June 11, 2004

Ken James died after falling from a bike in Swanston Street, Melbourne, on February 27. Police believe the 64-year-old was stealing the bike when he fell and hit his head. Unfortunately, as we live in another state, none of these bikes were my brother's (he has had three stolen in one year). Most bike thieves I have come across (to a cyclist they usually stand out like a sore thumb) have been kids, or addicts looking to finance their habit.

University campuses are notorious for bike theft, as they have a large concentration of bikes, poorly secured cycles and large groups of people to move around in. Give us your stories of bike theft or advice on securing your bike. Do registration schemes offer worthwhile protection? Will RFID devices see reduced levels of bike theft?

posted by dj 20 years ago
  • I'm sorry, but the first thing I wondered on seeing this was "Has Ken James from Skippy been reduced to stealing bicycles to get by? And he's 64 now? How sad!" At least Skippy got that gig on 60 Minutes.
  • Halifax is a beautiful, wonderful, friendly city [NOT the one in England, obviously...], as evidenced by the fact that 2 weeks after I moved there, a bare acquaintance gave me her 10-year old commuter [1/2 mountain, 1/2 road bike]. It was in great shape, but I tightened the brakes, cleaned the gears and I was thrilled to be able to fly down George Street with the greatest of ease. Until the next day when it was stolen, when someone UPROOTED A TREE, trashed a fence, cut my lock and rode away with no seat (which was sitting next to me at school). God damned students.
  • That's serious dedication, ilyadeux.
  • And it was PINK too! Seriously, there were better candidates mere metres away! [it's ok. Now I have my bright shiny adorable fabulous Peugeot with a better lock and removeable wheels...]
  • The kid I dated in college was very much into bikes, and he rode, messengered, and worked in a bike shop. This was in Boston. He stole many of them, too. On campus, he stole whatever he wanted. Residentially, he would steal them in the rain...off peoples
  • In my previous country The Netherlands bikes are stolen in such great numbers that it is not seen as a crime anymore. Not even by the police. They don't even include it in the crime statistics because it would look so bad. I once had my bike stolen but didn't bother that much because it was insured. The insurance papers were at my parents who were on holiday. When they came back I found out that the insurance period had run out just two days before the theft. Grrr... I had four bikes stolen in my life and that is a very low number in the netherlands. Two of those were even stolen when I had lend them to someone else. I apparently am very lucky (in the bike stealing department). I once saw my Brompton folding bike being stolen when I was sitting in a restaurant. I ran outside (I was on the second floor) and literally jumped on the thief. By running down I was so pumped up with adrenaline that I literally jumped on him and I kicked the hell out of him. He and his fellow thief who was on the lookout ran away in despair. The fact that I wore Dr. Martins with steel toes might have helped. My lock was cut halfway, so I was just in time.
  • Most bike thieves I have come across (to a cyclist they usually stand out like a sore thumb) How do you recognize a bike thief? If experienced cyclists can recognize them right off the bat I'd like to know how to spot them. Especially since I may start cycling in the next few years. Or is it just any 15-year old kid loitering suspiciously near bikes?
  • I once had an axle nut stolen. Just the right rear axle nut. I only noticed because the bike kind of swayed when I rode it. It was an odd feeling.
  • rolypolyman - in my experience, the thief usually has no cycling paraphernalia with them and they spend an unusual amount of time looking at the other bikes, trying to work out which will provide the biggest pay off for the least risk of being caught. Of course, that doesn't mean all bike thiefs are like this. My workplace looks out on to a large cluster of bike racks and we have spotted someone checking the bikes out several times. The large boltcutters tend to be a giveaway also.