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Hello all. I’ve recently dropped a bit of money on a new bike and would like some advice on keeping it safe.
After a few days of bringing it in the elevator to the office every day. A few people of varying degrees of authority told me that I couldn’t keep it there (I could only pretend to not understand the security guard for so long.) My company has even give me a big old lock that they used to lock the office with every night. So now my pride and joy sits with that thing wrapped around the frame and rear wheel in the ‘secure’ parking downstairs, under the watchful eye of an old man for 2RMB per day.
So is there anything more I could do? Should I always lock the bike to something else? How should I lock it when that’s not an option? Is there any kind of prayer of ceremonious dance I can perform to ward off thieves?
Hi Callum, china is famous for bike/scooter thieves and i’m reminded of that all the time with people i work and hangout with, every year this time of year is particularly busy for the thieves trying to get money for chinese new year.
i use kryptonite locks, i figure local thieves are good at opening local locks, so i bought foreign locks 3 years ago and haven’t had a problem, and a lot of my friends that use local locks have had their bikes or scooters stolen.
and park close to the old man in the underground parking if you can 🙂
I wrote an article about this a while ago that includes all of the basics: 5 Steps to Prevent Your Bike From Getting Stolen in China
Always follow those steps and I think you’ll be fine – basically every theft I have heard of or experienced was due to being lazy on one or more of those. Another one that I mentioned but probably didn’t put enough emphasis in is to always lock your bike to an immovable object. Bikes get stolen in huge numbers in Chengdu but 99% of bike thefts are due to owner fault – you just have to be constantly vigilant.
For me, my bike is usually either in an attended parking lot or in my actual apartment. It’s almost never anywhere else, I rarely even lock it up outside even though I have a badass Abus lock which I got from Natooke. Take no chances!
I slipped up earlier this year and had a really nice bike stolen from right outside my door because I got lazy and complacent. The trick is to never take risks and always remain vigilant.
i use kryptonite locks, i figure local thieves are good at opening local locks, so i bought foreign locks 3 years ago and haven’t had a problem,
Cheers Trevor, for all the advice. Perhaps I’ll invest in a Kryptonite lock. I’ve seen them on TaoBao, though I’m not sure whether this works in my favour or not.
I wrote an article about this a while ago that includes all of the basics: 5 Steps to Prevent Your Bike From Getting Stolen in China Always follow those steps and I think you’ll be fine
And thanks a lot Charlie. The article was good read with a very authoritative tone. I can stick to all this advise obsessively, except for the last one. Perhaps I’ll just let the Chengdu muck take some of the shine away from my rims.
The U-lock that I got from the company is maybe 40cm long and a mite heavy. I’ve got no problem lugging that round with me if it means I can cover the frame, wheel, and some form of anchor. I’ve got faith in the old man downstairs, though I can’t help but crane my neck to check on my bike on the way out to lunch.
Cheers Trevor, for all the advice. Perhaps I’ll invest in a Kryptonite lock. I’ve seen them on TaoBao, though I’m not sure whether this works in my favour or not.
I recommend getting locks locally at Natooke. Not only can you check out the locks there and get a feel for them, but you can get advice from guys who know a lot about locks, support an awesome local business, and not have to wait for shipping.
I can stick to all this advise obsessively, except for the last one.
Yeah, basically no worries as long as you follow the other rules. Anyone who has a bike from Natooke has a beautiful bicycle! Since their shop has opened they’ve sold a lot of bikes and I think very few have gotten stolen. A handful, if that.
@callum: A easy solution, pay more to the old man and maintain good relationship with him… Say hi to him every morning and smile, u are a foreigner that makes your bike even more special , he is going know if ur bike is stolen right the minute when the thief tries to leave. ……
@callum: A easy solution, pay more to the old man and maintain good relationship with him…
Thank you for your response Tina. While I’m not paying him any more than his flat rate, he and I do have an excellent rapport. In the I-have-no-idea-what-you’re-saying-as-your-Sechuan-accent-is-so-thick sort of way.
There has been a lot of bike thefts over the last two weeks. I know of at least eight people who have had either scooters or bicycles stolen. One friend had his electric scooter and bicycle stolen within 24 hours. Always lock you bicycle to something or pay someone to watch it for you. If you can’t take your bike into work just get some quick release nuts put on the front wheel and take the wheel into the office.
Bikes, when you value them and don’t wish for them to be stolen can be a bit cumbersome. Charlie’s writeup on theft prevention is pretty thorough.
The most important thing is being consistent and never allowing yourself to slip into thinking you can get away with not following a standard practice of theft prevention. If you don’t feel it’s worth the hassle, then don’t use the bike. Leave it at home safe and sound.
Most instances of theft I can think of recently were cases in which the owner just figured the extra bit of bother wasn’t worth it and the bike would make out in the long run (i.e. the OG Banana Boat: it’d been pissing rain for 3 days and we left it out one evening fully locked thinking it for sure wouldn’t go missing.)
As for your workplace I say you be a stubborn prick about taking your bike in. I think one of the greatest misconceptions in modern Chinese society is the value of a bike. Oftentimes out of practice they hire someone to mind the bike parking area, but ordinarily these same people don’t really give a fuck; it’s not their job to give a fuck. If you value it, remind your employee. If they feel it’s unfair because they can’t drag their nerdwagon (e-scooter) into the office, that’s not your fault.
So hold to your guns and find out how you can bring your bike in. Even if it requires you being the thorn in the side and just dragging it in everyday and locking it in some adjunct corner of the office between the water cooler and stacks of paper reams.
Most instances of theft I can think of recently were cases in which the owner just figured the extra bit of bother wasn’t worth it and the bike would make out in the long run (i.e. the OG Banana Boat: it’d been pissing rain for 3 days and we left it out one evening fully locked thinking it for sure wouldn’t go missing.)
This is exactly what I’ve noticed as well. People just get complacent and break their own rules, and that’s when bikes disappear.
I’ve been dying to weigh in on this.
We have had a ridiculous number of bikes stolen, most of them belonging to our employees. We have cctv cameras outside our shop, so we always get to watch how it happened afterwards, but it’s always too little, too late.
These guys are fast. They walk up in broad daylight, and when they break the lock, they do it so quickly that you can’t tell they aren’t just using a key. One of our employees’ bikes was taken while the guy from the real estate office was having a smoke less than a meter away, the thief just walked up to the bike like he owned it, and in a matter of seconds…he did.
I don’t know if you guys saw on the news a few months back, there was a gang of thieves who rented BMWs and Audis and then went around stealing electric scooters and putting them in the trunk of the car. They figured they weren’t likely to get pulled over in an expensive car, although they did eventually get cornered and caught in front of BuyNow. Anyway, the week before that happened, they tried to steal one of the electric scooters belonging to the real estate agents beside us, and my mother-in-law saw it happening and alerted the real estate guys. They all ran out to beat the tar out of the thieves, but the thieves were armed with knives and after a few stabs they got away. (My father-in-law got paid 200yuan when our CCTV footage was used on the news.)
Which brings us to last week, and tonight. Last week, an employee decided to leave her 1500 yuan bike, unlocked, in front of our shop instead of where my father-in-law watches the bikes. This guy came along and decided he deserved the bike more than she did.
Fast forward to today. It’s after 9pm, and we just closed the shop. My wife, Aiqing, is behind the counter doing the books when all of a sudden she bolts out of the door. After a few minutes, she wasn’t back, so I went outside to find that she had apprehended this same thief that we saw in the camera last week.
He was being held by my father-in-law and Tangkai, our biggest employee, and Aiqing had taken his phone and his bag and was rummaging through it to find his bike-stealing tools. Of course by then there was a large crowd, and she is telling everyone that this guy is a thief and he stole a bike from here last week and he is begging her, on his knees, to give him another chance and not call the police. After a brief consult with her parents, they decided that he could go, but we were keeping the bag and phone, and if he brings back the bike that he stole then we’ll return his stuff. We’ve got an office pool going right now to see if he actually shows up or not. Either way, he knows we know his face around here, so at least that’s one less thief we have to worry about on this block.
As you can see, the tools are pretty rudimentary…he just uses one of the attachments and puts it in the allen wrench and gives it a yank, the lock pops off just like it’s supposed to.
My wife is fearless, foolish, frightening and fabulous.
This is a fine story. It takes some serious brass to take after a thief, no matter where you’re at.
I’m really not surprised to hear that these guys were making off with bikes in minutes. I’ve placed my faith in a couple domestically made locks in the past few years only to be reasonably surprised as to how easy they are to knock open:
Instance 1: Zongli Kryptonite-looking U-Lock. The lock latch froze and without taking big tools to it decided to see if it could be knocked open. Three deft raps with a hammer and it was free.
Instance 2: 五金 Generic lock. We used it on our shop door for months (still don’t know why considering we sell locks we know we can trust). Its locking bit dropped off our door handle one night and the piece (solid hardened steel) cracked into. We threw one of ours on that night.
Shameless self-plug: We import German-made ABUS locks. (The original creator of the U-lock.) They’re expensive but make the quick pickups that thieves shoot for, impossible.
I’ve cut both ordinary 五金 locks and they require a hacksaw and about 60 seconds (starring Nicholas Cage). As you know it takes about 5 tools to pop most of the key/combo entries on other locks.
I left my bike in a 城管 No-Go zone. 20 minutes with a hacksaw and they’d managed about halfway through the lock. I’ve dealt with a broken key in one of our folding locks and took it to a professional automotive/home locksmith. Half an hour and he threw in the towel trying to get it open.
Again, I’ll say it again. A lock is only as good as its practiced use. If you don’t want your shit knicked, just go the extra mile and take the right precautions, always. The always is important.
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