WEST SEATTLE CRIME WATCH: Bicycle stolen from apartment garage

That’s the spot in the Spruce (39th/Alaska) garage where a thief cut Casey‘s bicycle loose and took it. Casey is wondering if anybody saw the thief leaving the building with the bicycle, a North Rock model purchased about a month ago that looks like this. A police report has been filed online.

3 Replies to "WEST SEATTLE CRIME WATCH: Bicycle stolen from apartment garage"

  • West Seattle Mad Sci Guy August 24, 2021 (11:03 pm)

    As someone who has had this happen multiple times (in addition to bikes stolen, also storage locker broken into at every place I’ve had one in a ‘secure’ location).  Some tips.  Bike tips first.  Put a small u-lock around the back tire and the frame.  Put a second u-lock around the frame & the thing it hangs from. Use a cord to lock the front tire to one of the u-locks.  Since I started doing this, they stopped taking my bike. But take the other ones.  As for storage locker, I don’t have a solution yet. I put an inventory on the inside of my cross wire door. Even mentioned that the last thieves took the only thing worth stealing. They still broke in.  They did take my lake floaty the second time (the time it showed the inventory). I didn’t notice. Was sort of bitter when I figured out that was the only thing gone months later when I needed it. Haha.

    • West Seattle Mad Sci Guy August 24, 2021 (11:09 pm)

      I took a second look at your picture. I’m not 100% sure you could put a u-lock through the thing it hangs from. Just make it very hard for them to want it… That said – while my strategy did work for a long stretch where it was parked with the above u-lock strategy, I now have an apartment with room to hang my bike inside my apartment. The best strategy in an urban area. (But it did survive two years with the two u-locks. One fastened to the back tire + frame to disable it, the other u-lock to my frame + a solid ground based bike rack in my ‘secure’ storage they’d need something serious to cut or weld through.  The cord to protect my front tire was just extra.

      • Sherman Olsen August 25, 2021 (2:28 pm)

        Since the lock(s) can remain behind, this calls for a chain lock. A u-lock for the rear wheel and to-go, and a chain through the wall loop, frame, and front wheel. <Sigh.>

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