The cutting blades, though, do have to be replaced after being used on some of the tougher, hardened shackles. Same for the cutting wheels on angle grinders. I assume without evidence that many thieves are cheapskates, and don’t want to have to buy consumables they can’t steal.
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I use the strategy of only riding ancient bikes that are basically unpawnable while riding in the city. It has worked very well.
My good bikes stay locked up indoors except when actively in use. I use a heavy duty U-lock when I grab a coffee or something.
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I don’t know about that. I cycle to work in heavy traffic so I need to ride something modern and reliable. We have a bike cage at work and bikes have been stolen from the cage in the past. I think my bike survived because it was beside our CEO’s stupidly expensive bike.
Even the expensive U-locks don’t last long at all against bypass, destruction or picking attacks by folks like The Lockpicking Lawyer and Bosnia Bill. A working thief won’t have their depth and breadth of expertise but will have enough to make short work.
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Being a less attractive target is a good strategy.
A couple bucks to get a thousand dollars worth of bike? That sounds like a good trade.
Thats how i lock my bike too
(though i’d put the righthand bar of the lock below the chain, so the chain is part of the deal too.)
The only thing it doesn’t secure is the front wheel. Luckily my location isn’t one where i’ve ever heard of that happening though
This is why I never buy a new bike, I just pick up cheap second hand ones. Sometimes from the police auction, there are tons of good bikes there that they recover and most people don’t bother to even try to reclaim them. So you can pick them up cheaply. But in the end, a good rule of thumb (over here at least) is to never ride a bike that’s more expensive than the lock you put on it. Or put it in guarded storage, which is rare but great.
Interesting video, but this is only a single independent test. The point would have been better made if it had included the supporting “independent tests” that have already been carried out by bicycle thieves.
Locks only keep honest people honest.
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Too noisy. You want hydraulic cutters:
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You’re right about the battery angle grinder. Using a deWalt to cut one of those circular steel storage padlocks took me between 5-10 min. And was Loud AF. That’s the only downside to this strategy, the noise
The interesting thing is that the bicycle, even in 2018, is still worth something. I grew up in the 80’s and lost a bike or two along the way; and now with ride share, scooters, etc., I can’t see bikes as ever being economically worthwhile.
Note: I don’t mean high-end city or sport bikes; nor do mean just the US, but a crummy 10-speed I can get at a pawn shop? Bikes predate automobiles: how is this still a worthwhile crime?
What can I get for for my Walmart 12 speed that I boosted yesterday?
Around here its foreign students who ride at night for Uber Eats. They earn a few extra bucks that way. They might pay 100 dollars for a bike regardless of whether it was worth 500 or 2000 dollars when new.
I assume you mean US, but $100? At a pawn shop? I doubt even $100 new.
I found an adult-sized bike at walmart.com for $89 just now. So no, that’s not the problem.
Cash predates credit cards. How is this still a worthwhile crime?
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We are not talking cash, but bicycles. Do try to focus.
I’m not going to watch any yt videos on that, so can someone tell me if your bike lock picking heroes tried the high-end Abus locks? Both folding and U-lock?
The high-end Abus U-lock is sold around here as the best option, and their folding lock has a solid reputation. Both are, of course, breakable. The question is how much of an effort it is to deter thieves.
All that said, I am still extremely annoyed that no proper satnav & cellular localisation system is available. All options I looked at - and I did some thorough research - are shit. Only in case of e-bikes I’ve seen proper implementation (and reports of bikes returned to their owners).
Sidenote, since @marten mentioned van-using thieves: every now and then a case pops up where shops are raided. I remember a case from the Netherlands, I think, which had video surveillance,. Took the team about a minute or so to pack bikes worth several tenths of thousands into their transporter. That’s likely on-demand robbery, that is. As are many targeted thefts of high-end bike components I heard of.
Worst I’ve seen so far was a Rohloff cut out of a frame. Fucking bastards. Ruined a nice steel frame. Fuckers.
Bike thieves, in general, are the scum of the earth.
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