The thieves have been at it...

Sianlee – it’s not lazy, it’s financial – there effort in recovering any stolen property greatly outweighs the potential revenue from the activity. It is far better to have cops patrolling the street making money than identifying lost bikes….

On the subject of model T’s – at least they don’t blow tyres every 20km….

Inspections? What are they? The last inspections I remember were when the failed mechanics at Dickson kept telling me to REMOVE the seatbelts from my 62 ford – they were not factory fitted……. In this state, I can drive whatever heap of ^%$&^^ I want to, and nobody inspects it….

My Son goes to Lyneham High and it does not suprise me that there are children from the School stealing, I’ve heard from the principal that the year 10 Children are stealing etc and to try and keep my son away from a certain group before they lead him into trouble. I can tell you right now, If my son came home with a new bike, I would call the police myself and check that it was not stolen and then drag the little sod up to the cop shop with the bike if it was. What is wrong with PARENTS!

I am amazed at how the School can call me to tell me my Child is not wearing colour code but not help the police and citzens identify these children. I guess the cops are either too busy to care or just don’t care. I am not sure which, but My Sister inlaw who is a cop says their just lazy!

Here is a link to a picture of a grey Surly Cross Check with black rack and black mudguards, very similar to the one which was stolen in Dickson last Monday evening:
Picture of Surly Cross Check

It would be much easier if you “tinypic” a photo so everyone can see it. That way more of the community can keep an eye out.

dvaey said :

Pork Hunt said :

gospeedygo said :

Why don’t you buy less expensive bikes? Hit up Ozzie Junk and I’m sure you’ll be able to cobble something together.

Why don’t you buy a T Model Ford?

Because cars are required to not only be safe, but be inspected by a safety inspector. Its much harder to get a 50 year old car upto roadworthy than it is to get a bike up-to-scratch from revolve. But you dont really want to go down the road of cyclist responsibility do you?

Doesn’t stop drivers from driving cars with broken tail lights and balding tires, does it?

We got a name of one of the alleged thieves and are in the process of getting Lyneham High year books to access photos so MalAdjusted can hopefully help to confirm the I.D. We also spotted a fairly large group of dodgy looking 10-15yr olds in Downer today riding nice bikes but didn’t see any of the known stolen ones. We got a good idea of whereabouts they live and will keep an eye out for bikes in that area.

I hope the little sh*tbags who did this get found.

And bashed.

Pork Hunt said :

gospeedygo said :

Why don’t you buy less expensive bikes? Hit up Ozzie Junk and I’m sure you’ll be able to cobble something together.

Why don’t you buy a T Model Ford?

Because cars are required to not only be safe, but be inspected by a safety inspector. Its much harder to get a 50 year old car upto roadworthy than it is to get a bike up-to-scratch from revolve. But you dont really want to go down the road of cyclist responsibility do you?

yep, my mate got his bike stolen from the area. I also saw an angry male walking along sticking “stolen bike” signs to the poles

Found a blue/white Jim Bundy road bike today abandoned under the bridge on De Burgh St, Lyneham, near the cycle path. The police now have that one.

In recent days, there have been a number of sightings of bikes known to be stolen being ridden in the vicinity.

Grrrr said :

Any more uniquely identifying info about the Jake The Snake or Cross Check?

Here’s some identifying info about the Surly Cross Check :
* light grey frame and forks (54cm frame)
* black rear rack (Topeak)
* 2 amber coloured translucent bottle cages (Topeak)
* pair of black mudguards (Topeak)
* black SDG Bel-Air RL saddle
* Ay-Up lights bracket on the handlebar
* white and red reflective tape on the frame, forks and rack
* Shimano PD-M324 pedals (SPD one side, platform the other).

Pork Hunt said :

Why don’t you buy a T Model Ford?

Nah, more of a Jag man.

Grrrr said :

niftydog said :

Grrrr said :

Haven’t seen any D-locks with an Abloy key mechanism – do they exist?

Yes. My Kryptonite D lock is one example.

So, we’re looking for:

Giant Bowery with no decals and a non-factory grey/black paintjob? (IE, indistinguisable as a Bowery?) Distinguishable rims, tyres?

It’s not a custom paint job. It is the Bowery Mash-Up version of 2008. Stock wheels, tyres are nothing special.

gospeedygo said :

Why don’t you buy less expensive bikes? Hit up Ozzie Junk and I’m sure you’ll be able to cobble something together.

Why don’t you buy a T Model Ford?

niftydog said :

Grrrr said :

Haven’t seen any D-locks with an Abloy key mechanism – do they exist?

Yes. My Kryptonite D lock is one example.

Which Kryptonite lock is that? I think you’ll find that it doesn’t have an Abloy lock, just disk detainers in the mechanism which makes the key look a bit like an Abloy design.

So, we’re looking for:

Giant Bowery with no decals and a non-factory grey/black paintjob? (IE, indistinguisable as a Bowery?) Distinguishable rims, tyres?

Any more uniquely identifying info about the Jake The Snake or Cross Check? There have been more than a couple of them sold to Canberrans.

Hackett Heckler said :

Does anyone have a list of the bikes stolen?

Here’s a list of 3 of the them:

A grey Giant Bowery
A blue Kona Jake the Snake
A grey Surly Cross Check

There is at least one more.

Does anyone have a list of the bikes stolen?

maybe need to look at suburbs that are not Lyneham or Dickson I think.

Would say more but need to be sure…

Drzaius said :

I snooped around the Lyneham High quote]

MMMmm and taking photos you’re not a systems administrator in a government are you? Maybe not such a good idea while awaiting trial/sentence.

I just love the “I know you are but what am I” between cyclists and the haters.

SmileOnTrial said :

avirusconspires said :

I had my bike stolen from Downer on Sunday night.

We have a really good idea who was behind all this, through talking to bike shops. It’s a group of kids from Lyneham High School who are apparently well known around this area for bike theft.

Good on em. Thats a whole bunch of lycra warriors off the road for a while. Bike’s are for childeren anyway.

“Bike’s” are for “childeren”. Amazing insight.

So if Mal saw the thieves, gave chase after they left a property with bolt cutters in hand, could postively identify them and rang the police letting them know who it was, what more is required for the police to go around to this kids home and talk to him.

Can any of our constabulary readers let us know what is required in this sort of instance?

Cheers

SmileOnTrial said :

surly-owner said :

So, you condone thievery?

No not exactly but the thought of some sponsered gimpsuit wearers carrying their helmets while catching the bus home makes me smile.:):):)

Always focussed on what cyclists wear, huh? Maybe you’re a little bit jealous of people who wear Lycra? Maybe just a wiittle bit aroused? It’s okay. We understand.

I snooped around the Lyneham High bike cage today and there were some really nice bikes that I think are obviously stolen but they didn’t fit any descriptions I’ve read regarding the Sunday/Monday Dickson thefts. I highly recommend taking a look if you’ve had a bike stolen. If only I had’ve realised earlier in the week because we’re certain they rode avirusconspires’ fixie home from school on Monday and Tuesday (spotted by MalAdjusted) but they may have dumped it by now after realising it’s being looked for. This afternoon I also sat in the vicinity of a ‘stolen’ poster that replaced another one they ripped down yesterday in the hope that they’d rip this one down too so I could get a photo to submit to the police but apparently they didn’t go to school today (surprise surprise!). I’m so annoyed that they can steal all of this property and not even be scared of consequences. I know that people should do the right thing and not be vigilantes but honestly, they’re not scared of consequences because they haven’t stolen something from the wrong person yet and had the crap beaten out of them. I’m frustrated about the fact their parents don’t even bother asking ‘where did you get that $1000 bike from?’. Maybe they’re too pepped up on goof balls to even realise they have children. It’s all a bit sad in the end.

I have photos of a Giant road bike, red with ‘Giant’ written in white, drop bars with red grip, blue and black saddle…if it sounds familiar I can email the pics to you. All I have to say is high school students generally don’t buy those kinds of bikes and they look really out of place in the bike racks amongst all the BMX’s.

SmileOnTrial said :

No not exactly but the thought of some sponsered gimpsuit wearers carrying their helmets while catching the bus home makes me smile.:):):)

So, you get some sort of pleasure from hearing about cyclists who have had their bikes stolen?

surly-owner said :

So, you condone thievery?

No not exactly but the thought of some sponsered gimpsuit wearers carrying their helmets while catching the bus home makes me smile.:):):)

SmileOnTrial said :

Good on em.

So, you condone thievery?

dvaey said :

Sounds like it wont be long before someone leaves a bike locked up in Dickson, and waits in the bushes nearby with a crowbar.

And my sympathy for the thief will be zero.

Why don’t you buy less expensive bikes? Hit up Ozzie Junk and I’m sure you’ll be able to cobble something together.

I rarely fell like bike theft will be a problem when I park my many-year-old-cobbled-together-from-parts bike next to the latest carbon-fibre-disk-braked-dual-suspension-helium-filled speed machine.

Although I wish I had one.

Why don’t you buy less expensive bikes? Hit up Ozzie Junk and I’m sure you’ll be able to cobble something together.

Sounds like it wont be long before someone leaves a bike locked up in Dickson, and waits in the bushes nearby with a crowbar.

avirusconspires said :

I had my bike stolen from Downer on Sunday night.

We have a really good idea who was behind all this, through talking to bike shops. It’s a group of kids from Lyneham High School who are apparently well known around this area for bike theft.

Good on em. Thats a whole bunch of lycra warriors off the road for a while. Bike’s are for childeren anyway.

Grrrr said :

Haven’t seen any D-locks with an Abloy key mechanism – do they exist?

Yes. My Kryptonite D lock is one example.

Snarky said :

The concept of bicycle security really is illusory these days.

All you can hope for is to make your bike look less attractive to thieves than the other bikes around it.

A friend of mine had around 6 bikes stolen from their house last week. They were lucky enough to find all bar one of them dumped on an oval near by. So it is defenatly worth going for a look around some places in their area that they may have been dumped.

Apparently somebody else they know also had the same thing happen and there bike was found in the same place.

I had my bike stolen from Downer on Sunday night.

We have a really good idea who was behind all this, through talking to bike shops (Mal Adjusted have been especially helpful). It’s a group of kids from Lyneham High School who are apparently well known around this area for bike theft. Mal from Mal Adjusted knows the group very well (they have apparently smashed his shop windows in the past), and has banned them from the store.

I’ve put up a bunch of posters detailing my bike but they’ve been torn down. They even had the gall to reply to my “thanks for taking my primary source of transportation” footnote, with “no worries c*nt”. They have been seen riding my bike around through Dickson in two days in a row, though I am yet to see it myself.

All discussion with police has been pretty fruitless, though they have been very sympathetic.

The details of my bike are: Giant Bowery fixed gear. Matte grey in colour, decal-free, black forks, black stays, black drop bars, front brake only. Please let me know if you hear of anything.

I wish everyone who lost bikes to these little shits the best of luck in recovering your property.

Another of the missing bikes is a grey Surly Cross Check, which was taken from outside the gym between 6:45pm and 7:50pm on the same night. The thick, but obviously inadequate cable was cut neatly though. Another cut-through cable lock and a helmet were discarded in a nearby skip. Apparently, some of the stolen bikes were spotted being brazenly ridden in the Dickson shops area on Tuesday.

The concept of bicycle security really is illusory these days. It takes so little effort to knock off a string of bikes if you really want to, no matter what lock or chain.

See here for one set of reasons if you’d like to simultaneously scare yourself witless and end up in black depression.

🙁

The types of locks defeated were various, a few were taken so NFI about how they were broken but a mate says his lock was “either hacked with a saw or multiple cuts with sharp bolt cutters”.

The better the lock the more effort the thieving idiot needs to defeat it, Grrr have given a good rundown already. There is also less chance they’ll try it outside a busy area (though you wonder sometimes) and there is also a much higher chance they’ll damage the object said lock secures.

Maybe Woolies should fess up that the “Warning: This area may be under video surveillance” are nothing more than signs. False feeling of security and all that…

Security is always about money and time. More money means less time (but let’s not start a philosophical debate on capitalism.)

I’m sure that your made up statistic of 90% is true for – say – locks of all types, on bikes parked at ANU. I like to think current model D-locks in the market place fare a little better.

What’s a tunsten lock? I haven’t heard of them.

Haven’t seen any D-locks with an Abloy key mechanism – do they exist? Abloy locks may be great but they aren’t perfect – they can be gained entry to with a Falle Decoder. Also, padlocks aren’t a very suitable form factor for a bike.

Kryptonite New York and Abus Granit + are the most thief resistant U-locks. Alternatively Kryptonite New York Chain.

However it all depends on how you lock your bike. Lock as high off the ground as possible, fill the lock as much as possible (front wheel + pole + down tube/rear wheel + seat tube + pole) and maybe add a cable or cable lock on the front wheel – even if you’re smart and don’t use a quick release – since it’s just more hassle for the thief.

General rule of thumb is that if it takes longer than 5 minutes to defeat, the thief will move on.

Grrrr said :

I never said any lock was theft proof. Of course any lock can be defeated given enough time and money – security is always a trade-off.

You also say which D-lock you were talking about there, and the implication that it’s “any d-lock” is way off the mark.

Not a matter of money, just time. And would have to say that you are right in the sense that it is not all d-locks, but it is roughly 90% of d-locks as they come up with new ones all the time.

Get a tunsten lock with an abloy key and you should be right.

s/You also say/You also don’t say/

PBO said :

A d-lock can be opened with a car jack, coke can, hammer, bolt cutters as well as some pen casings. If a person wants what is locked up then they are usually going to get it because a lock is not neccesarily a theft proof device, it merely slow down the culprit.

I never said any lock was theft proof. Of course any lock can be defeated given enough time and money – security is always a trade-off.

You also say which D-lock you were talking about there, and the implication that it’s “any d-lock” is way off the mark.

Car jacks can’t open locks that they can’t fit into to leverage. Coke cans (presumably used as shims to leverage bolts securing on the u-bolt) don’t work if the bolts are deadlocked, not spring operated. Quality D-locks locks take a long time with pretty big hammer to open them – too long for a thief to get away with in most places. Bolt cutters would have to be bigger than any I’ve seen (and I’m not claiming to have seen any record breakingly large ones) to get through the larger steel U-bolts (EG 13mm+ ones.) Pen casings often work on axial locks, but virtually all lock makers stopped using axial locks after that weakness became widely known in ~2004.

I think a half decent D-Lock is better protection than you imply, and that’s I why I’m keen to know make and model, etc, of the locks broken by our local thieves.

Grrrr said :

“Good Quality Locks were cut” Were they D-locks? If so, what make and model? Were they cut through the U-bolt section, or the end shackle? Cut with powertools, or just hand tools? Were any locks picked or drilled?

Enquiring bike lock owners want to know. I’ve just stopped using an (I think, hard-to-break) Onguard Brute cause it’s too bloody heavy. It’s been replaced by something else sold with “Sold Secure Silver” rating. I’m interested in whether it’s cheaper, lighter replacement is any good.

PS: Locks with cylindrical (axial) keys suck. Cable locks suck. Locks sold “for use in low-crime areas” suck.

A d-lock can be opened with a car jack, coke can, hammer, bolt cutters as well as some pen casings. If a person wants what is locked up then they are usually going to get it because a lock is not neccesarily a theft proof device, it merely slow down the culprit.

“Good Quality Locks were cut” Were they D-locks? If so, what make and model? Were they cut through the U-bolt section, or the end shackle? Cut with powertools, or just hand tools? Were any locks picked or drilled?

Enquiring bike lock owners want to know. I’ve just stopped using an (I think, hard-to-break) Onguard Brute cause it’s too bloody heavy. It’s been replaced by something else sold with “Sold Secure Silver” rating. I’m interested in whether it’s cheaper, lighter replacement is any good.

PS: Locks with cylindrical (axial) keys suck. Cable locks suck. Locks sold “for use in low-crime areas” suck.

Disgruntled motorist starts anticyclist campaign?