Since our launch last month, BikeRackMap.com member cyclists in Placer County have had so much fun creating a comprehensive and revealing bike parking census that they call themselves the Rack Pack, Rack Hunters and Rack Mappers. They also form BRM’s Placer County Advisory Council. You can see their “live” and rapidly growing Placer County bike parking census by looking northeast of Sacramento on BRM’s Map.
Using their phones they share, rate, review and evaluate bike parking locations In less than a minute, revealing frank and honest facts about bike parking locations wherever they are walking, cycling or driving. One PCSC member documented locations during vacation in Tahoe, Santa Cruz and Monterey, while another PCSC member wrote the article below revealing the disturbing truth about how quick and easy it is to steal bikes, AND the racks they are locked to, using a putty knife and a crescent wrench.
We are calling on everyone who cares about making active transportation a truly viable option to whip out their phone and become a Bike Rack Mapper today!
Share your thoughts and comments below Steve's article, and share this link with everyone who cares about making active transportation a truly viable option.
By Steve Boswell
BRM Member
So... you just dropped a bunch of money to purchase the latest, greatest U-Lock out there - one with ceramic coatings capable of holding off a determined assault from an angle grinder. Cool. Maybe, you even removed the quick releases on your lust-worthy wheel set and replaced them with special wheel locks that require a unique key. Are you feeling bullet proof now?
Well, if you're feeling confident walking away from your parked bike now, read on.
As we go about mapping & rating bike racks in Placer County, we've come across a few shining examples of really good quality, secure bike racks. Unfortunately, there have been many more bike racks that don't adequately support a bicycle (especially a cargo bike), have blocked access, or are so flimsy that they seem to invite thieves. But, the worst of these are the bollard racks, seen everywhere at the Rocklin Crossings Shopping Center, just off Interstate 80 in Rocklin, CA. I call these racks "hitchin' posts", because they appear to be designed more for horses, than bicycles. And, the worst part of all is that they provide the ILLUSION of security, where none exists.
After I noticed that most of these "hitchin' posts" are wobbly, I went back early one morning to investigate. I brought along a few simple tools: a couple putty knives and a small, 6" adjustable (crescent) wrench. I used the two putty knives to get under the cover on the post's base and slide it up, revealing the bolts attaching the hitchin' post to the ground. I found one of the securing nuts so loose that I immediately spun it off with my fingers. The other two nuts required a very slight nudge with the wrench (I didn't even have to adjust it) and off they came.
This was my first attempt at this but - in less than a minute - the whole assembly was lying on the ground. Or, if it had your beautiful bike attached to it and I had come here prepared to make some quick cash, in 10-15 seconds I could have had the whole assembly removed and your former bike would be headed to the back of my cargo van. That useless horse-hitch would temporarily come along for the ride, but would be discretely removed back in my shop before I fenced your bike off to Mexico.
That's all it takes to steal your bike if you park it here! No need for an expensive angle-grinder. And, no need to try and hide a pair of 3 foot long bolt cutters in your trunk. An accomplice and a battery powered hand drill/driver with the right socket installed would make it even easier, removing all the nuts in a couple seconds. I've rehearsed the nightmare scenario in my mind countless times.
THINKING ABOUT THE BIG PICTURE: Our purpose in mapping and rating bike racks in Placer County, is to encourage and help facilitate Active Transportation. Crappy bike racks like these do not help the cause.
I will present evidence of these inadequate bike racks to our City Engineer, with a request that they never be permitted again for new construction in our city. I also need to discuss these existing "hitchin' posts" with the company that manages this shopping center. (Do I request repairs or demand upgrades?) This illusion of providing security, when none exists at all, can become a worst-case scenario for cyclists and shouldn't be tolerated by anyone.
My building’s management installed wall-mounted bike hangers in our garages. They seem fairly secure since they’re lag bolted into the concrete walls and conceal the bolt heads. And, the garage is locked and has video surveillance. So, I was comfortable locking my mtb to one of them for a few nights while I cleared space in my storage room. I used a Kryptonite NY u-lock, with a heavy Kryptonite chain wound through the wheels and frame. All of this (about 25 lbs of lock/chain, plus the bike), was locked to the wall-mounted hanger. And, it was secure – until the thief whacked the hanger with a hammer and the whole thing broke off the wall. He then carried the assembled booty out the door and down the street. The only thing that saved me was his lack of preparation – no van, no car, just his own two feet. Two blocks later it was all too heavy for him so he abandoned his loot on the curb and wandered off. Bike, lock, and hanger were recovered. But, it proved to me, as you’ve shown here, that the object to which we lock our bikes may be the weak point in the whole assembly, no matter how secure it may seem. Great sleuthing!
Hi Tim,
Thanks for sharing your disturbing and cautionary experience. What did your building management have to say? Have they provided more secure racks?
Please also be sure to add the rack location and a rating and review so everyone looking for bike parking in that area will know what happened to your bike.
Thanks for this article and description of yet another way thieves can make off with our beloved bikes.
I shared this with the members of a Facebook group I started about 10 yrs. ago for them to beware of.
FWIW: Here are my comments on this topic:
“I’ve been working on our campus installers to use tamper-proof fasteners when securing our racks to the cement/ pavement, but that unfortunately isn’t a common practice among installers of these things. They just want to get them installed ASAP and move on to other tasks and aren’t concerned about your bike getting stolen along w/ the rack.
This also brings to mind another trick that pro bike thieves employ; they’ll find a rack that is already quite loose or that they know is easy to loosen up and remove and just wait for unsuspecting bicyclists to lock up to their “booby-trapped” rack. Sometimes they’re simply sunk into a hole in the cement and get loose over time and the whole thing can be quickly lifted out of the cement and then your lock slips right off within seconds. So, best to grab ahold of a rack and see if it’s solid or already kinda loose before trusting it w/ an expensive bike.”
Tim Potter
Founder of Michigan Hates Bike Thieves!
Hi Tim,
It’s disturbing that Michigan State University campus rack installers are only interested in getting “them installed ASAP and move on to other tasks and aren’t concerned about your bike getting stolen along w/ the rack.” Based on our article, this appears to be true in some commercial spaces as well.
We also appreciate your guidance on testing for “booby-trapped” racks and wonder if the racks in our article might have been intentionally “booby-trapped?”