Bike Theft

2008-07-02T04:47:19Z

Larsicus: /* Your Inconvenience is a Thief's' Convenience */

The intent of this page '''is not''' to teach people how to steal bikes, it is '''to educate''' people on how to keep their bike from ''getting'' stolen, by learning about the methods thieves use for stealing them.

That is the same concept behind computer hacking. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," is how the saying goes. So hackers find a hole in the system to prove it is indeed broken and requires fixing. They post instructions on how to duplicate the hack in the public domain which forces the software company (often Microsoft) to fix it.

== Simple Facts ==

The best way to avoid becoming a bike theft victim is to bring it inside the building rather than using a [[bike rack]]!

* Most bikes that are stolen were unlocked.
* Amsterdam rule of thumb: your lock should be worth 3 times as much as your bike.
* Never leave a bike outside overnight, especially in a noticeable pattern or place.

== Regularity ==

A smart thief will plan out the theft by 'casing' a place looking for patterns such as:

* Where do you park your bike?
* What time do you usually park it?
* How long is it there for?
* What kind of lock do you use? How do you use it?

=== Be Irregular ===

* Use different kinds of locks.
* Don't park in the same place.

== Your Inconvenience is a Thief's Convenience ==

In all of these cases the owner could have done something to prevent their bike from getting stolen:

* "My bike was stolen! I was just in the store for a minute, so I didn't lock my bike, but when I came out it was gone."

* "My bike was stolen! My bike wasn't worth that much, so I bought an inexpensive lock, but they cut it off."

* "My bike was stolen! I had my bike locked up ''outside'' overnight."

== Where to Park ==

Again, if you can, '''take the bike inside'''. If you are forced to park it outside:

* Try to park it in a highly visible location, not "around back" where nobody watches. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7zb8YXrmIA Bike Thief by the Neistat Brothers] shows that sometimes people don't care.
* If you lock it up to a chain link fence, make sure you lock it to a fence post, not the chain link itself -- no matter how good your lock is, it doesn't take much to cut chain link itself.
* Avoid posts that are not securely fastened in the ground. Does it wiggle?
* Avoid locking to posts that a tall person could lift the bike up and off of the pole.

== [[Locks]] ==

Use '''two kinds of locks''' that aren't connected everytime you lock up your bike. While this may be a pain, most thieves only have the necessary tools to break/cut one type of lock/cable. So by using two types levels of locks, they are less likely to try.

* Cable Locks can be cut with [[cable cutters]] or [[bolt cutters]].
* Locks that use cylindrical keys can be opened with the right sized plastic tubes ([http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9bN0zfMFW4 sometimes a bic pen works]).
* U Locks can be opened with a car scissor jack.

== Stories ==

=== Building Apathy ===

Car thieves steal cars by setting off the alarm the same time every night for a week or two leading up to the theft. What this does is make the car owner believe the alarm is defective/unreliable and eventually they stop checking on it, at which point the thieves have all the time in the world to steal the car -- even if the alarm is blaring.

== Recovery ==

At least in Salt Lake City, you *must* know your serial number, and as an added measure laminate your bike and your info and put it down the seat tube.

When bikes get stolen in Salt Lake City they usually end up at the closest pawn shop (like 90% of stuff in pawn shops). Legally pawn shops have to hold on to items (hidden in the back) for 10 days in Salt Lake, then they can put it on the floor and sell them.

Sad but true, most pawn shops are corrupt. In addition police don't have the time to chase a stolen $5k car, let alone a $2k bike -- they assume your insurance will cover it so the most they will do is fill out a police report.

So in order to recover your bike from a pawn shop '''it is up to you''' and your friends to hunt around the pawn shops.

=== Don't Scare Thieves ===

If thieves know you are looking for a bike and you have mobilized the community to look for a specific bike -- you have effectively hindered a thief's ability to "move" the bike, so what will they do now? Part it out or dump it in the river.

More technologically savvy thieves will use craigslist.com and ebay.com to "move" your bike. So don't forget to monitor them.

== See Also ==

* [http://www.fietsersbond.nl/ Fietersbond] offers bike theft lessons in Amsterdam.
* [http://bikehacks.com/bike-lock-grading-streetfilms/]; Hal Ruzal from Bicycle Habitat walks around New York City grading peoples locking techniques.

Community Bicycle Organizations

2008-06-02T02:10:48Z

Larsicus: /* Maryland */

== Criteria ==

The list below uses the criteria in found in the [[Bicycle Organization Organization Project]] and the [http://www.bikecollectives.org/component/option,com_sobi2/sobi2Task,search/Itemid,51/ Bike Collective Network Directory] for what constitutes a community bike shop, namely:

* Non-profit bicycle organizations
* Bike shops that are accessible to people without money
* Shops that have an educational focus, teaching others how to fix bikes
* Shops that are volunteer run
* Organizations that ship bikes to communities suffering from first world colonialism & its effects
* Shops that provide free or low-cost services to the community
* Organizations that recycle bicycles and parts

== Bike Shops ==

''Here is a list of Community Bicycle Organizations by location.''

=== Canada ===
==== Alberta ====
* [[Edmonton Bicycle Commuters Society]] (Edmonton)

==== British Columbia ====

* [[The Bike Kitchen]] (Vancouver)
* [[Our Community Bikes]] (Vancouver)
* [[Recyclistas Community Bike Shop]] (Victoria)

==== Manitoba ====

* [[The Bike Dump]] (Winnipeg)
* [[The Bike Dungeon]] (Winnipeg)

==== Nova Scotia ====

* [[Bike Again!]] (Halifax)

==== Ontario ====

* [[Yellow Bike Action]] (Kingston)
* [[Re-Cycles Bicycle Coop]] (Ottawa)
* [[Community Bicycle Network]] (Toronto)
* [[Bike Pirates]] (Toronto)
* [[Bikechain]] (University of Toronto, Toronto)
* [[Recycle Cycles]] (Kitchener)

==== Quebec ====

* [[Freewheels Bicycle Club]] (Montreal)
* [[Velogik]] (Montreal)
* [[Right to Move/La voie Libre]] (Montreal)

=== Austria ===

* [[Fahrradküche Graz]] (Graz)
* [[WUK Fahrrad Selbsthilfewerkstatt]] (Vienna/Wien)
* [[Bikektichen Vienna]] (Vienna/Wien)

=== Ghana ===

* [[Earn-a-Bike Ghana]]

=== Guatemala ===

* [[Associatión Maya Pedal]]

=== United States ===

==== Arizona ====

* [[South Side Mutual Aid Toward Independent Youth Bicycle Education Project]] (Flagstaff)
* [[BICAS]] (Tucson)
* [[Handlebar Helpers]] (Scottsdale)
* [[Helping Understand Bicycles]] (Prescott)

==== California ====

* [[Arcata Library Bikes]] (Arcata)
* [[The Davis Bike Church]] (Davis)
* [[The Bike Kitchen]] (San Francisco)
* [[The Bike Hut Foundation]] (San Francisco)
* [[The Sacramento Bicycle Kitchen]] (Sacramento)
* [[The Bicycle Kitchen]] (Los Angeles)
* [[Bike Oven]] (Los Angeles)
* [[Bikerowave]] (Santa Monica)
* [[Bike Church]] (Santa Cruz)
* [[Santa Cruz Campus Bike Center]] (Santa Cruz)
* [[Bici Centro]] (Santa Barbara)

==== Colorado ====

* [[Community Cycles]] (Boulder)
* [[Derailer Bicycle Collective]] (Denver)
* [[Fort Collins Bike Coop]] (Fort Collins)

==== Delaware ====

* [[Urban Bike Project of Wilmington]] (Wilmington)

==== Florida ====

* [[Krank it Up]] (Tallahassee)
* [[The Kickstand]] (Gainesville)
* [[Lake Worth Bike Coop]] (West Palm Beach)

==== Georgia ====

* [[Sopo Bike Coop]] (Atlanta)
* [[Savannah Bike Coop]] (Savannah)

==== Idaho ====

* [[Village Bicycle Project]] (Moscow)

==== Illinois ====

* [[Blackstone Bicycle Works]] (Chicago)
* [[Bikes for Chicago]] (Chicago)
* The [[Chicago Community Bike Project]] (Chicago)
* The [[Recyclery]] (Evanston/Chicago)
* [[Uptown Bikes]] (Chicago)
* [[Working Bikes]] (Chicago)
* [[West Town Bikes]] (Chicago)

==== Indiana ====

* [[Bloomington Community Bike Project]] (Bloomington)
* [West Lafayette Bike Cooporative) www.bombercyclery.blogspot.com] (West Lafayette)
come check out our facebook for West Lafayette, look for the group, Purdue Critical Mass

==== Iowa ====

* [[The Iowa City Bike Library]] (Iowa City)

==== Louisiana ====

* [[Plan B]] (New Orleans)

==== Maine ====

* [[Community Bicycle Center]] (Biddeford)

==== Maryland ====

* [[Renaissance Community Youth Bike Shop]] (Riverdale)
* [[Mount Rainier Bicycle Cooperative]] (Mount Rainier)
* [[Velocipede Bike Project]] (Baltimore)

==== Massachusetts ====

* [[Bikes not Bombs]] (Boston)
* [[Broadway Bicycle School]] (Cambridge)
* [[Worcester Earn-A-Bike]] (Worcester)

==== Michigan ====

* [[Back Alley Bikes]] (Detroit)

==== Minnesota ====

* [[The Grease Pit]] (Minneapolis)
* [[The Sibley Bike Depot]] (St. Paul)

==== Montana ====

* [[Free Cycles Missoula]] (Missoula)

==== Nebraska ====

* [[Community Bicycle Shop Omaha]] (Omaha)

==== Nevada ====

* [[Reno Bike Project]] (Reno)

==== New Jersey ====

* [[Pedals for Progress]] (High Bridge)
* [[Hobiken]] (Hoboken)
* [[New Brunswick Bike Library]] (New Brunswick)

==== New Mexico ====

* [[Chain Breaker Collective]] (Santa Fe)

==== New York ====

* [[Recycle Ithaca's Bicycles]] (Ithaca)
* [[Recycle-A-Bicycle]] Youth Program (New York City)
* [[Recycle-A-Bicycle]] DUMBO training center (Brooklyn)
* [[Troy Bike Rescue]] (Troy)
* [[Time's Up! Bike Co-op]] (New York City)

==== North Carolina ====

* [[Ashville ReCyclery]] (Ashville)
* [[Durham Bike Co-op]] (Durham)
* [[The ReCYCLEry]] (Carrboro)
* [[1304 Bikes]] (Raleigh)
* [[Bike Me!]] (Greensboro)

==== North Dakota ====
* [[Fargo Moorhead Community Bicycle Workshop]] (Fargo)

==== Ohio ====

* [[Ohio City Bicycle Co-op]] (Cleveland)
* [[Oberlin Bike Co-op]] (Oberlin)
* [[Mobo Bicycle Co-op]] (Cincinnati)
* [[Third Hand Bicycle Cooperative]] (Columbus)
* [[Toledo City Bicycle Co-op]] (Toledo)

==== Oregon ====

* [[Ashland Community Bike Program]] (Ashland)
* [[Bike Farm]] (Portland)
* [[Center For Appropriate Transport]] (Eugene)
* [[Community Cycling Center]] (Portland)
* [[City Bikes Repair Shop]] (Portland)
* [[North Portland Bikeworks]] (Portland)

==== Pennsylvania ====

* [[Bethlehem Bicycle Cooperative]] (Bethlehem)
* [[Free Ride]] (Pittsburgh)
* [[Neighborhood Bike Works]] (Philadelphia Earn-a-Bike youth program and Bike Church coop)

==== Rhode Island ====

* [[Recycle-A-Bike]] (Providence)

==== South Carolina ====

* [[The Bike Collaboration]] (Charleston)

==== South Dakota ====

* [[Yellow Bike Program & Reconditioned Bikes for Kids]] (Rapid City)

==== Texas ====

* [[Austin Yellow Bike Project]] (Austin)
* [[Workshop Houston]], the parent organization of the [[Third Ward Bike Shop]] (Houston)
* [[Bikes Across Borders]] (Austin)
* [[Waco Volunteer Bike Center]] (Waco)
* [[Querencia Community Bicycle Shop]] (Denton)
* [[Bike Cave]] (San Marcos)

==== Utah ====

* [[Salt Lake City Bicycle Collective]] (Salt Lake City)
* [[UoU Bicycle Collective]] (Salt Lake City)
* [[Aggie Blue Bikes]] (Logan)

==== Vermont ====

* [[Freeride Montpelier]] (Montpelier)

==== Virginia ====

* [[Charlottesville Community Bikes]] (Charlottesville)
* [[Blacksburg Bike Collective]] (Blacksburg)
* [[Phoenix Bikes]] (Arlington)

==== Washington ====

* [[Bike Works]] (Seattle)
* [[The Bikery]] (Seattle)
* [[The Bike Shack]] (Seattle)
* [[The Hub]] Community Bike Cooperative (Bellingham)
* [[The Evergreen Bike Shop]] (Olympia)
* [[Bike and Bike]] (Olympia)

==== West Virginia ====

* [[Positive Spin]] (Morgantown)
Spokes4Folks (Charleston) (no website yet)

==== Wisconsin ====

* [[Wheels for Winners]] (Madison)
* [[Milwaukee Bicycle Collective]] (Milwaukee)
* [[The Freewheel Collective]] (Madison)

==== Washington D.C. ====

* [[Chain Reaction]]

== See Also ==

* [[Bicycle Organization Organization Project]]
* [http://www.bikecollectives.org/component/option,com_sobi2/sobi2Task,search/Itemid,51/ Bike Collective Network Directory]

[[Category:Community Bicycle Organizations]]

Bike Collectives Wiki - User contributions [en]

Bike Theft

Community Bicycle Organizations