Re:I became the internet’s most notorious bike thief
by owenwil on Tuesday November 30, 2021 @09:16AM
(#29392297)
It’s interesting because in my 5 years in the Netherlands, the general opinion was the opposite of this: bike theft is such a common occurrence because everyone rides the same, probably stolen and resold, black bike that you should ride a new, design bike that stands out, like a VanMoof–because no thief would be dumb enough to go for it since it would be obvious where you got it (and more importantly, almost certainly registered/traceable vs an old clunker).
Re:I became the internet’s most notorious bike thief
by WelcomeShorty on Tuesday November 30, 2021 @10:01AM
(#29392824)
Funny anecdote, but the initial reason for us to all drive shit looking bikes was the reason that these did not get stolen so often :)
Not so sure your design / desirable bike will last long thou. See here (1) where an absolute unique Audi RS6 DTM was stolen WHILE being used in a film shoot.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n53U_HlIs_Q (sorry, Dutch only)
Re:I became the internet’s most notorious bike thief
by henryaj on Tuesday November 30, 2021 @11:01AM
(#29393564)
On the contrary, VanMoof promise to get your stolen bike back within two weeks or they replace it. Had mine stolen in London; they located it the same day and got it back to me the following week.
Combined with an AirTag hidden discreetly in the frame and I'm unafraid of locking it up basically anywhere.
Re:I became the internet’s most notorious bike thief
by jareklupinski on Tuesday November 30, 2021 @01:08PM
(#29395330)
for a fee https://www.vanmoof.com/en-US/peace-of-mind
but i could see a world where I own two of these and not even bother locking them anywhere, just constantly get one 'stolen' while i ride the other, and cycle (ha) between the two?
Re:I became the internet’s most notorious bike thief
by trulyme on Tuesday November 30, 2021 @02:16PM
(#29396210)
> We can only recover or replace a stolen bike if the Theft Defense system was armed and the Kick Lock was properly engaged when your bike was stolen.
They also recover the bike only up to three times in 3-year timespan. Still, sounds like a great service!
Re:I became the internet’s most notorious bike thief
by mbg721 on Tuesday November 30, 2021 @02:20PM
(#29396266)
That sounds like two more times than anybody else would recover it.
Re:I became the internet’s most notorious bike thief
by trulyme on Wednesday December 01, 2021 @12:56PM
(#29406887)
True, I find the service more than fair.
Re:I became the internet’s most notorious bike thief
by spicybright on Tuesday November 30, 2021 @01:51PM
(#29395884)
Wow, how does a company manage that? GPS? How do they have a legal right to determine who actually owns it?
Re:I became the internet’s most notorious bike thief
by pjmlp on Tuesday November 30, 2021 @10:03AM
(#29392849)
> And finally, have your bike look used.
That doesn't help, we used to joke with an aquaitance of mine that it was a miracle that his bike still worked, and he used to reply at least it wouldn't attract the attention of thieves, until the day he got stolen.
Re:I became the internet’s most notorious bike thief
by emaginniss on Tuesday November 30, 2021 @10:55AM
(#29393486)
Were you ever able to find your acquaintance?
Re:I became the internet’s most notorious bike thief
by pjmlp on Tuesday November 30, 2021 @12:38PM
(#29394919)
The bike, that is what I get by not proofreading.
Re:I became the internet’s most notorious bike thief
by mrsuprawsm on Tuesday November 30, 2021 @07:53AM
(#29391575)
I do wonder how often Van Moof bikes get stolen, despite their tracking features. Fear of theft is the one thing that puts me off buying one.
Re:I became the internet’s most notorious bike thief
by owenwil on Tuesday November 30, 2021 @09:16AM
(#29392306)
I had two stolen over the years I owned one in Amsterdam. The first one was recovered in about a week. The second was never found, but they replace it when they don’t find it as a part of that guarantee–which is why it’s actually a really great deal.
Re:I became the internet’s most notorious bike thief
by mrsuprawsm on Tuesday November 30, 2021 @11:12AM
(#29393701)
It seems like they now only offer this for 3 years, which isn't great, since hopefully you'd own the bike for a lot longer than 3 years. https://support.vanmoof.com/en/support/solutions/articles/44...
Re:I became the internet’s most notorious bike thief
by mulcyber on Wednesday December 01, 2021 @01:03PM
(#29406978)
The only real protection against theft is not having your bike among the most valuable and/or least secure ones on the rack.
Most protection can be circonvented if the thief is savy and equipped.
Then again, my bike is probably not the first one they'll consider, given that it has a 70cm frame making it all but impossible to ride for anyone under 195cm (being 200cm myself). If you steal a bicycle you have to be able to sell it, and given that a lot of professionally stolen bicycles are exported to countries with lower GDP's and that there aren't that many (if any) countries where tall people are as relatively common as in the Netherlands that match that criterium, I am relatively safe I suppose (as long as I lock it to a barrier or bicycle stand).