Wouldn’t bolt cutters work much faster?
Or look at it this way:
Some guy says his bike is stolen. Said guy “finds” a bike that looks the same. There is no proof guy ever owned bike, that said bike is not just coincidentally similar looking, or anything. This is why cars have VIN numbers. Sorry dude, but you didn’t collect the necessary information. The serial number is a pretty reasonable threshold, because it’s the only thing that really proves the bike is at least the same bike in question. It’s common sense to you because you know it’s your bike, but it’s not to the cop.
I would assume police are required to take an official report of any crime, regardless of the likelihood of it being resolved. I prefer this to letting them pick and choose.
EDIT: Also, you didn’t say what you wanted them to actually do. Please tell.[/quote]
So what If I find this real nice njs frame locked up outside this bank, I take down all the info, even look under the frame for the serial number, then report it was missing to the police, would they end up cutting the lock and giving me a free bike?
Unethical, definitely yes, but just saying since we’re discussing theft, would it work?
Because I would be sure pissed if someone did that to me[/quote]
Good point. I guess I really have no idea what the standard is for that kind of thing. Probably the real answer is to register your bike beforehand, but who actually does that? I still think it’s silly to expect a cop to just cut a lock and give him the bike on his word alone. I mean, aren’t there courts and crap to decide that kind of stuff? I sure don’t want cops to be able to just redistribute shit on the spot just based on their split second judgement.
No, I appreciate the sarcasm, but I’m really not sure. How long are we talking to get through a cable lock? I can get my stem/bars, remaining wheel, and pedals in something like a minute. I realize it’ll look bad if I’m there stripping it bare for a while, but it’ll also look bad when I go to cut the lock, so I’m weighing how long I can expect to be standing there. If bolt cutters work on these cables, that seems choice.
Just use a hacksaw and act casual. It works for bike thieves.
i’ve cut through a cable with a hacksaw and finished it off with a cable cutter. it took a few minutes b/c i didn’t have a good way of holding the cable still
didn’t someone post on bikeforums about how they found their stolen bike, overlocked it, left a note and came back the next day to find the bike smashed up and destroyed with a note from the thief?
battery powered dremel with cut off disc? shit’s made for cutting through metal and could do pretty quickly if you had someone holding the cable taut. guess it’s a tradeoff between being big and quiet or small and loud.
sweet that you found it though.
cordless dremels and metal cutting is a srs pita. should be able to handle cutting the cable though.
itt we discuss how to steal bikes
Uhh… why the fuck don’t you just go copy down the serial number and then call the cops to update your report saying you just came across the number?
Then either:
steal the bike (report will reflect its yours)
Call them back saying you found it(report will reflect its yours) <-- bad but legal idea
I had a 3rd but I forgot it?
But I mean… this of course assumes you’re 100% positive that its your bicycle.
[quote=EivlEvo]Uhh… why the fuck don’t you just go copy down the serial number and then call the cops to update your report saying you just came across the number?
Then either:
steal the bike (report will reflect its yours)
Call them back saying you found it(report will reflect its yours) <-- bad but legal idea
I had a 3rd but I forgot it?
But I mean… this of course assumes you’re 100% positive that its your bicycle.[/quote]
I do absolutely know it’s my bike – I even did a half-ass mismatch paint job on the fork, it’s got obscure, out-of-production parts weren’t originally on the bike, funky lacing pattern, all the other stuff I mentioned earlier, etc.
I seriously thought about calling back with the serial number, b/c it kinda seemed with the cop like if I could go home and magically “find” the serial number then it would suddenly be my bike. But at this point, I’m thinking it’s just asking to get fucked if I involve the cops any more than I already stupidly have.
the awesome thing is; im sure if you started taking off components, youd get arrested for stealing the bike or some bullshit
police are only out to give tickets/make money for the county
The police report is for the insurance claim. It’s also a statistic useful for funding and budgeting purposes. The job of the police is to enforce the law. They would have you believe it’s to “protect and serve” but I can assure you that they’re underfunded and don’t really have the resources to provide much in the way of protection, much less service. They collect evidence and enforce the law where it’s convenient for them.
In your case, there was no enforcement action possible. The values were really too low to do much. I’m surprised the cop even showed up.
If you want your bike back, just steal it back.
go to pleasants or ace hardware and get a bolt cutter for ten bucks
yes. bolt cutter. end of story. longer handles make it easier cos leverage. the end.
ftfy
Always right down serial numbers.
bolt cutters and a hacksaw suck for cable locks.
working at a shop, i’ve cut dozens of cable locks off of bikes that were wrapped around top tubes in the garage 10 years ago and keys are nowhere to be found. you need a cable cutter. you can use the small park ones meant for brake cables and such or whatever you want, just as long as the cutting jaws overlap each other and have a hook shape to them.
go get your bike back.
and im gonna go out to the garage and write down all of my serial numbers right now
Bike is back w/o additional police involvement. I’m a happy boy. And not that anyone would be surprised, but it took me quite a while using the tools I had on-hand, and nobody even said boo as they walked past. Reminds me of that video where those guys took an angle grinder to a bike lock in NYC and the only guy who stopped just offered advice on cracking the lock.