How to stop bicycle thieves in Toronto?

[Arob]

I should have bought a better lock.

The salesman told me that despite the TRU-LOCK brand's cumbersome appearance and weight, it was just a $20 lock and not much of an obstacle to a professional bike thief.

I should have listened.

When I returned to the hitching post on Queen st west on Sat April 5th, my beautiful brand new Marin San Raphael was gone. There were however metal shavings on the cement - silver and black metal filings. These shavings, my CSI viewing and experience informed me, were from the TRU-LOCK putting up some resistance. The theft was conducted in broad daylight between the hours of 12:30pm and 3pm Sat afternoon - their must have been dozens of people walking by during the lock removal operation. Of course I wish I had been one of them.

Where are these bikes sold? How does it work? And how can we stop it?

 

[junctionist]

I've heard good things about the Kryptonite New York Fahgettaboudit lock, and for that money and weight, it better be the last lock you'll ever need. Actually, it's so small, you'll probably need a wheel lock. Bike theft is a real problem all over the city, and not everyone reports it, because what are the odds that the suspect will get caught. It's good to have the serial number registered with the police. If the bike ever turns up, I'd think that you'd need some evidence. I can't help you with where the bikes are sold since I never investigated the theft of my cheap, mass produced bike, and the people I know never did either. Ebay, pawn shops, and Craigslist are probably good places to monitor.

I wish we could take more steps towards reducing bike theft. Perhaps some bikes with hidden GPS could be planted to reduce the confidence of thieves. Actually, GPS tracking would be a great feature and has to be coming to the mainstream in the future.

 

[EnviroTO]

I have had 10 bikes stolen in my lifetime. I have come to the conclusion that GPS tracking, an electric shock device, or dye pack is probably the best solution. Expecting the city to get police to actually put any effort into reducing bike theft is pointless. I would imagine that police could easily bait some of these theives and catch them. If they have a well publicized crack down it would probably reduce the numbers considerably but I'm sure a bike theft reduction plan isn't something they are too interested in. Maybe catch them in the act stealing bicycles, drop them off in the US, and convince the US they are terrorists so the US can "not" torture them.

 

[Prometheus The Supremo]

not to be taken seriously. just a vent of discontent.

maybe if one of these thieves showed up at a hospital with a seat post up his ass, his scrotal sack caught and wrapped around the rear derailleur & all the tire spokes shoved in his urethra, handlebar post shoved down throat hole and eyeballs between break pads with brake levers activated with own foot steps, it would act as a deterrent.

of course, some would say this is inhumane. bunch of pussies.

 

[BobBob]

Unfortunately, this is a big problem in Toronto and if I had a nice bike I simply wouldn't leave it unattended for more than 2 minutes at a time, regardless of the lock's quality.

I've stuck to riding a trusty but unappealing looking bicycle (a Trek from the 80s) and I make a point not to clean too much grime off. You also want to make sure yours isn't the only bike in sight when locking it up, and preferably that there are better bikes locked up close to it.

Haven't had a theft in years (knocks on wood).

 

[TOinTO]

I have had 10 bikes stolen in my lifetime. I have come to the conclusion that GPS tracking, an electric shock device, or dye pack is probably the best solution. Expecting the city to get police to actually put any effort into reducing bike theft is pointless.

That's annoying. Bike theft and resale is essentially an organized crime. Those involved a highly likely to be indulging in other criminal acts. It deserves more attention.

I'm sure that lobbying through city hall could get the police to do something.
Actually, you could probably get statistics from the police on their arrest rate for bike thefts and use that to embarrass them through the media.

 

[Mustapha]

Everyone I know has had a new or newish bike stolen. I was in a Queen W bike store looking for an 70s style saddle bag to go with my 70s style 10 speed when a street person walked in and offered the store owner a bike for $50. The owner said "I know where you got that and I don't need anymore bikes".

 

[Hipster Duck]

Yeah, my solution would be to get the shittiest bike imaginable for your day-to-day use and, if you're an avid cyclist, keep your racing bike locked in the house and use it on the weekends if you are sure you will never leave sight out of it.

I've found that most people have this sort of approach. Because of theft, Torontonians ride around on crap hand-me-downs and nobody generally cares about how they look or dress. If you assembled a line-up of 10 Toronto cyclists at random they probably would look like a rag-tag Post-Apocalyptic militia with their rusted contraptions, plastic bag seats and weird sports helmets.

 

[Kitsune]

No one cares if they see someone cutting a lock - my bike lock key snapped on me last weekend, and I had to spend a hour with wire cutters (yikes!) to break through the lock - and this was right next to the entrance of a busy super market, and yet not one word said to me. I tend to take my seat and my front tire off when I lock mine up...

 

[Hydrogen]

Yeah, my solution would be to get the shittiest bike imaginable for your day-to-day use...

Good idea in theory, but I have had two such bikes stolen. In one case, the steel fence to which it was locked suffered serious damage. No idea why the thief (thieves?) went to such an effort.

 

[indense]

As a former Amsterdammer, I can tell you that the Dutch use two main theories. The first is to make sure that your everyday bike looks like a cheap piece of crap that nobody would want to steal. Spraypainting it pink seems to work. All Dutch people own a shitty bike for regular use and a nice bike for weekends. A lot of people don't even lock up their shitty bikes.
The second is to make sure that your bike has more locks on it than the bike beside yours. Buy a rear-wheel lock. It's like a handcuff attached to the frame that clamps through the rear wheel. When it's on, the bike is immobile.

 

[Mystery White Boy]

You can avoid bicycle theft by driving a car.

 

[nicetommy]

They have bait bikes at the UofT campus.

 

[Lilibet]

I should have bought a better lock.



Where are these bikes sold? How does it work? And how can we stop it?

Sorry for your loss.
Igor's on Queen West was always a hotspot for stolen bikes.
He'd vehemently deny it of course.
As for bikes being stolen on a busy sidewalk in the middle of the day, my partner and I were walking on Bloor West near the ROM one lovely early summer evening when a bike heist was in progress. We confronted the bloke which resulted in him swinging his crowbar at us. We could see by his glassy eyes he was cracked up on something, so we backed off. Neither of us carries a mobile phone but we managed to get another pedestrian to call the cops from their phone, for what that was worth because in the time it took the thief was long gone.
I'd like to add that I've seen this dude hanging out around Igor's.
I myself ride a clunker around town, and even then use two locks, and no quick release stuff on the wheels or seat.
My partner rides a clunker as well but his was stolen, then again he left it propped outside a convenience store while he went in to get something.
Moral of that tale...if it ain't nailed down it can and most likely will be nicked.

 

[Mystery White Boy]

Sorry for your loss.
Igor's on Queen West was always a hotspot for stolen bikes.
He'd vehemently deny it of course.
As for bikes being stolen on a busy sidewalk in the middle of the day, my partner and I were walking on Bloor West near the ROM one lovely early summer evening when a bike heist was in progress. We confronted the bloke which resulted in him swinging his crowbar at us. We could see by his glassy eyes he was cracked up on something, so we backed off. Neither of us carries a mobile phone but we managed to get another pedestrian to call the cops from their phone, for what that was worth because in the time it took the thief was long gone.
I'd like to add that I've seen this dude hanging out around Igor's.
I myself ride a clunker around town, and even then use two locks, and no quick release stuff on the wheels or seat.
My partner rides a clunker as well but his was stolen, then again he left it propped outside a convenience store while he went in to get something.
Moral of that tale...if it ain't nailed down it can and most likely will be nicked.

Partner? You're a cop?