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Don't trust cable l...
 

Don't trust cable locks/ tell me your stories of recovering stollen bikes

Posts: 10336
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For the roof rack (or boot rack) i usually have three bikes so it's a d lock between each and a d to the rack bit only when I'm stopped.   It can be cut but i always try and make it as difficult as possible


 
Posted : 15/01/2023 8:54 pm
Posts: 66112
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Yep, car racks have essentially no security, it'll take you longer to find the key in your pocket and unlock it than it takes a thief to just muscle it.

ernielynch
Free Member

Aren’t folding bolt cutters now the tool of choice? Much quicker than an angle grinder

Up to a point- they'll do a smaller/lightweight lock but they just don't go big enough to do a bigger lock/chain. 16mm puts you beyond the abilities of most manual croppers- not because of strength, just because of size. And then there's the swimming with sharks thing, why would a thief bring massive unconcealable cutters which scream "going prepared", when they can just go and find an unsecure bike?Somewhere nearby there'll be one that's not locked at all, or where someone's fallen for the bullshit of sold secure and magazine reviews and has chained their bike up with a £200 lock that you can break in seconds.

cookeaa
Full Member

It’s interesting that people think thieves would use a noisy, potentially snagging angle grinder, my assumption has long been that a bolt cutter or better yet hydraulic rebar cutter would be their default tool.

Grinder sadly isn't that noisy if you wrap it in a towel, the cutting edge still is but you can reduce that too. And frankly, you can make a fair amount of noise without actually attracting attention, especially if it's a weird noise. If you hear a silenced grinder against metal your first thought probably isn't "someone is stealing a bike"

asically, if a thief comes for a bike with good security, they'll use one or they'll use hydraulics, essentially because nothing else works. If a thief is equipped with manual cutters they're only looking for bikes with weak locks.


 
Posted : 15/01/2023 8:56 pm
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https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/crl873p51zro

Interesting, hopefully Back Pedals approach and success will spread across the country.


 
Posted : 12/11/2024 1:01 pm
Posts: 5541
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Recovering? ha

Saw my Zaskar LE advertised for a bargain $350 so contacted the cops.

"Well we could go round but we'll just cop an earful of abuse"

Me. yeah, and?

So bike got sold on and never seen since. Zaskar LE full XTR. SIDs.  Next time I'll just pretend to be a buyer and un-steal my own bike. But at least that one got seen. My Ti Lynskey full sus never surfaced again. Gets me, as whoever stole them clearly didn't know their value. Gutting though.


 
Posted : 12/11/2024 1:39 pm
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I didn't have a bike recovered but I got bits back, which when you think about it is way more impressive- it's one thing to read the side of a bike and go "Specialized Rockhopper eh" and then look at a list of "things that were stolen" but I got 2 loose wheels back, and a dropper post! People dismiss police efforts but in my case there was obviously some effort serious effort involved.

Better still the insurance had already paid out and just said "keep em, we don't care".


 
Posted : 12/11/2024 7:42 pm
Posts: 10979
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I built up a highly distinctive Kona Humu from a bare frame, Campag Record hubs, Mary bars, weird Project 2 fork etc.
It got nicked.
I saw it 2 years later being ridden along a road, I was in a car so we overtook and I got dropped at a traffic light which turned red for him. I explained to him it was mine, he contested it, I went to dial 999 and he agreed for me to leave with my bike.


 
Posted : 12/11/2024 9:28 pm
leffeboy, J-R, J-R and 1 people reacted
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