Deontologist

So my road bike is probably one of the better ones (if not the best) people ride to class on campus ... and it's probably the only one with a Campy groupset. So naturally I take security very seriously.

However, the other day I saw a Specialized Roubaix on campus. Man! Someone's got me beat in the bike department! I knew it was a Roubaix ... from the zig-zag seat stays to the Zertz inserts to the big "SPECIALIZED" logo. It was locked up. But it was a cheap u-lock. Worst of all, the u-lock only hung onto the top tube of the Roubaix. There was a lot of room in that u-lock - easily enough for a pry bar or even a jack. Hell, a few hammer strikes could have probably taken out that u-lock and left the Specialized unharmed. Or if the thief was feeling generous he easily could have made away with the wheels. There were no additional locks on this bike. And there wasn't even a person around it glaring at me as I squatted down to check out the rear derailleur (Ultegra btw).

Can't believe that anyone would be so daft as to lock up a Spesh this way ...

I would have caught a picture but I was with friends and had to run.





Now this, on the other hand, I can understand! Saw this today as I was locking up my own bike (if you've been keeping up with my threads you probably know which one is mine in the picture).

cb400bill

Moved from Foo to Commuting

at_hiker59

That's typical on campuses.

spivonious

Even a cheap U-lock is a better deterrent than a cable lock. Is bike theft high on campus? If I'm a common thief, I'm going for the easiest bike to steal not the one that will give me the most money on the black market.

yankeefan

The bike racks are in a pretty central area of my college where there is a lot of foot traffic, so I wouldn't worry too much about a shoddy lock job on an expensive bike during daylight hours. I've even left lights and my saddle bag (which has CO2 pump, canisters, replacement tube, multi-tool & patch kit ~ $60 including the bag) on my bike and they're still there when I come back. Much different scenario after 5pm though. I think a lot of the bike theft that occurs on campus is when people park their bike in very obscure places for extended hours.

Darth Lefty 

Those are locks that the owner lost the keys to, I'm thinking.

yankeefan

No, no, no. The owner simply found a clever way to add additional pounds to his/her bike so that they can turn their commute into a training ride. They even went as far as using platforms so that they can focus on improving their downstroke without cheating

Darth Lefty 

Although it says Schwinn it has the look of a bike store model from around Y2K and not a department store model. Judging by the shape of the stays and the trigger shifters since I can't see a model name. It's probably not too dreadful, similar to my Hardrock.

fietsbob

Know what their GPA Is?

Deontologist

I don't understand why anyone would even transport their ulocks like that. Especially two ulocks. I can understand a ulock hanging on the handlebars ... there's not much for the ulock to hit when it swings around. I used to keep my ulock on the handlebars when riding my old bike.

But a ulock on the top tube? The ulock would be hitting the seat tube with every bump in the road. And two ulocks transported on the top tube? That'd be quite a racket! They'd both be hitting each other while dinging the seat tube. Someone must really hate their bike.

jfowler85

So...you have the most awesome bike on campus and are writing here to trash the other awesome bike guy who doesn't know how to properly lock his bike up? Why not catch him some time and ask if you can help out by showing how to properly lock the bike up? I've commuted in dicey Los Angeles neighborhoods and have never heard of a thief actually prying a u-lock off with a crowbar...though his wheels might get jacked. The question is, will you let him expose his bike/wheels to theft or will you make an effort to help him?

No kidding. I just leave the thing, and the cable, locked up on the rack.

JGM411

Old Schwinn Varsities, Continentals, et al.... were made for today's college "campi's"

My wife and I had a couple old Schwinns. Her's was a World Traveler and was barely ridden back in the late '70's early 80's. My son took that bike to U of Il. It needed some work, took it to the bike coop (with a two week unattended rule... if the bike is left there for two weeks without being worked on, out it goes) and lost that bike. He then took my old Continental. His classmates loved that "old" retro bike.

It returned home safely from the U of IL. I also took that bike there when I was in college in the 70/80's. Now that bike is on the SIU-Carbondale campus.

Funny story. When my son was graduating college, he and his friend, Renee, were leaving their studio and Renee saw her old bike. She said, the only thing she wanted from the bike was the lock. I don't know if she left the bike there for taking or not...

rumrunn6

on this campus they have bike rooms but some of these kids just left their bikes outside to get buried. there's no figuring the college brain

caloso

During law school I had a 30 year old ladies step-through 3-speed shopping bike. I think it came from Wards or Sears. Big wire basket on the front. Ugly and slow but reliable. That was the perfect campus bike.

TransitBiker

Some locks that use keys have a number & you can order more keys. I plan to do that as I only have one key for my one lock.

- Andy

CliffordK

I used to leave a spare car key in my ashtray of my car.
Until one day somebody stole my key and left the car.
It wasn't the fanciest car in the neighborhood

JZackery_I.D.

Ha, this is exactly the kind of stuff i think about when I encounter some nice bikes either around campus or on the town. As much as I like the bike, I also look at how they lock their bike up and am often times scared for the person and their bike because of vulnerabilities and lack of investing in security devices for the bike. Maybe I'm more paranoid then some, and think theres thiefs possibly lurking around everywhere you go just ready to pounce.