Contributed Photo
A group of kids couldn’t yank free the bike they were trying to steal, but they knocked over another one — which had been bolted into the ground.
The would-be thieves were spotted Wednesday afternoon yanking on a black Giant hybrid bike that was locked to a bike-shaped bike rack in Pitkin Plaza on Orange Street downtown. As they tried to bust through the cable lock securing the bike, they pulled over the entire bike rack, then fled the scene.
That was the story that an eyewitness related to Matt Feiner, who own the Devil’s Gear Bike Shop in the plaza.
That story had a happier ending than a similar one a month ago, when a bike thief managed to topple a bike rack and make off with a bike locked at the corner of Lawrence and Nash streets. Click the video to watch it happen.
Feiner had two recommendations following the Pitkin Plaza bike-theft attempt. First, the city should look into anchoring racks deeper into the ground. Second, cyclists should not use cable locks, unless in combination with a U‑lock. Bike thieves can cut through cable locks or sometimes get them open through persistent yanking alone.
Thomas MacMIllan Photo
Feiner (pictured) pieced together what happened on Wednesday afternoon:
The attempted theft happened “in broad daylight.”
It was sometime between 2 and 4 p.m. Feiner’s shop was very busy. Somebody came in and told him: “Your bike rack fell over.”
Thinking it was one of the shop’s outdoor display racks, Feiner headed outside to take a look. The city’s bike-shaped rack was on its side, pinning a Giant bike underneath.
Later, a man in a suit came up and told Feiner that he’d seen the whole episode. It was a group of kids, the man told Feiner. They’d been yanking on the Giant bike and pulled the whole rack over. The man had snapped some photos with his phone, but the kids hid their faces.
Then at about 5 p.m., the owner of the bike showed up. Feiner checked over the guy’s bike, which was undamaged.
“Why would they pull on a lock like that?” the man asked Feiner. Because sometimes they pop open, Feiner replied. He sold the guy a U‑lock.
Feiner said the Devil’s Gear doesn’t even sell cable locks anymore, except with U‑locks. They’re too unreliable on their own. Used in conjunction with a U‑lock, the cable secures the wheels, while the U‑lock secures the bike frame. “They won’t cut a cable just to steal a wheel,” Feiner said.
He demonstrated the most secure way to lock your bike: the “lasso” method. Click on the video to watch him demonstrate.
Feiner also recommended converting quick-release wheels to bolt-on.
And notice what you’re locking to, he said. Some street signs can be pulled out of the ground. And sometimes thieves can remove a sign and lift off a bike locked to a signpost.
Feiner speaks from experience. He said he had four bikes stolen in two years after he moved to New Haven in 1988.
Top downtown cop Sgt. Tammi Means said her crew plans to review surveillance footage in hopes of tracking down the would-be bike-grabbers.
“It seems,” Feiner said, “like the thieves in New Haven over the last couple of years have gotten more industrious.”
Matt Feiner is a local treasure.