What would you have done?

[ozboz]

I have left my lock or key many times , the supermarket security staff at all of them have always been ok about it with me leaving it inside ,

 

[nickyboy]

They wont all let you.

They won't, but if you ask nicely I am guessing they will. I wouldn't just wheel my bike into a supermarket and do some shopping. But I have (in exactly the same circumstances as you...needed some bits and no lock at all) explained I had no lock to the security guy and would it be ok to quickly wheel it around with me. I also offered to let him pop it in some office instead while I bought what I needed but he was cool with me just wheeling it around

 

[nickyboy]

I presume they don't want you taking your bike in because it may be wet and muddy and take up space. Yet they are quite happy to allow mobility scooters, prams and those huge double pushchairs.....

Are you suggesting that mobility scooters, prams and buggies should be locked up outside the store and those riding in/on them forced to walk around the store? That's the difference with bikes...the riders are able-bodied

 

[mjr]

Are you suggesting that mobility scooters, prams and buggies should be locked up outside the store and those riding in/on them forced to walk around the store? That's the difference with bikes...the riders are able-bodied

Not all riders are able-bodied. I'm fairly disappointed that this isn't obvious.

Also, some users of the other things could walk although it may be less easy for them than riding on the scooter or buggy. I'm pretty sure Tesco would love to ban scooters but fear of being prosecuted stops them. Like on a lot of things, they do pretty much the legal minimum. Like cycle parking, for example - other stores have dozens of spaces near the entrance, while the nearest Tesco puts the legal minimum of impractical ^-shaped too-short-to-lock-both-wheels-of-an-adult-bike stands as far away from the door as possible without facing enforcement action, and the second nearest has shoved it in a dark corner behind a billboard next to the cashpoints.

 

[vickster]

Hang about a bit till a friendly, lock-toting cyclist rolls along and you should be able to get both crossbars secured. Synchronise leaving times, i.e., don't get shackled to a shelf-stacker's ride.

What if they decide to be not so friendly and nick your bike?!

 

[tommaguzzi]

it depends on how desparate i was for the beer.

 

[Strathlubnaig]

I was in HMV a few weeks ago and there was a young guy in the shop with a large, muddy mountain bike.
Nobody batted an eyelid.

If I stop at the Starbucks in Perth I always wheel the bike right in and hang it on the railing , no worries.

 

[Brand X]

I was in HMV a few weeks ago and there was a young guy in the shop with a large, muddy mountain bike.
Nobody batted an eyelid.

We should be more like Australians: "Oi! Get out of the shop you fxxking idiot!"

 

[swansonj]

I found reading this thread a bit sad. Part of the attraction of cycling is the freedom it gives, and the flexibility. I have no desire to dictate anyone else's cycling choices and pleasures - but to end up with a bike and a relationship to it that becomes a significant constraint and even a source of worry seems to me not what I personally would want from my cycling.

 

[jefmcg]

When I went into a bike shop in Melbourne, he identified my lock like a twitcher spotting a rare migratory bird. It was clear he had never seen one in the flesh. And I have laughed at the cable locks that are ubiquitous there.

But I need to remember that not not needing a lock that takes 10 minutes to cut through, and not seeing abandoned stripped frames is a good thing.

 

[mjr]

It was quite a long planning process, it seemed, and certainly not a case of just marching up to a bike and stealing it.

I think that's typical. I've mentioned elsewhere that I've called the police twice when I've think I've spotted bike thieves at work - they are mostly pretty cautious, scoping the bike out a few times before attacking... most of the ones in this video even take a few looks before trying to take an unlocked bike:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yTFiP_co0U

 

[jefmcg]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yTFiP_co0U

I was curious about the figure at the beginning of the video. A bicycle stolen every 5 minutes across Europe. Sounded too low. Sadly it is. It's a little less than one a minute in the UK alone. Slightly higher in the Netherlands.

I wonder if they meant 1 every 5 seconds?

 

[Tiger10]

I'm not sure there are many locks that completely thief-resistant.

There aren't any locks completely thief resistant. And nothing that can't be stolen

 

[bozmandb9]

I take my bike into supermarkets, Costa Coffee, Starbucks, etc. Otherwise I'll find a friendly LBS where they allow you to leave a bike. I never have a lock on rides, and I wouldn't leave my bike unsecured outside ever, wouldn't trust a cable lock, and even with a d-lock would be concerned about possible vandalism (what is it about Oxford and stamping on bike wheels?).

 

[iwantanewbike]

As a student working in a well known store as a teenager, the staff all took their bikes through the store and into the warehouse bit. It's not a food safety issue any more than having clean footwear is.