And they’re not going to steal a $75 bike, they steal nice bikes that have resell value.
There’s two things that will get your bike stolen. Having a shitter lock than everyone else or a nicer bike. I’d heavily recommend at least having a better lock
I have an ebike worth about $2k given it’s range and top speed. However, I only lock it to extremely secure objects and use a 10lb, 14 mm chain to secure it. So you’ve either gotta pick the lock which took LockPickingLawyer 2 minutes to do in a vice, cut whatever it’s attached to with an angle grinder, or cut through the chain.
I doubt anyone is picking the lock, so they have to get through whatever it’s attached to, at which point the chain is still locking the awkward to carry, 100lb bike stationary. If they go for the chain I figure they’ll likely misalign the cutoff wheel at least once and it’ll explode in their face. Needless to say I don’t worry about my bike for day to day use, and if you get a similar lock setup you won’t have to either.
Sure. My area has low crime, my bike isn’t worth a ton (was $500-600 new), and I use a well-regarded u-lock. Never had it stolen.
But OP is talking about trying to get the bike stolen so they can jump the thief and steal their money. That doesn’t seem very effective with a $75 bike, which is going to be some big-box hand-me-down pile of crap that most homeless people are going to ignore, much less motivated bike thieves. If you want your bike stolen, it needs to be worth the time to bring it to the pawn shop.
The average Joe won’t bother stealing your bike, but the pros will simply take a bolt cutter and remove your chain or lock.
A good bolt cutter is a small investment for people who do this for a living.
I don’t forsee a 14 mm chain being cut by bolt cutters that would be reasonable to carry around. Especially considering the hardness of the steel it’s made of. I just don’t think it’s worth the effort given the amount of people using cable and D locks that can be cut with handheld shears.
Depends on who’s stealing it/ why. Could be stealing it purely for means of transportation.
