For those of you who have a sweet set of wheels and are seriously concerned about theft, check with your insurance company. I was able to insure my bike under a renters insurance policy for dirt cheap. My bike is fully covered no matter if it is either stolen off the street or from my apartment.

Jersey City man charged in Journal Square bike theft attempt
http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... y_man_charged_in_jou.html

I use a Kryptonite New York Fahgettaboudit U-lock around the frame and through the rear wheel, and a KryptoFlex? 525 Looped Cable 2.5' through the U-lock, around the frame, and through the front wheel.

Keep what belongs to you safe. I also store my bike inside and never lock it up outside over night.

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I wish you had used their chain link or U-lock version as opposed to just the cable strand type.

My black Schwinn bike with baby seat was stolen outside my home near 7th and coles. I had kryptonite cable lock.

This happened in middle of night between midnight and 6 am .
I have already filed police complaint. I don't hope to find it just wanted everyone to be aware.

Mine was stolen from the front of my building, 7th st/monmouth.

Some idiot stole my seat and post last night from the Grove St Plaza and I can't understand why! The seat was 5 years old, and was completely busted at the seams. The foam was starting to pop out!

And yes it was quick release, but I had a freaking chain on it! Why would somebody bother with a chain so they could steal a falling-apart old bike seat??? At a place like Grove St Plaza?

And to put the finishing touch on, they cut the strap on the rear bike light as well, so it's completely useless now. Whyyyyyyy.

My Schwinn or2 was stolen Monday night around 10pm in journal square right outside of Hudson county community college. I was getting out of work as I work at the library there. My lock was a u lock. Sad that a bike is not even safe at a college... that bicycle was my only means of transportation.

Any one missing a real good condition carolina blue female magna bike? Just saw a guy that says he is trying to get his life back together on one. He has stolen in the past and this one had no lock on it. Seemed like a nice bike for a guy that doesn't have two nickels to rub together. Location was Grove St Station at Duane Reade.

Thank you Vigilante for keeping an eye out for our Red Twinn Schwinn! We learned about the bike at the Frayed Knot last month and, through a cell phone picture, determined it was not the same bike - though it is the exact same model.

We were fortunate enough to get our hands on a similar bike that was for sale out on Long Island. Perhaps you'll see us around town on the new (old) Green one.

Though of course we are still on the lookout for the Red one!

Most of these thieves will steal anything they can resell including many things an honest person might never consider. Its relevant to this thread because most of these guys are also stealing bikes. These "boosters" routinely steal clothing, watches, deodorant (which I think none use), meat, razors, baby formula, electronics, air freshners, greeting cards, analgesics and anything small they "can bag up." The gum at Duane Reade is directly in front of the cashiers for a reason. It is actually locked up at the 24 hr Walgreens in Journal Square. ( Yes, gum locked up) .... My roomie works for A&P and they now remove the shrimp from the case at night, because so much was being stolen. Multiple guys have been caught stealing 5 or 6 bags at time and someone downtown is buying it, To be very clear after my last post the place is NOT Lucky Seven but they are in the area.

Tell us more about the stolen shrimp!

Robin.

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I was just perusing this thread and saw your post. I saw a red tandem bike for sale (I think) at that place in Hoboken called The Frayed Knot.

http://www.thefrayedknotonline.com/index.html

It was just a few days ago that I saw it.

Colorado Woman Spots Stolen Bike on Craigslist, Steals it Back


.By Christina Ng | ABC News Blogs ? 8 hours ago.. .



A Colorado woman took matters into her own hands when her bike was stolen from outside of a Boulder sports bar. She tracked down her stolen bike on Craigslist, pretended to be an interested buyer and stole back her own bike.

Kathryn Lucas, 25, parked her bike outside of a bar where she went to watch a University of Colorado football game on the night of Oct. 4, according to ABC News? Denver affiliate KMGH.

When she left the bar to head home, she discovered that her black Trek 1.2 road bike was missing. After filing a police report, she and her roommate began searching Craigslist to see if the thief was trying to sell the bike.

Sure enough, Lucas found a posting with a photo of her bike. She immediately recognized her bike?s red handle-bar tape and her water bottle holder.

Lucas responded to the Craigslist ad, pretending to be an interested buyer. Minutes later, a person using the name ?Lance Robinson? responded with his phone number and instructed her to text him so he could send her his address.

On Sunday, Lucas went to the man?s apartment complex and asked if she could test ride the bike.

?I started riding it and knew it was my bike, so I just kept riding it,? Lucas told KMGH. ?I rode it to my car and then threw it it in my car and then drove away.?

Lucas said she had not been planning on getting the bike back that way, but took advantage of an opportunity and made a spur-of-the-moment decision.

?They were a lot bigger than I thought they were,? Lucas said. ?I thought it?d be like a little person that stole bikes and I?d be like, ?Hey, I called the police and that?s my bike and you?re trying to sell it to me,? but I just took it for a ride and went with it.?

After she had recovered her bike, Lucas called the police and gave them the thief?s address. ?Lance Robinson? turned out to be 18-year-old Denzel O?Neal Crawford, who did not have a prior police record.

Crawford was arrested, confessed to stealing the bike and was released on bond. Police also told Lucas that, though her recovery mission was successful, it was not a tactic they recommend, according to KMGH.

?They told me for future reference that I probably would not want to do that by myself,? Lucas said.









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ABC News

stolen shrimp?

In the mall area or near the holland tunnel area one can often see bikes unchained. Simply the thieves have not stolen a bike lock yet. Anyone looking for a bike needs to look at this area immediately. They are literally get away vehicles for the many boosters in the area. There have also been reports of a white van with graffiti that routinely cruises this area and buys used bikes with "no questions asked". This has been reported to the police before. The description of the latino guy sounds like a very well known thief that sells stolen shrimp and clothing around lucky seven. This guy is also known to police that might be using him and others as CIs on drug cases. The real world is ugly sometimes.

A while ago at Exchange Place I saw a really nice bike locked up to the racks with a really dinky cable lock that could probably succumb to a pair of scissors. I considered putting a note on the bike, but by the time I got out of work, the bike was already gone, and the lock was cut and on the floor. Idiot.


If you've got a bike of any sort of value, do yourself a favor and spend the money ($60 or so) to get a Kryptonite chain lock. These things are beastly and nobody will ever get through them. I've got a couple of bikes, one worth about $200 and the other about $800, and I've got Kryptonites on both of them.

Don't even bother with cable locks, and if you want to make sure your bike never ever goes missing, make sure the chain is 12mm or more. Kryptonite also insures the bike in the unlikely event it ever does go missing.

http://www.kryptonitelock.com/Product ... t.aspx?cid=1001&scid=1002

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+1. I think you'd have to be nuts to leave a bike worth more than $200 there. If you're just riding from home to the station, a clunker will not ruin your life. I just ride around downtown, so I don't have a "class A" bike too.

yeah, that is teh suck!!!

these farkers are brazen. I once saw three 10-13yr old african american kids trying to strip a bike at grove midday in the bright sun. WTF???

they were like flies on sh!t working this bike over. it wasnt till i literally walked over to the bike and said "WTF are you little farks doing" before they scattered.

you'd think that the police could provice some kind of deterrent, but i guess the crooks also know how ineffectual they are.

I'd never park at grove, and really, i think newport would also be a no go. world financial might be a better option.

the previous posts have good tips for casual deterrence. but a chain cracker and a set of keys from a skewer order essentially nullifies the security gain.

I took to taking my post/seat and my front tire with me, the next cool thing is coming back to a taco'd wheel.

so really, the answer is maybe have 2 bikes. one for casual errands less than a hundred bucks or so (that wont be a target, or sad if taken), and never let the more expensive bike out of your grasp. sad but true.

i have these nuts that can only be opened by this funky key on my seat post and both wheels. since i put them on the bike i have left it in san francisco, bergen county, jc and nyc and never had a problem. if you google onguard skewers they will pop up.

sounds like you have/ had a quick release seat. Thats a no brainer to either remove it yourself or run at least a cable through it. Take a tip from the hipsters and run a length of bike chain thorough the seat and frame. It's easy to do, and hard to cut. Do you have any other indications the guy you took a picture of, other than being "shady", that he would be the person who took your seat?

today i came back to find that the bike seat and post from my bike were missing. this is about 1-2 months after my prior bike went missing altogether. at that time i had just a cable lock on it - bad move.

so today i had two locks, one cable, one U on the bike so i thought maybe the thief just tossed the seat after seeing that. looked around didnt see the seat. i thought i can at least ride it. no, the tire was flat too. bastard.

i noticed a shady looking dude hanging near the bikes but didnt think much of it at first. walked away locked up my bike and went back 10 minutes later. shady dude is still there. snapped a pic of him. he got pissed and wouldnt answer if he stole my seat.

used to leave my bike at exchange place and had no problems there. anybody have problems there or at hoboken?

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At the last JC Fridays event at the Grove St. PATH a black male teenager was trying to sell a hybrid bike with black spray paint all over it for 40 bucks. I bet it was stolen.

Not only was a friend's bike stolen within five minutes of being chained at lunchtime in front of my house on Wayne, but I remembered that someone had given me a lawnmower for my backyard. Not wanting to drag it through the house that evening, I chained it up inside my iron fence to the window bars, and the next morning, it was gone.

Simply astounding.

Did you consider calling 911 to report a theft in progress? Maybe they could have nailed the bastard. Or maybe not, but if they had it would have saved many more bikes.

I use a U lock, but with an extra cable for the rear wheel. One time I got on the bike and nearly crashed. Someone had loosened the rear wheel but must have been interrupted before finishing the job.

It was around 10:30PM, plenty of people walking about and I was wandering home with my boyfriend. We have both had bikes stolen before, and have fantasized about what we would do if we had caught the jerk who stole it. WELL! we both saw the dude, sitting on the ground shamelessly with a flimsy piece of cardboard to cover up his wirecutters.

We both stood over him for a good 30 seconds in silence as we assessed what was happening. Then I said "this dude is stealing that bike." As if the guy wasn't sitting two feet away, and my boyfriend said to the guy, "hey man don't steal that bike."

The guy was paranoid and IM SURE stole the bike anyway. He spoke no English. We walked away and my boyfriend kept yelling at him. He got up, started yelling back in Spanish and then left.

He was tiny, small man. Maybe 5'6", skinny very very skinny, bald, probably mid to late 40s and definitely Latino. He spoke no English. He kept yelling "Papi!" at my boyfriend.

If your bike got stolen on grove last night, this was probably the guy. If you still use a wire cable to keep you bike locked, dear god, upgrade!!!! Kryptonite U-lock.

i believe she had a u-lock on it locked up to the front of the building. it had to have happened between 7am when she left and 3pm when i showed up to walk her dog.

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How, with, and to, was this bike locked up ? It is important to know so it is not repeated. It seems that the Downtown section is becoming a pattern for stolen green machines.

STOLEN FROM MY FRIEND 9/6/2011 FROM MERCER ST. BETWEEN VARICK AND MONMOUTH Fuji 46cm frame, White Deep V wheels with black spokes and hubs, White Tektro brake lever and cable on the left side of the handle bar, white grips, single speed with quick release wheels. IF YOU SEE THIS BIKE PLEASE CALL ME AT (970)-364-3291 IMMEDIATELY

i've been spotting a lot of dahons in the holland garden projects area being ridden by young kids (under 14.)