Attempted Theft/Vandalism

[marchie]

Heard a couple of noises during the night, but thought it was probably twigs and similar material being blown against the M/Home in the windy conditions. We had to move off the Aire this afternoon, having been told that the 48 hours maximum stay was being enforced remotely, rather than by physical police patrol checks, so just bundled everything inside the M/Home and drove to the on street parking about 1/2 mile away.

Parked up and went to that we locked all doors and windows; then we realised that some thieving git had had a go at the bikes rack by slicing the Hindeman Bike Cover along the top and down the passenger side, like pealing a banana ...

Whether it was my myriad of Fiamma bike brackets combined with the bike chain locks that deterred the toe rags, or whether it was the twin realisation that a) the Bikes are Biwbik and not worth nicking; and b) the batteries were locked inside the M/Home, and therefore of very limited usability, I don't know, but the Hindeman Cover is now fit only for cleaning rags or turfing into a bin ...

At least the tea leafs didn't damage the Bike Carrier or the Motorhome ... It's only a little over 4 weeks since Decathlon declined to take the Biwbiks off us so that we could have bought 2 brand new bikes that would have been worth stealing at over 2,000€ ...

Steve

 

[El radge]

Heard a couple of noises during the night, but thought it was probably twigs and similar material being blown against the M/Home in the windy conditions. We had to move off the Aire this afternoon, having been told that the 48 hours maximum stay was being enforced remotely, rather than by physical police patrol checks, so just bundled everything inside the M/Home and drove to the on street parking about 1/2 mile away.

Parked up and went to that we locked all doors and windows; then we realised that some thieving git had had a go at the bikes rack by slicing the Hindeman Bike Cover along the top and down the passenger side, like pealing a banana ...

Whether it was my myriad of Fiamma bike brackets combined with the bike chain locks that deterred the toe rags, or whether it was the twin realisation that a) the Bikes are Biwbik and not worth nicking; and b) the batteries were locked inside the M/Home, and therefore of very limited usability, I don't know, but the Hindeman Cover is now fit only for cleaning rags or turfing into a bin ...

At least the tea leafs didn't damage the Bike Carrier or the Motorhome ... It's only a little over 4 weeks since Decathlon declined to take the Biwbiks off us so that we could have bought 2 brand new bikes that would have been worth stealing at over 2,000€ ...

Steve

No cover , cheap bikes , possibly no attempted theft ?

 

[korky]

No cover , cheap bikes , possibly no attempted theft ?

As a rule, most cheap bikes are awful to ride any meaningful distance, unfortunately.

 

[marchie]

No cover , cheap bikes , possibly no attempted theft ?

No - the cover was in situ and has been cut in a series of lines to expose the handlebars. The move from the Aire to the off street parking was only a few hundred metres in neighbouring streets, so low speed driving, looking for suitable spaces; this was just enough to open up the gashes in the cover, which is 'rip stop' material, to expose the handlebar+ width that would have enabled the thieves to peel it down and onto the rack.

Steve

 

[marchie]

As a rule, most cheap bikes are awful to ride any meaningful distance, unfortunately.

What has the cheap bike got to do with the problem, and what is a 'meaningful distance'? For some, it could be 600m with the full cassette on the carrier (at least 1/2 dozen a day cycling from the off street parking to save moving the M/Home - tried it myself - not too bad until the bend when the weight transfer of waste liquid was a bit hairy ...); for others, such as the Dutch couple we parked next to in France, it was 50-60km before breakfast)
Biwbiks are made in Spain and prices kept low by using lots of cast iron, but they ride ok for what we specified when we purchased them, knowing that a) they would be vulnerable whilst on the Bike Rack; and b) moisture does get thrown up under the cover in heavy rain, so oxidisation and paint chips/rubs from lifting them on and off the Carrier and parking them in the bike slots in towns etc are inevitable. The bikes meet W. Edwards Deming First Criterion of Quality - Fitness for the Intended Purpose

Steve

 

[korky]

But I keep seeing this comment on motorhome forums, that to deter theft only take cheap bikes. If you ride long distances they are not nice to ride. I wasn't having a pop at your bikes. For me cycling is one of the main reasons to travel and I want that to be as enjoyable as possible. Consequently I use a very heavy chain, padlock and cover and take the risk.

 

[marchie]

But I keep seeing this comment on motorhome forums, that to deter theft only take cheap bikes. If you ride long distances they are not nice to ride. I wasn't having a pop at your bikes. For me cycling is one of the main reasons to travel and I want that to be as enjoyable as possible. Consequently I use a very heavy chain, padlock and cover and take the risk.

I chose cheap bikes because of the security risk, and because of the inevitable oxidisation and dinks when carrying/parking/loading the bikes onto the Bike Rack. I'm not interested in a 50km plus endurance trial in the hills - a pootle to get the shopping and a wee detour to see the town on either the outward or the return leg is enough. The Decathlon bike is a good 2kg lighter, largely because the battery capacity is smaller, but that can be circumvented by more frequent recharging, and better balanced, with full sized wheels and a central motor. 999€, run it for 18-24 months, and replace, sans the 'Go on, nick me' invitation of a nicer, more expensive bike

Steve

 

[TJBi]

I chose cheap bikes because of the security risk, and because of the inevitable oxidisation and dinks when carrying/parking/loading the bikes onto the Bike Rack. I'm not interested in a 50km plus endurance trial in the hills - a pootle to get the shopping and a wee detour to see the town on either the outward or the return leg is enough. The Decathlon bike is a good 2kg lighter, largely because the battery capacity is smaller, but that can be circumvented by more frequent recharging, and better balanced, with full sized wheels and a central motor. 999€, run it for 18-24 months, and replace, sans the 'Go on, nick me' invitation of a nicer, more expensive bike

Steve

I think that you may have misinterpreted @El radge 's comment. I think that he was agreeing with you that cheap bikes are less at risk of being stolen, but pointing out that if there had been no cover concealing the cheapness of the bikes (and the fact that the batteries had been removed), then perhaps there would have been no attempted theft (no cutting of a non-existent cover).