And seat post! There I was last night at around 5:30, heading to a community meeting in Barclay. I went to get my bike outside UB, and the seatpost and seat were gone! I thought I must have forgotten to lock it, but the tiny little cable was cut. I use a U-lock, with a thick cable on my front wheel and a tiny cable they make for seats and other small stuff to lock my seat, since both are quick-release. I never thought anyone would steal it. Nor that the wanker would leave the light and computer on the handlebars which were worth far more money. Stupid crackhead.
So I spent my evening fetching the vintage monster I sorta found and couldn’t find the owner for, discovering how much work getting it ridable will entail and ordering a new seat/post and a clamp that bolts closed(!). It wasn’t that expensive, and I’ve been meaning to get rid of my heavy suspension seatpost and overly-cushy seat for a while. But, you know, I wanted to still be riding until my replacements were in. Now my poor bike is in my office, seatless and sad.
And I’m taking the bus this week.
bastiches!
Could you fashion a pipe out of the light or computer? Probably not as easily as the seat post.
OMG, I am picturing some tweaker trying to light that big foam seat:)
Well, those little cable lock thingies they sell to lock up the seat post and seat are totally ineffective. here in Ann Arbor, we have a large number of committed bike commuters/riders/racers. In early October, a friend met me at a local coffeeshop, right off the campus of the Univ of Michigan. and we sat there for about 45 mins. His nice Rivendell bike was parked maybe 25 feet away, just out of sight. In that 45 mins, some jackass stole his panniers, his front and back lights, the seat post and the Brooks leather saddle. Later on, when the cops came to take a report, one of the street bums told the cops that they had seen the thief ( who the bum claimed , “looked like a Professor”), complete the who theft job in less than 5 minutes!!! And the only tool he used was a pair of pliers.
Another enviro-hippie Biology professor friend also got parts from h is rather beat up bike stolen about 3 weeks back. they even stole the beat up plastic milk crate that he had fixed over his rear tire to carry his shopping!!!!
Update:
Spoke with a UB Police Detective today, and he said they’ve lost like 40 bikes in the UB/MICA/Penn Station area in the last 60 days.
Looks like I’m gonna start keeping The Duke in my office, even if the guards at the desk give me shit about it.
My co-worker got her wallet stolen yesterday, too!
that’ll teach her to strap it to her bike
I have always wondered what happens to stolen bikes. Do the thieves try to sell them back to used bike stores? Or do they ( like in Detroit), try to sell the bikes to metal salvage shops? Or do they just steal the bikes for the thrill of it, and then abandon the bike somewhere?
“that’ll teach her to strap it to her bike”
LOL, it got stolen from her office while were all in another office having a short meeting. One girl asked us questions while the other went around to our offices. They left the seatpost-less bike locked to a chair in my office:)
“Well, those little cable lock thingies they sell to lock up the seat post and seat are totally ineffective.”
I generally view bike security equipment relative to what it’s securing. Seatpost and saddle: not very expensive — light little cable will work (only it didn’t LOL). I’d get a thicker one, but it won’t fit under the saddle rails, and I think a non-QR clamp would be best.
Front wheel: more expensive — thick cable locked to U-lock. You’d need large bolt-cutters to get that off, and it’s not usually worth it for a wheel with no bike. Looking to replace the QR on my wheels also.
Frame: vital! — U-lock only:)
hey, was talking to a professional on the weekend. they don’t need nor use “large boltcutters” — they take a spray can and a hammer. spray into lock, whack with hammer, lock fails.
Have you found any seat bike for the replacement? Where did you buy it? My bike got it seat broken. I don’t know where to fix or buy the replacement.
I ordered one online. But with my new local shop, I’d have just ordered one through them if they didn’t have my size in stock.