Justin in (corrected) The Junction says he’s just had another e-bike stolen from his condo complex – “this morning, between 8 and 9:30 AM, from the bike rack located in my condominium’s stairwell area. It is a black Specialized e-bike with a plastic basket on the front.” He says the thief left behind a bottle of chocolate milk.
My sympathies, I also had one stolen. To better improve our methods for better theftproofing our bikes– what kind of rack, lock(s?) and how were they defeated?
It’s better to have pre-registered on bikeindex.org, but still worthwhile to register it, in case the bike shows up in a police yard, pawn shop, or for repair at a bike shop.
Suggest you consistently daily scan craigslist and offerup for ads for your bike.
Thanks as always for posting potentially helpful info. Justin told us he actually found his last stolen bike listed on one of those sites but was unable to get police assistance in recovering it. That was a few years ago; I hope that might have changed, as personnel and policies evolve … TR
As Tracy says in the comment above, this is actually my 2nd e-bike stolen that has been stolen here.
The first theft happened on Christmas day in 2021. The thief simply unscrewed the nuts securing the U rack and lifted it over the lock. That could have been prevented by using some sort of permanent fastener.
This time around though the rack wasn’t touched. I’m not entirely sure what happened, since the lock was taken too, but I’m guessing they just cut it. I don’t remember which model it was exactly, but it was one of the higher security Abus folding locks.
My last bike is actually registered on bikeindex.org and was spotted by someone there. The bike was listed on OfferUp. Surprisingly, the pictures on the listing had my bike lock (also a high security Abus folding lock) still looped through the frame. I never got the bike back, unfortunately, but it was great that someone was able to find it and inform me.
“…it was one of the higher security Abus folding locks.”
Those folding locks are not all that great. Easy to use and carry but not that effective. Best current practices are to use 2 (or 3) locks at the same time that require different tools to defeat. Ex: Beefy U-lock and a brake disc lock (with tamper alarm).
And, as you have learned, check how the rack itself is secured and constructed.
We also had our two e-bikes stolen in October. Filed a police report and looked online to see if they were being resold but no luck. Thought I’d share this article that sheds light on the problem:https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/my-e-bike-was-stolen-heres-what-happened-next/
This article has a lot of good info, including the need to register your bike on bikeindex before someone else does if it becomes stolen.
Also this traffic-related tidbit hit the nail on the head!
Seattle wants very badly to be a bike-friendly city. But if people can’t keep their transportation secure with locks and other precautions, the smoothest, safest lanes in the world won’t be enough to persuade sizable numbers of commuters to pedal to work or anywhere else.
This is infuriating. There are numerous “encampments” that proliferate around dilapidated RV’s with piles of high-end bicycles, tool boxes and other garage acquisitions in many places around West Seattle. I walk by numerous such reliquaries hoping to spot my lifted goods, so I know the scope and impact they have on our community. Ultimately I am able to look past the material losses but the truly infuriating part is the open air use of fentanyl. I’ve started to openly scold these characters chastising them that their next fix could be their last. Truly sad times we live in and this is just one tine of the fork.
Don’t leave your ebike locked overnight in a stairwell or building garage. Battery angle grinder will cut anything but the ceramic locks in less than a minute. Just saying.
Gatewood resident/Little one agreed the ST article hit on a big deterrent to commuting via bike, THEFT! The City needs to make thieves accountable and made to pay restitution to their victims.
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