MAK

Picture didn't work so here's the site address.

https://www.performancebike.com/produ...-NCL-FRONT.jpg

Zan

mace, pepper spray... i wasn't being too picky with my choice of words. it's the same general idea.

Panthers007

I'm an organic chemist, so I'm always picky.

If I weren't - I'd have blown myself into the ionosphere years ago.

macadamia nut

HandsomeRyan

Will you rocking the Wildey .475 magnum though?

ted_major

Odds are you wouldn't forget to take it out for the ride home more than once.

Panthers007

Yes! It's not just a deterrent - it's also a memory-test!

127.0.0.1

newflash. skip the knife unless you go for the neck

you can stab someone ten times in the abdomen, arms, and back. they will just get
madder than hell and kill you before they bleed to the point they stop

knifes are not something to stop someone with. they are to bleed someone slowly


far better to use mace, pepper, taser, these stop people instantly


or just run away.

BA Commuter

What would I do? If they were running off with my Brooks seat, I would chase them. They sound like a bunch of ******* and would probably drop it after a little while! Otherwise, I would report it to the store and the police and buy a new seat.

Pepper spray is a good defense, but it's only going to work effectively up close with a decent shot, not while running.

Panthers007

Running into a cloud of pepper-spray that YOU just sprayed would be a rather embarrassing situation. While you're hacking and clawing at your eyes - the punks might come back and take your wallet.

Johan13

A stab to the chest and they would be done. Knife stabs are not like in the movies. Even a punch to the gut when someone aint ready will drop em. People are pretty fragile in reality=P

But that being said, I think pepper spray is a better bet

ErnieAZ

Personally, I don't think it's worth getting into any kind of scuffle over property. There are just too many possibilities of things going badly wrong, with the potential for legal and medical costs far exceeding the value of whatever property was involved. I replaced the seatpost QR on my 2 bikes with bolts. I like Big e's idea of using old brake cable looped around the frame and crimped shut. Here in Arizona it is fairly easy to get a Carry Concealed Weapon permit. I got one just after I moved here 14 years ago. I carry a handgun under my shirt, but it is absolutely the last option I'd ever want to take, and certainly not for a property dispute. I carry the gun for any dog that can't be deterred by pepper spray, motorists who would use their vehicle as a weapon (I've had threats to "run me over"), or transients I come across who I see sizing me up as a potential victim. I'm 145 pounds soaking wet and 62 years old, but I'm real handy with a gun (Vietnam combat vet).

vettefrc2000

Never bring a knife to a gunfight. I prefer a compact 1911.

xenologer

How is going to jail for garotteing someone with a cable and better than jail for knifing?
And its going to be way more awkward to get that around their neck than to just use a knife.

BarracksSi

Um, it's used to lock up the seat.

But you knew that.

LP560

theft is getting out of hand

KitN

My folding bike came with a QR seat post. I hate that but I understand why: it's a folding bike! The seat needs to go down in order to make a compact folding package. So that is the *only* QR item on my bike and I protect it with a Kryptonite Kryptoflex cable looped through the underside of the bike saddle and then attached (and locked!!) to my Kryptonite Evolution Mini U-Lock and locked to a bike rack.



^^^ It's only a few dollars and can secure your other QR items too like your tires. You should look into it or simply replace the QR for bolts or locking skewers.

dmac49

Glad to hear the bike and you both survived the "attack." I might suggest, as others have, avoiding knives, and other deadly weapons. Any newbie lawyer would have a field day with you when the "bad guy" becomes the "victim." Ask yourself , is a $1000 bike worth a defense attorney plus other costs ? Mace is the old standby still used by many. It does get old and needs replacement every now and then. Pepper spray (more effective) does not expire in most cases. A good alternative is "Bear Spray". Pepper spray shoots a straight stream while bear spray is more of a mist or fog dispersion. Emotions can and do run high when you confront someone trying to rip you off. The bad guys can and do get crazy when they try to get away. If you get Mace remember "more is not good." Mace needs to evaporate and the more you apply the slower the evaporation. Pepper Spray does not need to evaporate so give 'em a bath. Remember to keep the wind at your back. To avoid being a quick target is even better by taking steps to secure what others might want.

Kotts

HAs nobody here considered that they might simply have been messing with the OP? "Hey, let's drop the seat all the way down and see if he notices!"

Annoying, yes, but hardly anything worth escalating.

Cyclaholic

I had a similar situation a while back. I came back from the store to my parked bike/trailer to find a bunch of scumbags having a go at it, one of them was sitting on the bike. I didn't really think, I just reacted and rushed at the one sitting on the bike. I punched him hard in the head.... real hard! I don't think he saw it coming and literally flew off the bike and just lied there motionless. I was so enraged I wanted to get into it with the other two but they ran away.

If I had mace/pepper spray I would have emptied the can on them, then kicked the snot out of all of them. Unfortunately mace is not legally available here.

Metzinger

Post summarized for effect.
Let me paraphrase: "Some bored teens were playing with my bike the other night. They didn't cause any harm, but I considered murdering them anyways."

Imagine.

black_box 

i hope the axle they use is a non-ferrous material so you can't use a magnet to disengage it.

re: walking off as if nothing happened, I had that happen with a guy when i was in london recently. I had asked him what he was doing, as I grabbed his wrist, because his hand was in my girlfriends purse. He said nothing, just turned and walked the other way. Don't confuse "playing dumb" with having dumb intentions. These guys were obviously up to no good and lowering vs. stealing the seat is irrelevant (they might be lowering the seat if they were pre-teens).

You did the right thing, drew attention to them and they left without incident. I'd probably yell or go back into the store to get some help (or witnesses) before approaching them if they hadn't scattered. Since you carry a knife, you need to look up your local laws. They probably have restrictions on blade length and knife types (sometimes no fixed blades). Also, pulling the knife will likely be considered lethal force, and there are rules for when that is within reason.

I'm not sure why Metzinger assumes this was no big deal. in some areas, the teens are the ones you really need to worry about. there were quite a few news reports of teens (13-16) shooting and getting shot on the south side of chicago last summer.

Bob Ross

What if someone steals your saddle bag?


Yup. My old roommate, a black belt in Shaolin Kempo karate, was mugged by a trio of knife-weilding punks in South Boston years ago. After he calmly handed over his wallet, the trio dispersed one at a time. When only one punk remained, roomie calmly disarmed him and beat the living **** out of the guy...until his two friends returned and started hacking away with their switchblades. Roommate (slightly less calmly) dispensed with one more of them -- one got away -- but it wasn't until after he'd called the police & was waiting for them to take out the trash that he noticed he'd been stabbed.

Nine times.

Metzinger

I've never actually lived in the States. So surely I don't understand the life and death perils of everyday life there.

But, at the risk of being repetitive, we are talking about a bike saddle and deadly force in the same sentence, right?

Give your head a shake. If people scare you, avoid them.

black_box 

south side of chicago is of course the extreme, but he didnt mention where he lived. You can be mugged just about anywhere.

From his original post, I don't think he was planning to assault them over the bike seat, I agree that would be excessive. But if he told them to leave his bike alone and then they tried to mug him, he has the right to defend himself. In some areas and situations, he could be legally justified in using a knife to do so (i.e., grossly outnumbered). Whether thats the smart thing to do obviously depends on a lot of variables. Still, I hardly see his original post as contemplating murder.