Demo of locked bike theft

[10mph]

I have demonstrated how to steal an electric bike (wt ~ 50lbs) which had been immbolised by a lock passing through the rear wheel and frame, but not locked to some immovable street furniture.

I found such a bike locked in this inadequate way outside a nearby shop. It had been left not locked to anything because there was nothing visible in the immediate vicinity to lock the bike to. It was a nice looking bike worth well over £1000, so I thought I would carry out a demonstration of theft. The roads were really quite busy with the afternoon school commute so I did not expect to get far without the police being called. Especially because with the weight of the bike, my physical weakness, and the fact that the back wheel would not rotate, I had to devise a method to move the bike.

Quite quickly I found that I could that if I held the frame below the seat post, and lifted the locked rear wheel (very heavy) I could walk forwards carrying the bike backwards with a portion of the bike's weight being taken on the unlocked front wheel. The front wheel at first wobbled too much, but I discovered that if the bike was tilted at about 30 degrees towards me the front wheel generally ran fairly true.

I could only drag the bike for about 30 to 50 metres before getting out of breath. So I had to stop for a minute or more to recover my breath on average about every 40 metres.

I proceed in this way for 1000 metres (0.6 miles) to my home. It took about 45 minutes I think. Amazingly nobody, neither pedestrian nor car driver, called the police, and nobody challenged my blatant act of theft.

So what is the moral of this story?

1. Do not rely on the public to report acts of theft of your bike even if left in a busy place
2. It is easy to steal an expensive bike even if you are rather weak like me.
3. and obviously if you do leave your bike in a public place lock it to something, so at least the thief will need big bolt cutters.

There is another lesson I have learnt - if you lock your bike up, make sure you have remembered the lock key. I went out having picked up a spare battery key instead of the pair of keys (battery and chain lock) which I should have done. I am now thinking of taping a spare key for the bike lock inside my helmet. That will have the double benefit of helping to make sure I always remember to wear my helmet, even for a quick ride to the shops.

 

[morphix]

The problem is I think often people just assume no thief would have the audacity to steal a bike in a very busy public place and they just assume it's the owner who has forgotten or lost his key. This is perhaps another reason it's a good idea to have some kind of audio anti-theft alarm on e-bikes which are really deafening and likely to draw attention. If that starts going off unless the thief is a pro and very sure of himself, he might think twice about sticking around and might be tempted to flee rather than risk the boys in blue turning up.

It's amazing though how the public can be so passive when crimes are taking place. I once witnessed someone breaking into a car in the middle of the daytime, alarm going off..smashed the side window and people were just walking past. I called the police and described what I was seeing and they came out, but not before the vandal/thief had fled.

 

[flecc]

It's amazing though how the public can be so passive when crimes are taking place. I once witnessed someone breaking into a car in the middle of the daytime, alarm going off..smashed the side window and people were just walking past.

My experience likewise. When in the motor trade and many times since I've made entry into cars for owners who had locked themselves out, the last occasion only just over a year ago. This was mostly in busy public places and the various methods I've used made it clear that the entry was unorthodox and not by key. I was never at any time challenged or questioned, passers-by apparently assuming that since I was doing it so obviously in public, it had to be innocent.

But of course we all know this from theft and burglar alarm system experience, no matter how loud and long they sound, they are just ignored by presumption that the alarm event is false.

There seem to be two human behaviours behind these events, firstly an inclination to take a kindly view of events, second a wish not to get involved in anything that could become complicated or dangerous. These boil down to one thing, most of us want a peaceful uncomplicated life.

 

[Old_Dave]

Just call him Slim Jim

lol

 

[morphix]

My experience likewise. When in the motor trade and many times since I've made entry into cars for owners who had locked themselves out, the last occasion only just over a year ago. This was mostly in busy public places and the various methods I've used made it clear that the entry was unorthodox and not by key. I was never at any time challenged or questioned, passers-by apparently assuming that since I was doing it so obviously in public, it had to be innocent.

But of course we all know this from theft and burglar alarm system experience, no matter how loud and long they sound, they are just ignored by presumption that the alarm event is false.

There seem to be two human behaviours behind these events, firstly an inclination to take a kindly view of events, second a wish not to get involved in anything that could become complicated or dangerous. These boil down to one thing, most of us want a peaceful uncomplicated life.

Very true flecc, but it's not difficult to pick up your mobile from a safe distance and dial 101 or 999. I just wish more people were community spirited and think what if that was their house/car/bike being robbed etc.

 

[neptune]

@10mph. Will you take 100 quid for it ? Seriously , I have done a similar thing. My daughter locked her bike to a lamp post in town. When she went to collect it, the key broke off in the lock. I got the job of recvering it. On a Saturday afternoon, in the middle of the pedestrian precinct, I spent ten minutes attacking the lock with a seven pound hammer. No one batted an eyelid.

 

[the_killjoy]

Recently couldn't unlock the cheap padlock cable on the bike ~ it looked like someone had squirted something in the lock.

Went into ASDA and bought a junior hacksaw for £1.25 and cut it off in 5 min in front of the shop and the security guy ~ no one did or said anything.

Moral don't buy a cheap lock ~ my new one needs the pannier to carry it it's so heavy.

 

[flecc]

Very true flecc, but it's not difficult to pick up your mobile from a safe distance and dial 101 or 999. I just wish more people were community spirited and think what if that was their house/car/bike being robbed etc.

I did that once when a young man was trying to steal a car from outside my property but had been foiled by the steering lock re-engaging as he pulled away. It was 2.40am. Seeing I'd spotted him he ran away and I immediately rang 999 since there were only two ways out of the estate and one the most likely for him to take. Three quarters of an hour later a police officer turned up, bitterly complaining that he'd had to drive all the way from Purley Way to get to me, less than five miles in his luxury three litre car on empty roads!

He then subjected me to an aggressive grilling, refusing to believe the reason why I'd been woken to discover the attempted theft and generally treating me as the villain. This sort of response is far from uncommon and it's why so many think calling the police is a complete waste of time. Most of the time they aren't wrong, the police certainly are an incredibly expensive resource in relation to their ineffectiveness in the majority of matters.

 

[jhruk]

There is another lesson I have learnt - if you lock your bike up, make sure you have remembered the lock key. I went out having picked up a spare battery key instead of the pair of keys (battery and chain lock) which I should have done. I am now thinking of taping a spare key for the bike lock inside my helmet. That will have the double benefit of helping to make sure I always remember to wear my helmet, even for a quick ride to the shops.

For quick trips into shops etc I always carry one of those cheap cable combination locks. I know they’re not very secure but I think enough to deter the opportunist thief in most places if you’re only leaving it for a few minutes. Provided you can remember the ‘pin’ code you’re never without the key.

 

[themutiny]

My experience likewise. When in the motor trade and many times since I've made entry into cars for owners who had locked themselves out, the last occasion only just over a year ago. This was mostly in busy public places and the various methods I've used made it clear that the entry was unorthodox and not by key. I was never at any time challenged or questioned, passers-by apparently assuming that since I was doing it so obviously in public, it had to be innocent.

But of course we all know this from theft and burglar alarm system experience, no matter how loud and long they sound, they are just ignored by presumption that the alarm event is false.

There seem to be two human behaviours behind these events, firstly an inclination to take a kindly view of events, second a wish not to get involved in anything that could become complicated or dangerous. These boil down to one thing, most of us want a peaceful uncomplicated life.

Early in my career, I worked as the branch repo man. I 'stole' hundreds of cars, using slim jims, spec lifts & all manner of other methods. Only once did a misguided member of the public interfere (by giving chase)

 

[aseb]

I use a ring lock that you can't lock without the key- Abus Amparo. It's attached to the frame so I can't forget it. You can also add a chain or cable to lock the bike to lamposts, bike racks etc.