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Comment by agumonkey | Hacker News Reader

All bikes get stolen, even the crappiest ones.

Theft is the reason I don't use my bike anymore, unless I don't stop.

Doesn't seem to be the case in London. I have a £300 bike (price when it was new, now probably worth much less) and use two secure locks (£35 each). It's outside every night and over several years, the only thing that's been stolen was my saddle once.

Colleagues of mine with e-bikes or other, more expensive, bikes had parts stolen much more frequently.

There's always the risk of vandalism but I guess most thefts will know what an item is worth on ebay, they won't bother about a bike they could only get £50 for.

That's the concern with e-bikes, their battery is probably already worth stealing.

Crappy ones don't get stolen. I lived in an area with rampant bike theft, had 3 bikes stolen, and bought a crappy bike. I didn't even bother locking it most of the time. I sold it when I moved, after 2 years of pretty much daily use.

I knew someone that had a pretty decent bike and he purposely made it look crap. He put loads of crappy stickers on it, wrapped different parts of it with different coloured tape etc. Not sure did it actually change anything, but it has never been stolen.

There's a counter intuitive effect with high grade bikes. They often have a unique look (frame, colors, tires...). If (IF) the bike is quickly moved far from its original city, other bikers will notice it whenever someone uses it again. Often on bikers board you can read stories of users helping each other out.

A generic bike on the other hand .. less chances to be noticed (by definition).

It's really about the ratio of chain thickness to bike crappiness. In general, I'd say anything that requires an angle grinder (serious chain, good U-lock type locks) is fine for most bikes. I'd say the same criteria apply to E-bikes.

You do have to make sure you're attaching your bike to something solid, though.

Then you don't know the meaning of rampant.

A friend of mine had welded a small basket, grinded parts of the frame and let them rust, engraved his name on an old bike for commuting, even with a thick motorcycle chain it got stolen.

It's not very useful debating this, without giving an area.

Rates of bicycle theft vary widely between countries, cities, and sometimes within cities (poor area / rich area, centre / suburbs, residential area / university campus).

Yes but limiting yourself to a crappy bike is depressing. You've giving in to fear of thieves. They have "stolen" your good bike ride, and you're okay with that?

Having a good quality bike makes riding more enjoyable, safer, more comfortable, more efficient.

A bicycle that looks like hammered shit doesn't necessarily make for a bad ride. Initial quality is largely irrelevant if:

0. It's suited to the task (a Wal-Mart mountain bike is lousy for running around town) 1. Stuff degrades gracefully (cheap index shifting generally does not; friction shifters are a far better choice on a cheap bike) 2. You maintain it. 3. You take the time (and money) to find a comfortable saddle for it.

Crappy bikes become unfun when they're neglected. Unfortunately, they usually get neglected because they were poorly suited for the intended purpose anyway, or because people don't want to pay a bike shop to tune up a $150 bicycle (which was probably poorly assembled in the first place).

This is a case where learning to do the work yourself pays the dividend of both raising the competence of the user and resulting in a useful tool for years to come.

Most people would be much better served by an old 10-speed than a new crappy mountain bike. They're better suited to getting around town, immensely tolerant of neglect because there isn't anything that truly needs to be in top shape to run, and easy to put right.

And yes, I say this as somebody who has a nice road bike, a nice mountain bike, and a road bike that lives outside all year long, looks like hell and that I wouldn't hesitate to ride 15-25 km.

doesn't have to be actually crappy. good tires, clean chain, horrific looking frame, and its fine.

Tell that to my now missing mall brand all plastic low grade mountain bike. It had the lowest value possible; I took the seat, and I parked it because one pedal was failing that day. Not even pretty (blue/white/fluopink) It was at best worth the frame metal.

In Vancouver, I often see homeless bums with tattered clothes ride nice bikes. Trek, Giant, Specialized and such, with decent grade components: not bottom end crap.

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