It only takes a second...

[Boudicca]

Two bikes, locked to a post and rail with an admittedly mid-tier lock, stolen in broad daylight from Toronto Harbourfront today while we stopped for what can't have been more than five minutes. The thief left his crappy bike behind and made off with ours, one black Aquilla road bike, and one red Rocky Mountain hybrid :notamused::notamused::cry::cry:

Is there even any point in reporting it to the police?

[skiracing]

Sorry to hear that some scum bag did this.

Reporting to police.... I wont be surprised if they refer you to some form to fill out on their website. We had someone break into our car while it was parked in our driveway at night... we called the cops, they told us to go online and fill out a form, they didnt even want to come look at it. We didn't bother in fear that somehow the insurance company will get their hands on the info.

[z3n]

Sorry to hear about that man....so not cool. No harm in reporting it I would think...you might get lucky...I wouldn't hold me breath though...

I didnt want to leave my bike outside this past weekend on a ride in farm country and brought it in the store with me...I end up getting in a shouting match with the store owner because he didnt want the bike in the store. I tried to explain this si not the average walmat special but he wasnt hearing it...it got ugly...

[IronMac]

Ouch...sorry to hear that. Yes, report it...you never know. The thief broke through the lock or through the ring and post?

z3n...his store his rules.

[Turd Ferguson]

Bummer...it's worth reporting. you never know, it might show up.

[z3n]

z3n...his store his rules.

I agree but its how you choose to communicate the rules you set. I dont think its ever acceptable to yell at people trying to give you business. If you cant communicate your concern without yelling or swearing then you should shut your trap or be prepared for people to bite back. I asked him nicely to lower his tone and he kept pushing and my patience runs thin...at the best of times.

[Boudicca]

Ouch...sorry to hear that. Yes, report it...you never know. The thief broke through the lock or through the ring and post?

z3n...his store his rules.

Through the lock I assume. Post was undamaged, and both bike were locked together and to the post.

Am in the process of turning one of the road bikes into a commuter, with a nice hefty rack and marginally fatter tires.

[IronMac]

Amazing, then, since they took the lock too.

Was curious because I was down at Harbourfront just on Sunday morning and noticed those new-style ring-and-posts.

[Boudicca]

Ring and posts have been around for a while -- last year there were news stories about the thieves wrenching the ring off the post and stealing bikes that way (I imagine that worked only if you had locked your bike to the post rather than the ring). They scratch bikes up something rotten.

[IronMac]

No no...I know about ring-and-posts (I ordered one one time from the City for a place I worked at)...I'm talking about the new-style ones where the ring (two halves?) goes around the post. I'm not talking about the model where the ring is attached to only one side.

The City has started replacing those old ones but it will be several years before they're all gone.

[Boudicca]

This was an old-style post. Not that it would have made any difference, I guess. I'll have to watch out for the new ones.

[Pockymonster]

I'm curious what kind of lock you were using. And how can I tell the difference between these old and new ring posts?

[IronMac]

And how can I tell the difference between these old and new ring posts?


As far as I know, the old style posts have the ring attached to one side of the post while the new style ones have the ring (made up of two halves) encircling the post.

If I have to leave my bike for longer than let's say 15 mins, I use a Kryptonite New York lock along with a Krypto cable lock. In a less-trafficked area, I may settle for just the cable.

[IronMac]

I'm sorry to have gotten so off-topic but this morning's ride had me thinking about this:

First, it's odd that a thief would leave his bike behind but what do I know? That suggests to me that he might be local. Going on that assumption, if you have photos of either bike I would canvas the neighbourhood and go to every bike shop within a 10-15 km radius to put up signs and inform store owners that such and such a bike was stolen. I would also go on CraigsList and Kijiji to announce the theft. I think the online sites make it a lot easier these days for a thief to unload a bike.

Is there also some sort of stolen bike registry in Toronto? I know that there is one in Chicago and so on.

Good luck!