How to avoid buying your bike again every 6-12 months and tips for how to apply the same reasoning to other things, like computers

“How to avoid buying your bike again every 6-12 months and tips for how to apply the same reasoning to other things, like computers”

  • @[email protected]English
    6•1 year ago

    Capital punishment for bike thieves is another option.

    Kidding aside, there is nothing you can do to stop a determined thief.

    People have had their LOCKED bikes kept in a BIKE STORAGE LOCKER inside their APARTMENT BUILDING stolen in the middle of the night. Others have their bikes stolen while onlookers record the crime on their phones in broad daylight.

    The more layers you add to preventing bike theft, the more barriers you put up to cycling.

    Myself? I only consider locking up my older MTB, despite it being worth a lot more to me than the $150 I paid for it (count the racks, upgrades, fenders, and tires, and it’s no longer a “cheap” bike in any case).

    My expensive folding bike never leaves my sight. I’ll even bring it inside wheelchair accessible porta potties, if needed.

    My MTB will have one or two locks on it, depending on the stop, and it has a motion alarm, too. I’m never inside a store long enough for someone to have enough time to defeat three layers of security. But… I have a QR seat that’s not secure, my tool saddle bag is always on the bike, and I have various mounts that could be unscrewed and stolen.

    Any more effort to prevent theft would make repairing and general use of my bike considerably less convenient, and would force me to take even more weight (in locks) with me if I wanted to secure even more parts.