A wee story.

Parked my bike yesterday lunchtime in Edinburgh at top of Middle Meadow Walk yesterday, outside Starbucks/Peters yard, admittedly with a cable lock (know they aren’t really suitable locks), and from my window seat in the cafe I see some guy surrounded by his mates trying to yank the bike off the lock/railing in full view, at a busy lunchtime. Probably trying to break either the lock or the little railing. Ran out the door, shouted and they ran off, bike was ok. Own fault for poor locking up.

Lesson learnt, a cable lock is not suitable at all, and use a proper bike railing…

Boring story I know, it must happen more than I know, but I thought the bike would be fine for a quick coffee, with the bike in view, but a cheap lock and slim railing really is an attractive proposition for opportunist thieves!

Anyone else witnessed an attempted bike theft in Edinburgh?
Just wondered how common this is.

It’s not your fault that people steal things.

There is YouTube video somewhere of somebody pretending to be a bike thief wandering round a city centrewith a huge bolt cutter and breaking open bike locks with people onlooking and doing absolutely nothing about it.

Of course its his fault. Cheap cable-lock & thin railings is enough for any wannabe theif to see it as a slap in the face with a gauntlet.

I left my mtb unlocked outside a large supermarket in Edinburgh last night for twenty minutes and was relieved to find it still there! I think it’s just pot luck, in Edinburgh I think it’s more likely opportunist theft rather than the wave of focussed high value bike theft being seen in the Borders just now.

A friend lost the key to his D lock with his bike locked up on Shandwick Place, he went back with a hacksaw and spent an age cutting it off and wasn’t challenged once, in fact a homeless guy helped him.

Yup it was my fault.

I notice that one beside mine wasn’t touched, it had a D lock…. or about 20 other bikes not much further away weren’t attempted either, because they were attached to better railings.

Was amazed how brazen an attempt it was though. Surrounded by the public on all sides, many sitting having lunch and coffee, not rushing away in a hurry to get somewhere.

…they ran off, bike was ok. Own fault for poor locking up.

Lesson learnt, a cable lock is not suitable at all, and use a proper bike railing…

But surely the point is everything did its intended purpose – it bought you enough time to scare them off. You didn’t expect it to stop a serious thief with more than a few minutes, just to stop anyone walking off with it…

There is YouTube video somewhere of somebody pretending to be a bike thief wandering round a city centrewith a huge bolt cutter and breaking open bike locks with people onlooking and doing absolutely nothing about it.

Was that the one in Bristol where the guy filming it was asking him questions as the bloke was trying to get the lock off ?

When we first went to Centre Parcs there was a bike chained up outside our lodge using the locks they provide, the type you might get free with a mag. A guy came, pushed the bike forward to create some slack in the lock and pulled it back snapping it almost effortlessly! If I need to lock mine up I use a bloody great big U lock that is insurance approved for bikes over £4K. I still keep an eye on it too, lol.