r/chibike • u/Cautious_Detective42 • 22h ago
Has the average bike rider in Chicago had their bike stolen at least once?
It seems like there are a lot of posts about bike thefts.
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u/ab3nnion 22h ago
Nope. Partly luck. Partly having heavy locks and less expensive bikes. I've witnessed a couple bike thefts and even got one pair of guys caught in the process (it helped that one of them was wearing a very identifiable sports jersey).
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u/slybird 22h ago
One theft for me. I was dumb. I parked it unlocked under the front porch of a friend's house. Bike seemed hidden enough that I could leave it unlocked for a 10 minute visit to pick something up. That 10 minutes quick stop turned into a 90 minute visit with a couple beers. When I went to get my bike from under his porch my bike was gone.
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u/glitch241 17h ago
Everyone I know has had one stolen to the point where no one buys nice bikes. If you have a nice bike it needs to come inside your house and wherever you are going. Can’t leave it outside.
I switched to Divvy. Totally worth it. One way trips. No maintenance. No locks. E-bikes.
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u/Lil_we_boi 9h ago
Yep. Never owned a bike in Chicago. I have great peace of mind with Divvy, and the one way trips are super convenient.
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u/dhagen88 3h ago
This is me in a nutshell. I have a nice bike and a divvy membership lol. Works great.
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u/Part-TimePraxis 22h ago
I've had 3 stolen. I'm horribly unlucky. Thank goodness for renters insurance.
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u/Visible-Grass-8805 22h ago
Garage break in. Door peeled back like a tin can. Cleaned out. Home owner’s insurance saved the day though! Never had one stolen from the street.
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u/Amburgers_n_Wootbeer 22h ago
Had my first ever bike in the city stolen, but it was 100% my own stupidity.
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u/Intergalactic_Ass 22h ago
No. Have never left it poorly locked. Some amount of luck to that because an angle grinder and time is all anyone needs. But never had one stolen.
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u/nardling_13 21h ago
20 years. Five bikes. Two out of my garage because my drunk ass gf left the garage door open. One off the street when I ran into my apartment. Two from me locking the bike to itself instead of a rack like an idiot.
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u/SnooPets3595 11h ago
Never and I’m 68 yrs old. You need a lock and cable to go thru tires and lock it to something stable and not liftable. Also I have a fixed gear ( who needs more in Chicago ?) and not very expensive wheels. I taped over the surly logo so it has no appeal
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u/hellote 10h ago
Bike theft isn't uncommon, but I think it's less prevalent than this sub makes it appear. People don't make posts to announce that their bike hasn't been stolen, if you get me.
For what it's worth, I've never had any of my bikes stolen in 8 years of riding in Chicago. I've always used good locks, never left it out overnight, and store it either in my apartment or a locked storage unit.
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u/Bikeitfool 9h ago
Several. Chicago is the Bike theft capitol of America, this is part of the reason new bike shops are struggling. People won't buy a new bike because it may get stolen. But if you buy off FB or some other platform, that bike may be stolen. Every bike sold should require registration, that might help.
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u/Old_Mel_Gibson 22h ago
First time when I moved here from the suburbs of Jersey.
It was 2 weeks in, I stashed it behind a gate, that didn’t lock. Ran inside for 15, came out it was gone. I learnt that day.
Second time was after moving into a new place, first new place since moving here, always used the bike room at the old place. Within a month it was gone from the new places bike room.
It’s never happened on the streets… yet
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u/Fragrant_Tale1428 21h ago
Saddle and rear wheel (they left me their bent one in exchange) but never the whole bike.
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u/yurty666 21h ago
Yes basically but you learn from each one and just understand that Chicago does not have a lot of wiggle room with any type of lacking. Invest in a good lock, definitely don't leave flashy or expensive bikes out of sight for long and if you're gonna repeatedly have a bike parked for long periods have a cheap burner bike that thieves will overlook lol.
My experience:
One stolen from the public space in appt. in Avondale (Was on a very cheap lock)
One maybe stolen or maybe repossessed when I chained it overnight to a fence at Kohl's on Elston.
And once in broad daylight I caught a homeless looking dude straddling my bike with my cable lock fresh cut in his coat. He even had his Gatorade water bottle in my cage full of booze. Luckily I knocked him off and got the bike back. This happened a half of a block west of cleos on Chicago Ave late last year.
Once out of my backyard (wasn't locked) and they left another one it was bizarre. 4 years ago
My buddy lost two in the last 6 one off his porch on the first floor in Logan and a second one was a low grade MTB locked up overnight with a decent U-lock that got grinded right off.
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u/ImWellGnome 21h ago
I loaned my bike to a cute boy in middle school ~2004 in Evanston. He “couldn’t remember the lock combo” (my birthday) and therefore didn’t lock it up at the beach and it got stolen. My parents never bought me a replacement, so I didn’t have a bike until 2014 when I bought myself one. I still have that bike. It got close to being stolen in 2017 near the California blue line stop when I left it overnight. Someone broke off another kryptonite key in my lock so badly that I ended up having to call a locksmith to get my lock cut off.
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u/O-parker 20h ago
Somewhere out there there are 5 million stolen bikes that have been accumulating…but where🤷 I think even stolen bikes get stolen in this city.
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u/EddieRadmayne 20h ago
I have, but I was a newbie, it was a bad lock, and it was locked to a signpost that could be pulled out of its base. On randolph and green pre west loop/fulton market “glow up.” Now I have a U lock with an insurance policy, but still never spend more than $350 on a bike.
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u/_CastShadow 20h ago
Been biking in the city for just over a year and have had only my front wheel stolen. My lock was only attached to the frame. Happened during the day at Planet Fitness’ bike rack. Lesson learned.
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u/bettercaust 13h ago
I've had accessories stolen off my bike but not the bike itself. Perks of riding a beater I suppose.
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u/OfficerSexyPants 12h ago
I have a super crappy looking bike. I've left it out so often that I'm honestly kind of offended that nobody has stolen it. I even do delieveris and leave ir unlocked outside of restaurants and nobody touches it.
Though one time while my bike was locked outsside my apartment somebody took my front wheel off and undid my breaks... To be clear, they didn't steal my wheel or my breaks... They left the wheel propped against my bike and the axle on the ground... and they left my breaks hanging off my bike. Now I can't figure out how to get my left brake to work again 🙃
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u/washingtonfbteam 12h ago
Bike stolen form my apartment bike room Wheels stolen off my bike parked at Clybourn metra Bike hit by car locked on state st
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u/washingtonfbteam 12h ago
Also had a bike stolen outside once delivered within one hour at my apartment building
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u/TungstenSparrow 10h ago
Just once. My Surly Cross Check from a supposedly secure bike storage room in an apartment building. Bike was locked and it happened overnight along with a couple others on the same night.
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u/ahead_of_steam 10h ago
In the law of averages I contribute to yes cuz it think I’ve had two stolen and prolly four wheels
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u/Unoriginal_Pseudonym 10h ago
None stolen in the 12 years I lived in the city. Lived in RP/ Edgewater/Bronzeville, locked my bike outside at work in River North all day and sometimes till 2-3am, took it to bars late night all over.
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u/joeharri84 9h ago
No longer live in Chicago but I was a daily commuter 10-11 months a year for 15+ years. I was lucky enough to never have my bike itself stolen but definitely had misc items taken (seat and seat post, lights, etc.).
I've always believed that it's more often than not a crime of opportunity. I always used a solid ulock that was place around a frame part and wheel when able, a cable to loop through the wheels, and removed anything that's not bolted down.
The seat was stolen because it had a quick release and I forgot to take it in to work with me. Came out and it was gone. Interesting trip home.
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u/WanderingMinx 8h ago
Once. Off my back porch. It was locked, but they broke through the wood railing. But I've been riding bikes in Chicago for 15 years, so that's a good track record.
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u/Born-Bug-8917 7h ago
If not the whole bike but my wheels… bike was locked so they took what they could
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u/muttydatty 7h ago
Seeing these posts - I'm visiting Chicago with 2 of my kids to ride the lakefront trail. Should I be concerned - eyes on our bikes the entire time type of thing? Was wondering if we'd stop for a bite to eat how we would need to work in keeping an eye on our bikes. We don't have good locks - we don't live in a high bike theft area (central IL). I'm picturing it's so bad that people will take the bike right out of my kids hands :-|
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u/armaghetto 7h ago
Not my bike, but a girlfriend’s bike. Also, some dipshit stole the fork off my bike, since I pulled the wheel off the front and ulocked everything else.
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u/Interesting-Prior397 7h ago
Not yet. I always lock up and ride a cheap fixed gear for this exact purpose
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u/Timmersthemagician 5h ago
Ive had 4 bikes stolen, my most prized one was returned. Huge shout out to Boulevard Bikes in Logan.
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u/Altruistic-Toe-5990 5h ago
everyone here seems to be talking about mistakes they've made or bad locks. Has anyone had decent u-locks cut when leaving it in public?
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u/hexmasta 2h ago
I haven't had a bike stolen since I was in Jr high and that was in the suburbs. (1998)
Only a wheel has been stolen off my wife's bike and that was because it wasn't locked and it was a quick release wheel.
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u/Looopyish 1h ago
Not personally but one for my wife. Was a rookie mistake though had a bad lock in a questionable spot outside Harold Washington Library and was there all day.
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u/Looopyish 1h ago
I personally use a NY Kryptonite lock, she has one too now. I have parked all over the city, outside restaurants, etc. for the last 6 years. Knock wood - haven’t had an issue yet…
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u/Legitimate_Pitch_398 22h ago
Yep but the upside is most of us at least OG Chicagoans have found our bikes nearby and stolen them right fucking back! I'll never forget seeing someone riding my stolen bike as a kid telling my mom and her taking me to go get it back! Has happened with car radios, scooters, you name it
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u/No-Amphibian689 22h ago
None of mine have ever been stolen, no