Are there any safe bicycle racks in Stafford?

herbie

herbie

A few posts under my belt
hi all,

I have now had two locked bikes stolen from Stafford town centre. One from Sainsbury's sept 2011) and one from Wilko's (may 2012). I used the shelters there because they were covered. Both times bikes were left for less than 2hrs and in daylight!

So now I'm onto next bike (and may be final), the question is where do people find safe to leave bikes in Stafford? and the other thing where not to leave them?

:ohno:
 
joshua

joshua

Well-Known Forumite
I hear that the thieving buggers are coming equipped with bolt croppers, so you better keep your bike with you when you shop, if the shop don't like it then get them to keep watch and take responsibility for your property which they insist on you leaving outside
 
Gramaisc

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
I usually leave mine at the racks by Caffé Nero, ex/Radio Rentals, and then pop into Oxfam for a couple of minutes, then have a quick look at it as I re-enter Gaolgate Street. If I was going to nick a bike, then I would do it just after I'd seen the rightful owner leave the scene. If you try to steal a random bike, then you always run the risk of somebody turning up at an inopportune moment.

I haven't had one nicked from there - yet.
 
Withnail

Withnail

Well-Known Forumite
The only thing you can do is make sure you have a very good lock. It is a bit pointless spending £££ on a decent bike and £ on a lock that doesn't deter anyone for long.

An alternative is to make sure your bike doesn't look worth nicking - get yourself a second-hand one for townly excursions, a better one for recreational purposes. Back2Bikes is a good place to start, or look for a cheapo in the papers.

Sorry for your loss. :(
 
Withnail

Withnail

Well-Known Forumite
Just to add...

In the seven or so years that i have been parking my bike in Stafford i haven't had one stolen yet. *touches all available sources of wood within easy reach*

Most of that time, the bike in question was a bit sh1t and not worthy of attention, the last couple of years the bike has been a bit more on the Gucci side but not particularly 'showy'.

I almost always park up on the main street (ie Greengate St), sometimes next to the Shire Hall. Once i absent-mindedly forgot to put my lock on the bike and it was still there at the end of the day.

Once my key broke in the lock. I was able to go back to my place of work, locate a(n) hacksaw, and free my bike from it's predicament with quite a good (bad?) deal of sawing. I wasn't challenged directly whilst doing so, but about ten minutes or so into my ordeal a Police-type person questioned my bona fides - she was assured after me showing the obviously broken bit of the key that i had, corresponding with the obviously broken other bit of the key in the lock, that my activities were kosher - which if nothing else goes to show that people will report nefarious goings on if they have someone to report it to. This particular episode led me to think that -
a) It's probably a good idea to park where there is a lot of people, and
b) If i can saw through this sh1tty little lock in a short amount of time, someone more determined with better apparatus could do it a good deal quicker.

Being, as i am, a firm believer in learning from one's mistakes (or even better learning from other people's mistakes), i bought myself a much better lock, yet continued to park in the same spot.

This has been a Public Service Announcement.
 
Gramaisc

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
So, if you're going to nick a bike, just snap some random key off in the lock first and then the rozzers will leave you to it...?
 
PeterD

PeterD

ST16 Represent.
I leave mine at stafford train station, but this weekend as I needed to get a few things I left it outside cafe nero, by argos, and up near the post house. I have a really good lock and I think thats the main deterrent.
 
Withnail

Withnail

Well-Known Forumite
Gramaisc said:
So, if you're going to nick a bike, just snap some random key off in the lock first and then the rozzers will leave you to it...?
Click to expand...
ScoutLogo.jpg
 
herbie

herbie

A few posts under my belt
Thanks to everyone for helpful advice, i have now invested big bucks in 2 locks. :britain:
 
G

gilesjuk

Well-Known Forumite
They don't bother with bolt croppers. D shackle locks can be opened with a small hydraulic jack that forces the unclamped end of the U section out. This is why you get a lock which locks at both ends as you have to resort to grinding then.
 
tek-monkey

tek-monkey

wanna see my snake?
does the bent foot design of the kryponites get around that? I've been using one of these for nearly 3 years, someone has had the cable part (looked like a small pair of snippers, and about 25-30 snips taken to break through) but the D-lock is still fine.
 
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