Commuter/Urban Bikes: Help A Homey

[CBA]

In my experience, everything from $500 to $1000 rides more or less the same, so go cheap, especially if you live in a city. My last bike was stolen 2 weeks after I bought it.

Welp. I had mine for about 4. Popped into my friends' house to let them know I was ready to go to lunch. Less than two minutes later, and I'm talking like I was standing in their kitchen by the front door, and the bike was on the other side of the wall about 10 feet away... less than two minutes later, GONE. People are just waiting in the fucking bushes.

UPDATE! ROBERT STACK STYLE!


My bike was found! After three days of wandering around and being suspicious of EVERYONE, my bike was found hidden in a big bush behind a lady's house and was returned to the place where I bought it which was just about a quarter mile away!

Not sure who took the damn thing, but it's back where it belongs with just a few minor paint scratches. I suppose I've learned some kind of lesson.

Anyway... one person did a shitty thing but a few people did a good thing. The world is .00000000000000000001% better!

C

[aussy]

glad you found it man! friends of mine have taken bikes for joy rides before, now that I have a bike again the thought troubles me

I'm lock shopping right now, I would just pick up an onguard pitbull/bulldog mini but have read countless angry posts about the lock freezing up
so I might pick up a pricier one (though my bike is cheap) just to avoid that potential headache

speaking of my bike, here is the one I decided to pick up, a panasonic dx2000 in crazy good shape
was going to paint it white, but the ugly maroon is still in good shape
future mods: bmx pedals, single speed, new tape

[univalve]

Nice Frame!

@CBA: wow, glad that it showed up. I was never lucky like that.

[smallsnd/bigsnd]

wow congrats on getting it back!

i had a reasonably priced bike stolen from INSIDE MY HOUSE while i was in college in boston. it was sitting in the front room right next to the front door and a roommate of mine must have left the door open (we had a screen door as well). someone just walked in and grabbed it... fucked up. shit can happen literally any time and any place so lock it up!

luckily it was time for a new bike, so i bought the lowest tier FELT road bike afterwards. it cost me like $600 or so and was a really great bike that lasted me many years. when i moved to philly (where there are very few hills) i decided to go for something cheaper and simpler so i got an older italian made single speed beater from some guy on CL for $100. it needed about $100 worth of work, but it rides like a champ and is a lot more low-key than the felt, so i'm not really in fear that it'll ever get stolen.

@uni - damn you're riding a ghost bike son

[CBA]

Thanks all. Good to have it back. I hadn't really had time to become attached to it, but I'm REALLY HAPPY that it was found and returned. Nearly $700 and all!

It's a total bummer that people think that it's almost ACCEPTABLE to steal bikes... it's too fucking common.

In hindsight, I probably would have/should have gotten something much cheaper... I only ride it to work and back, and that's like 4 miles or so through Ann Arbor. But, welp, whatever, I have a good job and was able to get a moderately-priced looker.

Now to KEEP the damn thing!

C

[univalve]

@uni - damn you're riding a ghost bike son

W00T?!
Fixed gear or what do you mean?

[Chankgeez]

@uni - damn you're riding a ghost bike son

W00T?!
Fixed gear or what do you mean?

http://ghostbikes.org/

[univalve]

@uni - damn you're riding a ghost bike son

W00T?!
Fixed gear or what do you mean?

http://ghostbikes.org/

Uhhh.
Thanks for the explanation.
No, thank god (or whatever) not yet.
We don't have that over here. But i think it is kind of good idea to drag more attention to the cyclists.