BROMPTON BIKE STOLEN DUBLIN BICYCLE MEZZO
August 15, 2009
My Brompton bike was stolen today in Parliment Street , Dublin. I’ve only had it for about 8 weeks having had my previous bike stolen just a month or so before that. It cost me 1,200 Euros which was just about all the money I had so now I’ll just have to start saving all over again. That’s 5 bikes in all that I’ve had stolen. I’m not exactly lucky , am I ?
I reported it to the police but I don’t suppose I’ll ever see it again. It was probably stolen by some ‘yob’ type and by tomorrow it will have been bought (at some market/car boot ) by a very ‘respectable’ person. I spent years working as a market trader and would , every day of the week , refuse to buy certain items that people brought to me , items that were obviously stolen ( you can ALWAYS tell ) but no sooner would I say No than there would be someone only too willing to buy …..and more often than not they were the ‘respectable’ type.
If you happen to see it around please email me or leave a message here. The unfortunate fact is that most people are not honest. Most of my friends for instance buy their tobacco on street corners from people who probably are in the drugs business and think of me as a fool for getting mine at full price in a shop. I’ve even know people who’s children have died from Heroin who still buy their tobacco from such people.!!!! …..
I don’t known how many bike are stolen every day but it’s probably hundreds and of course they never steal a cheap bike. The financial cost over the space of a year must be huge but it’s only regarded as petty crime. I have a bit of a phobia about public transport ( panic attacks etc ) so was reliant on the bike …….Oh well , there’s always someone worse off….. There is a 500 euros reward for the recovery of this bike.
6 September 09 update: since writing this I have bought another bike , a Mezzo d 10 . You can read a review about it here.
August 15, 2009 at 3:45 pm
[...] Since posting this my Brompton has been stolen [...]
August 31, 2009 at 4:24 pm
OK, you bought a bike that looks like it is valued at 120 Eruos at the “high” end. And of course you hang around people that get “high”. So… do you think maybe your “high” friends needed cash to support their Habit????
Wake up dummny; are you expecting sympathy from hard working folks that the company you keep is worth keeping?
August 15, 2009 at 6:44 pm
Sillyoldtwit,
So sorry to hear about that; my partner had 3 stolen over a period of 10 years so luckier than you.
A tip is to obtain some Motorcyle/Scooter security chains, they’re far too thick to cut through so this will hopefully stop on the opportunists.
Ade hasen’t had any bikes stolen since using them; that and his choice of bike, which is less appealing to the thieves.
August 15, 2009 at 8:56 pm
Thank you Jackie , I just hope no one tries to steal my blog….
August 15, 2009 at 11:06 pm
I hope the little scrote who stole it falls off the bike and breaks his bloody neck! Grr!
Perhaps the trick is to buy a cheaper bike..? Or as Jackie says buy some of those Motorcyle/Scooter security chains.
August 21, 2009 at 1:11 pm
12 thou for a fuckin bike ?????????????? thats near 23 thou bucks here-buy a fuckin car——— i told you that bike was gay —pssssssssstttttttttttttt the bike is down near where the green tins used to be -give me 500 to the vinnies ok
August 21, 2009 at 2:36 pm
James ,
That should have been 1,200 Euros…..
August 22, 2009 at 12:26 am
ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh i see
August 22, 2009 at 9:44 am
Did they chop the lock or the thing it was locked to? Were you gone long?
August 25, 2009 at 11:36 am
Scary. I have a NY lock too and I figured it was the last word in security. Guess I know better now. Sorry to hear of your bike loss, every time I hear of a bike theft I want to kick a knacker to death in recompense.
August 25, 2009 at 3:40 pm
Owen ,
Thanks for your comment….no lock will stop a thief who knows what he’s doing. There are lots of videos on Youtube about how to pick a Kryptonite.
August 27, 2009 at 12:30 pm
Mr Twit, this particular example involves exploiting a flaw with an older model of Kryptonite lock. Newer versions are not susceptible to this attack. My guess is that your lock was leveraged open, or somebody took an angle-grinder to it.
Might I suggest upgrading to a New York Fahgeddaboutit mini for your next bike, and using a Xena XZZ6 Disc alarm in addition to it, on the chainring. That said, the best solution is not to lock the bike anywhere even remotely dubious. See here:
http://www.londonfgss.com/thread24813.html
http://www.londonfgss.com/thread17938.html
August 27, 2009 at 3:17 pm
Sponger ,
Thank you for the links …I will get myself one of those alarms….
September 1, 2009 at 3:51 am
Sorry for your loss. I own a Granny Smith Apple Green Brompton with titanium forks. Not really a suitable bike to leave unattended for any lenght of time. Dublin. 2+ years, touch wood. It’s a myth that your typical smackhead\dirt bird doesn’t know about the value of a Brompton. The more astute ones would. High value with good resale price.
You have your frame serial number? Did you register it with Brompton?
The only thing in your favour is the colour, very very distinctive. I’ll keep an eye out.
Just to add, think about passing on your frame number\serial to the Gardai.
Oh.. and just to say, that lock hanging from the saddle, in the photo, they can be kicked open..
January 8, 2011 at 10:59 pm
please log onto http://www.foldingbikes.ie & the Irish Brompton owners club & send a pic
September 1, 2009 at 9:06 pm
Apple B,
Thank you for your comment. I will be getting a new brompton in about a month from Cycleways …does the weight difference with titanium make a difference..is it noticable when riding the bike ? Or to put it another way , “Is it worth the extra 300 plus euros ?
September 1, 2009 at 10:56 pm
The weight of the titanium forks and rear wheel frame assembly only make a difference if you carry your Brompton a lot, as a ‘poly’ user. Meaning, if you go from bike to bus to train station etc.. which I tend to do a lot. I also carry my Brompton into shops. It knocks a kilo off the weight, then you have the titanium seat post, which again, knocks a few hundred grammes off the total weight.
What I would advise you to pick:
Schwalbe Marathon tyres, much more rugged, with far less ‘roll’ in the tyre wall. The default tyre that Brompton offer is lacking, I find they puncture far more frequently.
Sorry if this sounds ageist. Your comfort priorities might be different from mine, but a more slender saddle changes the nature of your cycling on the Brompton. The default saddle, I find, is awful.. and quite heavy. You can get Brompton or a third party to fit a thinner, lighter saddle. Third party might be better, it’ll give you a chance to handle the saddle beforehand, decide if it is the item you want.
—
Register your frame serial number. It is situated down where the rear assembly attaches to the frame. Register it with Brompton, on their website.. and store it away in case your bike is stolen, so that you can pass the details on to the Gardai.
I don’t want to sound like I’m brow beating you, but I wouldn’t leave a Brompton outside, in central Dublin. It really is asking for trouble. The city is unforgiving when it comes to nice bikes.. and the crime of bike stealing, in the scheme of things, doesn’t seem to register on the Gardai’s radar.
[img]http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/6721/bromphoenix.jpg[/img]
I was in front of the Papal cross, as far as I can recall.
September 4, 2009 at 3:43 pm
gayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy bike
September 6, 2009 at 5:25 pm
Hi!
Sorry to hear your Brompton was stolen. Nasty feeling at any time, but especually so a clever bike like a Brompton.
I’ve got an M6 too, upgraded with the titanium bits. On advice also gave up the rear rack, dynamo and lights, using battery/lights for night-riding. Don’t know what the thing now weighs, maybe 24/25 lbs. Tires are Schwalbe Marathons, robust and not too draggy. Certainly it feels lighter. Can’t tell you if it was worth the extra cost but the ride is smoother, more fluid, more precise. Ordinarily you should get quite a few years out of a Brommie before needing serious service. Also might depend where you live; Ireland’s wet; Colorado, where I bought the bike, isn’t; South Australia, where I am presently parked, has a desert dry-air climate.
I suppose the reason I’m writing is that I too am a fellow-Irishman, my first 20 years in Limerick (they might have stabbed my Brommie!) before I began to work outside Ireland. Haven’t been in the old place for years, but Ireland is in many ways a very good cycling country, quite the opposite of Australia, where few cycle. South Australia is a dead loss for cycling, so much so that I often don’t lock the bike if just going in somewhere; it is enough to part-fold the bike, most people think it’s broken, or too odd or unfamiliar to mess with.
Hope you can fix yourself up with something good very soon.
Slainte,
Milo.
January 8, 2011 at 11:00 pm
Milo please put your M6 on http://www.foldingbikes.ie & a few pics to help get the Irish Brompton owners club moving
September 6, 2009 at 7:00 pm
Milo ,
Thank you for the comments , nice to hear from you. I’ve since bought a Mezzo d 10 and will be posting a review of it in a few hours which you might find interesting..
September 6, 2009 at 8:51 pm
[...] A few months ago I bought a Brompton but within weeks it was stolen. I needed another bike so rather than wait the usual 8 weeks when ordering the Brompton I decided [...]
September 17, 2009 at 6:06 pm
Hi! – it’s Milo again. Forgot to complement you on the photo of Dublin Bay and the Pidgeon House. We don’t have that soft grey light out here where I live.
Read your Mezzo review. Interesting. Done any long rides on it? Are you happy with it?
Milo.