Not-so-intelligent bike thieves!

[HovR]

So this older Specialized Hardrock is locked up to a rarely used bike rack downtown near where I am staying. It was locked up only by the fork, so could easily be stolen by simply removing the front quick release wheel and sliding the fork out of the u-lock. I thought about leaving note for the owner the first time I saw it about a week ago, but I didn't have anything to write with on me.

But apparently bike thieves aren't that intelligent, because when I locked my bike up in the same spot today I noticed someone had tried to (and failed in) stealing the bike by breaking the lock.

Notice how bent the lock is, but it didn't break open. This is the same lock you can buy for £8 from Asda, guess it's not bad for the price.

 

[G3CWI]

I imagine that they started to try to remove the lock, then noticed that it was a Spesh and couldn't be bothered. Alternatively perhaps they were trying to steal the lock?

 

[asterix]

Maybe it just got warped by the heat?

 

[Cyclist33]

Guess they wanted the front wheel as well?

 

[swee'pea99]

Doesn't say a whole helluva lot for the intellect of the cyclist either.

 

[Sandra6]

Could it be a police plant ? They have been known to half heartedly lock up bikes to see if anyone would pinch them.
Seems odd it would still be in the same spot for a week.

 

[Saluki]

That Pendleton near one of us customers must be a plant then. Its locked up through the front wheel only most days, yesterday it was locked through the strut that holds the rack to the back wheel, not through the wheel though.
Surely nobody would spend money on a nice bike and then lock it in the city centre by a couple of spokes.

 

[summerdays]

Surely nobody would spend money on a nice bike and then lock it in the city centre by a couple of spokes.

Err ... the number of bikes I see locked up like that - even a brompton locked up with a cable lock through the wheel at a local sports centre!

 

[Saluki]

Err ... the number of bikes I see locked up like that - even a brompton locked up with a cable lock through the wheel at a local sports centre!

Now I think about it, I see a lot of stupidly locked bikes but this Pendleton is a stone's throw from the local police station.
Of course the Pendleton owner could just be an idiot.

 

[ThinAir]

Now I think about it, I see a lot of stupidly locked bikes but this Pendleton is a stone's throw from the local police station.
Of course the Pendleton owner could just be an idiot.

Or naive enough to think that nothing gets stolen near the police station....

 

[asterix]

Err ... the number of bikes I see locked up like that - even a brompton locked up with a cable lock through the wheel at a local sports centre!

Must admit when my bike was stolen I had only used a cable.. and parked it outside a hardware store..

Never use anything lighter than an Abus granit-x in town now.

 

[Speicher]

@HovR

Are you in Seattle?

 

[HovR]

@HovR

Are you in Seattle?

Close! I'm South of Portland, within cycling distance of Eugene. How'd you guess?

 

[HovR]

Guess they wanted the front wheel as well?

The person who locked it up managed to get one spoke as well. Would be a lot easier to just snip that spoke than break the whole lock.

Could it be a police plant ? They have been known to half heartedly lock up bikes to see if anyone would pinch them.
Seems odd it would still be in the same spot for a week.

A friend of mine who works near-by says that the bike has been locked up like that most of summer, so it's been there a while. Who knows!

 

[BigonaBianchi]

Portland...Eugene....happy days