A Day and a Lock

I have heard of having a lock and forgetting the combo or losing the key, but have you ever misplaced a lock and kept the key or remembered the combo?:confused:

I'm a little distraught. I can't find my combo lock. Nothing special about it in the least. However, I did have history with it. My first day of freshman two-a-days in highschool we were required to buy a combo lock from the school to keep our stuff safe in our lockers. I paid my 3 bucks and was handed a very ho-hum steel lock. 24-30-4 was the combo. Nothing special about those numbers other than i was born on the 24th, but i remembered them. Four football seasons, two seasons as a wrestler, and another 4 seasons as a successful track sprinter...I was graduated with lock in hand. A little beat up and worn and with "Five" scratched into the side of it (a monkier I had picked up in highschool that still follows me in a few circles. "Five" personalities, "Five" ways to kill a man, blah blah blah...I was a pussycat with a reputation for being a little "off". I really have no idea why or how that started:confused: Knife nuts never geta break, do we? We all end up with a nickname, right? I digress)

I carried this lock for another 2 years in college. never had a use for it, but kept it when i moved out of state for my edj-umah-ka-shun to my dorm. maybe a comforting security blanket. What represents security more than a steel lock? By the time I transferred schools I was already trimming the fat and left the lock at my mother's house when i got my first appartment...probably needed it in that neighborhood:rolleyes: But I remember putting it in the drawer of my bathroom at her house.

Now, my mother has moved to a house with her fiance'...my poor lock never turned up. So now i have these very unimportant numbers rattling around in my head and no combo-lock to enter them on. It's funny. We have a fire safe for the cash sales here at the office. One of those fancy ones that have 5 numbers and you must make a series of multiple turns in various directions in order for it to open...along with a special dimple-key. Some days when I'm not paying much attention or am having a very blah day, I subconsciously do one full circle to the right, 24, one full cirlce to the left, 30, round the dial to the right to 4 and can't figure out why my safe won't open:D

jake
 
Someone sawed through the metal bars of my stairs to steal my bike. I'm sure they managed to saw through the lock as well once they got someplace safe. Insurance paid it, fortunately.

I have sprayed black paint over all the parts w/ brand names on them, and taped or removed all decals. Brand names and decals dont make the bike any faster, so I figured this was a good solution.

Keno
 
That's great Jake. I still have the same combination lock I had in Jr. High 30 years ago and I remember the combo like I used it yesterday. Can't remember my home phone to save my life, but remember the combo to a lock I haven't used in 20 years, but still keep track of.
 
Someone sawed through the metal bars of my stairs to steal my bike. I'm sure they managed to saw through the lock as well once they got someplace safe. Insurance paid it, fortunately.
>>>>Keno

I thought Hamburg and Germany in general had no crime? Being as how they were secular progressive and so understanding? What happened?


munk
 
I thought Hamburg and Germany in general had no crime? Being as how they were secular progressive and so understanding? What happened?
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Irony?

It's one of the biggest cities. Of course it has crime, as does the rest of Germany. As does the rest of the World I might add. I fail to see where you got that impression, assuming your question/statement wasn't ironic?

There will always be bad people. Politics, being 'secular progressive' whatever that means or being 'so understanding' won't change that. Nowhere.

Aurich, the place where I was born (and currently am) is a lot smaller and thus has a lot less crime. Saying there is none would be ignorant. We lock our doors at night, too. Maybe not the garage, and we dont have any steel bars in front of the windows, but that doesn't change the fact that every once in a while there is crime, too.

Blessings,

Keno
 
I always like those U shaped metal bar locks like Gorilla Lock and Kyrpto Lock. Not only do they work better than a cable, but but they are great for self defense. Me and my friend were once attacked by 4 guys in a car while we were pushing our bikes near campus. One of them punched my friend in the mouth. I pulled the lock off of the bike, dropped the bike and stepped forward swinging it. They got back in the car and left. I think they were just punks looking to kick some college boy butt, not anything real serious, but it was nice to avoid having to fight.

For my son, though, I do prefer the combination locks, since he will lose the key and if he forgets the combo, I have it written down in our phone book.
 
Several years ago I saw where krypto's could be opened with a simple ball point pen!!

Munk, maybe I wrote that last post wrong.

If you had a spare wheel off of an old bike, already on hand , you could have pulled the locked up bike off the locked wheel, switch in the spare wheel and turn loose the kids later to find the missing key.

I've seen several front wheels locked to poles.
Never lock your bike to a pole by just the front wheel if you can. Lock it through the rear wheel and the frame. Even better is to use "quick disconnects" on the front wheel and lock front, rear and frame altogether around a post.

I've also seen a news show where a guy walks up to a mega$ bike cabled to a post and pull out a bolt cutter, mutter " I hate when I loose my key" to any onlookers and cut the cable then go riding off on "his" bike.
The same show showed where thieves had even set up a post that could be easily lifted out of the ground and the bike removed...the lock and cable to be removed later.
 
shappa said:
Several years ago I saw where krypto's could be opened with a simple ball point pen!!

Munk, maybe I wrote that last post wrong.

If you had a spare wheel off of an old bike, already on hand , you could have pulled the locked up bike off the locked wheel, switch in the spare wheel and turn loose the kids later to find the missing key.

I've seen several front wheels locked to poles.
Never lock your bike to a pole by just the front wheel if you can. Lock it through the rear wheel and the frame. Even better is to use "quick disconnects" on the front wheel and lock front, rear and frame altogether around a post.

I've also seen a news show where a guy walks up to a mega$ bike cabled to a post and pull out a bolt cutter, mutter " I hate when I loose my key" to any onlookers and cut the cable then go riding off on "his" bike.
The same show showed where thieves had even set up a post that could be easily lifted out of the ground and the bike removed...the lock and cable to be removed later.
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pretty much any tubular style lock as used on vending machines, kryptonites, laptops, etc can be opened with a tube pick. easy peasy. the web sites with videos show it... i demonstrated it at a party - faster than using the key ;) complete beginners got it in a minute. it's not even hard. fortunately, kryptonite corp replaces *all* my tubular locks for free with pick proof new models.

google for "the mit lock picking guide"... lots of explanations and tips.

a lot of city people use TWO large U locks to secure their bike, and yes, both wheels to the frame, and so something solid... anyone that juse locks the WHEEL is asking for it. lots of people even have cable secures for the seats, and other removable items - these latter "perma bolted" or secured in some way that still allows you to adjust things, but otherwise makes it a pain.

more than a few folx have come upon a bike thief trying to jack their ride. that's why it's a good idea to carry your bike pump with you, or even the "spare" bike chain around your neck. no mercy. next door neighbor had the SAME guy try for his bike several times in a row until he was finally encouraged to never come back.

thieves in general suck, but the ones that steal your ride, some of the worst. in the old west, taking someone's horse, was rights to be put down. "he needed killin". yah. this from someone who isn't violent :)

people want your shit. you need to secure it. think ahead.

bladite
 
U locks no good.
Cable and chain better.


I'm waiting for the miracle plasitc woven sheath that resists bolt cutters.

I agree on this- stealing a bike is a lot more than a misdemeanor.


munk
 
[...]pretty much any tubular style lock as used on vending machines, kryptonites, laptops, etc can be opened with a tube pick[...]
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IIRC, those tube picks are pretty expensive though, at least too expensive for a random thief to get. Around $150, at least here.

True about securing the entire bike, and not just a wheel. Where I live, if you have a good bike and merely lock a wheel, expect your bike to be gone in less than a day.

Those kind of thieves are mainly operating with bolt cutters and screw drivers (to take your bike apart); I dont really worry about those with picks. There's nothing you can do about them, and pick proof locks have yet to be invented. I have never really heard about thieves picking bike locks though (not saying it never happens, but I think the chances of dealing w/ such a sophisticated thief are very low).

Keno
 
Keno;

Ironic, yes; but I honestly did not know Germany was that bad. I guess Europe is. All my life I've heard from Europe how bad the US is. I'm not kidding about that.
I've never locked a bike by a front tire. I go through the frame and both tires.

I don't have to lock my house here. Because of the proximity to the Reservation, though, any bike 'downtown' (400 yards away) must be locked.

And of course, in any major city, lock em up, even in your backyard.

In San Bernardino at night, I'd sometimes have bottles or bolts or other dangerous chunks of debris thrown at me from cars.

munk
 
Well, it might be a bit different still. Different kind of crime, maybe. Sometimes it seems that stealing bikes here is almost like a sport, a hobby.

I have - so far, knock on wood - not been thrown anything at me from cars. In California, it happend. Drunk college kids having 'fun'. Not exactly crime in my eyes either, just stoopid.

Oh well, I dont know. There are places here that you dont want to wander around at night if you dont fit in (= look as bad as the rest there) and even then, you wouldn't want your daughter/girlfriend walking around there at all.

Keno
 
I hear you. Humans are pretty much the same everywhere.

Yangdu shared a funny about Bill with me a long time ago, and I still keep it in mind; He said he needed a butterlamp to shine through the darkness in Nepal, to find a single honest man. He'd keep looking.

If you really want to get depressed, morality could be viewed as an economic luxury.

I dunno nothing. I like the line I heard in a movie the other night; Love passes by and the world stands back in awe.

And that I think, more than bicycles, is what this living is about.

Except I'd live a lot longer if I'd ride more often!


munk
 
Forgot to add, maybe this helps understanding the situation a little - bikes are very common around here, many people ride bikes, pretty much every kid rides a bike to school. Common way of transportation - more bikes = more people who steal bikes

The Netherlands seem to have a similar problem w/ people stealing bikes.

In Carlsbad, CA, it didn't seem so bad. The locks on the few bikes I saw where a joke. You wouldn't lock an expensive bike w/ a lock like that in Germany, and especially not in the Netherlands. Although we probably have less gang shootings :-)

Keno
 
I took a bike out of the dumpster. Zortman has a dump. No rats, I'm sorry to say, so no good shooting, but everyonce in awhile a female cougar is seen foraging there.

Anyway, took the bike home. It had a lock cable wrapped around the frame. I thought it would be a big deal to get off; boy, was I wrong. I cut the links with a pair of pliers.

Fixed the bike up. Also have aquired several children's bikes the same way.


munk
 
This also reminds me, why do motorists love to mess with people on bikes? When i was a junior in college I lived about 2 miles from campus. The rent was cheaper, obviously. Furthermore, I didn't have a lot of money, so I thought I would try a bicycle to get me to and from campus. Cheap and I would get some exercise. Little did I know that I would be living at the top of a huge hill. Great to class...a bear to get up going home. I should have expected as much. I went to Western Kentucky University in a town called BOWLING green. Also, most of the campus sits at the top of a huge hill. Students of WKU are called "Hilltoppers"....I'm really not that bright sometimes.
Anyway, the ride wasn't much of an issue. Not too many ways to get to campus that didn't require me taking on some crazy and thoughtless college traffic, but I managed. It was the MEANNESS of some of the idiots that finally drove me from riding to school anymore. In about a semester of riding, I was run off the road on purpose 4 times by rednecks, had a burger chucked at me, AND a full bottle of water. Luckily, I caught the bottle before i got me. The little thug in the car would have hit me in the face with that throw. Some people are just mean as hell. All i wanted to do is save a little gas and try to fight my way to class on time. The lack of road, the thoughtless carelessness of drivers, and not being able to trigger traffic lights were bad enough. I did not need to put up with people f$&*(*^ with me every day. I gave up the bike when it got a flat backtire. Too much work to fix it with its 24 gears just to get trash thrown at me and have trucks spin rocks in my face.

Jake
 
I gave up the bike when it got a flat backtire. Too much work to fix it with its 24 gears just to get trash thrown at me and have trucks spin rocks in my face.
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I you still have it and want to fix it someday, those 24 gear bikes are quite easy to fix, no big deal. Just unscrew the wheal, and take it out. No need to mess with the gears. The whole thing should take less than 30 minutes, and that is if you want to find the hole instead of just installing a new inner tube.

Won't change the behavior of reckless mororists though :-(

Keno
 
richardallen said:
I you still have it and want to fix it someday, those 24 gear bikes are quite easy to fix, no big deal. Just unscrew the wheal, and take it out. No need to mess with the gears. The whole thing should take less than 30 minutes, and that is if you want to find the hole instead of just installing a new inner tube.

Won't change the behavior of reckless mororists though :-(

Keno
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Thanks, Keno:) I actually gave the bike to my 80 year old grandfather who fixed it just like you said (made me feel dumb:foot: ). He likes to ride it around the park two blocks from my grandparent's house. It's kind of funny. First of all, you don't expect to see a little old man riding around like a madman. It's even funnier because it's a Mongoose that I bought from Walmart. So you have this little old guy hopping curbs and grip-shifting on a 24 gear center-shock mountain bike:D

Jake
 
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