Is this the pot calling the kettle black?

Arguments based on "you weren't there" are meaningless coming from someone who wasn't there either.

I had absolutely no issue with cutting the cable, and stated so "the was 100% within his rights..." But the argument that the Op couldn't have separated the bikes with some damage is very weak. I've handled thousands of bikes loaded tightly onto trucks, buses, trains and planes which settled in transit, and have never found them tyo be come so entangled that they couldn't be separated without damage.

The OP's own words "which was not gentle...." Imply that he was not overly concerned about collateral damage to the offending bike. He had mentioned that the offending bikes pedals were trough his won spokes. I'll venture (yes, this is pure speculation) that the OP was careful and managed to rotate the pedals as needed to pull them back out of his own wheel without damage, so I strongly suspect that any care and gentleness was one sided.

I understand the OP's annoyance, but I'm less sympathetic than I might otherwise be based on his town, and apparent self-righteousness.

Uh... THAT's my point. You and I could argue endlessly about what the OP could or could not have done. Your personal and anecdotal experiences have no more weight than mine or anybody else's: the OP was there, so I'll take his word for it. This forum is for discussion, not a cross examination.

As for your arguments about how gentle he was or was not... you use the words "imply" and "pure speculation" in your own argument. For all we know... the OP could have been referring to actions like not having "kid gloves" in handling the offending bike, or maybe he scratched the bike because the lock/cable was hard to cut and there was little room to manipulate the tools... whatever. Again, I don't know, so I'll take the OP's word that he didn't maim/vandalize the other bike. It seems that a lot of criticisms directed toward the OP involve a lot of second guessing on the OP's assessment, actions, and moral judgment. I'm not even sure how from his original post you surmise he was self-righteous when it was his bike and him in the unasked for predicament: calling the kettle black, eh?

Look FBinNY... I don't want to end up in an extended argument with you. The OP had a bike locked and mashed against his, he did what he thought he had to do, and then came to this forum for some feedback. Looks like he got that and a whole heap more. The bottom line is is that frankly, I - and I daresay others - don't think he deserved some of the rather negative comments.

But you did add the smug references to the quality of the other bike. If other posters introduced this baloney by asking for equally irrelevant details they would be just as silly. If your OP was written with just the relevant detail like your rewrite, the replies may have also dealt with those details.

People responded to what you wrote, not what you were thinking about.

What a surprise huh?

I've come to expect a certain amount of hairsplitting and curmudgeonry around here... some people have a lot of time on their hands.

Don't take it personally. It's all just part of the fun...

I had a few bikes mashed up next to mines. In one case, I could barely remove my bike cause the other one had their pedals between my spokes, and my handle bar tangled in their brake cables. Luckily they weren't locked up together, so I got mines free, and the other bike was left barely leaning on the post it was locked to.

Totally agree.

Malice isn't a justifiable response to ignorance.

The thing that would piss me off most is being stranded with no way to get home after a hard day's work--I'm exhausted, I'm hungry, I've made it most of the way home (bus) and now some scumbag has left me stranded, with no clue when he might appear and set my bike free. Ten minutes? Ten hours? Ten days? Come on, that's really over the top! What exactly am I supposed to do? I'm glad I wasn't the OP, because I would have probably done something I'd later regret.

Uh,
Pyschopathy is found in all countries and even in many species...

And is profoundly different then "borderline"...

And as documented in this thread this also a common tactic for bike thieves, including the use of BSO's as they are used as judas's goats.

The person intentionally locked the OP's bike with his own lock. That is what it boils down to.

Cutting the frame of the offending bike is well within you're rights to free your property. If they used ubolts instead I would not hesitate to cut the bike of the lock, not the lock off the bike.

You found a way to do it less destructively.

When arriving to a Meeting after a friend, I do the Hostage taking .. since I'm going to the same meeting (& they never use a Lock)

That's just crap. The Inquisition happened long before the Europeans even came to America. What about the Tutsi and Hutu massacres in Africa? Plus Al-Qaeda. We do not have a monopoly on psychopathy.

Some recommended reading for you:
http://www.amazon.com/Robert-Peltons...+places&dpPl=1

The person who locked his bike to another's to make it difficult if not impossible for the OP to use his property is self centered, inconsiderate, immature and a punk no matter how old he is. He deserves no consideration or defense of his action. It is about personal responsibility. I am on your side, OP.

Except if in a crowd of bikes the person made a mistake in routing his lock. Right wrong or otherwise, even the rude deserve some consideration. I guess folks no longer believe in the axiom "two wrongs don't make a right".

BTW- I can't blame the OP for what he did, because as someone pointed out, I (nor anyone else here) was there at the time. OTOH- I suspect the OP got the amount of flak he did because of the tone of his post. Sometimes it's not the exact words used, but how those were used that convey meaning. Writing is as much about what readers infer as what is intended, and I wasn't alone in inferring that the OP was incensed and acted out based on that, treating the "beater" with the respect he felt it deserved, namely very little.

It is certainly possible that he made a human error. There are mistakes of the mind and mistakes of the heart. If it was a mistake of the heart I have no sympathy except to say that for me I doubt if I would have deliberately damaged his bike. It is never advisable to reduce your own standards of conduct to that of the lowest common denominator in the situation.

On the theft thing: How would that even work? Would I be expected to unlock my bike, and leave it? Who would do that? Why?

I probably would've called the non-emergency FD/PD line, I wouldn't be surprised if the FD would cut me free.

I can see this happening at the downtown library, the bike rack is an 'artistic' impractical monstrosity with bikes often tangled. I expect security has lock cutting stuff.

I can't tell if you're trolling, confused or completely unaware of history and current events.

I would've wandered around until I found the sign for the tow company that serves that parking lot, and had them towed.

There IS such a thing as "teaching a lesson". Apparently the offender here needs to learn something. If he does not suffer in some way as the result of his action here, he will continue to do it to others. Who knows, the next guy he does it to may beat the hell out of him or kill him. (Plenty of meth-heads around here riding stolen bikes) Perceived in that light, a little damage to his bike at this point may be a very humane gesture.

I suspect a majority of bike owners would leave their bike overnight expecting to retrieve it the next day - assuming the other bike would then be gone. This would be beneficial for a thief even if the bike remains locked. The thief could come back later at night, when less people are around, to use their tools. Essentially, the thief is holding the target bike hostage until it's more convenient to steal it.

Conversely, getting caught by a meth-head while you're in the process of 'teaching them a lesson' could be a very traumatic experience for you.

Ah, okay.

The "theft by lock method" is fairly straightforward. The thief doesn't expect anything of you, except not being able to do anything about it at the time. That means the thief can come back that night, properly equipped to break your lock and steel your bike when there's less likely to be witnesses or interruption.

[QUOTE=Sullalto;16980060]Conversely, getting caught by a meth-head while you're in the process of 'teaching them a lesson' could be a very traumatic experience for you.

Very true. Isn't life grand!

I can't believe I read through this whole thread.
The OP was inconvenienced by someone else (for whatever reason) and did what he had to do.

It's best to read threads like this a little at a time to reduce risk of long-term side effects.

perhaps the best solution would have been to cut his lock and free your bike and then lock his bike with your lock. The price of the lock would be worth it and even a moron would get the message (unless of course he really was a bike thief). If you really want to make him understand leave a note with the lock combo and explain why you did it. That seems the high road and still transmits the message.

Like the bikes in the OP's post this thread is a tangle of nonsense and should probably be locked down.