Prolific bike theif

[HLaB]

except "Mr Wincup was eating in the café. Irwin kept him under surveillance and, in an opportune moment, cut the bike's chain and cycled away."

OOPs I gave up reading before that point.

 

[Sheffield_Tiger]

It be interesting to know how well secured the stolen bikes were, from what I have seen some people are quite happy to splash a £1000 plus on a bike then only spend £5 on a crappy lock.

Quite

There was an old but good (don't know what, it had been un-badged) road bike outside Decathlon last week. Good nick too, with old non-index campag groupset and something about the frame said quality build.

I could have gone to poundland for some sidecutters that would have dispensed with the lock in no time.

As it was old, even though a quality machine, it would have probably sold for £20 off some smackhead who'd nick it and not even even realise that it was a "proper" bike.

Maybe the owner was also uneducated and bought it for £20 off said smackhead...who knows?

 

[HLaB]

I must admit that my road bikes are either locked up with a very thin cable lock or not at all but then again they don't get left anywhere out of sight. Whereas my hybrid that is a 1/5 of the price is locked up with a New York D Lock and a cable throught the front wheel but it is often left on Sheffield Stands. What amazed me at my old job I used to go to a supermarket for lunch sometimes and there was often a nice looking Willier outside locked up with a cable lock. One day it wasn't there I hope a theif never struck !

 

[2Loose]

That would be a well equiped "decent" thief, as he would need to get past both my d locks first and the motion sensitive alarms, with the bike located underneath my office window. A half decent thief would normally be equipped with croppers more than enough for most bike locks.

No such thing as 'decent' thief, they are all scum and you know it! Well equipped on the other hand....

Gotta love Kestevan's version of using the tools though.

Blood could be swept up with a dustpan and brush!

 

[BSRU]

No such thing as 'decent' thief, they are all scum and you know it! Well equipped on the other hand....

Gotta love Kestevan's version of using the tools though.

Blood could be swept up with a dustpan and brush!

Decent is used in the context of being good at something, not their moral/ethical standing, people who steal personal property are scumbags of the highest order.

 

[Howard]

The LFGSS Locks that Work thread is good reading on this subject.

Given that any d-lock / padlock / whatever can be circumvented some how, it's best to accept that if you leave your ride out in public it may get pinched - be pragmatic but sensible about the lock and have insurance.

 

[Keith Oates]

It's only worth stealing something if there is a market to get rid of it. Perhaps more effort should also be made to find and punish the people looking for 'bargains'!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[CopperBrompton]

a half-decent thief will get through any lock in seconds - New York special included.

With enough equipment, yes, but the Sold Secure Gold standard is a lock that will resist typical bike thief tools (including some meaty ones) for five minutes of sustained attack. Anything can be stolen by a thief who really wants it and has all the kit, but that doesn't mean that buying a lock made of cheese is as good as a decent one.

 

[As Easy As Riding A Bike]

Irwin had previous convictions for the theft and attempted theft of cycles, and had previously been jailed for three weeks and had a suspended 12-week sentence activated.

Well clearly that three week spell in jail served as a massive deterrent to further bike thieving.

Oh wait.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

With enough equipment, yes, but the Sold Secure Gold standard is a lock that will resist typical bike thief tools (including some meaty ones) for five minutes of sustained attack. Anything can be stolen by a thief who really wants it and has all the kit, but that doesn't mean that buying a lock made of cheese is as good as a decent one.

the MAG have tried several times to get trading standards to prosecute, well, err, trading standards actually, for amongst other things fraudulent misrepresentation iirc becuase the Sold Secure Goid Standard is, frankly, crap. They've demonstrated that a typical equipped thief can be off and away well before 5 mins is up even if the lock is used precisely in accordance with the instructions. Which often it ain't.

The only reason to go with the sold secure standards is to ensure your insurance is valid, and even then you have to be careful. Because you bought an x standards lock 3 years ago doesn't mean it is still in the list.

 

[MacB]

As Greg says the 'sold secure' rating is best for insurance purposes, the testing regime excludes large bolt croppers, battery powered mini angle grinders and mini hydraulic jacks.

The LFGSS thread on best locks and how to lock a bike is excellent, nothing is totally secure but you can certainly make a thieves life tougher. But it does get depressing when they also recommend locking skewers and gluing little ball bearings into the heads on allen bolts, etc.

But, for me, the overwhelming aspect is the market, as mentioned by Keith. I am disgusted by the amount of people I know that will ignore the possibility of an item being stolen in the interest of securing a bargain.

Maybe we need to see some massive stings using modern tracking technology. Set up bait bikes, riddled with trackers and identifiers, a lot of bikes of different types in varying locations. Allow them to be stolen and follow the progress all the way through to the final purchaser. Then arrest everyone, confiscate the property, confiscate the payments made and charge as many as possible with theft/handling. Any that can't be charged still lose their goods and money.

 

[BSRU]

It seems the best thing, obviously not fool proof, for reducing the risk, is to have a low value bike very securely locked, the idea being thieves in general choose the easiest option with the highest reward. This was demonstrated by the theft from our works bike shed where they stole a new grand plus bike locked up with a crappy combination cable lock, it must have taken less than a second to cut through with croppers.

 

[CopperBrompton]

As Greg says the 'sold secure' rating is best for insurance purposes, the testing regime excludes large bolt croppers, battery powered mini angle grinders and mini hydraulic jacks.

There is a lot of misinformation around about Sold Secure testing. The complete tool-list is below. Bronze (fairly worthless) is testing against section A, Silver against sections A and B, Gold against sections A, B and C.

Section A – Light Manual

• A01 to A03 Screwdriver 0.10m to 0.20 m with slotted tip as a lever
• A04 0.5kg ball peign hammer
• A05 Miniature hand hacksaw frame to BS 7398:1991, Type A with integral tension
• A06 Wrecking Bar - 300mm
• A07 Steel tube 0.3m long with 32mm diameter
• A08 Pair of pliers,
• A09 Allen Key Set - 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0, 4.0, 5.0, 6.0, 8.0, 10.0mm
• A10 to A14 – A10 Craft Knife, A11 Tweezers, A12 Hooks, A13 String, A14 Wire
• A15 Adhesive Tape
• A16 Plastic Coupon (Credit Card),
• A17 Wedges,
• A18 Multiple Slip Joint Pliers (250mm)

Section B – Medium Manual

• B01 Socket set approximately 30 piece 3/8 inch drive to BS 1224:1970.
• B02 Range of Combination Spanners 6mm - 30mm to BS 1224:1970
• B03 20 piece Screwdriver Set, including Slotted, Phillips & Posi-drive tips
• B04 Wood Chisels 6, 12, 18 & 25mm
• B05 0.3m plumber’s Stillsons grip wrench to BS 3594:Pt 1
• B06 0.6m length of scaffolding pole
• B07 Hand hacksaw frame to BS 7398:1991 and HSS hacksaw blade
• B08 Cold & Bolster Chisel Set ranging from approx.6mm - 50mm & steel wedges.
• B09 Parallel Punch Set (100mm) 3.2, 4.0, 4.8, 5.5, 6.4mm
• B10 Side Cutters (heavy duty), B11 Bolt Croppers 0.460m
• B12 Wrecking Bar - 450mm,
• B13 Pry Bar 400mm
• B14 Scissor Jack with 1.5 tonnes capacity
• B15 Slide Hammer 1kg 0.3m,
• B16 7.2V Cordless Drill 10mm chuck,
• B17 Drill Bits HSS (1mm – 13mm)
• B18 Vice Grip Set (125mm & 250mm, parallel jaws)

Section C – Heavy Manual/ Light Electrical

• C01 Impactor Screwdrivers variety of slotted tip sizes 6,8,10,12mm
• C02 0.45m plumber's Stillsons grip wrench to BS 3594:Pt 1
• C03 B05 extended with 0.6m scaffold bar
• C04 0.6m length of scaffolding poles which fits together to item B06
• C05 1.1kg club hammer to BS 876:1981
• C06 Hand hacksaw frame to BS 7398:1991 and TCT hacksaw blade
• C07 Freezing agent - can size 0.5 Litres.
• C08 Bolt Croppers 0.610m
• C09 Bolt Croppers 1.070m
• C10 Wrecking Bar 600mm
• C11 Slide Hammer 2kg 0.45m
• C12 Grundman/Kaba "Knackerer"
• C13 Shims (set of automotive feeler gauges 0.001-2mm)
• C14 Picking tools (including a modified key blank)
• C15 12V Cordless Drill 13 mm chuck, 1500rpm max.
• C16 Tank Cutter/ Core Cutter Bit 100mm HSS
• C17 Hydraulic Bottle Jack (1.5 Tonnes) to BS AU 172b:1990
• C18 Ball Joint Splitter/Separator Kit (to light commercial)
• C19 Coil Spring Compressor (to 270mm jaw opening)
• C20 Self Contained Blow Torch Propane/Butane (1650ºC)

(My emphasis)

 

[fossyant]

Ah, but why should we ride a crappy bike to work - my commuter is the bike I use most..... I also lock up with multiple security - enough to put most thieves off. My secondary lock is a bit unusual....... and I also use a cable lock for the saddle............

If I have to go back to locking the bike in the shed most days, then the 10lb chain will be taken back into work...... on top of a NY Fahg.....and a cable lock through saddle rail and pannier rack................

TBH - if the commuter get's stolen, it can be replaced quickly by the 'same' bike and it's insured. My 'two' old road bikes can't be replaced as such......... especially my best bike.........so that never get's left anywhere, and is d'locked to the garage floor.

That said, most bikes in the so called 'secure' compound I use, lots are very badly secured - i.e. d locks round top tube..... loads of slack............. or cheap cables..........

 

[summerdays]

I did a quick trip to buy some garlic bulbs to plant - got there 2 racks one bike on each, a bianchi and some kind of flash single/fixed bike, and both had cable locks (one thinner than a pencil) ... good I thought - they would go for either of those bikes before mine (so unselfish of me ) ... then I realised I had a lock but no key - so back home again without my garlic .