So I was running into MEC here in Toronto, they have bike racks, a bunch of them with a couple of cameras pointing to them ...

Anyways, I run in, to buy new brake pads for my bike no less, and during 5pm rush hour, with a ton of people walking by cause the road was busy, some @$%#^* steals my bike.

Apparently they got pictures of the guy now I will pick up tomorrow and deliver to the police!

I know I know the bike is lost, but maybe I get some revenge and find out he gets arrested if he is known to the police.

Jim

not locking your bike up is like leaving a car running, with the doors unlocked and the windows down. you don't do it.

hell, a couple days ago i told a security guard the same as above and to shove it where the sun don't shine because they wouldn't let me lock my bike up, and locked it up anyway.

No I had locked my bike. &#%^@ cut it.

Didn't realize I forgot to mention that. But locking the bike is a no-brainer.

Jim

Damn! Then that was lightning fast!

....Sorry for your loss, Jim!

Sounds like they were waiting for the right bike and there was not much you could do to stop this.

Stealing a bike from in front of MEC is really bold.

Yup, that is what I'm thinking too. Mind you waiting for a cheap Norco Indie 4 seems like a waste of time, but I guess its easier to fence it then a more expensive bike.

Jim

damn. that sucks. i hope they catch the rat-bastard. people like that deserve to be punked in the big house.

:-( People suck.

Wow that was fast ... I just posted a review of a MEC lock yesterday:
https://www.mec.ca/AST/ShopMEC/Cycling/Locks/Cable/PRD~5004-054/planet-bike-quick-stop-10mm-x-1.8m-combination-cable-lock.jsp?bmLocale=en

Now I'm wondering if I should be so confident.

Can you give more details on the lock? Did your lock have a warrantee against cutting?

Greg

Man that sucks, sorry to hear that. Good luck, but if I'm not mistaken isn't it illegal for the business with the cameras to give you the surveillance video/ pictures? If you go out and find the guy and injure him they are somewhat responsible.

Doesn't take much to cut through a cable lock. I wonder if the hot dog vendor by the door would recognize the thief if you showed him the surveillance pic.

You can cut a cable lock like that with tools that fit in your pocket, time for a u-lock or a really beefy chain. Ever seen this video? Hopefully it is enough to show you that you can not rely on a good samaritan to stop the theif or even to question him. https://youtu.be/B4yydGUB88c

you also need to be careful of where you lock the bike

Well, that depends to some extent where you are. I don't even carry a lock, and leave it outside businesses here all the time without too much worry. 8 year so far, nobody's touched it. It helps to live in a quiet bedroom community in an area where there's almost no crime and adults wouldn't be seen dead riding a bike.

Around here people steal bikes out of garages, rarely from storefronts since there's so little foot traffic. I carry around a very small Word Lock I got at target... a snipper would be overkill to break through this thing.

So what part of Detroit do you live in?

Man, that sucks. I sure hope that bastard is nabbed and meets Bubba in jail.

Well I got the pictures from the store. They are very blurry, but what can you do I guess. Went to the Police HQ after picking up the pictures (only police station I know of near that store) turns out they don't handle that and I must call it in, Cop seemed alright and seemed interested when I had the pictures.

Anyways, turns out I have the serial number of the bike, store wrote it on the front of the manual, called the police so I'm supposed to get a call back. Thankfully, I remember just about every little accessory I put on that bike so there will be no detail missing.

Jim

Southeast Michigan, but about 45 minutes outside Detroit, in a rural area, the towns I ride into are bedroom communities mainly.

Yeah, there's a huge difference depending on location. Around here, the only real bike thieves are the homeless, and pretty much any lock will stop them, as they will have pawned any tools for booze.

If you leave your bike parked downtown overnight it's a different story, though.

Damn I'm really sorry to hear that. Did you have your bike registered with the local police department. Also from what I understand if you make a police report your homeowners insurance should replace the bike.

I was there to buy some camping gears today. What kind of lock did you use?

True testament to the fact that bike theft can occur anywhere...

I know but at the moment the deductible is higher then the cost of the bike. But will look into getting it specifically insured for next time, a friend told me it shouldn't be more then ~$100 for the year (he has a bike worth three times what mine was insured for that amount) will have to talk to a agent though.

Just a cable lock, never felt for a huge chain or u-lock, the chain because back when I was 11 I had a big heavy chain and yet they snaped right through it anyways (my first bike to be stolen and only other bike to be stolen for that matter). Mind you that was my fault, I had the bike locked up outside over night. Never have kept a bike locked up over night outside after that incident.

And I've never really trusted the "old stand by" of the U-lock cause I once defeated a U-Lock with a crowbar, perfectly legal by the way, me and a friend were out biking and we locked up our bikes and he lost his key.

Jim

Yes, but you were inspired and in shape. Doesn't count.