adam89

I locked my bike up in front of the Barnes and Noble in Union Square for ten minutes, and when I came back it was gone. I had it for just over a week...

It's a green Pista from last year with red platform pedals, and the entire thing is taped up in black rubber.

I'm so upset. Is there anything I can do? Any recourse? Where do these usually get sold? I would honestly buy it back at this point.

Any help would be very appreciated! Or, if anyone is selling a 56 Pista or Iro, I'm sadly in the market.

number18

union square is not a safe place to lock up, even with really good locks. call the precinct and report it stolen. watch craigslist and ebay, call bike shops to see if they get offered it for sale. post something on craigslist so people know to have an eye out.

andre nickatina

make "stolen" notices and put them up on the bulletin boards at all the local bike shops.

Landgolier

What kind of lock? Attached to what? Any sign of how it was defeated?

ahayter

Make Sure The World Knows. Carry A Blunt Object Everywhere You Go.

bonechilling

A green Pista in NYC? Should be easy to find.

DoshKel

Yea... put up as much information as you can. Treat it like others treat a lost pet/person.

Call people you know around you, and tell them to keep a look out. Let everyone one you know, know about the bike. Most every bike i've heard of that has been recovered has some sort of friendship team on the look out.

Ebay, craigslist, classifieds, pawn shops, etc.

Best advice I can give is to not give up looking.

adam89

thanks for all the support, guys. i just put an ad up on craigslist, and i'm trying to tell everyone i know about it.

it was a pretty ****ty u-lock, i don't know the brand. i was supposed to pick up my kryptonite today, and this was pretty much the only time i've ever left it outside... i didn't think anything would happen in 10 minutes.

i didn't realize how upset i would be, but seriously, this really really sucks. i stood around union square for half an hour just hoping i would see someone riding it, with the full intention of killing said person with my hands.

DoshKel

I would be ****ing crushed if anyone stole my bike. Its fine to be upset for sure.

It is also fine to kill. So no worries.

xg43x

Am I the only one that doesnt believe the Kryptonite Fahgettaboutit lock isnt overkill for SF or NY?

adam89

xg43x: at this point, i don't think armed guards are overkill.

tbrtbx

if you see it, steal it BACK

tbrtbx

by any means necessary

operator

That really sucks man, I feel your pain. You'll be much more careful from now on. I never leave home without my krypto U for short errands and my krypto chain for longer lockups.

bonechilling

I live where bike theft is fairly rare, and I never lock with
anything other that my Fahgettaboutit Mini U. This has been
discussed at length of the board, but I don't think that anyone
has any evidence of a high-end lock like the Fahgettaboutit
being compromised in any real-world setting.

Landgolier

The thing is, I can't find evidence of any post-bicgate krypto or onguard U being compromised by a thief, so to me it's a question of your personal weight/peace of mind tradeoff.

buro9

Last time I overhauled my bike I put little notes with my details on inside various parts of the bike. On the rim tape, inside the bars, inside the stem, inside the seat tube, inside the bottom bracket.

The notes say, "This bike belongs to XXX, if it has been brought into your shop by anyone else it is stolen. Please ring XXX on YYY".

I got the idea of someone else on here ages ago. It gives me a sense of reassurance beyond just locking, insuring, and hoping.

tbrtbx

Found this is youtube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VC3hFr8p2ck

Breaks the fahgettaboutit chain at the end of the video. Takes him 30sec

Natron

Craaaaap that video doesn't instill much confidence. So what IS that most secure locking method then? I thought modern chains were the ultimate.

goofus/gallant

If you bought it with a credit card and have all the receipts and police reports, submit to cc company...and voila...gigantic credit. Usually cards have a 1-6 month guarantee on items stolen.

I had a 2 month old camera stolen in Thailand and submitted a Thai police report and it was fine. Looked like gobbledy gook to me, and probably them too, but it worked.

number18

pretty much any locking method can be defeated. the question is not "how long" but rather "how hard." good chains and locks are deterrents--not every thief carries around a huge pair of bolt cutters, it would be too conspicuous. they take things they know they can break fast and sell quick--mountain bikes, beat-up road bikes...and stock-looking track bikes. They'll take the seat and stems and bars off nicer frames, because it's fast. It matters where it's locked up and for how long, clearly. Union Square is bike theft central, for instance.

So while a quality lock can be defeated, and quickly, the thief tends to move to easier-to-break, lower-risk opportunities. So they're worth it for that--and for the insurance that comes with them.

tbrtbx

^^ Yeah, that's true. But, realistically, an expensive bike will only be locked up on the street for a short amount of time. In that respect, certain types of locks (cable/chain) will crack very quickly. Personally, i think, for the same money spent, it's a lot harder to brake a good quality U-Lock than any cable/chain.

IDeliverPitas

posting here was a good start. I got mine back when it was stolen. Unfortunately you have a pretty common bike.

kringle

Crap, I'm sorry about your loss. I work at Macy's Union Square, I'll keep a look out.

jacobs

The best locking technique is a combination of multiple, different locks. A chain and a ulock is much safer than either one by themselves. They require different large, heavy tools to defeat.

That or locking it up next to something nicer.