Flat tire bag and frame pump were stolen from my bike!

ABG

Hello cyclists and commuters,

Guess what happened to me yesterday? I locked my bike at a subway station right where I work because my employer won't let me bring my bike into my floor, and my frame pump and wedge pack with flat tools (tire levers, patches, 2 spare tubes and a wrench) were stolen off my bike! The fact that both the pump and the wedge pack were stolen says to me that it was an intentional theft, as opposed to the wedge pack or pump mysteriously falling off. (This may also happen but unlikely both at the same time.) Can you believe that shit? Who (other than a disrespectful cyclist) is going to want this stuff anyway?

As a bicycle commuter, I carry a trunk rack and bag too, but I carry my flat tools in a separate wedge pack and my pump directly on my frame. This is because when I want to take a leisurely ride (as opposed to a commute) and don't need to carry a trunk bag and rack, I don't have to. Are there any locking metal-box wedge packs on the market out there? I haven't seen any myself. What are other bicycle commuter's strategies for dealing with potential bicycle petty theft if a bicycle has to be locked outside? It's just impossible to lock down everything on a bicycle.

By the way, I didn't know immediately that my wedge pack and pump were missing from my bike this morning on my commute, and I got a flat tire and had to walk 3 miles to my destination because I couldn't change it. I was late to work by an hour and a half. You would think that if it were a fellow cyclist who stole this stuff, he or she would understand why somebody would want this stuff on their bike and therefore would not steal them for themselves. A noncyclist would have no use for this stuff and wouldn't steal them either. It really doesn't make much sense. What bastards.

Ellis456

Doesn't surprise me to be honest, I work in the police and people will nick anything, there scum, proberly just kids who took the bits.

Walkafire

I have always thought... if I leave it on the Bike and it gets stolen... then I have to replace it... How much hassle is it to take it with you when you lock it up?

Better yet, is it worth replacing your stuff ($$$$$$) NOPE

I strip my ride down to nothing... course I don't mind carrying it. And I use 2 locks.

We all learn from our mistakes.... better luck next time!

WALK

alfeng

Sadly, if the bike was parked in a publically accessible area, then the things which were taken were probably "liberated" by a drug addict or homeless kid who sold it to whomever for one-or-two dollars (if s/he is lucky) who will resell it at a flea market -- not all flea market "stuff" is stolen ... but, it is an outlet for some unscrupulous people.

Use a "bike locker" if/when it is available ...