Stop touching my bike you scrotes. :(

[taxing]

In the past week, in three separate incidents, the flower brooch on the front of my basket has been pinched, the bungee on my pannier rack has been pinched, and today I caught three little twats checking out my bike. I know they (or possibly someone else, but I'd bet a lot of money on it being them) had already touched it, because the little flap that covers the keyhole on my lock had been flipped, and the handlebars had been moved. If it had just been the handlebars having been moved I'd have put it down to someone bumping it, but the lock flap doesn't move itself, and as I walked up to my bike one of them said "look, it's hers". Then, the final straw, as I was unlocking it one of the cheeky little sods said "nice bike". Yeah it is you knob, HANDS OFF.

I wish I'd had the balls to say something to them, but three older teenage lads vs. me isn't going to end with me winning. I'm just glad I had a good enough lock to ruin their fun.

 

[RedBike]

Time to park your bike somewhere else I think.

What would 3 teenage lads want with the flower off a ladies bike? My mind boggles.

 

[taxing]

This was in 3 different places, on different days! All during the daytime, with lots of people going past. I guess it's just bad luck that the three things have happened in the same week, but it is making me question where I can leave my bike. Every time I was locked up to a Sheffield stand in a busy pedestrian area, so I don't think there's anything else I could do other than not lock my bike up in public, which isn't an option.

 

[rich p]

Is it a particularly attractive bike to thieves?

 

[taxing]

It's particularly unattractive, it's a £250 girly hybrid with a big basket on it. Apparently lads want mountain bikes or expensive road bikes and usually leave girly bikes alone. To be fair the first two probably weren't anything to do with the bike itself, it's only once that I've had any interest in the actual bike.

 

[rich p]

Good lock and one of those long loops is all you can do then really. My daughter had a front wheel nicked off her unattractive bike

 

[RedBike]

You don't see a wicker basket and a flower very often, which makes the bike stand out. Sadly anything that stands out / attract attention is likely to attract the wrong sort of attention.

 

[steve52]

we need a device to allow us to break the wrists of bike thieves over the stands they spend so long hanging around!!! a sort of advertion therapy

 

[ComedyPilot]

Time to park your bike somewhere else I think.

What would 3 teenage lads want with the flower off a ladies bike? My mind boggles.

You fully underestimate the true extent of a Hull male teenager's tw@tishness.

 

[Riverman]

One thing which might be fun is to lay a trap for them, i.e.- allow them to steal the bike but put a GPS tracking device on it along with a shoot lock or something and alert the police immediately when it's gone. Then again, bit a risk to take with a bike you feel is precious but would be fun.

 

[taxing]

You don't see a wicker basket and a flower very often, which makes the bike stand out. Sadly anything that stands out / attract attention is likely to attract the wrong sort of attention.

Yeah, it's rubbish isn't it? I'm bloody minded and I love my basket so it's staying, I just lock my bike well and have it insured. I refuse to pander to thieves and idiots and buy something that will blend in if what I really want is a white bike with a big basket and a flower.

 

[Arch]

It's particularly unattractive, it's a £250 girly hybrid with a big basket on it. Apparently lads want mountain bikes or expensive road bikes and usually leave girly bikes alone. To be fair the first two probably weren't anything to do with the bike itself, it's only once that I've had any interest in the actual bike.

Scrotes'll nick anything. I see plenty of lads riding around on ladies frame bikes. If they can nick it, they will, ride it a bit until they get bored, and trash it. If they can't nick a whole bike, they take any bit they can - doesn't matter if they actually want it, they want to steal something, and have the knowledge that they've got one over some innocent soul.

You might think that kids wouldn't want to hang around a rubbish collecting vehicle, full of scuzzy tin cans and bottles, but they do, because they know they are getting in our way and annoying us.

 

[taxing]

True. No one has taken the hideous pink mac that I keep in my basket yet, but it's only a matter of time.

The result of them nicking my bungee cord was me riding home from Tesco's with my shopping on my handlebars, by the way. It's dead annoying because I bet they didn't want it, they'll have chucked it in a bush or something.

 

[summerdays]

What about one of those alarmed locks so that it drew attention when they started fiddling with it... I can't remember who has one on here ... possibly someone with a name beginning with P (that's really helped you hasn't it!!!). The only problem is the accidental knocking of your bike by others also setting it off. Or that it becomes a new attraction - who can remove the flower without the alarm going off? Could you use both wire and elastic to keep the flower on - longer to remove?

I like your flower (assuming that's your bike in your avatar?) and often look at bikes that are decorated in that style. It would cause me to smile at you if we passed on the street.

 

[iAmiAdam]

If it is tescos, they often let you park the bike just inside, or tell security and they'll get ride of the scrotes.


It's silly what people will steal these days, hopefully one of them will decide to mess about with the bungee cord and hit themself in the face or something.