Bike Thefts from Downtown DC Garages

[americancyclo]

@Tania 141985 wrote:

[COLOR=rgb(51, 51, 51)]They also used a pretty heavy duty tool because all the u-locks on the ground had a smooth cut.[/COLOR]

pic looks like they used an angle grinder. Can be had for under $150 and takes care of most U-locks in under a minute.

Here’s how easy it was for me, and I’m not a professional. (two minutes)
http://bikearlingtonforum.com/showthread.php?7913-Key-broke-in-my-u-lock-How-to-recover&p=102150#post102150

[KLizotte]

@Tania 141985 wrote:

http://www.popville.com/2016/06/like-a-knife-through-warm-butter/

Thanks for the head’s up. Wowsie. Nowhere is safe. I’ll continue storing my bike in my bedroom then…

[Tania]

@KLizotte 141994 wrote:

Thanks for the head’s up. Wowsie. Nowhere is safe. I’ll continue storing my bike in my bedroom then…

Me too.

[Terpfan]

I’m curious who isn’t locking up in parking garages? The one I park in has police guards and I still lock up. Thieves are bold, sometimes stupid, and always determined.

[Rockford10]

In my nondescript, non-policed parking garage in Tysons, there are three bikes. My bike is locked up with a u-lock through the frame. The Giant mountain bike has a u-lock through the front wheel and the third bike (a schwinn?) is not locked up at all.

[sjclaeys]

@Terpfan 142216 wrote:

I’m curious who isn’t locking up in parking garages? The one I park in has police guards and I still lock up. Thieves are bold, sometimes stupid, and always determined.

A few years ago there were some bikes stollen from the very spot where you park, even though there are cameras and Capitol police just yards away.

[GovernorSilver]

I have the luxury of parking in a secured bike room at work – separate from the parking garage. I still lock up though. Social engineering techniques or simply following somebody into the room can be done by a determined enough person.

Theft is one of the reason I hesitate to buy another nice bike, despite N+1 encouragement from well-meaning friends – specifically in the direction of an endurance racing road bike. If I get a “pure” road bike it’ll be something I pick up at a co-op sale or put together from spare parts for fun – something that doesn’t quite scream “steal me!!” like a carbon bike.

Still, I’d try the double U-lock + cable method, if I had a less secure setup for my commuting bike, before giving up bike commuting altogether

[cvcalhoun]

@Terpfan 142216 wrote:

I’m curious who isn’t locking up in parking garages? The one I park in has police guards and I still lock up. Thieves are bold, sometimes stupid, and always determined.

In the garage in which I park, there is a bike cage. Inside is a wheelbender rack. The cage is so small that if one bike is parked in the spot closest to the entrance, every other bike has to be picked up and hoisted over the already parked bikes to get to a space. Between the effort of hoisting the bikes and the dislike of wheelbender racks, I see a lot of bikes left loose in the cage.

[Terpfan]

@sjclaeys 142218 wrote:

A few years ago there were some bikes stollen from the very spot where you park, even though there are cameras and Capitol police just yards away.

That still baffles my mind. Then again, there was also a dead bird on the ground for a few weeks this winter, so maybe I shouldn’t be too baffled. Wonder if they even bother manning that inspection part once they switch to the new security thing at the elevator corridors. But good to keep in mind for me to always lock up. I do see a handful of bikes unlocked.

[Terpfan]

@Terpfan 142216 wrote:

I’m curious who isn’t locking up in parking garages? The one I park in has police guards and I still lock up. Thieves are bold, sometimes stupid, and always determined.

Of course there are those times where one moves his bike after work to attend a happy hour, receives a ride home from the wife, switches to bag without a secondary lock, and then realizes how idiotic he is to make comments about who isn’t locking up…. 😮

[Steve O]

@Terpfan 142361 wrote:

Of course there are those times where one moves his bike after work to attend a happy hour, receives a ride home from the wife, switches to bag without a secondary lock, and then realizes how idiotic he is to make comments about who isn’t locking up…. 😮

Or…
Goes to happy hour after work and decides to Metro home (spouse providing ride works, too). Arises in the morning, puts on bike gear, gathers work items, goes to shed and finds no bike.

[Author]

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