$500 reward offered for return of bike stolen at Somerville Home Depot

By adamg on Wed, 08/18/2010 - 12:40am

John reports somebody made off with his custom-made fixie while he was at the Somerville Home Depot on Monday, and is asking folks to look for it on Craigslist and in local bike shops:

The frame is paintless, gray titanium with no markings except for the silver badge on the head tube and two small "I" stickers on the back of the rear dropouts.

Like the job UHub is doing? Consider a contribution. Thanks!

Ad:

Comments

When I was a kid

By Will LaTulippe
Wed, 08/18/2010 - 2:20am

My dad taught me to write my name and address on a slip of paper and place it in the tube where the seat goes. Somebody steals your bike? You have a positive ID that the thief doesn't know about.

what a dumbass

By Brett
Wed, 08/18/2010 - 3:00am

The bike probably costs more than most of us make in a month, and he left it unlocked in front of a home depot?

Then again, the dumbass wasn't riding with any brakes...or lights, or reflectors, or helmet...

typical

By slowman4130
Wed, 08/18/2010 - 6:35am

Before I even went to read the comments I thought to myself, "how long will it be before someone goes on a rant about brakes?". Looks like all it took was 2 posts.

Bravo Brett, bravo.

Jealousy

By BlackKat
Wed, 08/18/2010 - 6:49am

Brett doesn't like people that are streamlined and don't look like a hardware store on wheels.
His list is like the big no-no list for people who actually know how to ride their bikes.

Question from a non-cyclist

By Jimmy
Wed, 08/18/2010 - 6:58am

Do people ride these types of bikes for aerodynamic purposes, or is it more of a bohemian image thing?

Anyway, it sucks to get robbed. Hope he finds his bike.

The answer to both is yes.
They are lighter, faster, and more agile than normal bikes. And doubly so in inclement weather particularly snow.
They used to be used on the street mostly by bike messengers who were in the know... but in recent years have become more popular for civilians as well.

And it does stink as that is a nice bike.
We've all done that, with bike or car or house, thing where we said "I'll just be one minute" and assumed nothing could occur so fast if it was left unlocked. And you would think the parking lot of a Home Depot (where most people are upstanding shoppers with cars) would be a low risk area.

Slackers need not apply

By SwirlyGrrl
Wed, 08/18/2010 - 8:04am

They have some very strong advantages, and they take some actual skill to physically operate, even if some operators lack the kind of driving/riding skills to realize that sidewalks are for losers and red lights apply to them (not that they wouldn't drive cars like this too).

Advantages?

By merlinmurph
Wed, 08/18/2010 - 8:54am

Strong advantages????

Don't ride in the city, do ya?

By SwirlyGrrl
Wed, 08/18/2010 - 10:26am

The biggest advantage is mechanical simplicity. Whatever it is that you don't have, it can't break. Oil the chain, keep the tires inflated. That's it.

In much of the city, a single gear is just fine and using your legs and mad skillz to do the braking is more than adequate because you can't get up much speed anyway. Also, riding a fixed gear makes you integrate with the bike fairly tightly - for some, this is key to holding their attention, for others it is an asthetic experience to push oneself and one's skills. I never rode one in the snow, but I can understand why using pedaling to go and stop would be a traction advantage.

Sheldon Brown on Fixed Gear Cycling

For me? Too old for it, quite frankly. But I have enjoyed learning to ride one in the past for these reasons. For mechanical simplicity, two of my three bikes and my sons' bikes lack front cogs.

Bikes without brakes are unsafe

By Ron Newman
Wed, 08/18/2010 - 10:53am

In a city as hilly as Boston (or Somerville), I really don't think it is a good idea to ride a bike with no brakes. That's just asking for trouble.

That is because you don't

By BlackKat
Wed, 08/18/2010 - 11:20am

That is because you don't understand how they work. For starters they do have brakes. You resist the turning of the cranks with your legs to slow down. Resist very hard so your legs don't move to stop outright
(leg lock). And even on a steep hill or ice you can slalom to control your speed or stop outright just like a skier does.

It just take skills and good leg muscles and knee joints.
The only downside is it does put a lot of stress on said knee joints.

Also it is important to note that Boston as a whole is NOT considered hilly. It is a relatively flat, coastal plain city. There are a handful of gentle slopes and hills in the city and most are not steep. There are maybe at most a dozen streets in the whole city and surrounding area that are so steep one must be cautious riding down them.

The Real Brake Problem

By SwirlyGrrl
Wed, 08/18/2010 - 11:31am

Like anything that requires skill that becomes trendy, you get a population of people who don't know what they are doing or don't give a crap about the rights of others who then cause problems. The worst steep hills can be avoided by routing around them - so long as you aren't too lazy to do so if it adds a few blocks.

As I have said before, the problem isn't what people are riding but the attitude of the rider. Assholes are assholes, and many of the worst suicyclists are likely to be pretty lousy drivers, too.

Slalom stop?

By Ron Newman
Wed, 08/18/2010 - 11:50am

I can just see trying to do that on Parker Hill Avenue or Summit Avenue, both of which are fairly busy and two-way.

And a hill that may be easy for you isn't necessarily so for most bike riders. Boston is quite hilly compared to other places I've lived.

HA, forget about stopping,

By c1josh
Wed, 08/18/2010 - 4:46pm

try riding one of those UP Parker Hill Ave.

I've only seen one or two fixies make it up Mission Hill without dismounting, and it's a popular form of bike up there.

I have to resort to a low, low gearing to get up to my house, but I usually have my son on the back of my bike.

I'm going to go way out on a limb here....

By merlinmurph
Wed, 08/18/2010 - 5:36pm

For mechanical simplicity, two of my three bikes and my sons' bikes lack front cogs.

I'm guessing you meant "front derailleur" rather than "front cog". Just a guess. ;-) I agree, that's a great setup for an urban/utilitarian bike, esp in Boston where it's relatively flat. I wish I had use for such a bike because I'd love to build one up with a single chainring and a Rohloff internal gear hub.

Simplicity is the reason I love bikes in the first place, and you can't get any simpler than present-day brake designs. My main road frame is 14-years-old, and I doubt I've spent an hour total in that time span maintaining the brakes. And most of that time was spent Dremling out the old pads the last time I had to change them. ;-)

Weird how Sheldon Brown's

By pierce
Wed, 08/18/2010 - 8:57am

Weird how Sheldon Brown's preference to ride a fixed gear while training has become a snotty "fixie is superior" attitude has just gone way beyond its bounds. Front and rear brakes add a few ounces to my lightweight columbus steel frame, and most "fixie" hubs spinning in this city actually weigh more than a single speed freewheel because they have a lockring added to them. I too have ridden fixed in Boston and to even pretend for a second that it is better having to rely on your body weight and calf muscles to overcome inertia is ridiculous, or that you are riding fixed gear for anything other than image (or being able to trackstand at a light, etc) is dishonest I would think. I much prefer being able to stop on a dime (ok we'll call it a wash in the snow--my brakepads are affected by rain, but I still stop quicker than the alternative), to squeeze into areas between car and curb by being able to coast with pedal over the curb; to have my feet positioned at the optimal position for quick takeoffs from frequent lights.

I understand the less "streamlined" setup of multiple speeds is an often unnecessary hassle, but you aren't losing anything to friction in a singlespeed freewheel, but gaining so much more.

Anything can happen....

By Kathode
Wed, 08/18/2010 - 4:11pm

in a Home Depot parking lot. My husband's locked truck had his work tools stolen out of the back. Sigh.

99% image

By merlinmurph
Wed, 08/18/2010 - 8:51am

It's all about being cool, trendy, and the bad boy/girl image - nothing more. You can't meet up with your buds with your mandatory tats, grundged out, iPod blasting, looking bad with a 'tude to match, and show up on a bike with brakes. Man, you might as well show up with a Schwinn Varsity.

Regardless, it really sucks getting your bike stolen, and I empathize. It is a sexy looking bike. If I had younger legs and flatter roads, I'd love to get a fixie, though with drop bars - and brakes.

I assume the "I" on the seat stay is for Indy Fab?

To each their own, but

By The Beer Guy
Wed, 08/18/2010 - 8:28am

preferring brakes on my bike means I don't know how to ride? Odd.

Agreed

By matthewm
Wed, 08/18/2010 - 9:14am

Suppose there were an awesome-looking car. It took special talent to drive, and it had no brakes. Would we let it on the road?

It has brakes

By carpundit
Wed, 08/18/2010 - 10:15am

The pedals are the brakes - they work on the rear wheel.

(This'll double-post b/c I wasn't logged in before; sorry.)

so can i get plates for my

By pierce
Wed, 08/18/2010 - 12:40pm

so can i get plates for my Fred Flinstone car now?

You could learn to drive

By SwirlyGrrl
Wed, 08/18/2010 - 12:54pm

Most cars can be stopped without brakes - particularly the ones with the tricky thing in the middle with numbers on it.

Not that downshifting is the recommended method, but it has its uses. Like, helping with braking on a steep drop or when (as I described before) the brakes suddenly give out in the middle of Storrow Drive at rush hour.

Could I? Oh thanks! I guess

By pierce
Wed, 08/18/2010 - 1:09pm

Could I? Oh thanks! I guess since I'm a cyclist and don't own a car that I don't know how to drive, that I don't drive on a weekly basis, that I don't have a driver's license, that I didn't grow up in the midwest and had a car before I even had a license, that I haven't owned half a dozen cars, all of them manual transmission. Thanks for the edification.

"Most cars can be stopped without brakes".... wow, thanks for your contribution. Can't wait for your book!

You're Welcome

By SwirlyGrrl
Wed, 08/18/2010 - 1:19pm

Having a license to drive doesn't mean that you really know how to drive, although learning in a state other than MA, NY, CT, RI, MD, etc. really helps (because you have to at least know something).

Knowing how to stop a car without working brakes saved my tail. I was very glad that my family taught me how to downshift on steep downgrades to help slow a vehicle. It would be nice if I could save others that might simply panic rather than shove the car into low gear and hope it stops in time because they weren't taught how those things they pilot around town really work.

Did I not say that it wasn't recommended for typical use?

Swirrly

By The Beer Guy
Wed, 08/18/2010 - 1:24pm

Did you get your nickname from the punishment you'd get in school for being such a know it all?

Nobody would dare do that

By SwirlyGrrl
Wed, 08/18/2010 - 1:29pm

I moved a lot and defended myself viciously.

wrong,

By anon
Thu, 08/19/2010 - 8:16am

Actually, learning how to drive in New England makes you a much better driver than most other states in the U.S. -- here we frequently have to deal with antiquated winding roads and all sorts of weather conditions. Do you have data to support your opinion of New England drivers or are you just forming opinions based on your unfounded and baffling hatred of local New Englanders?

Oh haven't you heard? Swilly

By tenfortyseven
Wed, 08/18/2010 - 7:41pm

Oh haven't you heard? Swilly Grrlie is an expert on EVERYTHING!
Too bad your words are wasted on this broad; she doesn't 'get' sarcasm.

Old and Cranky Me

By SwirlyGrrl
Wed, 08/18/2010 - 9:46pm

I learned to ride a bike about 20-30 years prior to your birth, judging by the maturity level of your posts. It isn't "knowing everything" it is simply called having actual life experience.

Too bad you may never get any if you actually do behave in real life like you behave here, and cycle the roadways like you say you do.

What: gears, brakes, lights, reflectors... helmet?!

By jchristian
Wed, 08/18/2010 - 9:17am

His list is like the big no-no list for people who actually know how to ride their bikes.

Those are the "no-no" items for people who actually know how to ride their bikes? Count me out then.

And I'll make sure to tell my kid that too: son, where we're riding we don't need brakes (etc). They're just tools of the man, man!

Yeah

By The Beer Guy
Wed, 08/18/2010 - 9:41am

I'd rather look like a hardware store than a funeral parlor.

right on. I've been

By pierce
Wed, 08/18/2010 - 12:49pm

right on. I've been bike-only since most of the people with cog teeth tattoos were still putting 15k miles a year on their parents hand-me-down SUV, which is too long to know how to "ride" I guess. I look forward to 5 years from now when the know-it-all-come-latelys that dominate the public perception of cycling have moved onto some other trend.....

Commuting on a bike since ...

By SwirlyGrrl
Wed, 08/18/2010 - 1:21pm

those people in cog tattoos weren't even in existence. This too shall pass.

I couldn't find any mention

By anon
Wed, 08/18/2010 - 6:44am

I couldn't find any mention that it was unlocked.

Home Depot

By SwirlyGrrl
Wed, 08/18/2010 - 8:01am

They sell things. Like hardware. They attract people with things called tools on them.

Tools can be used to bust locks and cut even gnarly cables and chains.

People generally don't carry lights in the summertime. They typically don't have their bike fully tricked out for a beautyshot like this either.

$500 reward offered for return of bike stolen at Somerville Home Depot

Comments

Support Universal Hub