Anyway this thread saved me a whole LOT of money. I was about to buy some really expensive locks for my family's bikes, now I just think "Meh ... get cheap locks and keep an eye on the bikes".

Anyone else feel the same?

Not really. I was very unlucky but the sad truth is that I would still go back and buy the best lock I could for my bike. I replaced the Cronus with a $100 Trek (used) and I opted for a $50 Kryptonite u-lock and cable, but if I had the Cronus again I'd be spending top $ on the lock, and making sure I was careful where I left the bike etc,

Jon

But if the crooks can cut thru the best locks in literally seconds, what's the point of wasting money buying them?

Am I missing something here?

http://www.wesleyjsmith.com/blog/upl...DUh-701568.jpg

That ONE thief came equipped to cut through the best locks... Most thieves are not so well equipped.

Would you rather have 10 thieves in a large city that are equipped to steal your bike or 1,000?

If it costs less than $50 to buy a tool that will cut my $$$ lock in less than a minute, I'd be a total IDIOT to buy one and trust it.

I don't want to be the first to find out that the crooks are starting to use these tools en masse.

The idea that there are 1000's of professional bike thieves looking for bikes in your area is just silly. 99% of the bikes that get stolen out there are stolen for 2 major reaosns. Either the person didn't lock it and the bike thief just HAPPENED to be there at the right time. Option number 2 is the lock was a cheap chain lock that just required daddy's bolt cutters to get past the thief in question probally knew where the bike was kept most of the day had seen the lock, and realized how easy it would be to bypass. Ran home got the bolt cutters and returned for the bike.

With that said a good lock makes a diffrence. In most cases thieves won't have access to the type of tools needed to take a bike on the fly like this. Secondly if the choice comes down to grabbing the bike next to yours using the cheap chain lock, or going to find the tools to come back and attempt to get your bike with the better lock i garantee you you will not be the one walking home that day. Theives by nature are lazy people who will almost all ways go for the easy grab.

Why yes, you are missing something. The vast majority of bike thefts are crimes of opportunity (ie unlock or not properly locked bike) or bikes locked with cables, low-end U-locks, or low-end chains. Thefts using power tools to cut through high-end locks are quite rare for several reasons. The first being that most thieves are junkies, so they would have sold their power tools long ago, and the second being that there are plenty of nice bikes locked up with low end locks that can be defeated with almost no effort and without the need to buy new cutting discs every day.

That was a beautiful ride - sorry for your loss. Is there absolutely nowhere else to park your ride during the work day? I would not be comfortable with my bike parked in public, no matter how good the lock was. Maybe lock the frame, take the wheels in, make a partial bike less appealing?

To the guys above: I don't find your logic compelling. I have new, pricey bikes that will definitely attract the attention of an organized thief. Where I live they are not all "lazy junkies", and I think that assumption on your part is a precursor to you waving goodbye to your beloved bikes some time in the not too distant future.

OK, I just cleaned up this thread a bit. Please keep it within the Guidelines from now on, thank you.

--J, a Forum Mod

Ah, interesting thread. Makes me want to buy some power tools...

Yo, newb...do us a favor, and don't post comments on year-old threads. Thanks.

Err, go police the A&S forum. A discussion on stolen bikes and power tools doesn't magically become useless because the year changed from '07 to '08.

To address the thread's topic, I found it interesting that even a year later, nothing has changed. The locks aren't any better and, if anything, the tools are more available than ever. As someone said a page or two ago, it makes more sense for the actual owner (nevermind the thief) to purchase a grinder to crack a jammed lock than it does to go off and call a smith. The only thing stopping any of us from having virtually any locked bicycle we see is $50, five minutes, and a group of passer-bys who will almost always pretend not to be aware of what's going on right before their eyes.The only sure thing is to take the bike indoors. And not everyone can afford to do so.

Just for clarification...posting something like "Ah, interesting thread. Makes me want to buy some power tools..." on a year old thread is generally considered:

• irrelevant
• a waste of time for those of us who are "subscribed" to this thread
• the mark of a newb

I'm not trying to "police" you...just give you a friendly suggestion regarding forum traditions.

It just seems as if you're spending a lot of time attending to a thread that doesn't interest you. We could go back and forth for another ten posts, but you've already spent two looking into my post conduct, and zero writing anything to do with...well, the thread topic.

It would be nice if most cities installed the "Secure Bike" lockers . On the surface, it would appear to be an excellent solution, but of course, it would take a *lot* of lobbying (not to mention money) to have them installed everywhere:

http://tinyurl.com/5ugcat

Here's another...uhh..."different" idea. Not very practical, but entertaining...how about putting your bike up in a tree?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcSD5MsQuVo