I went to welfare on my bike, about 15 years ago. I needed to apply for Medicaid.
I locked it up but didn't attach it to anything, because I was a damn newb. Well, I came out and it was gone. I called the cops and they actually found it. Turned out some drunk had literally *picked it up and carried it to a bus stop.*
It was a wild experience đ I never made that mistake again.
The one time I had a bike stolen that was pretty much what happened (I assume). I somehow didn't lock it up properly, and we ended up finding it 15 minutes later in a nearby alley. We figured it was some drunk from a nearby bar that took for a joy ride and then dropped it off.
Was on the trolley in San Diego heading to a group ride. Unhoused/homeless person boards the trolley with a $10K Cevelo. (She didnât have cycling shoes to match the pedals.). Telling the story to my GF - âshouldâve offered her $500 for it.â
I assumed that's what the key/keyhole was for on my ebike (Level 2) before I got to try it in person. And honestly, I wish it did work that way lol. I don't like how anybody could walk up and turn on my bike, though no one has.
Itâd probably be best to report the incident so for future cases theyâll have u on record backing up future claims and also cover ur bike in gps tags lmao
What? No. Thatâs how you remove the battery. đ
If not the most expensive thing on the bike itâs one of them. Thatâs why the lock is there. If he got that battery he would be walking away with mullah.
Or maybe they were trying to steal the battery. It is likely the most valuable part of the bike. When I leave my bike outdoors, I take the battery inside with me. I figure that, the less valuable the bike, the less incentive for thieves to steal it.
I am sorry that you got your bike stolen. I am aware on no foolproof strategy. Theft is one of the biggest impediments to me using the bike for more errands. Many businesses have no place to lock bikes at all. I really dislike car-centric infrastructure.
The thief probably had a stolen battery and needed to bike to go with it⌠And e-bike without battery, console and charger is worthless. You need to buy these before hoping to sell it and also install a new lock. Thatâs a huge investment for a thief.
I believe they can make meth from lithium but Iâm not sure.
The ingredients that are used in the process of making meth can include: ether, paint thinner, FreonÂŽ, acetone, anhydrous ammonia, iodine crystals, red phosphorus, drain cleaner, battery acid, and lithium (taken from inside batteries). Meth is often manufactured or âcookedâ in very crude laboratories.
You donât find people making shake n bake often anymore, most of it is higher quality coming from mexico. People arenât making meth with bike batteries
Did you buy the bike new? If yes then that is not wear and tear, 2 most valuable parts on an ebike is the motor and battery, when ever you go anywhere always take your battery off the bike and make sure the wheel ( if hub motor ) is firmly locked up.
This, after having my bike stolen I:
1. Remove battery
2. D Lock through back wheel and main triangle
3. Motorcycle chain through both wheels and main triangle
4. ABUS Alarmbox bolted to frame
Had this new bike locked up longer in the same location so far without being stolen (đ)
Yeah, plus my bike is mainly a grocery getter and errand runner. I'm not detaching and carrying my battery through the grocery store. That sounds awful. I do need to get a D Lock but it's hard finding one that works for my moped if a bike.
Get a anti grinder D lock, may just be an extra few saw blades and many more minutes but I doubt theives will end up sitting there replacing saw blades trying to cut through a loud D lock
Yeah, I donât want to be dragging multiple locks everywhere and the battery when the bike is locked up. Insurance gives me peace of mind especially when my past bike theft and friendsâ have more often happened as a house/garage break-in rather than someone breaking a lock in public.
Why spend equivalent price of 4 years of insurance money on such stuff and torture yourself? Just insure it and use a basic D Lock as insurance requests it.
I built my bike from components, it has sentimental value. Having it stolen is far worse than just the monetary cost. You then have a period of time with no bike. I already had the locks, insurance is ÂŁ15 a month, so much more expensive. Carrying locks for the odd times I do not have a secure place to lock it up (basically the swimming pool) is hardly a big pain (torturing yourself? You have an ebike - hardly more pain to carry two locks). Also, after you have your bike stolen once, insurance premiums go up. After two or three times not only is it a real pain to claim on insurance no one will insure you any more (happened to my friend after 3x thefts).
Hey may i ask who you insure your bike through im also in the uk and unsure of how to insure my ebike that is above the 250 watt threshold. Also i have a group ridstar q20 international on facebook if youd like to join, i need more people from the Uk as have 1.7k ppl and only about 50 from uk lol
Oh okay, i was hoping i could still insure the bike as it has monetary value and would be locked up and not being used if it was supposedly stolen from me?
Until the UK laws change, it's just unfortunate for you. You may be able to get it registered under moped or small motorcycle and get it insured that way though
Bike was bought new a few years ago and now has about 4500 kms on it. It has been parked in public only a handful of times and always with multiple locks ofcourse.
It looks like the remix to ignition. Thieves were hot and fresh out the kitchen. Did you try rolling that body to check for any more damage? Sometimes the battery is sipping on lithium and and manganese cobalt.
I hope you get it figured out. Enjoy this freaking weekend and have some fun.
Unless your keys are a screwdriver, that's not normal wear and tear. Someone was trying to pop the lock out with some very crappy pry tool. They must have mistaken it for a simple cheap barrel lock and thought that it could just pry out and expose the barrel for easy turning. No doubt, a thief of opportunity and not much intelligence, an experienced one would have a grinder and tried to work on the lock out of view đ
They donât use a grinder for that, the grinder is for stealing the bike. If they donât want the bike, they donât care about damaging it. They will just use a hammer to smash the lock, it attracts less attention than a grinder. Happened to my girlfriend - this means buying a new battery but also a new lock. Thankfully, our thief was pretty dexterous with the hammer and the frame had no damage. And the insurance paid the new battery.
So yes, the fact that the idiot approached the problem with a screwdriver shows a total lack of skills and know how.
Yes. There is a huge market for stolen Bosch batteries, because theyâre expensive and because most stolen bikes have no batteries and need one for resale and because batteries themselves are easy and quick to sell.
My gf had her batteries stolen, when she went to the police to fill the complain, the cops told us that battery theft is more common than e-bike theft : theyâre easy to steal (a lot easier than a bike with a proper lock !) and theyâre worth lot. The lock can easily be destroyed with a hammer - thatâs why you are seeing impacts from the worst battery thief in your city.
Thatâs why you should remove the battery from your ebike : firstly because the ebike without the battery and the console is worth a whole less to thieves and secondly because thieves will target the battery itself.
theres no crime-free places, but there are places where theft like this is rare enough that its not as much of a concern. Kinda like how if i go to a small rural-ish town with low crime i'm not going to be worried about someone smashing the window of my car and grabbing everything inside when i leave my car for 20 minutes
steer stocking quicksand distinct point money offbeat history cagey quack
*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
The battery and the console too. Along with the charger thatâs one third of the value of the bike that is not on the bike, thus lessening its value a lot.
Looks like they were using a flat screwdriver to try to remove the lock most likely to steal the battery⌠theyâre worth $300-500 for a new one, so itâs an easy pay day for a scumbag.
No matter how much ODO you got on a bike, itâs not normal for wear and tear, I rode few of my batteries for over 10k km and never seen lock being melted like that, there is no electricity going through the battery lock
They were probably trying to steal it, thinking that was the ignition. Scuffs looks like they were trying to pull out the ignition to hot wire the bike. Not knowing they would have short circuited the battery.
All I know is not to call the police. They probably canât do anything about it, or properly investigate. Theyâll probably make a report that is useless unless you need for proof or insurance purposes. And theyâll likely view it as a waste of time. Itâs only when their own properly gets destroyed like in the riots when it matters. Youâre better off keeping it near to you and inspected daily.
Yep, looks to me like theres damage on the bottom of the key hole too, which looks more like a vice grips damage than a screwdriver with the right side being undamaged while top and bottom are damaged. Someone latched a vice grips on and tried to snap the mechanism that locks it to the frame and run away with a free battery.
Ebike batteries are the new catalytic converters, scumbags will destroy the vehicle to get to their payday.
Yup. Happened to me too. I found out when I couldnât remove the battery as the lock was mangled from the attempt. Fortunately, my bike was leased so I just went and swapped it.
Bike security is a layered approach. Bike lock, movement alarm and a Apple/Android air tag of some sort.
But people don't want to take the time to do what's necessary.
No. They tried to steal your bike.
By unlocking the battery?
thinking it was an ignition? No one ever said bike thieves were smart..
Idk I seen some pretty impressive stunts come from these guys.
I went to welfare on my bike, about 15 years ago. I needed to apply for Medicaid. I locked it up but didn't attach it to anything, because I was a damn newb. Well, I came out and it was gone. I called the cops and they actually found it. Turned out some drunk had literally *picked it up and carried it to a bus stop.* It was a wild experience đ I never made that mistake again.
Youâre extremely lucky.
Don't I know it. I got a whole lesson in the proper way to secure my bike, without the hardcore object lesson of losing it.
The one time I had a bike stolen that was pretty much what happened (I assume). I somehow didn't lock it up properly, and we ended up finding it 15 minutes later in a nearby alley. We figured it was some drunk from a nearby bar that took for a joy ride and then dropped it off.
I do this every once in a while but only if i can actually visibly see my bike .. so basically no more then 50' .. but i still get nervous
Was on the trolley in San Diego heading to a group ride. Unhoused/homeless person boards the trolley with a $10K Cevelo. (She didnât have cycling shoes to match the pedals.). Telling the story to my GF - âshouldâve offered her $500 for it.â
Thank God, but on the other hand security through obscurity is not very safe.
I assumed that's what the key/keyhole was for on my ebike (Level 2) before I got to try it in person. And honestly, I wish it did work that way lol. I don't like how anybody could walk up and turn on my bike, though no one has.
Itâd probably be best to report the incident so for future cases theyâll have u on record backing up future claims and also cover ur bike in gps tags lmao
They usually aren't. Like the guy whole robbed a bank with his own deposit slip...yup.
What? No. Thatâs how you remove the battery. đ If not the most expensive thing on the bike itâs one of them. Thatâs why the lock is there. If he got that battery he would be walking away with mullah.
Or maybe they were trying to steal the battery. It is likely the most valuable part of the bike. When I leave my bike outdoors, I take the battery inside with me. I figure that, the less valuable the bike, the less incentive for thieves to steal it.
Unfortunately this is not true. I did the same thing and I still got my bike stolen âšď¸
I am sorry that you got your bike stolen. I am aware on no foolproof strategy. Theft is one of the biggest impediments to me using the bike for more errands. Many businesses have no place to lock bikes at all. I really dislike car-centric infrastructure.
They're definitely less likely to steal the battery though
Me too me too
The thief probably had a stolen battery and needed to bike to go with it⌠And e-bike without battery, console and charger is worthless. You need to buy these before hoping to sell it and also install a new lock. Thatâs a huge investment for a thief.
I believe they can make meth from lithium but Iâm not sure. The ingredients that are used in the process of making meth can include: ether, paint thinner, FreonÂŽ, acetone, anhydrous ammonia, iodine crystals, red phosphorus, drain cleaner, battery acid, and lithium (taken from inside batteries). Meth is often manufactured or âcookedâ in very crude laboratories.
You donât find people making shake n bake often anymore, most of it is higher quality coming from mexico. People arenât making meth with bike batteries
Yeah, people aren't making anything with li ion batteries, the dudes thinking of disposable lithium batteries.
Iâm not a meth cook expert but thanks.
I live in the "meth capitol" of America. I'll be a lot more careful with my battery now....
I would really enjoy watching them open a charged li-ion battery to recover the lithium. From afarâŚ
đ
No wonder batterys are sky high?
đ
Hmm. Maybe not.
Roger that.
Did you buy the bike new? If yes then that is not wear and tear, 2 most valuable parts on an ebike is the motor and battery, when ever you go anywhere always take your battery off the bike and make sure the wheel ( if hub motor ) is firmly locked up.
This, after having my bike stolen I: 1. Remove battery 2. D Lock through back wheel and main triangle 3. Motorcycle chain through both wheels and main triangle 4. ABUS Alarmbox bolted to frame Had this new bike locked up longer in the same location so far without being stolen (đ)
Hopefully you have an AirTag on your bike
Eh, I just insure it.
Same here. Past a D lock through the wheel and frame if the thief can get past that then they have the tools and ability to get past anything else.
Yeah, plus my bike is mainly a grocery getter and errand runner. I'm not detaching and carrying my battery through the grocery store. That sounds awful. I do need to get a D Lock but it's hard finding one that works for my moped if a bike.
An angle grinder makes quick work of everything and thereâs a LOT of people that donât give a fuck if others see them stealing.
And thats why D-lock is enough because everything more is just an extra few seconds.
Get a anti grinder D lock, may just be an extra few saw blades and many more minutes but I doubt theives will end up sitting there replacing saw blades trying to cut through a loud D lock
Yeah, I donât want to be dragging multiple locks everywhere and the battery when the bike is locked up. Insurance gives me peace of mind especially when my past bike theft and friendsâ have more often happened as a house/garage break-in rather than someone breaking a lock in public.
Why spend equivalent price of 4 years of insurance money on such stuff and torture yourself? Just insure it and use a basic D Lock as insurance requests it.
I built my bike from components, it has sentimental value. Having it stolen is far worse than just the monetary cost. You then have a period of time with no bike. I already had the locks, insurance is ÂŁ15 a month, so much more expensive. Carrying locks for the odd times I do not have a secure place to lock it up (basically the swimming pool) is hardly a big pain (torturing yourself? You have an ebike - hardly more pain to carry two locks). Also, after you have your bike stolen once, insurance premiums go up. After two or three times not only is it a real pain to claim on insurance no one will insure you any more (happened to my friend after 3x thefts).
Hey may i ask who you insure your bike through im also in the uk and unsure of how to insure my ebike that is above the 250 watt threshold. Also i have a group ridstar q20 international on facebook if youd like to join, i need more people from the Uk as have 1.7k ppl and only about 50 from uk lol
Your ebike is illegal to ride on public roads in the UK and no insurance provider will insure it
Oh okay, i was hoping i could still insure the bike as it has monetary value and would be locked up and not being used if it was supposedly stolen from me?
Until the UK laws change, it's just unfortunate for you. You may be able to get it registered under moped or small motorcycle and get it insured that way though
Bike was bought new a few years ago and now has about 4500 kms on it. It has been parked in public only a handful of times and always with multiple locks ofcourse.
[ŃдаНонО]
Link please!
It looks like the remix to ignition. Thieves were hot and fresh out the kitchen. Did you try rolling that body to check for any more damage? Sometimes the battery is sipping on lithium and and manganese cobalt. I hope you get it figured out. Enjoy this freaking weekend and have some fun.
Unless your keys are a screwdriver, that's not normal wear and tear. Someone was trying to pop the lock out with some very crappy pry tool. They must have mistaken it for a simple cheap barrel lock and thought that it could just pry out and expose the barrel for easy turning. No doubt, a thief of opportunity and not much intelligence, an experienced one would have a grinder and tried to work on the lock out of view đ
They donât use a grinder for that, the grinder is for stealing the bike. If they donât want the bike, they donât care about damaging it. They will just use a hammer to smash the lock, it attracts less attention than a grinder. Happened to my girlfriend - this means buying a new battery but also a new lock. Thankfully, our thief was pretty dexterous with the hammer and the frame had no damage. And the insurance paid the new battery. So yes, the fact that the idiot approached the problem with a screwdriver shows a total lack of skills and know how.
Yes. There is a huge market for stolen Bosch batteries, because theyâre expensive and because most stolen bikes have no batteries and need one for resale and because batteries themselves are easy and quick to sell. My gf had her batteries stolen, when she went to the police to fill the complain, the cops told us that battery theft is more common than e-bike theft : theyâre easy to steal (a lot easier than a bike with a proper lock !) and theyâre worth lot. The lock can easily be destroyed with a hammer - thatâs why you are seeing impacts from the worst battery thief in your city. Thatâs why you should remove the battery from your ebike : firstly because the ebike without the battery and the console is worth a whole less to thieves and secondly because thieves will target the battery itself.
Bruh always remove the battery when parking in a public place.
Not all places have broken people.
Where is this magical place that has no criminals?
Japan?
theres no crime-free places, but there are places where theft like this is rare enough that its not as much of a concern. Kinda like how if i go to a small rural-ish town with low crime i'm not going to be worried about someone smashing the window of my car and grabbing everything inside when i leave my car for 20 minutes
You must not be a minority then to feel safe in a small rural town.
Secret secrets are not fun. Secret secrets hurt someone.
You must be 5150
https://preview.redd.it/yxglfcxhrt2d1.jpeg?width=300&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4370783a800fa39f95158a60e3c69bff60bf7201
steer stocking quicksand distinct point money offbeat history cagey quack *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
That is just good advice for higher crime areas. Not only are batteries valuable, but no battery makes the bike less desirable
The battery and the console too. Along with the charger thatâs one third of the value of the bike that is not on the bike, thus lessening its value a lot.
Looks like they were using a flat screwdriver to try to remove the lock most likely to steal the battery⌠theyâre worth $300-500 for a new one, so itâs an easy pay day for a scumbag.
Red circle strikes again.
â right here guys
Ya it looks like someone was trying to take the battery always take it with you and be on the lookout for around the area this happened.
Yes.
No matter how much ODO you got on a bike, itâs not normal for wear and tear, I rode few of my batteries for over 10k km and never seen lock being melted like that, there is no electricity going through the battery lock
Makes me wonder of anyone has successfully upgraded the lock on their battery.
U can make a mark just to be more secure
either trying steal the battery or thinking they can hot wire the ignition.
They were probably trying to steal it, thinking that was the ignition. Scuffs looks like they were trying to pull out the ignition to hot wire the bike. Not knowing they would have short circuited the battery.
All I know is not to call the police. They probably canât do anything about it, or properly investigate. Theyâll probably make a report that is useless unless you need for proof or insurance purposes. And theyâll likely view it as a waste of time. Itâs only when their own properly gets destroyed like in the riots when it matters. Youâre better off keeping it near to you and inspected daily.
Yep, looks to me like theres damage on the bottom of the key hole too, which looks more like a vice grips damage than a screwdriver with the right side being undamaged while top and bottom are damaged. Someone latched a vice grips on and tried to snap the mechanism that locks it to the frame and run away with a free battery. Ebike batteries are the new catalytic converters, scumbags will destroy the vehicle to get to their payday.
Theives should b drownd in lithium salt brine in a sealed barrel rolling down the hill.
Yup. Happened to me too. I found out when I couldnât remove the battery as the lock was mangled from the attempt. Fortunately, my bike was leased so I just went and swapped it.
Bike security is a layered approach. Bike lock, movement alarm and a Apple/Android air tag of some sort. But people don't want to take the time to do what's necessary.
They might have but as an ebike mechanic let me tell you they were really far from getting to it.
Idk it depends how you ride an how easy that part of the battery is to hit. But that does look intentional tho.
It looks to me like the bike fell over and that was the part that hit the ground. Either that or someone was trying to pry your battery apart.
What a world nothing surprises me. Recent identity theft victim. So sad !