Chaining a bike outside in bed stuy

carmen

Ya think it'll get stolen? I live on lafayette, which is a pretty high-traffic area, but NO ONE chains their bikes outside...however, mine is heavy and I was considering chaining it to a street sign and winding the chain through the tires so they cant get stolen (plus maybe removing the seat...)

thoughts? I mean, how DO they steal bikes that are chained with those HUGE locks and chains anyway? Or do you think it might just get vandalized somehow?

limestonekid

Subject: Re: Chaining a bike outside in bed stuy

Carmen wrote: Ya think it'll get stolen? I live on lafayette, which is a pretty high-traffic area, but NO ONE chains their bikes outside...however, mine is heavy and I was considering chaining it to a street sign and winding the chain through the tires so they cant get stolen (plus maybe removing the seat...)

thoughts? I mean, how DO they steal bikes that are chained with those HUGE locks and chains anyway? Or do you think it might just get vandalized somehow?

Why can't you bring the bike inside the building?

There is a stretch of brownstones on Clinton btw Park and Myrtle where everyone seems to leave their bikes locked up outside and they seem fine.

If you can remove the seat via a quick release then I suggest doing that but the safest place for it would be in your apartment.

carmen

there's no shared space to put it- I can drag it up to my apartment but its 2.5 flights of steep stairs and the sucker is heavy and big. I CAN bring it up there but its a real big pain in the butt, it would be much more pleasant to chain it up outside.

homeowner

If you live in a brownstone, I'd suggest asking the owner if you can bring it inside the gate and chain it there. I'd only store my bike outside if I didn't care whether it was there when I returned.

If they want the whole bike, there are ways to cut even the heavy duty bike locks and chains. More likely someone will just take parts off until there isn't anything left but the frame.

Do yourself a favor and carry it up the stairs. Consider it the weight training portion of your workout.

anonymous

Don't take any chances if it's a bike you like and value and ride all the time. Bikes get stolen every day in CH/FG, not to mention Bed-Stuy.

Yes, you can secure it well outside with a heavy lock, but if you do, be sure to remove the seat and/or use a seat lock as well.

I'm a pretty avid rider, and have been living in CH for close to 4 years now, had one seat stolen off an old beater bike that was locked in front of my house in a very good nabe for 20 minutes, and had a back rim stolen off my much nicer hybrid when I got back from a ride across the bridges very late one night too tired to haul my bike up one flight.

The ironic thing about the second theft was that my gf showed up the next morning so we could take her bike in to Bicycle Station to get some work done so we could ride together, and when we came down from my apt. with her bike, we saw that my rim was gone, so I carried my bike all the way down Vanderbilt to get a new rim, too. Nice, very nice.

Krypto locks are always the way to go, AND a heavy chain to secure both wheels. And don't fool around with leaving anything quick-release on the bike unsecured. Lock it or remove it, too. And take off any lights, etc., as well, or you will be throwing good money after bad to keep replacing things.

It's not just this area, but NYC in general with bikes. People have no respect, and bikes are everywhere, and if they want your bike, they will get it. Had another friend lose a mountain bike locked very securely in the rack in front of the main entrance to Cornell Medical Center on the Upper East Side, with people coming and going at all hours and a security guard stationed right inside the door 24/7. He had a heavy chain, so someone had to have used a bolt-cutter. How does that happen in a high traffic/high visibility place? It did, so don't learn yourself the hard way.

queencallipygos

Subject: Re: Chaining a bike outside in bed stuy

Carmen wrote: There is a stretch of brownstones on Clinton btw Park and Myrtle where everyone seems to leave their bikes locked up outside and they seem fine.

I live in that stretch of brownstones; my super has warned me that some months ago someone did steal one of those bikes, so the ones out there now are all on borrowed time.

Back to the main point; the likelihood of your bike being stolen if it's chained up outside has more to do with how good your chain and lock are than it has to do with the neighborhood you chain it in, I'd wager.

anonymous

As a long-time bad-neighborhood-liver, I agree with the "qualilty of the lock, not the quality of the neighborhood" statement.

Everyone in a poorer neighborhood knows that there is better stuff in richer neighborhoods. And most folks know not to shit where they eat... The risks are higher when you do crime where your face is known.

daver

Anonymous wrote: Everyone in a poorer neighborhood knows that there is better stuff in richer neighborhoods. And most folks know not to shit where they eat... The risks are higher when you do crime where your face is known.

What you are saying is logical and makes sense, but my experience has been that it doesn't hold true. Mostly because people don't make sense and aren't logical. 2cents