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Sort of makes us feel silly for actually purchasing a bike last week!
UPDATE: David Snetman from Transalt wrote in:
To everyone who worries about your bike being stolen:Contact New York City Council Member Erik Martin Dilan, Chair of the Housing and Buildings Committee:
http://www.nyccouncil.info/constituent/member_details.cfm?con_id=65and ask that he convenes a hearing on Intro 38-2006, which would mandate that commercial building owners allow tenants to bring their bikes inside. It's a commonsense bill that would greatly improve bike commuting in NYC, and by extension, the quality of life of all New Yorkers as getting more people on bikes means less people on over- crowded sidewalks and subways, less people in cars, and less pollution, noise and traffic congestion, too!
Without public support, CM Dilan will not hold a hearing on Intro 38.
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I doubt they were really stealing those bikes anyway, but it’s interesting to see how nobody gave a shit.
Hector is the true hero in this video I'd say.
The funniest part was at the end with the cop and the messenger. Nothing like NYC. :)
this is an old video. but it's true. no one gives a crap when they see it happening.
remember to lock your wheels.
If the NYPD is reading, there are two ways to stop all the bike freaks who protest every other week: 1) steal all the bikes 2) bomb all the organic tofu warehouses in the city. That way they won't have any transportation, nor the energy to get morally outraged.
Call me old fashioned, but if I saw someone attempting to steal a bike I would notify the police. It should also be noted that the only police in the peice were the Port Authority Police, who basically are more worried about people taking photos on PATH.
As for the lock, everyone should know that a chain and padlock is the worst method for locking up a bike, at they are quicky and simply defeated. According to one locksmith I asked, any lock can be defeated, it is only a matter of time, but the "U" locks tend to be the best for securing bikes.
They forgot the most direct method of stealing a bike. Have a kid hop off the back of your bike waving a 9 mm in the vics face and tell them get off the bike.
Thats what happened to me.
Is this really surprising to anyone? New York has never been a bike friendly city. The cops are more concerned with writing traffic tickets and checking backpacks in the subway.
This is why my bike has been used as a clothing hanger for the past five years.
The better experiment would have been to do this and have had someone call 911 or flag down a police officer. Would the cops have responded? What do you do if you witness your own bike being stolen? I don't exactly want to get into a fight with a guy with a hacksaw or a pair of bolt cutters.
That video proves nothing. If you use cheap, crappy chains, then sure it's easy to steal. Try it again with a Kryptonite New York Chain or better yet, a Kryptonite Fuhgeddaboudit. If a thief wants it bad enough, he'll get it, but with a good lock, it's nowhere near as easy as this. And you don't know that people don't care. So hacksawing through it took three minutes. How do they know nobody called the cops? I can't see cops getting there within three minutes. Not being personally involved and not notifying police are two different things.
Holy cow!! Thanks for posting that. And Brightliner, thanks for the suggestion on the best locks. I always thought my kryptonite U-lock was pretty good but just the other day a friend pointed out that it's the kind of lock that can be picked with a Bic pen. Then I realized I've had that bike lock since Y2K. Although my bike has never been stolen with that lock on it, a new lock is certainly cheaper than a new bike. Time for a new bike lock!
10+ years ago, some friends and I watched from down a block as someone stole a bike. The bike had a U lock, and the thief used a crowbar to pop the lock off. Took less than a second. The thief was too far away and too fast (not to mention that he was carrying a crowbar), but one of my friends gave chase anyway. He didnt even get close. In hindsight, I wonder, had he forced the thief to relinquish the bike, what then. Would he babysit the bike until the owner returned?
It just seems ill advised to confront a thief on the street unless they are threatening someone. It also doesnt seem likely that many theives are using the 8 min hacksaw approach which might give you enough time to find a police officer. I guess you could scream "Stop Thief" to fufil your civic duty.
A popular approach then was to use 2 differing locks. Usually a thief is targetting either a U lock or a chain, and using both is more likely to deter them (but it is a lot of hardware to carry around).
All the attempts were done before 9AM, many people just want to get to work and not be late.
Along with a Gat to your head, a friend had a thief swing a 2X4 at his head to get his bike.
Helmets saves lives. And, if you value your bike, never let it out of your sight.
Does anyone, (TA or Times Up maybe) have accurate stats for the dollar value of bikes stolen in NYC per year? It has to be in the 100K range if not the millions. Now if some thieves broke into a jewelry store and stole several thousand dollars of stuff, the cops would investigate fully. When hundreds and thousands of bikes are stolen each year in NYC they don't do crap. Why have the police not waged a war bike theft stings? When was the last time the cops broke up one of the rings selling stolen bikes? The nuisance value and reduction in the quality of life that these bicycles cause is huge compared to large-scale thefts. This is a major problem in the city, yet so little is done about it........
Not that it will necessarily help you recover your bike, but the NYPD has been running a free bicycle registration in Prospect Park for at least a few weeks now. So, the NYPD isn't perfect, but they do offer this free service.
The only problem with this is that it's not really preventative. It doesn't prevent your bike from being stole, it doesn't help your bike get found if stolen, it only helps it get returned to you if either the police or a good Samaritan finds it, which is very unlikely. Lots of stolen bikes get shipped off for sale somewhere else.
...from being stolen...
oops.
You're comparing robbing a jewelry store to robbing bikes? Even if there was a bike robbing syndicate, I'm sure there are bigger fish to fry... like those pesty car robbing syndicates.
I punked the idiots twice for stealing my faithful 10 speed.
Im just an angry chick from idaho.
Well the second time it was a little kid. I walked him to his house so he could take his lock off, and was pleasant.
The way New Yorker did nothing fast enough was typical. The only people in look to for help are firefighters.
Within NYC, the attitude prevails. New Yorkers are strangely self centered as though they could care less about anybody. There are very few people in NYC that are not that way. The very ones ignoring a situation are the same ones crying for help in a crisis.
I know several people with bikes worth over $3,000 that were stolen (robbed, technically) from them by threat of force. There certainly is some sophisticated bike theft going on that is worth a lot of money. Careful riding alone on nice bikes.
Out of the 3 bikes I own, there is only one bike that I lock, and that's my ride around bike that cost me $15 and I would laugh if anyone ever stole. It weighs about 100 lbs. $15 was too much for that junker, but it's just the right price for transportation in a city so dangerous for bikes.
You'd be a fool to lock your bike in the streets if you own a nice bike. You just asking to get robbed. I own a $1200 bike and don't even own a lock, cause I never lock that bad boy in the streets, cause I want to keep the bike.
Hate to say it, but if dude was colored, I bet the reactions would have looked very different. I'd like to try this experiment again.
I don't ride to work simply because there is no good place around my building to lock it and feel that it won't get stolen by lunchtime.
Yes, we're all angry about our bikes being stolen. It's happened to everyone. However, let's take a closer look at this video. Where's the camera placed? If something is being filmed, people will assume that it's legitimate. Also, and I hate to be the one to mention it, the fact that the "thief" is a relatively clean cut white guy might have something to do with his lack of visibility. You see a guy who looks like he might own the bike, there with a hacksaw in broad daylight (is this ringing any "purloined letter" bells?), and you probably think, "poor schmuck, he lost his keys" not "hey, is he really stealing that bike in broad daylight"?
I locked my frame and front wheel with a heavy duty Onguard Mastiff chain, which is just like the Kryptonite Fugheddaboutit locks but 50 bucks cheaper, one night and in the morning I saw that the perps had tried to saw the chain open but could only get 1/3 of the chain before giving up. It was weird because it looked like the chain was sort of melted off and then sawed. But either way the perps couldn't saw through the mastiff. I just bought another one and now use 2 of them. But I was wondering what kind of tools the crooks use cause it looked like it was some sort of torch/saw combo from the looks of my chain. Anyway, I know how those fucks operate. they creep up in vans with power tools and try to open small to medium locks. The heavy duty chains kill them cause they take half an hour to an hour to open. So if you want to save your bike 2 $100 chains will do the trick.
You think that's easy,
with motorcycles they just drive up and lift the cycle on to a van or truck.
To everyone who worries about your bike being stolen:
Contact New York City Council Member Erik Martin Dilan, Chair of the Housing and Buildings Committee:
http://www.nyccouncil.info/constituent/member_details.cfm?con_id=65
and ask that he convenes a hearing on Intro 38-2006, which would mandate that commercial building owners allow tenants to bring their bikes inside. It's a commonsense bill that would greatly improve bike commuting in NYC, and by extension, the quality of life of all New Yorkers as getting more people on bikes means less people on over-crowded sidewalks and subways, less people in cars, and less pollution, noise and traffic congestion, too!
Without public support, CM Dilan will not hold a hearing on Intro 38.
killer time, i feel the same.
Actually, it was the first thing that occurred to me when the video started. I'm pretty sure the passers-by thought he was the owner, since he appeared to look "decent" enough to not be a thief (we all have our preconceived notions as to how a thief should "look" like), and the time-of-day the "stealing" was made. If it was someone who doesn't appear caucasian, i'm also pretty sure someone would cause a ruckus, and finally have some use for that 9-1-1 speed dial (not that it should take someone that long to actually pound it out on a keypad).
1 way to curb bike theft is to sneak up on bike thieves and anally rape their asses with your cock. After a good ass pounding those criminals will never steal a bike again.
Killer time, you are right on the money. Most people were thinking that the guy lost his key, or he was some hipster doing a performance art piece. Sad but true. Color matters. Someone has got to do it looking like he is from the 'hood. THAT would be the interesting video.
David, can you post more info on Intro 38-2006? I couldn't find anything about it online and a little more background would help if people are going to write letters to the councilman. Thanks!
Ditto on Spectator post.
This video says more about how people behave on camera then about their reaction to seeing a hacksaw and a bike lock getting acquainted. This is not to say that people ignore thefts, otherwise more bike theives would get caught.
But was the bike a 9 speed, or an 18 speed?
Some of you might want to look at folding bikes. The most compact folder is a Brompton. Dahon is like the Toyota of folders. If ya got money to burn look at Bike Friday. Xootr Swift is also a nice alternative.
Look around people for folding bikes!
It never ceases to amaze me how long it takes for out-of-towners fresh to NYC to go native.
You don't want a bike robber to steal your bike? There's two ways to do it: 1. get a nice fixed-gear velodrome bike (because only weirdos want those), or cover your tubes in paint or tape to make it look crappy. That's it. Case closed.
They solved this problem in Amsterdam. The government bought something like a million identical bicycles and built bicycle paths on all the streets. Now, when you walk out of a building, you just grab any one of the public bikes and ride it to wherever you want to go, making sure to leave it at a public bike stand (they are everywhere). The bikes are crap, but they work. When they break, the people lay them down and there's a crew that rides around picking them up and fixing them. The same crew redistributes them from the interior of the city to the outskirts from time to time if need be.
Sure, NYC will never have bike lanes, but they could have a public bike system.
Many of you guys are missing the point. Of course there are better ways to protect your bike from getting stolen. The intention of the video is to show that despite being as obvious as possible about stealing the bike no one did anything to stop it.
Now...one could argue that he was almost TOO obvious about it, which would make most people assume it was his own bike.
The more people who are watching, the less is the chance one indivividual will actually do something. They all rely on "someone else should do something."
There is a famous example from social-psychology about this. I do not remember it exactly, but it involved a woman being killed on a street between two apartment blocks. Everybody was in the window watching, nobody called the police. They all relied on someone else to do it.
I am sick of people stealing bikes. Mine just got stolen. I had two big chains, two good padlocks and the scurity guards were right next to it, but on lunch.
Why can't the NYPD leave a few bikes out there and catch the thieves. I know that police is not allowed to setup a trap, but there must be a legal way to get these creepy guys, which even steel the chains and seats. Anybody an idea where I can get a decent tracking device?
I lost a nice Fuji that was chained to a rack outside a country club in a "good" section of Toledo Ohio about 30 years ago. (I was a guest, swimming in the pool.) Country club employees told me that a step van pulled up in the parking lot, the back door opened, two guys got out with bolt cutters, and they took nearly every bike (nice or not) from the bike rack. Of course, these same employees did nothing like calling the cops or even writing down the license plate number on the step van, much less yelling at the thieves to leave or actually confronting them.
This is hardly new, and it's not unique NYC. However, the movie was inspired and well done.
Really what would be a better "lesson" is for the filmer to come running out freaking, then ask people around (like the lady with a cig) "What happen", "why did u not stop him? Or say something?"
I wonder if the results would have been the same if it had been a black guy doing all this?
I think everyone just thought the guy was trying to unlock his own bike, so they didnt think anything of it.
Great stuff. Pity you had to waste four locks to prove the point that there is a marked difference between the act of someone stealing something and an act of someone doing something with every perfectly valid alibi and proof to prove it. Audacity and blantant disconcern for the surroundings helps, but knowing that if you're caught, you can get your way out of it defines how bravely you can act. I think with the way they(you?) were doing it some people might've thought they were freeing their own bikes, not stealing one.
Anyhow, great psychological experiment. I've seen elsewhere how people fail to react even to the more dire situations, like a young girl screaming "He's not my father" while being pulled away by a guy in broad daylight, in a mockup scenario. No one intervened, except for one group of young guys towards the end of the "experiment". Must mean something about people, really.
Wow. Astonishing that no one puts their own personal saftey into jeopardy to stop bicycle theft.
THIS IS NOT THE SMALL TOWN YOU MOVED HERE FROM.
The police don't give a fuck about your bike, and nor do I.
If I was around I would have beat the shit out of him for trying to steal his own bike. Now that would be an entertaining video clip.
Don't think bring the bilk into the buildings will solve anything. What if some terrorist put some plastic explosive inside the bilk frame and now you have the bomb inside the building waiting to be detonated.
"I think everyone just thought the guy was trying to unlock his own bike, so they didnt think anything of it."
Try the same experiment with a black man or latino, and I am sure things would have most probably turned out differently.
I agree with Jetes. People will assume, well, I am pretty sure I would, that the guy owns the bike and have lost the key. As you do not expect a theif to act so openly.
A real thief would be under pressure by the fact that the real owner might show up during the act, and consequently act different.
Besides the first theft, where he just runs up with huge clippers, everything else is so outrageous that no one would ever suspect he was actually stealing it. Seriously, what kind of thief would steal a bike in Union Square with a hacksaw, or an angle grinder plugged into a telephone pole, or a freaking hammer and spike? I'm sure if he got a suspiscious looking black male in there (sorry, don't mean to be racist, but your average person will find them much more suspicious), and he ran up with the clippers and struggled for a minute then made off with the bike, there'd be much more reaction.
Screw bikes, everyone should ride horses.
Cool video. But advocating for a law to force building owners to let you bring your bike in??? Stupid. It's their building, if they don't want your bike, or you for that matter, in there then it's their business. Get over it and move on. NOT ANOTHER LAW. If I show up at your house with my bike, should their be a law that demands you let me and my bike in?
They should have done the film with a u lock,,,chains make bad locks anyways...
Of course no one is going to say anything. People assume you have to have a pretty big pair to steal a bike in broad daylight. Angle grinder? Really? People are totally thinking poor schmuck lost the key.
Quote:
"Try it again with a Kryptonite New York Chain.
I cut through a New York Chain in about 6 seconds with my angle grinder. (lost key)
I stold a bike last month. I needed to get back home. I walked past the local university, picked one I liked that was in poor condition (since the poor sap would probly never see it again), rode a while to my vehicle, dropped off the bike, and went on my way.
Convenient. The local govts. should just donate a bunch of bikes to get cirulated amongst the population.
Do all of the lampposts have plugs in them like that?
Having had 5 bikes stolen in the span of 12 months, in theoretically somewhat safer metro New Jersey, using seriously heavy chains and heavy padlocks for at least two of those, and most, if not all of these falling well into the beater category, I gave up and now keep my bikes in a storage unit, an admittedly expensive way to go. (My apartment isn't an option for bike storage.) Since then, I've been keeping my eyes peeled for another beater for the following project: Clean it up a little and get it running, then locking it up with a cheap lock, but before leaving it, loosening the wheels, brakes, and some other sorts sabotage geared toward giving any given bike thief a big surprise within a few blocks, if they're dumb enough to actually ride it. As I think about it, there are probably other, ah, modifications to consider for this type of project.
Yeah, no one stopped the guy from stealing his own bike while his pal vidoetaped it. The camera actually seems to have circled the "thief" for the whole. In New York if you see someone filming something for that long you can be sure it's not real. Better try the experiment again.
Bicycling is good for New York City. More people riding bikes means less people in cars and on overcrowded subways and buses, which means less traffic congestion, less pollution, and less noise. Bicycling also improves the health of those who ride. We want to encourage bicycling in New York, not tolerate it or, even worse, discourage it. So why don't more people ride bikes? What is preventing the quality of life improvements that increased bicycling will bring? According to the Department of City Planning's surveys, the NUMBER ONE obstacle to increased ridership according to optential bicycle commuters is the lack of secure indoor bike parking.
That's why we need Intro 38. It's not just a convenience for those who already bike. It's a necessary measure to get more people cycling and make new York City a better place to live, work and play. To read Intro 38, check out the City Council's website here:
http://webdocs.nyccouncil.info/textfiles/Int%200038-2006.htm?CFID=1028826&CFTOKEN=52936476
For more info on indoor bike parking and why it is ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL, check out the T.A. website:
http://www.transalt.org/campaigns/bike/indoor.html
David Snetman
Bicycle Campaign Coordinator
Transportation Alternatives
Cyclists in New York City are a major nuisance. Have you ever tried to get cyclist out of the axles of your Hummer H2? You really have to get in there with a screwdriver and WD-40. That's if you can find a place to pull over or you have to drive blocks hearing, "Thump, thump, clank, snap, plunk, owwww" over your Lee Greenwood CD.
Great video - didn't know we could get access to power in lamp posts like that!
WTF did you expect? Bikes are just property, most people aren't going to risk their lives or safety to protect a stranger's $300 bike. What should happen, people start going vigilante and attacking the guy, and probably end up in jail for assault?
/live in NYC
//has had my bike stolen
///don't see how it's other NYCers fault
Why is it any wonder that nobody gave a shit? The cameraman wasn't trying very hard to be hidden. Everyone thought it was a "work". Next time get another brother to work the camera ;)
To point out the obvious: The poster above who listens to Lee Greenwood is, ipso facto, not really a New Yorker.
Who really gives a shit, it's just New York. I'd be much more worried about the worthless minorities running around trying to kill people with power tools on the subway... but then again I'd never live in that shit hole to begin with.
stealing is wrong, we all know that, but admit it we all do it to some degree. all bikes should be unlocked so everyone can share them when needed, how about that, and how about a perfect society. stealing bikes makes the world even more imperfect?
you know whats crazy out here in toronto.....my friend was hit by a car......the police actually set it up.....**** eh....IT WAS EVEN COUGHT ON TAPE......
didnt you ever learn not to beleive everything you see on tv?
my friends a stunt double and was payed for that stunt........extras in t.o and nyc go for about 9.25 if your not in ACTRA hell casting will take people of the street like in this film just to make a movie....this is another michael moore wanna be asshole....
hell if i were walking on the street during RUSH HOUR and saw a camara FILMING a guy stealing a bike......i wave to my mom.....HEY LOOK MOM IM ON TV
maybe the police has more important stuff to tend to ? Seein as it NY and all
everyone who chains their bikes to municipal property (like traffic signs) should have their locks clipped by the sanitation dept and have their bikes auctioned off every weekend in the park.
Hey man.
Try having one of your black friends do this.
I think the results would tell you something important about America.
WHO IN THERE RIGHT MIND IS GOING TO STEAL A BIKE IN THE DAY WITH AN ANGLEGRINDER AND WHY IS THERE A F*****G PLUG SOCKET IN A LAMPOST I LIVE IN ENGLAND IF I WALKED UP TO A LAMPOST PULLED OUT AN ANGLEGRINDER PLUGED IT INTO A LAMPOST AND CUT A CHAIN OFF EVERYONE WOULD START LAUGHING AND CLAPING FOR THE STUPIDITY OF IT YOU ARE SUPOST TO STAL IN THE NIGHT
when i steal a bike i go for 1 with a motor fuch stealin a pushbike wots the crack with dat and pullin out a grinder is something a faget would do just boltcut it like the first guy but dont walk around with boltys in your hand put them down ur trousers
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Nobody really says anything about you "stealing" your own bike. One of my cable locks jammed shut and absolutely refused to open. While I was cutting through the cable with a bolt cutter, a group of cub scouts and their parents walked past me. The kids stared a little bit and the parents played a nice game of "don't look at the guy quite likely committing a robbery right in front of our faces". Parents complain about how today's generation doesn't care about morals, principles, or values yet no one even said a word. If you want your children to have good values, set an example. I brought out my registration information with me for the bike in case someone confronted me about stealing the bike. I've learned for next time that that is a waste of effort.
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Screw bikes, everyone should ride horses.
I've just been staying at home waiting for something to happen, but I don't care. Basically nothing seems worth thinking about. I can't be bothered with anything recently.
maybe the police has more important stuff to tend to ? Seein as it NY and all
when i steal a bike i go for 1 with a motor fuch stealin a pushbike wots the crack with dat and pullin out a grinder is something a faget would do just boltcut it like the first guy but dont walk around with boltys in your hand put them down ur trousers
someone said it earlier but i'll say it again because it should be emphasized. if the guy was black or latino i think people would have said something.
freegan bike workshop is the solution
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I've more or less been doing nothing worth mentioning, but eh. My life's been really bland today. I don't care. I've just been letting everything happen without me these days. That's how it is.
I haven't been up to anything today. I can't be bothered with anything recently. Nothing seems worth thinking about. I haven't gotten anything done recently, but oh well. Not much noteworthy going on worth mentioning.
I haven't been up to anything today. I can't be bothered with anything recently. Nothing seems worth thinking about. I haven't gotten anything done recently, but oh well. Not much noteworthy going on worth mentioning.
I'm black. Sorry to bring up the race issue if no one has already, but as has been demonstrated in various studies with children and adults, there's an assumption of white innocence and black guilt. e.g., if a white man is reaching for a dollar, he is picking up the money to return it to its owner. If a black man is picking up the money, he is picking it up to steal it...so the children concluded. Likewise, this would have been a more effective study if done with people of various ethnicities. I believe that people may have assumed the guy lost his key and was freeing his OWN bike. There may have been assumptions of theft and different reactions if the "thief" were black and/or dark.
By the way, as a New York City resident, this is why I refuse to buy a $5,400 Segway. I don't care what they say about their self-locking system that alerts you when its being tampered with. By the time I run out to see who's tampering, that Segway will be in somebody's trunk. A thief can figure out how to unlock it while I'm crying at home, LOL!
I haven't been up to much lately. I've basically been doing nothing , but it's not important. I can't be bothered with anything recently. I've just been letting everything happen without me lately.
It would be interesting to do the same but with the person stealing the bike being a Black or Latino and see if the reaction is different among people passing by and even the police...
The way to go is to use the best lock available on the cheapest bike available and keep it next to nicer bikes with shittier locks.