I've been STOLEN, AGAIN!! :(

[cwah]

hello,

I went to the pub today to have a drink with some friends for an hour... and when I went out... I've seen this:

I had to look... then look again... My battery is GONE! Someone stole it!!!! I can't see how anyone would want to get it, they can't get decent value out of it. I checked on the bin all around to see if the battery is in a bin or not... I ended up checking inside bin all around the street

I was experimenting to see if a panier would be strong enough to hold 5kg battery:

It worked for barely a couple of week before a damn thief decided to steal the bag.


It was a dear 50v20aH us18650V3 battery that were supposed to be working fine for years...

I know you are going to tell me that I should never let my bag unattended and always keep it with me.... but bear in mind I go out in central london with friends. We go to bar, pub, club and doorman check our bags. They see batteries and I may end up in the police station. Also, carrying 5kg around is really a pain in the ass, and the bike bag isn't that nice to carry around anyway...

Lesson learnt... never let a bag unattended even for few minutes as thieves are everywhere.... As I live in a very small flat... I need to be able to have hard case to lock my battery making it much heavier


Damn.. damn.. Lost lots of money and the damn thief would probably just bin the battery as he will no see any use of it

 

[D8ve]

Sorry.

 

[jwm]

Your only other option is to get something you can bolt to the bike, There are some plastic box type pannier bags or maybe look for a small motorcycle pannier that can be bolted on. As with most things the trade off for making the bag/box secure (as much as anything can be) is it's a faff to remove when you want to.

John

 

[SteveRuss]

Bummer. Sorry to hear that..

 

[patpatbut]

Hi cwah

Sorry about your lost. I will check email and gumtree hopefully u can get it back.

I have seen a guy in ES making a custom made triangle frame box with a lock. He welded the box to the frame so there is no way to remove it from bike. I could not find the link though

Pat

 

[oldtom]

I'd use public transport if I lived in central London. Between walking, buses, trams, tube, rail, hire bikes and the occasional taxi, I could easily do without all that hassle, especially if I lived in a small flat with nowhere really to keep a bike.

Tom

 

[Cyclezee]

You are definitely not going to like this and It goes against the grain to even suggest it, but with your track record and because of where you live, I would get one of these or similar.
It will probably get nicked too but at least it would be insured.
Plan B take oldtom's advice.

 

[Kinninvie]

Go round the local shops etc and ask if they have cctv.that covers that spot.
If so go to the police and they may be able to do something,if he/she is one of there regulars they may even recognise them.

 

[flecc]

I agree with Old Tom, use public transport. Most of my friends live in inner and outer boroughs of London, one uses a cheap bike for short, brief trips and only one has a car, but they all use public transport for most of their travel and socialising.
.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Something like this might help in the future. It will go off if anybody touches your bike.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/EASY-FIT-Only-Two-Wires-Motorcycle-Bike-Scooter-Trike-Alarm-DIY-Installation-/330972216301?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item4d0f7b3bed

or this one for a bit more noise

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BikeTek-Basic-Motorcycle-Scooter-Quad-Atv-12v-Alarm-Easy-To-Fit-/331327710368?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item4d24aba4a0

They run off 12V, so you need a dc/dc converter or a small 3S lipo pack.

We can only hope that the thief blows up every charger that he tries and sets fire to his his house.

 

[trex]

did you lock your battery bag?

 

[JohnCade]

I agree with Old Tom, use public transport. Most of my friends live in inner and outer boroughs of London, one uses a cheap bike for short, brief trips and only one has a car, but they all use public transport for most of their travel and socialising.
.

Not all using free pensioner travel cards are they? I haven’t lived in London for over fifteen years but it was expensive getting around by public transport then.

 

[selrahc1992]

hello,

I went to the pub today to have a drink with some friends for an hour... and when I went out... I've seen this:

I had to look... then look again... My battery is GONE! Someone stole it!!!! I can't see how anyone would want to get it, they can't get decent value out of it. I checked on the bin all around to see if the battery is in a bin or not... I ended up checking inside bin all around the street

I was experimenting to see if a panier would be strong enough to hold 5kg battery:

It worked for barely a couple of week before a damn thief decided to steal the bag.

I'm very sorry this happen to you, my solution would be different from others here, london is relatively flat, i love cycling in it, specially very late at night returning from being out, but leisurely - you wont get the battery back, but a vintage raleigh hack bike can be bought on ebay for ten or twenty pounds, i have an old loop frame and its ideal for going out to pubs etc, beats public transport, less stress than pedelec for me.
It was a dear 50v20aH us18650V3 battery that were supposed to be working fine for years...

I know you are going to tell me that I should never let my bag unattended and always keep it with me.... but bear in mind I go out in central london with friends. We go to bar, pub, club and doorman check our bags. They see batteries and I may end up in the police station. Also, carrying 5kg around is really a pain in the ass, and the bike bag isn't that nice to carry around anyway...

Lesson learnt... never let a bag unattended even for few minutes as thieves are everywhere.... As I live in a very small flat... I need to be able to have hard case to lock my battery making it much heavier


Damn.. damn.. Lost lots of money and the damn thief would probably just bin the battery as he will no see any use of it

 

[flecc]

Not all using free pensioner travel cards are they? I haven’t lived in London for over fifteen years but it was expensive getting around by public transport then.

Wrong guess John! Most of my friends are very much younger, in their 40s and 50s. Just one will be getting a pension in three years time, lives on the outer edge and drives a car.

The others all use the Oyster card, and find the public transport convenience and not having the expense of running a car is the best option.
.

 

[jonathan75]

Sorry to hear that. From what I know you're in the most CCTV'd part of the most CCTV'd city of the most CCTV'd country in the world, and if you can convince the police to investigate properly, then that thief is toast. Although in truth it's probably some junkie. I also think that all insurers will provide an explanation of the exact build characteristics you need in order to be insured (if DIY bikes are covered) in the future. So if it's an achievable specification, then you can work to that one, if you want to.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Wrong guess John! Most of my friends are very much younger, in their 40s and 50s. Just one will be getting a pension in three years time, lives on the outer edge and drives a car.

The others all use the Oyster card, and find the public transport convenience and not having the expense of running a car is the best option.
.

Cwah got an electric bike so that he wouldn't have to use public transport! Why are are people suggesting that he goes back to it, or has this forum changed its name to buscatchers.co.uk while I wasn't looking?

 

[flecc]

Cwah got an electric bike so that he wouldn't have to use public transport! Why are are people suggesting that he goes back to it, or has this forum changed its name to buscatchers.co.uk while I wasn't looking?

Cwah has posted about the theft problem on several occasions having often been the victim. In addition he has many other problems with an e-bike, living in a flat with no storage for it and nowhere at work for it either. Clearly an e-bike is not the right solution for him, while public transport avoids all those problems.

When banging ones head on a wall leads to headaches, the right advice is to stop doing it, not carry on as you seem to be suggesting.
.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

That's not an apt analogy at all. Cwah has asked how he can stop people from nicking his stuff. The answer isn't to give up biking.

What about all these people that come on here asking about what to do about saddle-sawness. Should your answer be for them to give up biking and get a car? This is an electric bike forum where people come to get advice on how to make their electric bike experience better. Our role should be to give them that advice, not to tell them to give it up.

 

[trex]

That's not an apt analogy at all. Cwah has asked how he can stop people from nicking his stuff. .

his pictures told the story.
If you leave a big bag in a street in London without a visibly large chain and lock, you are asking for trouble.

 

[Nealh]

Very bad news Cwah but any bag left on a bike is a candidate for theft, the thief/scum who took it probably was hoping to find a decent bit of techy computer stuff in there will be shocked to find a load of techy batteries etc.

Cwah is one of the forums great triers, quite often he throws money at things or buys the wrong component but he tries . He will probably still throw more money at it until he gets what he wants an then want some more, at the end of the day its up to him he earns it and spends it on one of his passions.
Good luck and keep trying Cwah ,I enjoy reading your posts.