So this is what happens, somebody comes along and steals the saddle, fork and headset.
See?
Click to expand
Oh, the hubris of leaving your bike only partially secured in front of the flagship Nordstrom in Mayor Ed Lee’s San Francisco…
Posts Tagged ‘headset’
Nordstrom No-No: Foolish San Francisco Cyclist Walks Away From His Fixie Without Locking His Saddle and Headset
Tuesday, December 20th, 2011Foolish Cyclist Forgets to Lock Headset After Parking on the Mean Streets of San Francisco
Friday, August 19th, 2011And just look at what happens.
(They sell them, you know, headset locks. Myself, I simply put superglue into every hole where a tool would fit – that’s kind of like using a lock)
Anyway, you park your bike on Mayor Ed Lee’s Market Street in 2011 and this is what you’ll get:
Click to expand
What hubris to not lock your headset.
(This is right next to where the SFPD had a enforcement action not too long ago. Some of the errant cyclists complained about getting cited or hassled about not having reflectors or lights installed, you know, during the daytime. I’m not sure how that works, but I’m thinking that the Vehicle Code requires not reflectors on bikes in the daytime. Oh well.)
How the Little Monsters Steal Your Trek Bicycle on Market Street: One Part at a Time
Wednesday, February 23rd, 2011Appears as if the owner of this electric blue Trek FX or something 7.3 hybrid bike abandoned it after a few parts went missing. And when I say a “few,” I mean just enough, maybe only one thing, to make this particular owner to give up and leave the rest to the midnight vultures of Market Street.
Click to expand
Note that the pilot took the time to use a proper U lock along with a cable to protect the wheels.
But that’s not enough these days! It’s your headset and your seat and your seatpost – that’s what you need to protect on the mean Streets of San Francisco.
Here’s a shot from a day or two later. The fork and the brakes are now gone too:
The hand tools necessary to crack open the lock or cut the cables, well, they’re too bulky for the little monsters to carry around all the time. But wire cutters and hex tools, your Allen wrench assortment, that’s all you need to operate a bike thief bidness.
I suppose the end to this vignette is the SFPD or DPW coming along to crack the U lock to make room for other pigeons to park their bikes right in front of the Great Nordstrom / Bloomingdale’s Mall of Market Street. You know, to continue the cycle.
On it goes…
Norman Schwarzkopf, something tells me you want to go home
Champagne, bibles, custom clothes you own
Uh Oh, Appears As If San Francisco’s Little Monsters CAN Break a Bicycle U-Lock – But Look How Big It Is
Thursday, January 27th, 2011I don’t know, I suspect that if this U-lock had been just a skosh smaller, it wouldn’t have been so easy to break.
I still think that protecting accessories is the big issue, so consider this image a kind of Minority Report.
Evidence of a clean getaway in the Financh – unusual these days…
Be on guard. This place is full of vultures, vultures everywhere,everywhere.
Developing a Theory of Bike Protection – How U-Locks Won the Battle But Lost the War – Know Your Tweeker
Thursday, December 16th, 2010The inderspensable Uptown Almanac seems to have a theme of bike thievery, lately. See?
Now, back in the day, back in the 1970′s and 1980′s, bike thieves would strive to take your whole bike, and usually, they would succeed. But then came the U- Lock. The Bike Theft Community responded by carrying around Volvo car jacks, and freeze gas, and whatnot. But that wasn’t too practical, it turned out. And U Locks got better – physically smaller and harder to pick. So, the Bike Theft Community responded by being satisfied to simply strip parts from your bike for easy resale. And that’s the situation we have now.
I’ll tell you, back in the day, the 415 didn’t have such a robust market for stolen bike parts running 24-7 the way we do now. That’s why, especially when compared with most other parts of the USA, your focus should be on protecting accessories on the frame as opposed to the frame itself. Sure, U locks still get broken, but not at all at the rate of two decades ago, that’s for sure.
Now, because the average low-life bike theft tweeker has seemingly lost the technology of breaking U locks, you can safely go cheap, like a $15 OnGuard / WalMart.com special. That’ll free up some of your cash to protect the things that matter:
Wheels
Saddle/seatpost
Headset
How do you do that? I don’t know, cables and chains and leashes and locking skewers and ball bearings superglued into your headset, thusly. Anything to make your low-life tweeker bike thief carry a bunch of different kinds of tools around, anything to make your low-life tweeker bike thief reconsider a few life choices.
Bon courage!
Encountering a 21st century horse thief outside of your favorite local bar. Oh well:
OMG, It’s the Sneaky, Pigeon-Toed “BlueTooth Bandit” – Takes Wallet Out of Your Purse at Cafes in the Marina, Polk Gulch, FiDi
Thursday, October 28th, 2010The slick, “Bluetooth Bandit“ is still out there, people.
“Bluetooth Bandit is still out there, check him out on YouTube: Northern Station PSA 2“
Check out his M.O., courtesy of StarBucksVision – start at 4:00 right here.
Click to expand
Call the 911 when you see him at your coffee shop.
