tstew
06-25-09, 01:47 PM
I am transferring to UCSC in the fall and i just want some ideas about how bad the bike theft is there. Do i need to remove the front wheel everytime i park and use 2 locks? Is the actual campus a little safer than the town?
Advocacy & Safety - Moving to Santa Cruz; hows the theft?
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sanitycheck
06-25-09, 03:24 PM
I work at UCSC, and live in Santa Cruz. When it comes to bike theft, the campus is a lot safer than the rest of the town.
In a decade of commuting to UCSC by bike, I've never had anything stolen on campus -- even though I just use a single U-lock and leave quick-release components and even sometimes panniers on the bike. There are a lot of people around, and they would definitely take the time to intervene if they saw a theft in progress. (On one or two occasions when I've had to cut a lock off my own bike due to a lost key, multiple people stopped to ask what I was doing.) Having said that, I should mention that I park in the academic parts of campus; some of the residential areas are more quiet and secluded, and might be more likely spots for theft.
In town, things are a lot more dicey. Even though I'm much more careful in town than on campus, I've had one bike stolen in broad daylight and had components stripped off the bike more times than I can count. Headlights are an especially common target; make sure your lights have quick releases, and try to be less absent-minded than I am about removing them when you park in town.
Anyway, welcome to UCSC, and I hope you enjoy it here. If you'll be taking physics classes, we might meet. (If so, I always welcome bikes inside my lecture hall, so at least for an hour or so there'll be no risk of theft.)
In a decade of commuting to UCSC by bike, I've never had anything stolen on campus -- even though I just use a single U-lock and leave quick-release components and even sometimes panniers on the bike. There are a lot of people around, and they would definitely take the time to intervene if they saw a theft in progress. (On one or two occasions when I've had to cut a lock off my own bike due to a lost key, multiple people stopped to ask what I was doing.) Having said that, I should mention that I park in the academic parts of campus; some of the residential areas are more quiet and secluded, and might be more likely spots for theft.
In town, things are a lot more dicey. Even though I'm much more careful in town than on campus, I've had one bike stolen in broad daylight and had components stripped off the bike more times than I can count. Headlights are an especially common target; make sure your lights have quick releases, and try to be less absent-minded than I am about removing them when you park in town.
Anyway, welcome to UCSC, and I hope you enjoy it here. If you'll be taking physics classes, we might meet. (If so, I always welcome bikes inside my lecture hall, so at least for an hour or so there'll be no risk of theft.)
jeph
06-26-09, 10:51 AM
I am transferring to UCSC in the fall and i just want some ideas about how bad the bike theft is there. Do i need to remove the front wheel everytime i park and use 2 locks? Is the actual campus a little safer than the town?
My daughter just finished her first year there and was in the dorms. the campus it self seems pretty good. I saw some medium end ($2k) MTBs there and they didn't have any issues at her dorm that I heard of. The town is a different story. Her friend's brother visited w/ bikes and they foolishly locked 3 bikes with one cable and someone got a 3 for 1 deal.
It does seem like the town has a booming theft business. She has a good u lock w/ a cable. There are some threads on this or another forum about lock strategies. If you u lock the back wheel and frame to a good post and then put the cable though the front wheel and into the lock you should be ok if your bike isn't super high end.
I just came back from NY city and I saw bikes that had the fork/handle bar removed. Lots of others missing wheel, even low end stuff. I have also heard of people getting the handle bar/shifters taken by cutting the cables and taking the stem off. Maybe some tamper proof torx head bolts would help.
Good luck and congrats on UCSC, it's a beautiful place.
Jeff
My daughter just finished her first year there and was in the dorms. the campus it self seems pretty good. I saw some medium end ($2k) MTBs there and they didn't have any issues at her dorm that I heard of. The town is a different story. Her friend's brother visited w/ bikes and they foolishly locked 3 bikes with one cable and someone got a 3 for 1 deal.
It does seem like the town has a booming theft business. She has a good u lock w/ a cable. There are some threads on this or another forum about lock strategies. If you u lock the back wheel and frame to a good post and then put the cable though the front wheel and into the lock you should be ok if your bike isn't super high end.
I just came back from NY city and I saw bikes that had the fork/handle bar removed. Lots of others missing wheel, even low end stuff. I have also heard of people getting the handle bar/shifters taken by cutting the cables and taking the stem off. Maybe some tamper proof torx head bolts would help.
Good luck and congrats on UCSC, it's a beautiful place.
Jeff