Last night outside of The El Mamey Lounge in Humbolt Park, 2645 W North Ave (between Talman Ave & Washtenaw Ave, a thief (or thieves) made off with more than six wheels from various bicycles parked outside. All of the bikes were locked. Many of the wheels stolen, if not all of them, where bolted on to the forks and dropouts/track ends. They did not have quick release skewers. At least one of the stolen wheels had chain tugs securing it to the frame. It has been estimated by one of the victims that the theft took place during a 10 to 15 minute time span. Apparently, all of the bikes were locked to a gate due to the absence of bike racks in front of the bar. I'm told that this prevented the use of cable locks to secure the wheels.
This sounds like a fairly astonishing feat. To steal a single wheel, especially a front wheel, with a quick release lever would be fairly easy. No tools would be required and it is a fast operation. But to steal six, or more, bolted on wheels in a short time would require use of a wrench. It would be a slow operation. And risky. How does a thief get away quickly with all of those wheels?
That's why I use Pitlocks. :)
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately you can't use Pitlocks on track dropouts let alone the fact you have to replace the front solid axle with a hollow one for the skewer. What a pain in the ass.
ReplyDeleteStealing nutted wheels is only slightly less convenient than stealing a QR skewered wheel. Three twists on each side with a 15 mm wrench and you're done.
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