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Ways to fight against bike theft
Date:2007-09-10
Lydia Chen, a reporter with Shanghai Daily’s Website, was still worried about the ultimate fate of her bike that has accompanied her for almost five years but was unfortunately stolen by “some evil thief” last Friday.
She got off at the Dongchuan Road Station on Metro Line 5 around 8pm that day and went to the place where she always parked her “broken tank” —a vehicle so dilapidated that she thought it could not possibly interest thieves, but she was definitely wrong.
The bike was not there -- it had vanished all of a sudden.
“I felt a bit irritated and puzzled at that time,” Lydia said. “As I couldn’t understand why someone would steal a bike that would even make a lot of noise during the ride while there were a lot of much newer choices available?
“Maybe the tastes of these thieves are changing and now they began to prefer old targets,” Lydia joked.
She now hopes that her purple-colored old friend will fetch a nice price after it is broken down into parts, a way that many thieves deal with old stolen bikes.
With no bike and looking to prevent offering another chance for thieves, Lydia decided that she will walk to the station from her home every morning instead of riding—a walk that may take about 20 minutes.
Winny Wang, another reporter in the Web department agrees that is “the best way to prevent bike thefts.” Her 200-yuan (US$26.49) bike was stolen last year.
“You can also ride a foldable bike every day,” she suggested. “And fold it in Metro and ride again to the office after you get off.
“As the bike is almost with you every minute, it is impossible for thieves to steal it,” Winny added.
Leo Zhang, a business reporter, figured out his best ways to fight against bike thefts after two brand-new mopeds and several bikes had fallen into the hands of thieves. (He couldn’t remember how many bikes/mopeds have been stolen. Sigh.)
“I think it’s safer if you park the bike at a place where there are workers to watch it for you,” Leo said. “If there happens to be no one around, then you need a hard chain to lock it up but never use the so-called anti-theft locks sold at shops as they are virtually impotent to stop thieves.”
Besides, it’s better to keep your bike in your home at night — not in the corridors of your apartment building, he added.
It may sound a little bit pathetic that protection of a simple item such as a bicycle has become a nationwide concern in China, but 95.31 percent of 426 respondents in an April online survey by Sohu.com and the Youth Daily said they had had a bicycle or bicycles stolen. More than half reported having lost more than three bikes to thieves.
So have you also had a bike stolen or do you have any useful tips to prevent theft?
She got off at the Dongchuan Road Station on Metro Line 5 around 8pm that day and went to the place where she always parked her “broken tank” —a vehicle so dilapidated that she thought it could not possibly interest thieves, but she was definitely wrong.
The bike was not there -- it had vanished all of a sudden.
“I felt a bit irritated and puzzled at that time,” Lydia said. “As I couldn’t understand why someone would steal a bike that would even make a lot of noise during the ride while there were a lot of much newer choices available?
“Maybe the tastes of these thieves are changing and now they began to prefer old targets,” Lydia joked.
She now hopes that her purple-colored old friend will fetch a nice price after it is broken down into parts, a way that many thieves deal with old stolen bikes.
With no bike and looking to prevent offering another chance for thieves, Lydia decided that she will walk to the station from her home every morning instead of riding—a walk that may take about 20 minutes.
Winny Wang, another reporter in the Web department agrees that is “the best way to prevent bike thefts.” Her 200-yuan (US$26.49) bike was stolen last year.
“You can also ride a foldable bike every day,” she suggested. “And fold it in Metro and ride again to the office after you get off.
“As the bike is almost with you every minute, it is impossible for thieves to steal it,” Winny added.
Leo Zhang, a business reporter, figured out his best ways to fight against bike thefts after two brand-new mopeds and several bikes had fallen into the hands of thieves. (He couldn’t remember how many bikes/mopeds have been stolen. Sigh.)
“I think it’s safer if you park the bike at a place where there are workers to watch it for you,” Leo said. “If there happens to be no one around, then you need a hard chain to lock it up but never use the so-called anti-theft locks sold at shops as they are virtually impotent to stop thieves.”
Besides, it’s better to keep your bike in your home at night — not in the corridors of your apartment building, he added.
It may sound a little bit pathetic that protection of a simple item such as a bicycle has become a nationwide concern in China, but 95.31 percent of 426 respondents in an April online survey by Sohu.com and the Youth Daily said they had had a bicycle or bicycles stolen. More than half reported having lost more than three bikes to thieves.
So have you also had a bike stolen or do you have any useful tips to prevent theft?
From: ShanghaiDaily
TrackbackURL: http://www.shanghaidaily.com/editor/trackback.asp?tbID=390
Tags: bike theft Comments: 1 | Trackbacks: 7251 | Views: 5323
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Speed8M [2007-10-09 00:19 AM
]Get a fold-up bike. Have it with you at ALL times, take it into the shop, restaurants, shopping centres EVERYWhere you go!. After having my brand new bike stolen ( yes also a fold-up, which disappeared within 1 minute right outside a shop, silly of me by parking it outside .. ).. Lesson learnt. You simply have to have it with you. With a fold-up it's very easy to carry and commute to most places.
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