CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Commuting
Bike theft is not inevitable
(13 posts)-
Posted 6 years ago #
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The Granville Island market is lovely so it's odd to see it associated with this shameful crime.
I'm not convinced that technical and database solutions could ever be the answer to this scourge on their own. If I were in charge I'd have a few nice bikes fitted with tracker chips and left around to be stolen. That way you could investigate the ecology of the stolen bike market end to end. Once we knew who does it, who stores them and who buys them we could think about solutions.
In the first instance I'd suggest legalising and regulating all narcotics. I understand most property crime is driven by addiction, something better treated socially and medically rather than through detection and imprisonment.
Anyone nicking bikes after that was done would have only themselves to blame when they woke to find a raven sat on their breastbone all beady eyes and hungry beak.
Posted 6 years ago # -
Technical fixes against bike theft. Sound a little weird and wonderful eg the Skunklock that emits a smelly liquid when cut.
For a bike that is possibly entirely theft-proof, you might want to consider the Yerka.
The brainchild of a group of students in Chile, it works by turning the bike’s frame into a giant lock. The front tube of the bike’s frame splits in half, and the rider then places the bike around something secure, such as a street pole, before resealing it. The genius of the design is that if a thief wants to steal it, he has to cut through the bike itself – making it unrideable.
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/may/05/bike-theft-proof-van-moof-yerka
Posted 5 years ago # -
@Rosie, then the thief will just steal the wheelset, leaving the now unrideable "theft proof" frame around the immovable object.
Posted 5 years ago # -
Posted 7 months ago #
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‘Afterwards, I couldn’t face going outside’
Yeah, that's not encouraging me to read it :)
I did see an advert for a ceramic coated lock which seems to do a decent job of defeating angle grinders. Giving serious thought, though it is £150.
Posted 7 months ago # -
Does anyone have any idea about bike thefts in Edinburgh?
Numbers?
Returned to owners?
Opportunistic one-offs/organised by kids/‘proper’ criminal activity?
Most common/likely place for thefts?
Police attitude/action?
Does Fettes still do ‘lost property’?
Etc.
Recently noticed -
“
Stolen Ride™- London
@StolenRide
The Twitter feed for stolen bikes in London. This is a community of eyes on the ground. Tweet us the bike details/photo & location in London. Keep a look out!
London, UKStolenRide.co.uk“
Posted 7 months ago # -
In terms of numbers I think people stopped counting at "lots" and the polis have the same attitude they have towards most property crime that isn't valued in at least six figures these days - that being "here's your crime number, now jog on my colleague has just gotten back with the Greggs run and I'm not missing out on the steak bakes" - with the usual added dose of condescension and derision they reserve for all criminality that affects cyclists. Yes yes, with a handful of notable exceptions, but when most of the time coppers won't even come along to help you reclaim your stolen property when you do all the detective work for them, nevermind arrest the perpetrators, the rare "good apples" don't really do much for the reputation of the whole rotten barrel.
Posted 7 months ago # -
Unpredictable place Twitter, but I was surprised at the number of people who have liked/retweeted (currently 91/192 so LOTS of interest) this -
“
My bike was stolen in central Edinburgh last night. It’s a Gazelle Miss Grace e-bike. Would mean so much to get it back. Any leads very welcome. Please RT.
@CyclingEdin @SpokesLothian
“
https://twitter.com/justacwab/status/1717458737642770443
This was one of the replies -
“
My son had his Giant bike stolen from Granton a couple of months ago. He reported it & had registered it & it was the bike register who found it, up for sale on Gumtree a few days later. He got his bike back but the thieves are quite blatant in what they're doing.
“
https://twitter.com/twoifbysea71/status/1717538503787995618
(bikeregister.com @bikeregister)
LOTS of stuff on Spokes site, but not too snappy -
http://www.spokes.org.uk/documents/advice/security/
Past CCE post (presume there are others).
I still have no idea of the scale of thefts in Edinburgh or what/where etc.
Relative prevalence of public places, stairs, sheds etc.
Expensive, electric etc.
Should there be a ‘campaign’ of some sort?
Awareness of how to reduce the chance of theft, pressure on the police to take it more seriously etc?
Posted 6 months ago # -
Word is that e-bike (and other expensive bike) theft is organised crime, "county lines" style.
Basically, they pay (often vulnerable) kids to nick the bikes, to then pass them on for resale, parts, whatever, probably somewhere else in the country. The going rate is about £80 per bike.
Part of the reason this has come about is because modern cars are too difficult to steal, without stealing the keys, which usually involves housebreaking - a whole 'nother level of criminality.
Car theft is now generally targetted to specific high-end models, stealing "to order" e.g. Range Rovers.
Best way round this is to "rubbish-ify" your bike and run a crap car. Or better still, don't own a car...
...Did I mention CAR-FREE? FREEDOM...!!!
Posted 6 months ago # -
“Word is that e-bike (and other expensive bike) theft is organised crime, "county lines" style.“
I see you’re well connected…
Posted 6 months ago #
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