[Amrik Singh]

I do not know whether to include this as a Travelogue or not, but since these Pictures were taken while walking through a City as a Visitor, I think this is the best forum to share.
With the current situation, suffering from COVID, the economy of the richest countries have been hit but these are pictures from better times and I worry for the situation now.
Walking through Streets, I mean not dark bye lanes but actual Main roads of the city which see a continuous stream of Traffic throughout day and night I came across the strange rides tied well & securely.

These are the pictures of Cycles or rather remains of what once might have been a glorious Bicycle, but now fit for Recycle only.

Handle Bar? Do not know if it was too hot to be handled or the Cycle went to a Circus Artiste who would ride it without holding it.

Appreciate the quality of the Lock that did not go with the Cycle although it retained its Front Wheel as a Momento.

Probably the Front Wheel of the previous pictures can be used to complete the Bicycle. Which of the two owners would own the Cycle after joint venture completes just One Unit only ?

They seem to have been inspired by Mr. Bean carrying Steering Wheel of his Car with him, to prevent Thieves driving it away.
Just the Seats gone? This looks like the owners removed it themselves to fix whenever they are using it. Seriously hope that they do fix seat before riding again otherwise Shhhhhh.

Another case of Front Wheel gone. I wonder if the Front Wheels has more mileage that gets worn more and needs replacement. But I have shared only Front Wheels earlier, awaiting the rest of Cycle or be prepared as Unicycle.

It would be easier to list what remains rather than what has been stolen

Parking Rates as shown here can be good deterrent to traffic chaos. The Parking lots are quite large and I wish that this rate of "Quarter Hour" excludes the time taken to walk out and in from the parked Car and Gate.

Thank you for sharing the lighter moments although there might have been some owners who suffered, left in tears too.

[GTO]

Thanks for sharing! Moving to the Shifting Gears forum.

[roy_libran]

Originally Posted by Amrik Singh

Just the Seats gone? This looks like the owners removed it themselves to fix whenever they are using it. Seriously hope that they do fix seat before riding again otherwise Shhhhhh.

This is quite a common practice to prevent theft. I have seen this in many countries when people would walk into the offices carrying in the seat with seat post. I also know many who changed from quick release rim locks to the normal bolted ones.

[Amrik Singh]

I hope they carry some sort of documents to prove ownership of the Bicycle, else they could be arrested for stealing seats, while they are removing the seat towards prevention of theft

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by Amrik Singh

I do not know whether to include this as a Travelogue or not, but since these Pictures were taken while walking through a City as a Visitor, I think this is the best forum to share.

Alfred Lord Tennyson once said 'Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all'.

I'd like to tweak it to say 'Tis better to have cycled and lost (the cycle) than never to have cycled at all!'

Welcome to first world problems. I was rudely introduced to it 5 years ago back in Chicago when I moved there with my Cannondale cycle, on a gloriously sunny day when I decided to roam around the city area on a beautiful weekend. Having reached near a friend's place, I locked the cycle to a bike stand with a simple chain lock (by US standards); and had not been gone for more than 10-15 mins. And that was all it required for them to get my cycle and be off. The local cop (to whom I approached minutes after the theft was discovered) told me hardly any of the bikes are recovered; he advised I keep looking at Craiglist just in case I see pics of my stolen bike as the last resort. Alas - I never got it back.

Anyway one need to give Alfred bhai some bhav; the dude did talk sense! A wiser me later bought a 2 pound ~100$ lock for my next cycle. Thankfully that has stayed with me till date. Although the lock is rusting in some corner these days

You'd think those images are hurting enough? Let me introduce to the cycle/bike theft champion city of the US - Chicago! Don't believe me? Believe the bike report registry

[roy_libran]

Originally Posted by Amrik Singh

I hope they carry some sort of documents to prove ownership of the Bicycle, else they could be arrested for stealing seats, while they are removing the seat towards prevention of theft

I think ability to lock or unlock the bike (code or key) is casual evidence enough to demonstrate ownership.

[Amrik Singh]

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

I was rudely introduced to it 5 years ago back in Chicago when I moved there with my Cannondale cycle, on a gloriously sunny day when I decided to roam around the city area on a beautiful weekend.

Chicago is hot on Cycle theft? News to me, but here is what I saw outside Willis Tower, Chicago.

[vb-saan]

Even here in Singapore where everything is well-maintained, bicycles (especially those sharing/rental ones) have been an eyesore. About an year back there used to be quite a number of vandalized bikes from popular ride-share companies without handle, seats, wheels etc., but now with no. of players reduced and streamlined, don’t see many of those around.

I found this a few months back – an abandoned bike near a bus-stop and in a couple of days it became a garbage bin. I sent the picture to the ride-share company and they got it removed by next day.

[SS-Traveller]

Perhaps that stolen bicycle ended up being a free billboard somewhere else...

[Thermodynamics]

I appreciate the professionalism in the third picture (yellow wheel), he has diligently threaded nuts back on the axle .

I have lost 3 cycles in 6 years of my tenure in Germany. I think there are different categories of cycle thieves. Most of them are easy pickers, they carry a wire cutter to snap off cheap flimsy cable locks. They pretend like common man, operate in broad day light and prefer picking whole cycles with easy locks and pedal away unnoticed. Heavy duty locks or taking off the seat are effective deterrents as most thieves want a full cycle. It is a common sight in Europe people carry bicycle seats as if like a pet.

Then there is another category of thieves, who are scavengers, they mostly operate at night in the wee hours as it provides more time to dismember the parts. There is no way you can stop them. A better bet would be to park in a relatively safe/well lit place.

Here is a video of London police vs bicycle thieves, it is a menace in London, look how normal they pretend

https://youtu.be/rhPzF-hyC7Q

[Amrik Singh]

Originally Posted by Thermodynamics

I appreciate the professionalism in the third picture (yellow wheel), he has diligently threaded nuts back on the axle .

I feel the thief has not any favors by replacing the Nuts. Possibly he just loosened them enough to slide the wheel off its slot.

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by Amrik Singh

Chicago is hot on Cycle theft ? News to me
but here is what I saw outside Willis Tower, Chicago

.

Very much - depending on whom/where you ask, the top position varies from between NY, SFO and Chicago. There are local flea markets where cycles sometime get sold in minutes; but Craiglist is the most easiest way to dispose of the bikes. That one is too bulky to steal and easily noticeable.

Of course, US lags behind EU and UK on this matter in absolute numbers but then those have a more higher % of bike usage.

This should give a decent view - Top 10 cities for bike theft

Originally Posted by Thermodynamics

I have lost 3 cycles in 6 years of my tenure in Germany.

Hey, a fellow bhpian who's bike has also been stolen. High five bud

Here is a video of London police vs bicycle thieves, it is a menace in London, look how normal they pretend

Thanks for sharing - I went searching for this series of videos only; had seen them years ago.

[Jeroen]

Bicycle theft is a fact of life in the Netherlands. Certainly in all major cities.

In Amsterdam alone, more than 8000 bicycles get stolen annually! Many people won’t even report. because the feel the police won’t do anything, or it was an old banger bicycle to start with. In fact, bicycle theft is the most common theft in the Netherlands. Nothing comes close!

https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2019/1...-in-amsterdam/

Many people have multiple bicycles and if you live in a major town you would have an old, run down bicycle for your daily biking.

Here is an interesting link:

https://www.dutchamsterdam.nl/857-st...s-in-amsterdam

Most folks would insure their bicycle for theft. At least their proper bicycle, not the old bange city-ride.
You can pick up a decent second hand bicycle for Euro 50-150, whereas just a decent average new city/touring bicycle will cost around Euro 1000.

Jeroen

[dragracer567]

This brings back memories during my college days in Ghent, Belgium! One of the biggest fears of students was getting their cycle stolen! Cycles are in high demand (similar to the Netherlands) and according to a Belgian friend of mine, if a cycle in not locked, it's interpreted that the owner has abandoned it (not sure if it's a joke). It was quite common to see cycle tires locked to cycle stands but the frame missing since the owner forgot to lock the frame to the stand and hence the tire was removed and the frame stolen.

Given that Ghent is a student city, vandalism was quite common as well! I once returned to find my cycle's headlights smashed after my evening language classes.

I was one of the lucky ones who had a locked cycle garage at our dorm as you can see below Others didn't have this peace of mind!

[silverado]

Originally Posted by vb-san

Even here in Singapore

Attachment 2007640

Even in Singapore where Crime is very very low, bike thefts are common.They have the balls to steal it even from MRT parking lots. Many cycling forums are full of threads about bike thefts in Singapore.