The UK Difference

[TinKitten]

How does theft of bikes / ebikes compare in these countries where they are more popular? Knowing your bike is safe at your intended destinations must be a factor in deciding whether to use one for regular transport.

 

[flecc]

How does theft of bikes / ebikes compare in these countries where they are more popular? Knowing your bike is safe at your intended destinations must be a factor in deciding whether to use one for regular transport.

Bicycle theft is a major problem in The Netherlands where cycling is far more popular than anywhere else in the World. To show how severe the problem is there, one thing the Dutch often do to lessen the chance of a new bike being taken is to deliberately rubbish it at purchase. That can consist of slapping some hand painting onto it, bending and straightening some non-structural parts like mudguards and never properly washing the bike. Anything to make it unattractive while keeping the mechanical benefits of a new bike.

So it would seem the possibility of theft is not a major cycling deterrent, there at least. That said, there's no doubt it is a worry to many of our members, so perhaps they would just need to adapt to it as the Dutch have done. That's a big ask though, here in the UK we regard the visual status of our bikes as important, while there in The Netherlands they are often regarded more as just a means of transport.
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[neptune]

Isn`t it a shame that one has to "rubbish" a new bike in order to prevent it being stolen. Before I retired, I did not use a bike much, and then only for nipping into town. My approach was to always have a bike, but one which whilst being reasonably roadworthy, was of poor cosmetic appearance. At the local tip, you could choose from about ten to twenty bikes, at a fiver apeace.

These had been discarded by previous owners because they were considered worn out. Most examples could be restored to working order in half an hour. Oiling the chain and inflating the tyres was usually all that was needed.Perhaps, if you were less fortunate, a puncture would need mending. So for a fiver, you could buy a decent bike that had previously been "Professionally Rubbished". Sadly, the tip no longer sells bikes. Elf and Safety, and all that.

Going back to Flecc`s long hill. We talked about a cutting, and an escalator. One has to wonder if a tunnel might be cheaper. Much less spoil to remove. I believe that an old railway tunnel has been converted to cycle use in Bristol, and there is a cycle tunnel beneath the Clyde in Glasgow. Also, it doesn`t rain in a tunnel.

 

[flecc]

Going back to Flecc`s long hill. We talked about a cutting, and an escalator. One has to wonder if a tunnel might be cheaper. Much less spoil to remove. I believe that an old railway tunnel has been converted to cycle use in Bristol, and there is a cycle tunnel beneath the Clyde in Glasgow. Also, it doesn`t rain in a tunnel.

Definitely a tunnel would be cheaper and less environmentally damaging than a large deep cutting and I did consider it, but not for long.

The problem once again on the fringe of a huge urban conurbation is crime. Tunnels, like underpasses, are magnets for those who like to ambush others to carry out serious crimes like mugging, sexual assault and bullying, or just the disfigurement of graffiti. Since they cannot be policed 24/7 and CCTV is so easily defeated by wearing hoodies and lower face scarves, tunnels sadly have to be ruled out, especially at over a mile long.
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[Alan Quay]

Going back to Flecc`s long hill. We talked about a cutting, and an escalator. One has to wonder if a tunnel might be cheaper. Much less spoil to remove. I believe that an old railway tunnel has been converted to cycle use in Bristol, and there is a cycle tunnel beneath the Clyde in Glasgow. Also, it doesn`t rain in a tunnel.

Do you mean this one in Bath?
http://www.sustrans.org.uk/ncn/map/route/bath-two-tunnels

 

[neptune]

Yes mike, that is the one I had in mind. Not sure if crime is a problem here, but these tunnels are probably in a more rural environment. The glasgow Clyde tunnel is in a city, and again not sure about crime. Even if the incidence of crime is low, perceived danger would prevent some people using a tunnel, especially the old, the very young, and probably women.

It is a reflection on society as a whole, and human nature in particular, that we have to put ourselves through inconvenience and expense, to mitigate the evil intentions of a minority. When I was a young man, I worked as a telephone engineer. One of my tasks was to service and maintain the coinbox mechanisms in phone boxes. I used to daydream of a perfect world, where the mechanism would consist of a tray on which people would put their money, and take chance as required.

Sounds crazy I know. Earlier in the year, I bought some new potatoes from a roadside farm. The potatoes were already bagged up in three pound bags. There was no one at home. There was a jam jar into which customers put money and took change...