Originally Posted by
Nycycle
Thank you guys for all the posts on this subject, I have seen so much BS about different types of locks on the INTERNET, sick of it.
I was thinking about strapping my 2500LB gun safe on the back of the bike and lock the bike in that when I get to the store,,,,
I just wish it were legal for me to shoot bike thieves, or hang em. 3 times I come out of a place and see some guy trying to steel my bike,,,I hate bike thieves.
The problem is that penalties for bicycle theft are little or nothing and it's a cost of doing business. Igor Kenk who is considered Canada's most notorious bike thief (actually he fenced stolen bicycles), where raids found thousands and thousands of bicycles in his possession was charged with the theft of 58 bicycles, convicted on 16 of those charges, given 30 months in jail in December of 2009 and release in March of 2010. So if a guy who has warehouses worth of stolen bicycles only ends up serving 3 months in jail, then what do they sentence a single bike thief, 10 minutes?
Part of this is due to the thinking that a bicycle is a piece of sports equipment or a toy, so it's theft is related to it's market value, and since the courts couldn't tell the difference between a $5,000 Pinarello and a $50 Huffy, it's considered petty theft. If stealing a bicycle got you 25 years in jail, it might be different.