notfred

No, not an axis of evil, or one with Nazis... my Bianchi Axis!

A couple of months ago, someone stole the wheels and seat off my bike while it was parked outside a train station in Oakland.

They left it looking like this:


Since then, I've been riding my other bike to work, but I got tired of looking at that broken 3/4 of a bicycle sitting around my house, so today I went out and got all the parts I'd need to put it back together, and now I can ride it again!

It's got cane creek wheels with specialized armadillo tires, a 9-speed Ultegra cassette, and a Selle San Marco saddle.




It's nice to have it back again.

knobster

Beautiful bike. I'd love to have one of those. So what very expensive and valuable lesson did you learn from your bike being *****? How'd you lock it?

thirdin77

Looking on the bright side they stole parts that, when replaced, are plug & play parts and don't require any tuning like derailleurs, brakes or shifters would.

Speaking of your new wheels, do your brakes require cantilever-specific rims?

I've fancied the Axis but I don't see any in the South Bay, at least not any that are discounted. I know Jenson's has them for like $950 but I can't test ride it first

What size is your bike and how tall are you?

notfred

I had it locked with a U-lock through the frame, and a cable around the U-lock and through both wheels. The cut the cable so they could take the wheels, and they unbolted the saddle while they were at it and took that too. I haven't left my bike outside that BART station since then.

The canti brakes work just fine with regular road rims. The bike is 57cm, and I'm 5'11", and I'm happy with the fit. The only thing is that the bike comes with a setback seatpost which forces me to move the saddle pretty far forward on the rails. That's really just cosmetic, though, as I can still get the saddle in the right place, but it would look better with a non-setback post and the saddle more centered on it.

knobster

Well, not much you could have done to prevent that other than not leave your bike unattended anymore.... Our stations have lockers, but I bring mine with me on the train....

ShadowGray

Put a u-lock through the rear rim? That'll keep your rear wheel safe as well as your frame (since you can't the wheel out of the frame). How long did you leave it there anyway?

notfred

It was there all day, from about 9:30 AM till 7:00 or so at night, while I was at work. I wanted to be able to leave it outside the train station since that's easier than bringing it on the train, but after that, I've just brought it with me to work every day. Now I lock it in to a bike rack in the parking garage next to my office, which has security guards. I also lock both wheels through the U-lock.

Here's where I now park, at work (my bike is the black/celeste Bianchi on the end, this photo was taken a few days ago), with my bike locked with my new locking method:

Banzai

Pitlocks?

ShadowGray

Only if you plan on crushing snails.

ax0n

You realize that anyone with an adjustable wrench (okay, and with some luck, given the security guards) could just un-bolt the top of that bike rack and be off with your ride, right?

The thinner supports (wheelbenders, if you will) are welded to the rack. The end pieces are just bolted on.

What can I say? I'm a security guy. Congrats on getting the Axis together. I remember when the theft happened, but I'd actually suggest running the U-lock through one of the thinner, welded supports if you insist on parking on the end of the rack.

notfred

The rack itself is really pretty bad as far as security goes. Its saving grace is that there's a security guard in the building and it's right next to a car detailing place (close enough that you talk to the car detailing guys while you park your bike) so it'd be pretty impossible to take the bike rack apart without the garage employees noticing.

If the rack was anywhere else, I'd lock up to something else, but it's well-attended enough that you're pretty unlikely to have any problems with it.

The last photo illustrates basically how I lock up *anywhere* now, not just at work. With the frame and both wheels through the U-lock.

TeamRoundBoys

Try to lock up next to the C'dale next time. I could totally jack that one.

knobster

That's a very nice bike, maybe you should invest in a nice old, but in good shape, commuter. Something that won't be looked at twice, but if it was stolen, not that big of a deal. I built up a 1987 Bianchi Grizzly up as a drop bar commuter for this purpose. Though, I wouldn't be happy if it was stolen.

Dahon.Steve

The lesson learned here is, you never park a bicycle over $50.00 dollars at a train station. Each year without fail, we have a train station horror story. I must have read over a dozen stolen bikes on this forums at train station.

Banzai

Explain.

notfred

I understand this point, and in a way it makes sense, but I refuse to lower the quality of my life as a preventative measure against the possibility of other people doing the same thing.

I want to ride a nice bike, so I will, and if it gets stolen, and I have no extra money, I'll buy a cheap bike then. There's no point leaving a nice bike at home while you ride around on a beater. If the nice bike never gets ridden, it might as well have been stolen -- you're not getting any enjoyment out of it sitting in the garage.

I won't leave it at BART stations, though.

ax0n

ShadowGray

https://www.bikeforums.net/general-cycling-discussion/426915-easy-clips-easy-theft.html

DataJunkie

Does that mean the OP will be a bit less cranky now?

notfred

I hope so. I realize I don't always have the most upbeat personality. I just usually don't notice when I'm being negative until after the fact. It's a personality flaw, I guess. My family and friends have gotten used to it, and no how to interpret me when I'm like that. I certainly can't expect that from everyone on the internet. Sorry if I've come across as excessively mean or negative in the past.

DataJunkie

Dude, you have nothing on me. My many gems occur when I am exhausted or hurting for fuel. You would think I would have learned how to eat and sleep by now.

Nice bike by the way.

Schwinnrider

Well. the ideal situation is to have a nice OLDER bike as the commuter you lock up. Something with some paint chips but which was a top of the line bike 15 years ago. My main commuter bike is a Gunnar Sport, and it's always inside, never locked to a rack. I do have a 1993 Bridgestone XO-2 that has chips and I'm not afraid to lock up. I mean, I still lock it up with authority, but it was cheap enough that I'm not going to be devastated if it gets jacked.

A lot of the bike messengers secure their saddles with a length of bike chain. They run it through the saddle rails and under the seatstays. Not the most attractive solution, but it will stop all but the most dedicated thieves.

notfred

It's broken again. I rode over some metal grating on market street. I thought it was actually supported by something, but it wasn't, so when I hit it, it tipped into the hole underneath and put my rim right into the other edge of the hole. I bent and gouged up my rim and flatted my tire. Now I need a new front rim.

DataJunkie

You have the worst luck. I think you need a disaster fund.

thirdin77

The bike has a self love problem and just wants to feel pain..

Do you have a spare wheelset? I just ordered a set of OP/Ultegras from Performance because shipping is (mostly) free. And because there's the satisfaction guarantee.

A spare set will give a guy something to fall back on.