nearly stolen bike
 

in message , Michael Klontzas
') wrote:

I returned to my bike a couple of hours ago to find out that some
%£%£^% had tried to steal it unsuccessfully. They cut the cable lock
securing rear wheel and frame against the rails, and then turned the
whole frame, trying to twist the d-lock by using the bottom tube as a
lever. Amazingly enough, the Squire d-lock that secured front wheel and
frame against a rail didn't give up, probably because they couldn't
rotate the frame by more than 45 degrees. They gave up but the fat
aluminium tube is now dented, the front fork is a bit bent and the
front wheel is somewhat buckled.

Now the problem is that because the d-lock was so abused, I couldn't
unlock it and when I called 999 and the local police station basically
they told me it was my problem. So, I had to leave it there for the
rest of the night and assuming that it is still there in the morning
(which is debatable, particularly as the rear wheel is unsecured) I
suppose I should contact an ironmonger (there is one right across the
street!), get them to cut through my d-lock with an angle grinder,
release what's left of the bike and take it to a bike shop for
assessment etc.

Now I am wondering:

a) what are the chances of the frame/fork being repaired? Or is it a
write-off? I believe that dented aluminium frames are not safe.

Near nil. Repairing aluminium frames is mostly not possible.

b) has any anyone had a similar experience with an ironmonger? Would
they do that (at a reasonable cost)? A friend told me he had to do it
himself once and it was remarkably easy -- I wish his angle grinder
didn't need to be plugged to the mains.
c) any other suggestions?

You can hire petrol angle grinders from tool-hire places, but it won't be
cheap.

d) why would anyone try to steal a bike that is going to be seriously
damaged and become worthless in the process?

Start to steal because they want the bike (or the money they can get from
a fence for the bike, more likely), destroy when they can't steal
because of frustration and shear vandalism.

--
(Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

;; lovely alternative to rice.