Folding Bikes - Anyone ever had a folded up folder stolen?

I have a theory, that a thief won't touch something they don't understand. So if your folder is all folded up, they will have no idea what it is, so will leave it alone. Anyone care to prove this theory wrong?

Where I live, people will grab anything not attended-locked up or not. They will puzzle it out later. They will do the following:


Try to figure out how to unfold the bike. If they do (and with a little time, they probably will) they have a free bike!
Don't bother trying to figure out how the bike works. They will sell the parts after stripping the parts off.
Sell the bike, as is in the folded position, to a scrap metal recycler. They get money for their trouble.


So the "dumb" or "stupid" bike thief is a myth. In reality, he/she has to be smart in order to take advantage of situations or people.

When I have something I no longer want, sometimes I place it in a public area near my home. I walk away and time it to see how long someone would go by and grab it. I never have to wait very long! It is far more interesting to me to do this rather than just giving it to the Salvation Army or the Good Will (so boring). This also serves as a reminder of what is living around me now and to be extra cautious about leaving my valuables alone.

When I have something I no longer want, sometimes I place it in a public area near my home. I walk away and time it to see how long someone would go by and grab it. I never have to wait very long! It is far more interesting to me to do this rather than just giving it to the Salvation Army or the Good Will (so boring). This also serves as a reminder of what is living around me now and to be extra cautious about leaving my valuables alone.


you really only should do that with a " FREE" sign or something which clearly identiefy the property is ok to be taken.... Otherwise you just might have shown a kid how easy it is to "steal" something and he will get the taste of easy stealing.... We do have a small burden that we are not supposed to tempt the folks who might not want to work for their property

Better take the extra effort and bring it to the salvation army or other colelction agency
Thor

When I have something I no longer want, sometimes I place it in a public area near my home. I walk away and time it to see how long someone would go by and grab it. I never have to wait very long! It is far more interesting to me to do this rather than just giving it to the Salvation Army or the Good Will (so boring). This also serves as a reminder of what is living around me now and to be extra cautious about leaving my valuables alone.


you really only should do that with a " FREE" sign or something which clearly identiefy the property is ok to be taken.... Otherwise you just might have shown a kid how easy it is to "steal" something and he will get the taste of easy stealing.... We do have a small burden that we are not supposed to tempt the folks who might not want to work for their property

Better take the extra effort and bring it to the salvation army or other colelction agency
Thor

I did not consider that, Thor. I will be more careful in the future.

I have a theory, that a thief won't touch something they don't understand. So if your folder is all folded up, they will have no idea what it is, so will leave it alone. Anyone care to prove this theory wrong?

They know what it is and they know it's more expensive than a regular bike (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=481890).

If they don't know what it is and you lock it then they at least know that it's very important to you (who else would lock such a strange piece of junk?) and will, thus, try to destroy it.

I have a theory, that a thief won't touch something they don't understand.

In theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice, I hope you brought bus fare.

To steal my folded up Tikit the thief would have to pry my hands off the bike as I roll it around the shop...;)

To steal my folded up Tikit the thief would have to pry my hands off the bike as I roll it around the shop...;)

Is this the famous Vik of Vik's Tikit blog fame? If so, very cool- I love your blog. Didn't you post about a Tikit that was stolen from UC Berkeley's campus? I'm not sure if that one was folded or not at the time of the theft.

I should clarify that I meant to ask whether a locked folded folder has ever been stolen? Surely one should never leave a bike unlocked.

My theory is meant to say that a locked folded folder has a much lower chance of being stolen compared to a locked run of the mill bike.

I don't have a lock for my bike so that I'm never tempted to risk locking it. Not yet been in a situation where I've had a problem bringing my bike on site.

I occasionally lock mine, I always fold it first as I figure people would be less likely to steal a "broken" bike.