  Chitaku Member Username: Chitaku Post Number: 608 Registered: 03-2006 Posted From: 69.136.147.97 |
My bike just got stolen from WSU Science and Engineering library amd I need a new one like tommorow. Does Back Alley bikes actually sell Bikes or is it volunteer only to get a bike? | ||
Urbanoutdoors Member Username: Urbanoutdoors Post Number: 37 Registered: 11-2005 Posted From: 152.163.100.8 |
I beleive for a donation u can get a bike, if I remember correctly from the Tour detroit stop. still cheaper than any other route. I believe tuesday nights is there night they are open. | ||
Paulj Member Username: Paulj Post Number: 457 Registered: 12-2003 Posted From: 68.248.75.129 |
where are they at? | ||
The_aram Member Username: The_aram Post Number: 5001 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 68.41.124.8 |
Make sure you pick up a U-lock when you get that new bike. Having had the unfortunate situation of having my U-lock key breaking, I can say that those things are near impossible to break. Yes, I tried to steal my own bike. And it took a diamond bit saw and some serious effort (with TONS of sparks) to get through it. Your bike is going nowhere if you have a good U-lock. | ||
Sharmaal Member Username: Sharmaal Post Number: 879 Registered: 09-2004 Posted From: 68.60.139.244 |
At MLK and Cass. They are in the Building in the NW Corner. Go behind the building to the alley and knock on the large metal door. Get there at 4:30 today as there will be a crowd. If you want to buy a bike they sell for 50 bucks (if not less), but the selection is limited as they want to encourge people to rebuild bikes. | ||
East_detroit Member Username: East_detroit Post Number: 663 Registered: 11-2003 Posted From: 69.212.169.196 |
Classified ads on the left has a bike for sale for $40 | ||
1953 Member Username: 1953 Post Number: 923 Registered: 12-2004 Posted From: 209.104.146.146 |
Sharmaal...to the untrained reader, that sounds eerily suspicious. | ||
Gravitymachine Member Username: Gravitymachine Post Number: 1215 Registered: 05-2005 Posted From: 198.208.159.18 |
http://backalleybikes.org/ | ||
Andylinn Member Username: Andylinn Post Number: 163 Registered: 04-2006 Posted From: 64.141.144.2 |
back ally bikes is realy cool. yeah, you're looking at $30-$60 for a good condition bike. Vintage, Mountain, or Racer. Plus they give you life time repairs on it. For sure, buy the U-Lock from them. -andy | ||
Andylinn Member Username: Andylinn Post Number: 164 Registered: 04-2006 Posted From: 64.141.144.2 |
P.S. Chitaku, i hear you work with my good good friend Paul M... | ||
Chitaku Member Username: Chitaku Post Number: 612 Registered: 03-2006 Posted From: 69.136.147.97 |
Yes I do Andy, Paul is a good man and great to work with, im gonna miss him when he bolts. I ended up buying my roomies bike as it was cheap and has a great seat on it.However i'm going to make the bike look shitty, the bike that was stolen was really nice and new. Chitaku-roasting in Woodbridge | ||
Wmuchris Member Username: Wmuchris Post Number: 363 Registered: 06-2005 Posted From: 69.246.19.24 |
I'm sorry to hear about your bike. How'd it get stolen? | ||
Lowell Board Administrator Username: Lowell Post Number: 2827 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 69.136.138.177 |
Chitaku, a little advice if I may. A friend of mine, a former WSU art prof, had a very nice new Peugot bike. The first thing he did was to spray paint it wildly so it looked like a junker and never had a problem. Ditto on the Kryptonite U locks advice. Sorry for your loss.  | ||
Erikto Member Username: Erikto Post Number: 403 Registered: 11-2003 Posted From: 64.228.108.166 |
With a little extra attention, the way you park your bike- that is, how you place your u-lock- can also help you keep your bike. U-locks aren't all good, and even Kryptonites can be popped, especially if one can get a decent length pipe in there for good leverage. I've heard of freon being sprayed to render the locks brittle enough to smash open, but I'm not completely convinced this is true. The pipe-leverage approach is tried and true, though. Take it from me, in the bike theft capital of North America, in fact I think Torontonians have stolen more bikes in some years than go missing in Amsterdam, the usual global bike theft capital. Try to lock your bike in such a way as to make it difficult or impossible for a scumbag to get sufficient leverage. I haven't been in NYC for almost a decade, but when I was there, the locals weren't using kraptonites. They were wearing boat anchor chains with gigantic locks; even in crazy-hot weather, like the summer of '96 when I visited a couple of times. I have had so many bikes stolen I just ride dangerously malfuntioning, el-cheapo wrecks that usually make even the lowest, bike stealing crack head look some place else. | ||
Arcas Member Username: Arcas Post Number: 9 Registered: 01-2006 Posted From: 141.217.224.84 |
I'm sorry to hear about your loss as well. This was by the Science and Engineering Library? What time did it all go down?
I'll be on the WSU campus with a new bike in a few weeks as well. Years ago, during my MSU years, I always saw people with either the crappy chain locks or the u-lock used improperly: i.e. locked only to the front wheel (and returning to only find the lock and the wheel). So I quickly learned my usual method using the U-lock around the front wheel, the frame, and whatever you're locking it too (bike racks, etc). And except from a few vandal incidents, nothing notable happened to the bike, even though I imagine they could probably do stuff to the rear wheel if they really wanted. The "What Every Biker Must Know" book from the Sec. of State makes the case for finding a u-rack to lock too, removing the front wheel, positioning it near the rear wheel, and locking both wheels and the frame to the rack with a u-lock. I imagine it works amazingly well... but I've never actually met a person who really does this. Similarly, I was reading a post over on bike forums recently (http://www.bikeforums.net/) where someone mentioned their "total paranoia" package of using a super chain and a kryptonite lock together, to force the thief to bring two types of tools. I guess that's the trade-off. We probably can make our bikes mostly theft-proof if we really wanted... but the hassle of it all might make one less likely to ride their bike in the first place. One thing I'm curious about. How do you all deal with the bike seat issue? This is the first time in my life with one of the newer types of seats that just slide out pretty much on command. Any recommended way to secure the seat to the frame? Or is it just the curse of the cyclist to carry that thing around everywhere? | ||
Hugo8100 Member Username: Hugo8100 Post Number: 3 Registered: 06-2006 Posted From: 146.9.204.29 |
Arcas, You usually can replace your quick release with a regular bolt. That's enough to make the casual thief or vandal move on. You can also use a seperate cable to secure the seat: http://www.universalcycles.com /shopping/product_details.php? id=11134&category=172 Or you could go with locking skewers: http://www.universalcycles.com /shopping/product_details.php? id=10830&category=161 I'm fortunate enough to be able to lock my bike in the recieving room that's under camera surveillance in the building where I work . I usually just walk to the WSU campus since I'm close enough. I don't like leaving my Volpe out of my sight. | ||
Chitaku Member Username: Chitaku Post Number: 614 Registered: 03-2006 Posted From: 69.136.147.97 |
It was about 9:30 on monday. I saw a video where someone broke the kryptonite v-lock with a bic pen. | ||
Gravitymachine Member Username: Gravitymachine Post Number: 1220 Registered: 05-2005 Posted From: 198.208.159.18 |
my roomate has one of the seat cables, seems like a good option, but the locking skewer is probably a little harder to defeat. wirecutters vs. a whack with a large rock, hmm chitaku those were the old style locks, they have since changed the design |
