to pop round and have a look at lunchtime.
Posted 10 years ago # -
I never leave anything on the bike. I like to worry that someone will steal the saddle or the front wheel.
On a tour of the Outer Hebrides I couldn't even relax when leaving the bike for five minutes outside some remote Post Office.
Spent a day at work once stressing because I realised I had left my 20 year old cateye computer on my bike at Haymarket.
Posted 10 years ago # -
@ Vez
I know it's closing the door after the horse has bolted, but if everything was in a bag, would it not have been simpler just to carry the bag of stuff around? I expect you'll do that in future ;-)
My worst "oops" moment was to come out of Sainsbury's after a 30 minute shopping visit to discover My Garmin 800 still thankfully attached to my bike!
If I leave anything (deliberately) in my panniers, it's value amounts to less than a fiver. As for the panniers themselves, they are just cheapos from Lidl and have lasted probably 3 years now, and I have their weatherproof ones (still to be tried out) sitting at home as back-up.
I have a simple combination lock through the mid-section of the panniers (they are joined), looping through my rack and through my saddle rails and frame, so the casual thief would be put off wasting time trying to get that lot off.
Posted 10 years ago # -
My worst was getting off the train at Queen St and remembering I'd left my (fairly) expensive Leyzene front light (along with my much cheaper ones) attached to my bike at Edinburgh Park.
Posted 10 years ago # -
It never ceases to amaze what folk will nick from bikes. I've had various bits of junk taken from Dutch style, permanently lashed on panniers: bits of string, loose bolts and washers, an old scalpel (hope the thief cut himself). Off the bike itself I've had various allen key bolts stolen, including the one from the seatpost collar (seatpost and collar still there), reflectors, blinky LED lights, valve caps...
This is all in the city. Out in the countryside and smaller towns it doesn't seem to occur to anyone to nick anything, or if it does they don't act upon it.
Posted 10 years ago # -
I must have been lucky with 'bits'. Never had any item stolen off the bike no matter when and where left locked up.
Then again, had the whole bike stolen from my garage, so not that lucky...
Posted 10 years ago # -
I leave pump, tools and lights on my bike, on the basis that they cost less than the hassle of taking them on and off every time I stop. (That said, if I was leaving it outside Haymarket all day every day I'd probably remove the tool bag. But not for shops etc).
One day someone may pinch bits but at the end of the day, if I popped 20p in a box every time I didn't have to carry around armfuls of stuff in every shop I'd have paid them back ten times or more already. The tenth time they're stolen I should change strategy?
Posted 10 years ago # -
Someone stole the v-brakes off my old mountain bike, while it was locked up in my old stair, a few years back.
I never leave stuff attached to the bike in the city, as I would be outraged by my own stupidity for doing so if they got nicked. Pretty cavalier about it outside of town though, particularly while popping into cafes.
Posted 10 years ago # -
"One day someone may pinch bits but at the end of the day, if I popped 20p in a box every time I didn't have to carry around armfuls of stuff in every shop I'd have paid them back ten times or more already"
But do you pop 20p in a box every time?
I tend to leave the Brooks saddle roll ont he Kaff when locked up, but it truly is a faff to remove. And just some allen keys and a puncture repair kit and tyre levers inside.
Posted 10 years ago # -
In London I had the front light bracket stolen from my bike when it was locked up outside Vauxhall (I had removed the lights themselves). Then again, I twice left my bike unlocked outside Ealing Broadway station overnight and it was there in the morning.
Here in Dumfries, I take my pannier if it's got my wallet or laptop in it, everything else gets to fend for itself. I'll lock the bike in town if I'm going to be gone for more than 10 minutes or so, but leave my lights, Brooks (sometimes disguised by plastic bag) and anything else on the bike. As with Dave, I feel the risk is outweighed by the hassle. I have had an older lady tutting at the disgracefulness of anyone needing to lock their bike at all - and a friend has been told off for locking their bike in Moniaive - apparently it's an insult to the honesty of the locals to imply that they would steal it.
Posted 10 years ago # -
At a previous place of work in Lothian Road (no, not anywhere connected with any "entertainment industry"!), my employer provided nowhere to put my bike, so I had to lock it to the railings outside. I finished work one night and went to unlock it to find someone had attempted to remove the lock with zero success. That would have been fine except that the scrote(s) had obviously been more than opportunists as they had been carrying cable cutters. They had sliced through my gear and brake cables!
At the time, I assumed this was out of spite but it could very well have been in hope that I abandoned the bike so they could come back and steal it in the middle of the night. It didn't work though, as our van driver simply gave me and the bike a lift home.
(Incidentally, our driver was a regular extra in Taggart - probably played more cops than anyone else in that show(including the pilot IIRC)! He was also the "female" horse rider in the Highlander Crisps ad if you remember that one!)
Posted 10 years ago # -
I used to leave my saddle bag on all the time with tubes, tools and a CO2 canister/adaptor. That was until someone borrowed an inner tube and CO2 pump.
To be honest, I wouldn't have minded if they'd left a note or $10 (this happened on the McGill Campus in Montreal) to cover my costs.
I keep a set of frog-style lights on the bike - zip-tied to the frame for extra security. The lights were only £5 for the pair (Canada again, bicycle things were cheap there!) so no huge loss if they get stolen.
Posted 10 years ago # -
I keep a set of frog-style lights on the bike - zip-tied to the frame for extra security.
Yeah I have these on a few bikes I use around town. Have had a couple stolen. Cable ties are a good idea.
Posted 10 years ago # -
I'm the same as Mr Cow in that while I have been 'involuntarily relieved' of possession of entire bicycles I've never had any bits stolen or tampered with.
At the start of Summer I did have a helmet stolen though. It was one of those skate type ones and it was chained up with the bike, the only way to have gotten it would be either fiddling with the straps for ages, or cutting them. So now I can't trust something as simple as a foam hat to remain untouched.
Posted 10 years ago # -
I tend to take lights etc off my bike. As much because I'll need them on the way home as for any value they have.
Strangest steal I've suffered is having a freezer bag taken off my saddle. Presumably someone wanted me to get a wet arse?
Posted 10 years ago # -
Cable ties are a good idea.
I'd say anyone "going equipped" is probably not going to be defeated by a cable tie, although your opportunistic passing cretin might be put off.I've often thought that many seemingly worthless things "stolen" off of bikes in the city may not be for material gain, it may be more to simply deny them to you, and they end up thrown in the next bush or bin for the simple pleasure of whichever reprobate was responsible.
Posted 10 years ago # -
Was in The compass bar last night on queen Charlotte street, steak night, and noticed someone taking the bags out my panniers, my dirty washing towel and tracksuit and trousers. When went out got my bag back and pointed to police station asking if he is trying to end up in there, the thief asked if I was a policeman, I advised no its my bag, he then says why is my bike outside the police station if not a policeman, he asks is that because think it is safer I says yes, then he says some unknown swearing. It was outside the police station as could see from the bar. Near the bike that has not been stolen. It did seem strange that he seemed more annoyed at me not being a policeman and parked chained to police station railings.
Posted 5 years ago # -
@ Ed1 - more restraint than I can imagine possibly showing. chapeau
Posted 5 years ago # -
@Ed1
Most odd. Glad nobody got a steak knife stuck in them.
Posted 5 years ago # -
@ed1, lucky you want with not policeman is my view, he sounded radge enough but would be total radge cat if you had said you were a polis
Posted 5 years ago # -
some kids once nicked bright yellow bungee cords from my panniers at a train station. i noticed them playing with teh cords while we were waiting on our respective platforms, so decided to go check and see if they were, indeed, mine.
when they saw me walking in their direction (they were between me and the cycle), they legged it. so, yup, they got my bungee cords from the dollar store, but they also missed their train and had to wait 30 minutes for the next.
i won.
Posted 5 years ago #
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