#1
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nearly stolen bike
You have my sympathy. I had a similar experience in 1978, before D-Locks
were around. I had locked frame and one wheel to signpost and other wheel to frame. I returned to find frame and both wheels bent, but locks intact. The bike was an obvious write-off. I managed to salvage many components. It is *horrible* to return to a wreck of what was once your pride and joy. I's rather return to nothing, or a wrecked lock (as has happened three times) and buy a shiny new mount; sometimes you can lock a bike too well... -- Helen D. Vecht: Edgware. |
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#2
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nearly stolen bike
"Michael Klontzas" wrote in message
... All people who saw the bike agreed it is a write-off. The dent in the down tube is small but as we all know aluminium doesn't like dents. Perhaps it would be better if it was stolen. Now it will just be binned. How straight is the frame? Provided it's not horribly twisted, I'd just ride it, and keep an eye out for cracks. I wouldn't take it mountain biking, but for a hack bike it now has the advantage that it looks a wreck. cheers, clive |
#3
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nearly stolen bike
Michael Klontzas wrote:
On Wed, 16 Nov 2005 15:21:35 GMT, Helen Deborah Vecht wrote: It is *horrible* to return to a wreck of what was once your pride and joy. I's rather return to nothing, or a wrecked lock (as has happened three times) and buy a shiny new mount; sometimes you can lock a bike too well... I thought about that too. I believe that the reason they couldn't remove the bike was because of my usual locking strategy. Crucially, the d-lock was holding a fat aluminium down tube, the front wheel and a rail. This means there wasn't much space for handling really, particularly as the keyhole was as always on the other side of the rails and closer to the spokes. It takes me a while to unlock it with the key! Also, the handlebars were entangled in the rails so that rotating the bike was almost impossible. Knowing about the twisting-the-d-lock trick, I was thinking it would perhaps be a better strategy to use the d-lock on the rear wheel instead, since the tubes there are so much thinner and rotating the bike would certainly make them snap. The assumption here is that noone in the right mind would attempt this because the bike would quickly be rendered worthless. Both strategies fail to recognise that actually someone could be irrational enough to have a go (and take certain risks), even if that meant the frame would certainly be damaged beyond repair. The explanation might be simpler. They might just be really really stupid. I once lived in a street which was pestered by local thieves because it had a good runaway on one side into an open densely wooded park. They used to have a go at breaking the first and easiest lock on my motorcycle. They'd cause a bit of local damage, and give up. I couldn't understand it, because if they hadn't the kit to get through the first lock, they were certainly going to be defeated by the next two much tougehr locks, which were deliberately placed and coloured so as to be highly visible. But they kept doing it. In a despairing attempt at humour after replacing my third ignition lock I taped a waterproof notice to the petrol tank, headed "NOTICE TO THIEVES". It explained that there were three locks on the bike, and that they shouldn't bother messing with the first one unless they were confident they could tackle them all. To my astonishment the attempted thefts immediately ceased, for good. I concluded that they could read, but were just really really stupid. -- Chris Malcolm +44 (0)131 651 3445 DoD #205 IPAB, Informatics, JCMB, King's Buildings, Edinburgh, EH9 3JZ, UK [http://www.dai.ed.ac.uk/homes/cam/] |
#4
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nearly stolen bike
"Michael Klontzas" wrote in message ... On Thu, 17 Nov 2005 00:09:04 -0000, Clive George wrote: "Michael Klontzas" wrote in message ... All people who saw the bike agreed it is a write-off. The dent in the down tube is small but as we all know aluminium doesn't like dents. Perhaps it would be better if it was stolen. Now it will just be binned. How straight is the frame? Provided it's not horribly twisted, I'd just ride it, and keep an eye out for cracks. I wouldn't take it mountain biking, but for a hack bike it now has the advantage that it looks a wreck. I am tempted to do just that, particularly now that I know the home insurance policy doesn't cover the bike. To my inexperienced eyes it doesn't look too bad: http://www.klontzas.com/bike/ and I don't ride hard anyway -- only on tarmac but there is always the occasional pothole or hump, and thin-ish high pressure tyres don't absorb much of the shock. It could be wishful thinking but I get the impression people quote from the textbook that aluminium just snaps without warning before they even see the damage. Either that, or aluminium is a lot more brittle than I could possibly imagine and I may end up in hospital. The PC who came to my place for fingerprints today even suggested that perhaps I could support the dented area with an outer tube or something! -- Michael Klontzas 'If everything seems to be coming your way, you're probably in the wrong lane' (Borstelmann's Rule) I've just looked at your pictures - sadly I think it's a write-off as the dent is right next to the bottle boss therefore weakening the frame in an area already compromised. As food for thought it might be an idea to get a bike that's a bit less "sexy" next time. American manufacturer and black seems to be a bit of a thief magnet. Sorry not to be the bearer of glad tidings Julia |
#5
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nearly stolen bike
JBB wrote:
I've just looked at your pictures - sadly I think it's a write-off as the dent is right next to the bottle boss therefore weakening the frame in an area already compromised. I can't see much on the pictures, but if the paint still adheres to the tubing I'd chance it. But stay tuned to creaky noises or extra flex -- --- Marten Gerritsen INFOapestaartjeM-GINEERINGpuntNL www.m-gineering.nl |
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