Parts strippers, as low as bike thieves

[Berkeleyan]

A rant... I upgraded my wife's old B-Stone XO-5 with those very nice Sunrace shifters from RBW after one of her old thumbies broke. Apart from the Brooks saddle, they were the nicest components on the bike. But she parks it outside a library at Cal, and last week she left to discover someone had unbolted the front Sunrace mount, pried it apart (no hinge), and clipped the cable. Prying the mount like that (brake and cork grip prevented just sliding it off) surely ruined it... did they steal it just for the shifter lever? I guess it's not enough to lock with cable and U-lock combo that secures saddle and wheels to frame.

I'm putting cheap Falcon thumbies on her bars now, and we're settled that her bike will never again wear any bling, nor will I touch up any scrapes. The saddle post is also secured with security bolts, after previous was swiped from same location.

And it's why I rarely carry a lock on rides, I don't like leaving my bikes where I can't keep an eye on them.

- Andrew, Berkeley

[George Schick]

All major metropolitan areas up and down the West Coast, the Rockies (Denver), the Midwest (Chicago), and the NE (NYC, etc.) are having the same problem.  We could probe into the reasons for these crimes and/or their lack of punishment when committed, but that would hastily drift into political discussions which are forbidden on this blog for very good reasons.  I would offer this advice:  If you have a bike all decked out with pretty anodized "bling" components be careful where and how you lock it up.  Or, if you have a bike outfitted with recognizable high-end components, the same advice.  Beyond that, you're on your own.  If I were still into mixed-mode commuting I'd use the oldest, ugliest beater I could find that would get me to the train station and back again.

[Will Boericke]

Hard to argue that Sunrace shifters are nice enough to be visibly theft-worthy.  What a bummer.

[Josh C]

A thief is of the lowest class of man. 

[Kim H.]

@Andrew,

I am sorry about your wife's stolen SunRace thumbshiter.

I just want to say that my best lock for my old road bike I rode for nearly 40 years were my own two eyes. I never let it out of my sight living in the South San Francisco Bay Area back in the 1970's.

Kim Hetzel.

[Bill Lindsay]

Sure the timing stinks, but if she's ridden the bike since it was new in 1993, and parks it daily on the UC Berkeley campus, and this is the worst theft experience, that's not that bad.  

I have a single left side Micro Shift shifter that I can leave on my porch in El Cerrito for you to come take.  $20 and it's yours.  

https://www.flickr.com/photos/45758191@N04/53833370068/in/dateposted/

It's the thumb shifter in the upper part of the photo.  It has that familiar micro-ratchet feel to it.  

Bill Lindsay

El Cerrito, CA

[Stephen Durfee]

Andrew, sorry to hear this. if you haven't already ordered the falcons, I have a new set that I would be happy to give you. I picked them up to test out some new handlebar options for my son's X0-3. Sorry to say, soon after I finished that project, the bike was stolen from his garage in SF. 

[Berkeleyan]

Thanks, and thanks, too, Bill. I already have the Falcons in hand, and she's happier with the de-blinging of the parts. And yes, absolutely, she's had good use of the bike all these years (bicycles is how we met!) but I do my best to keep it rolling for her.

- Andrew, Berkeley