Do cheap, ugly bikes get stolen?

[shouldbeinbed]

rusty sheddy old trek 800 in turquoise, looked like a dogs breakfast, still got nicked from my son in Manchester. Sometimes its just a means to get home on for somebody and criminals don't tend to think beyond that.

I had a car broken into years ago by a lad who was late for his curfew at a bail hostel, he couldn't get it going but made a mess of the steering & lock and left fingerprints in the cowling.

 

[moo]

My shopping bike is worth about £50. The 2 locks used are worth £100. Overkill?

 

[xzenonuk]

i have a 80's bike ridgeback 602ex its 28 years old and ive never had it stolen, but its always been out of sight in a shed, and never left unatended.

i worry for my new rockrider 540 though seen some neds look at it a bit much when i buzz passed them down some roads at 30 mph

dark grey/black with bright orange bits seems to be a magnet so does any thing that says gt in big letters, my old ridge back was light blue and grey

avoid cheap combo locks my mates brother who is a total ned, can break the combination on them easy apparently, use locks that need keys, me and dad got locks with keys after hearing that

 

[Accy cyclist]

Most bikes are stolen regardless of how much they are worth.They are taken because they are there to be taken.

 

[ufkacbln]

That's why you should never marry a pretty girl!

Is it best to use a "U lock" or cable lock?

 

[ufkacbln]

There is an argument that parking your bike next to one that is less secure and easier to nick will divert the thief's attention from your steed

 

[Brandane]

To be honest, i never expected to hear about such high rates of criminal activity in the United Kingdom. I always imagined this country as being perfectly orderly and polite.

 

[Scotchlovingcylist]

I built up an old 531 frame as a cheap fixie knockabout bike after I saw the local Twerp's sniffing about my Rockhopper.
It has mismatched forks and wheels, untaped bullhorns, its bright orange and well scratched and dented. All the components are decent but well used.
It cost about £35 to build, the irony is I would be gutted if it got nicked as its such a nice bike to ride.
It gets secured with two kryptonite locks

 

[numbnuts]

Seeing that most bikes are stolen by men how about a pink girls bike with a wicker basket on the handle bars.

 

[Berties]

Your average thief won't know the difference between a 2k carbon steed or a 200 pound commuter ,it's all worth a dozen cans of special brew and 40 bensons

 

[mcshroom]

'm just glad I live in an area of the country where I could probably leave the bike outside without too much worry. In fact I accidentally had a MTB locked up with the key inside the lock for 2 months a few years ago (two months as I couldn't find the key to take the lock off )

 

[crdf]

Seeing that most bikes are stolen by men how about a pink girls bike with a wicker basket on the handle bars.

I'm currently considering removing all stickers or wrapping my future bike with tape and adding some impossible to remove pink and glittering stickers. I'm just wondering how can I make it less appealing for men and women! Or just getting some paint and randomly adding blotches of colour.

I'll appreciate any ideas of decorating my future bike

 

[slowmotion]

Try and park your bike somewhere really public where a potential theft might be observed. I tried D-locking mine to the railings outside the visitors' entrance to Tower Bridge, four feet off the ground. I was told it was a "Security Hazard".

 

[tyred]

I used to have a set a cheap Lidl panniers. They were well used, tatty and held together with cable ties and Duck tape after I ripped them by accidentally catching them on the corner of my workbench when wheeling the bike out of the garage. They were completely worthless and I used to leave them on my shopping bike permanently as I thought nobody would steal such tatty worthless junk.

They got nicked off my bike outside a shop in a quiet provincial town (Bike was almost as worthless but well secured.). The only thing inside the panniers at the time was a PRK and my woolly hat as I was intending to put my shopping in them so it wasn't the contents they wanted.

It taught me that people will steal anything regardless of value.