 Re: Thieves all around us
I have great sympathy for anyone who loses a bike like that. It is one thing to hit a car or something else which is your own fault to cause the loss of a bike, it is quite another to have someone take it away.
Right after my cop days, I sold home and business burglar alarms. Mostly those things are to make the buyer feel better and to scare off kids and hobby thieves. The sign in the yard is the biggest deterrent.
A really serious professional thief just goes where the pickings are easiest, unless you own something of extraordinary value. Make it more difficult than the value of the goods to be stolen and he will just move somewhere easier. That is the basic principle of property security unless you are a coin or art collector type.
In most cases when out and about a good chain and padlock on a bike parked in a public place would probably fit the bill. That said, a motorized bike is not most cases nor is a thousand dollar road bike. If the thief is a real bike person he will take the risk and bring a bolt cutter I expect. The motorized bike is such an oddity it would be a priority theft I expect.
The idea of a lock is to make the guy look suspicious while he makes off with your bike. Thieves in general do not want to be noticed. My ugly ducklings most likely would not attract the kind of attention necessary for a bolt cutter or pickup truck driving thief. Yours most likely would.
Good ole boy Eddie with a pickup might take a fancy to your purdy bike, but not look twice at one he can build for twenty bucks. So yes take care of your bike but realize there is no guarantee. Gypsies, tramps and thieves will always be gypsies, tramps and thieves. |