What should a person do?

[Debade]

We just finished a North Sea bicycling trip. We loved the locks that fit around the top of the back wheel. It is incredibly convenient. Perhaps being from the USA, we were struck that since it was not locked to anything, someone could simply pick the bike up, place it in their car and drive away.

So, Tuesday was our last day in Copenhagen and we see a young man carrying a bike down the street. We were walking to a restaurant and he was perhaps walking to a pawn shop .

What do people do in Europe when they are confronted with this situation. I could not tell why he was carrying the bike but it may have been legitimate. Do you simply assume the person is honest or do you call the police so they can do a little investigating. Do you know of anyone whose bike has been stolen since it was not locked to a fixed object.

Perhaps this is what happens with too many USA detective stories.

 

[classic33]

I'd have reported it.

 

[mjr]

I'd have made sure a local had seen it. They'd have a much better idea whether local police want to know.

Lots of those wheel locks have a cable attachment to loop around a fixed object. I think others just use a cable lock. Certainly, it's not easy to wrangle a D lock through most bikes that have wheel locks although I still do because local nasties show cables little respect!

 

[steveindenmark]

I live in Denmark and have those locks on my bikes. The bad thing about them is that they operate with keys. Like that young man, I have carried my bike home a few times after losing my key or had it stolen as a plank by some little imp.

The locks the op is talking about do not have loops to go round posts. We carry a seperate cable lock.

What makes you think he was walking to a pawn shop? Unless it was an exceptionel bike I cannot imagine a pawn shop in CPH taking a bike in. You have seen the place, there are tens of thousands laying all over the place. Many stay in the same position for weeks and are often acquired by people who need a bike . If you had approached him he would have said he had lost his key, then what?

Copenhagen pretty much works on you ride the bike you can get on. Its like the worlds biggest public unofficial bike share scheme.