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"All bicycles weigh fifty pounds. A thirty-pound bicycle needs a twenty-pound lock. A forty-pound bicycle needs a ten-pound lock. A fifty-pound bicycle doesn't need a lock at all."

9/14/2008 10:52:42 PM

2.02 pages of bullshit

[Edited on September 14, 2008 at 10:52 PM. Reason : asdf]

9/14/2008 10:52:47 PM

sounds like some hippy shit.

9/14/2008 10:53:20 PM

JCASHFAN won the fuck outta this thread.

9/14/2008 10:54:50 PM

I'm sure y'all would have been supportive if I had quietly continued eating my lunch while the dude walked off with my ride.

9/14/2008 10:57:30 PM

Well you did want to track him down and verbally lash him with your beliefs.

9/14/2008 10:58:16 PM

I doubt he could have gotten terribly much for the bike, anyway. The front wheel is rather bent. I've been riding without my front brake lately.

9/14/2008 11:11:12 PM

sounds like a case for "insurance fraud"

get some renter's insurance
have your bike "stolen"

use the money to fix your bike and buy beer

9/14/2008 11:48:02 PM

I get that circumstances limit how much of a functional anarchist GoldenViper can be. Still and all, this whole situation reminds me of the libertarian who calls the fire department when his house catches fire.

9/15/2008 12:03:40 AM

^ For some reason, I expected better from you. Yes, there's contradiction. Yes, I was asking for (and expecting) the criticism by posting here. Still, come on. Look how y'all have suddenly become witch hunters for the Holy Church of Anarchism. As far as oppressive activities go, walking outside doesn't rate. If I had called the cops, you'd definitely have a point. As things stand, I'm making more of a compromise with my professed beliefs when order something from Amazon or put money into my ING account.

9/15/2008 12:31:01 AM

Why was someone trying to give your bike a hand job?

9/15/2008 12:31:37 AM

dammit, i was about to make that joke

9/15/2008 12:40:34 AM

9/15/2008 12:47:15 AM

Again, for the record, most anarchist thinkers support personal possessions for items in regular use. You won't find the idea that we have to yield our bicycles in the literature. Now, from technocracy, I do have this notion that it's wasteful for my bike to sit around 95% of the time. A system of sharing would be more efficient. Letting some dude take it probably wouldn't be.

9/15/2008 12:57:55 AM

clearly that guy needed your bike. You are all fine and dandy when you send the gov't in to steal somebody else's stuff. But god help us when someone comes to take YOUR shit.

Oh, and quit being a fucking Jew and buy a real fucking bike lock.

9/15/2008 1:04:45 AM

I have niggaz fallin' like white bitches in a scary movie
Ah, you know I don't know how to act
Get too close to niggaz, it's like:
"Protected by viper, stand back"

9/15/2008 1:06:37 AM

Quote :

"clearly that guy needed your bike."

Hard to say, really. We didn't get a chance to talk it over.

Quote :

"You are all fine and dandy when you send the gov't in to steal somebody else's stuff."

When have I done this? (Would that I had such power!)

Quote :

"Oh, and quit being a fucking Jew and buy a real fucking bike lock."

I don't want to spend more than thirty bucks. Does that make me a Jew?

9/15/2008 1:08:29 AM

well, now you are going to spend more than 30 bux, aren't you, since you have to buy ANOTHER lock. Maybe you should have bought a nice U-lock for 50 bux and you'd be ahead 10 bux

9/15/2008 1:11:01 AM

9/15/2008 1:11:07 AM

I don't want to spend more than thirty bucks now.

I can't say how much the severed cable lock cost.

9/15/2008 1:12:49 AM

well, buy a decent u-lock. It's way better than a cable. There's just no good reason not to.

9/15/2008 1:14:49 AM

Yeah, I've learned my lesson.

9/15/2008 1:16:54 AM

This thread took an unexpected turn

9/15/2008 3:32:12 AM

Quote :

"Still and all, this whole situation reminds me of the libertarian who calls the fire department when his house catches fire."

Fucking a right I'd call the fire dept. As long as I'm being forced to pay for services I may as well use them when I need them. Perhaps you'd like me not to use roads either. In an ideal situation I wouldn't have my money stolen via the threat of force (because when you boil it down all taxes are is legalized theft with prison as the other option) and I'd be free to pay someone to respond to emergencies. In all likelihood insurance companies would branch out and have preventative services as well for a minimal fee.

9/15/2008 7:02:14 AM

Quote :

"those kryptonite locks can be opened with a bic pen tube"

They haven't had that problem for a years. They switched to flat keys.

Quote :

"and any chain or cable can be cut"

Good chains require MASSIVE, expensive bolt cutters or a grinder. None of the bolt cutters at local hardware stores could get through my chain, I've tried it. The only way to get through it was by using a grinder. That requires a grounded power source and is extremely obvious because it's loud and throws a shower of sparks everywhere. Even then it took a bit of time to get through. Most opportunistic thieves don't carry around a huge grinder and extension cord with them.

Locking up your shit is something you should do. Everybody knows it's a deterrent, not a guarantee. But if you don't lock it up at all, then any opportunistic thief coming along can steal it in a second. The harder it is and the longer it will take to steal, the less likely they are to even try. They'll move on to the bike right next to it, which is owned by someone like you who hasn't done anything to secure their property. You're also much more likely to be covered by insurance if you've clearly attempted to lock up your shit and those mechanisms have clearly been destroyed.


I use multiple deterrent mechanisms, which include:

- Steering Lock
- 4 foot, 11lb Kryptonite chain with a flat key disc lock (It's not like a door key that can be bumped)
- Grip/Lever Lock
- Locked Cover (Brand is not listed on the cover)
- Placed in front of my window in a well lit, heavily traveled area.

This makes opportunistic thieves FAR less likely to bother with it. First of all, they don't know what's under the cover. It may not even be worth their time. If they cut the cover off (which will be easy, but will look strange if anyone sees them do it), they'll discover they have three more locks to deal with. When they see 4 other bikes within sight distance that have absolutely nothing on them and are in low lit areas with light traffic, they'll probably go for those. If someone is a professional and has targeted you, then you can't prevent the theft and you have less of a chance of catching them. BUT, the longer it takes them to get the bike, the more chance there is that you or someone else will see them and get information on them or put a few slugs into their wheels, engine and radiator.

[Edited on September 15, 2008 at 8:27 AM. Reason : ]

9/15/2008 8:16:36 AM

^ Good grief. Do you live in DC or something? Talk about security! I can't imagine hauling around eleven pounds of lock. I want to keep my bike, but I ain't going that far. I'll probably just keep it inside at home now. My roommates don't have a problem with that. They even suggested as much initially. (Guess I should have listened.)

9/15/2008 11:31:07 AM

Quote :

"I'm sure y'all would have been supportive if I had quietly continued eating my lunch while the dude walked off with my ride."

I would've been more supportive to shotgun that bitch, maybe he'll learn not to steal shit.

9/15/2008 2:59:12 PM

With the legal system these days blasting someone is so much more trouble than the actual act of blasting them, even if they've just busted in and have a gun and/or boner in your face at the time.

9/15/2008 3:12:06 PM

i have a $500 commuter bike in a city full of $2000 racing bikes.

so my 10 dollar cable with integrated combination lock is sufficient to deter opportunistic thieves.

i just don't worry about it any more than that.

9/15/2008 4:37:00 PM

Quote :

"With the legal system these days blasting someone is so much more trouble than the actual act of blasting them, even if they've just busted in and have a gun and/or boner in your face at the time."

fine, then break some legs with a baseball bat.

9/15/2008 4:47:15 PM

Well, I ended up spending about $45. Got a decent u-lock and combination chain. I should be set.

9/15/2008 8:13:03 PM

^ fascist.

9/15/2008 10:48:34 PM

It's not ideal, that's for sure. If nothing else, though, I can fall back this quote from Salman Rushdie:

The inconsistency doesn't matter: I myself manage to hold large numbers of wholly irreconcilable views simultaneously, without the least difficulty. I do not think others are less versatile.

9/15/2008 11:21:36 PM

Looks like I got in here a bit late. The bookstore sells solid-core U-bolt locks (keyed) for $25. They may have raised the prices on those (nearly everything was more expensive the last time I went in there), but they try to keep them cheap because campus safety wants more people on campus to use the solid u-bolt locks instead of a chain or a cable.

Also:

Quote :

"A system of sharing would be more efficient."

You mean a bike rental system like they have in big cities in Europe. They are efficient and they may even be cheaper than buying your own bike (depends on the bike I guess). We're nowhere near their level of smug about the environment yet, so we'll not be doing this any time soon.

9/15/2008 11:26:50 PM

Quote :

"^ Good grief. Do you live in DC or something? Talk about security! I can't imagine hauling around eleven pounds of lock. I want to keep my bike, but I ain't going that far. I'll probably just keep it inside at home now. My roommates don't have a problem with that. They even suggested as much initially. (Guess I should have listened.)"

Well, my bike was worth a little under $6000. It's worth noting that the 11lb chain and bike cover never came with me, just the lever lock (And of course the relatively simple steering lock, which is integrated into the bike). But at home, where it was most often stored, all of those deterrents were utilized.

9/15/2008 11:27:14 PM

Quote :

"You mean a bike rental system like they have in big cities in Europe."

That's an example, but I was alluding to the concept for load factor. On the theoretical level, having stuff sit around unused 90-95% of the time simply sucks. It's inefficient garbage. I think converting to a technocracy would help reduce this problem, but capitalism might eventually get its act together as technology advances.

Consider, for example, if your car could drive itself. Simply rent it out while not driving and make solid money. Better AI could make other sharing programs a reality under the current order. We suffer from a lack of intelligence. It's a hassle coordinating multiple folks using the same device. With programs to handle that for us, the inherent efficiency may win out.

We'll see.

Quote :

"Well, my bike was worth a little under $6000."

Ah, that would explain it.

9/16/2008 12:30:15 AM

I'm sorry if I disappointed you, but I think you took me a bit too seriously. I get why the Libertarian calls the fire department, too, even within the context of his belief. It's what people have to do in modern society in order to survive. For my part, in order for me to survive in modern society, I occasionally have to chuckle at superficial ironies. If I took everything about all of the dingbat ideologies in the world too seriously, I'd have to kill myself.

In keeping with that, the following things are funny:


Libertarians using roads and other public services
Hindus who sell hamburgers out of their convenience stores
Abstinence-only Christian fundies with unmarried pregnant children
Technocratic anarchists who seem to strive to understand the plight of the needy complaining about someone attempting to procure their bike

etc., etc.

9/16/2008 12:40:55 AM

WORDS

etc., etc.

9/16/2008 12:45:07 AM

6grand for a bike? yeah I'd been comin out with that shotgun for that. probably wouldn't have shot him, but definitely would have scared the shit outta him.

plus I"d bring my bike in the damn house.

9/16/2008 12:58:30 AM

I wasn't trying to complain, only relating an interesting experience. Both the would-be thief and I were doing what we thought we had to in order to get by.

9/16/2008 12:59:35 AM

Quote :

"Consider, for example, if your car could drive itself. Simply rent it out while not driving and make solid money. Better AI could make other sharing programs a reality under the current order. We suffer from a lack of intelligence. It's a hassle coordinating multiple folks using the same device. With programs to handle that for us, the inherent efficiency may win out. "

That seems pretty smart..although people don't take care of things they don't own, so it'd be like some cab company that you'd have to have rules, I know you're not talking about just cars and everything, but people are pretty big assholes.

Anyways, doesn't Japan or some Asian country have bikes just laying around that people take from place to place? At first people might think it's cool to take them, but then when there's a lot more out there you'd realize that there's no point and you might as well leave it there. Right?

9/16/2008 1:02:54 AM

tell that fucker to get a job.

9/16/2008 1:02:55 AM

Quote :

"At first people might think it's cool to take them, but then when there's a lot more out there you'd realize that there's no point and you might as well leave it there. Right?"

That relates to difficulty of establishing sharing system because they go against what everyone has experienced. If you're used to scarcity and ownership, you hoard. The screws up sharing, but it's a natural response. Once folks understand abundance, things go smoother.

9/16/2008 1:07:47 AM

Quote :

"6grand for a bike? yeah I'd been comin out with that shotgun for that. probably wouldn't have shot him, but definitely would have scared the shit outta him. plus I"d bring my bike in the damn house."

I take it you roll 400lb bikes into your home regularly?

9/16/2008 1:37:02 AM

I've been meaning to make a parody thread entitled, "Some dude just tried to jackleg my bike!" but it would probably fail.

9/16/2008 1:44:37 AM

Quote :

"Anyways, doesn't Japan or some Asian country have bikes just laying around that people take from place to place?"

Yeah, it's called the bike that some drunk salaryman stole at the train station, realized halfway home it wasn't his, so he ditched it on the side of the road The only thing guaranteed to get stolen in Japan is a bicycle so you have to be sure to lock them.

9/16/2008 2:16:35 AM