San Francisco Anti-Bike Theft Vigilante

Watch this video, skip to 20s and start.

Two things to think about...

1. Don't use a shitty lock - if this thief is similar to those in Singapore, then you have to think of it this way - if they can get only one bike, will they spend their time hunting down one that has a massively steely lock, in broad daylight where people frequent?

2. After you chase the thief away, what do you do?

Car Vandalism and Bike Theft

What happened? Laissez-faire happened.

What happens when you mess up someone's car? Watch the video by clicking "Read more" whereby a group of three teenagers vandalise a car. Then, the three white teenagers are switched with three black teenagers, and then a totally different reaction happens.





Part 2






Unfortunately, when we see a crime happening, we often turn a blind eye. This is prominent in all situations, especially bike theft, where the only person I know of who actually would bother is an angmoh. Puting aside the race-test that was done in this video, I wonder... if so few people care about someone's car, what would this same group of people take it when they see someone with a massive bolt cutter trying to steal a bike?

Some thoughts that ruminate in my mind...

• Why do people engage in laissez-faire when they are not French? Could it be that a certain selfish "that's not mine" mentality pervades their thought?
• If you car/bike was subjected to similar defacing, would you be more willing to take action?
• What would I do if I witnessed a bike theft?

On the last two points, I would certainly report it to the police without getting myself involved. I'm not Ip Man, so I can't beat up ten thieves. I doubt I can even do one with a bolt cutter. But to me, bike thieves are doing a crime that is very personal. They are stealing the steed of another, and they did steal mine. To eradicate this crime is a personal goal of mine, and even though it is probably not possible, it's better to start one thief at a time.

I suspect that if you have had it done to you once, you would probably be more stoked to take action. Perhaps that's why. Cyclists are a small percentage in Singapore, and therefore fewer would care if they witnessed a crime that is so estranged from the core of their heart.

The Best Commuting Bike: a Clunker

This will save your bike

Never underestimate the power of having nothing to lose, and then locking it up as if you had everything to lose. As always I use my Abus Granite X Plus 54, a $188 lock that costs more than my clunker commuting bike, a Trek 850.



The most dangerous place to lock, based on experience, is at MRT stations. I had my bike stolen in a matter of hours at Tampines MRT - a Wheeler that had a really nice cushy fork. Nonetheless, that taught me never to use a cheapskate lock - the ubiquitious cable lock.

Here's an experiment: parking the Trek commuting clunker bike at Kovan MRT from 9am to 7pm.

Clunker commuting bike, Kovan MRT, 9am

It's worrying, but Kovan MRT is better than most in a sense that it has a U shaped bike stand, which means you can lock both the front wheel and rear wheel - the best way you can lock your wheels and bike, especially if it's quick-release.

After work, I came back and it's still there!

Still here! Kovan MRT, 7pm

I really love this mode of transport as unfortunately, I don't have the patience to take the bus unlike Lui Tuck Yew. By commuting by bike to MRT stations, it keeps me away from the abhorrent buses. Buses are unreliable, slow and can have mutable schedules based on traffic situations.

Trains, on the other hand, are the best form of public transport, they are fast, no-nonsense, and on time. All I know is that biking to MRTs is the best way right now if you don't want to take a connecting bus ride.

Don't underestimate a clunker with a seriously beefy lock! I bought this lock a few years ago and it still is with me, and so are the various bikes which I have locked outside.

The Fall of a Bike Thief (Literally)

This has to be one of the most epic episodes in anti-bike theft. Watch this video as you see the driver, eastcoastparkway, chase down a bike thief that... isn't too smart to use his small size to his advantage.

His story...

This guy came into our house and attempted to steal my racing bike.
My wife screamed at him as he tried to steal the bike, and told him to go away!.

I chased after him on foot but lost sight of him. I continued the search for him in my car, and found him a few minutes later on the other side of our estate. Then I saw him break into another house and this time he stole a bike.

I followed him as he made his getaway, and then after running him off the road I chased him barefoot in only my shorts for 2 kilometers across 8 lanes of Jalan Eunos, across 3 PIE slips roads.

Meantime he picked up a large rock and with a wild agressive face threw the rock at me, so I picked up a bigger one and threw it back at him, the difference is that his rock missed me, and my rock hit him.

Finally, exhausted, he stopped running and I made a citizens arrest at Block 311 Ubi avenue 1 HDB block. I made him sit on the floor and ordered him to remove his shoes to stop him running away until the police arrived..

Police arrive 5 mins later and arrested him.

What a day!!!

Khoo Tech Puat... a bicycle-friendly hospital?

I went to Khoo Teck Puat, the newest hospital in Yishun. To do the inevitable but hurtful examination of checking up on my wisdom teeth. The relieving news is that I am pretty dumb. In fact, if the number of wisdom teeth is related to my brain size, I would be a near six foot jellyfish. Not a bad thing, actually, having seen a few friends extract it over the years, they all complain of the inevitable week of shit.

But Khoo Teck Puat had an exhibition on artistic bicycle racks. They all are definitely better than the bog standard half-flux bondage equipment you see often (incl. in KTP) which only secures your front wheel and looks quite easily ripped off the wall or angle grounded to smithereens.

 

 The exhibition per se outside the pharmacy.

 The above is pretty weak: it doesn't really allow you to lock both wheels. And idiots may lock their bike to the top of the stick where there is an "open path" (Sorry, Adobe jargon), leaving them to wonder why their whole bike is gone.

 A minor improvement, but this rack still cannot lock both wheels. And you ought to realise that if you are handy with the chain, this bike is free too (i.e. slip the chain above the seatpost and it's yours)

 

This is the first rack that can fit two wheels, although barely. And it is quite sightly. This bike isn't free, though. TMD, I had aspirations of becoming a bike thief. The cops don't care, after all.

 

 This ranks as my favourite. It has aesthetic appeal (looks like a rider) and can lock both wheels. 

 

Cradle to Cradle is a nice concept, and is aesthetically quite good, but it serves to only lock your front wheel. As is blatantly shown here.

And.... the Merida road bike.

Free speedo anyone?

Chinese New Year gift from ST

Astoundingly, the Straits Times is on a roll with their articles on bicycling. Today's newspapers' lifestyle section comes with an article on how you should lock your bicycle, and it tests five locks for its durability under attacks from a bolt cutter. This article shatters myths, presents facts, and screws up at times.

This is probably the best guide you can ever come across on how to lock your bike from ST. The Do's and don'ts make sense. I learnt a new thing today: how to avoid lockpicking. The basis of it is just to make everything freaking inconvenient for the thief. The picture is clear enough, I'm sure, for you to read what it says, plus you probably have a subscription to the newspaper.

Of course, if you look at Method one, it is actually blooper-filled. Look at that pole. Do you really want to lock your bike only to come back and found the thief has tabao-ed your bike home so that he could saw your locks off OTOT? Don't make this mistake of locking to a pole that is short, your thief could just lift it off the ground, clearing the pole and getting a free bike. Given a choice, too, I would find a better place where you can loop the front lock around another pole. Such as a fencing. Locking your bike to itself always puts the risk of the thief taking away your bike so that he can do it at his own time.

Now, to the right, five tests were done on five different locks. It dispelled one myth that I always believed: that cable locks cannot be cut by bolt cutters. Well, wrong. Terrible to know, but so far, online literature still states that it is safer to use a double-lock (U lock plus cable lock) combo. The U locks here are portrayed as invincible: they were not broken. Not even the Kryptonite-Trek U locks. Of course, trawling through forums, I have read that they are not invincible. Some Singaporeans have had their bike stolen despite using these higher security locks. Of course, the main text mentions that no lock is theft-proof.

It's an interesting read for people who have an established system for their bike's security and absolutely critical that you read it if you still use a cable lock. If so, plan to spend at least 20% of your bike's value, at least, on security if it is meant to be locked outside.