Pialligo bike heist

“My other thought (slight tangent to a broken record), is this guy is prepared to spend 18k on a bike, but I bet if he was asked to pay $5/year towards the cost of using the road he commutes on he’d find any way out of it.”

Along with my 2 bikes I also pay 2 car regos and, I can almost guarantee, a lot more tax than you. Your logic just flew out the broken record window

dvaey said :

My other thought (slight tangent to a broken record), is this guy is prepared to spend 18k on a bike, but I bet if he was asked to pay $5/year towards the cost of using the road he commutes on he’d find any way out of it.

Jeez, been a while since you brought this old chestnut up. You keep crapping on like a broken record but never pay any attention to the answers.

This guy would have paid $1,800 in GST on those 2 bikes. GST is collected by the Federal Govt and then allocated back to State and Territories to build things like roads for everyone to use. The rego fees alone would cover sweet FA of the cost of roads in this country.

Hopefully you pay attention and this will be the last time we have to hear it.

alaninoz said :

dvaey said :

Why would you leave 18k worth of bike unlocked?

I was wondering about that, but couldn’t tell from the post. If unlocked, I wonder what the insurance company will have to say?

It could have been a lockable roof rack, but they aren’t totally secure. I know someone else who had a bike flogged from one of these. If I recall the details (probably incorrectly), the thief cut was able to cut/saw through it to steal the goods. Unfortunately, I can’t recall how long the bike was out for.

dvaey said :

Why would you leave 18k worth of bike unlocked?

I was wondering about that, but couldn’t tell from the post. If unlocked, I wonder what the insurance company will have to say?

I bet if he was asked to pay $5/year towards the cost of using the road he commutes on he’d find any way out of it

The Hume Hilton, roadside art and the Al Grasby statue become exemplars of government expenditure when compared to an idea like making cyclists pay $5 (or $10, or $15 or $50) a year to use roads. Despite what the fcuktards with the “I drive and I vote” sticker will try and tell you.

dvaey said :

Why would you leave 18k worth of bike unlocked? Even cheap $20 bike-carriers can have a padlock put on them. You lock up a $200 bike to a bike rack in a public area, why wouldnt you lock up 20k worth of bikes in a public area?

My other thought (slight tangent to a broken record), is this guy is prepared to spend 18k on a bike, but I bet if he was asked to pay $5/year towards the cost of using the road he commutes on he’d find any way out of it.

You did read the bit where the bikes were stolen from on top of his vehicle didn’t you?

OpenYourMind said :

dvaey, a lot of us regular cyclists already pay the expensive component of rego by being members of Pedal Power. Pedal Power membership includes 3rd party insurance. If a rego fee included this component I think many cyclists would consider it. I don’t think its in the interests of our local Government to charge such a fee – in fact there’s so many benefits to our local govt of greater cycling participation that they are probably better off paying an allowance to each regular ACT bicycle commuter. Well, that would get my vote 🙂

Its already happening in Europe:

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2011/06/23/2003506502

In other parts of the world:

http://www.commutebybike.com/2009/01/16/get-paid-to-commute-by-bike/

dvaey said :

My other thought (slight tangent to a broken record), is this guy is prepared to spend 18k on a bike, but I bet if he was asked to pay $5/year towards the cost of using the road he commutes on he’d find any way out of it.

‘Broken record’ is an apt description, dvaey.

Two words: Consolidated Revenue. Look it up, understand it.

dvaey, a lot of us regular cyclists already pay the expensive component of rego by being members of Pedal Power. Pedal Power membership includes 3rd party insurance. If a rego fee included this component I think many cyclists would consider it. I don’t think its in the interests of our local Government to charge such a fee – in fact there’s so many benefits to our local govt of greater cycling participation that they are probably better off paying an allowance to each regular ACT bicycle commuter. Well, that would get my vote 🙂

The Frots said :

Henry82 said :

The Frots said :

It might be cheaper if you simply bought a box of carbon itself – without the rest of the bike!

At $23/tonne, its a pretty good deal. More expensive than water, but thats about it.

Sounds great – I’ll take three.

Reddogincan said “Well, trees are essentially carbon fibre so it would be cheapest just to make a bike out of wood.

LOL for that one. I can see it now! A nice piece of kit.

http://www.bikebamboo.com/

Why would you leave 18k worth of bike unlocked? Even cheap $20 bike-carriers can have a padlock put on them. You lock up a $200 bike to a bike rack in a public area, why wouldnt you lock up 20k worth of bikes in a public area?

My other thought (slight tangent to a broken record), is this guy is prepared to spend 18k on a bike, but I bet if he was asked to pay $5/year towards the cost of using the road he commutes on he’d find any way out of it.

Henry82 said :

The Frots said :

It might be cheaper if you simply bought a box of carbon itself – without the rest of the bike!

At $23/tonne, its a pretty good deal. More expensive than water, but thats about it.

Sounds great – I’ll take three.

Reddogincan said “Well, trees are essentially carbon fibre so it would be cheapest just to make a bike out of wood.

LOL for that one. I can see it now! A nice piece of kit.

I have an expensive road bike, an expensive mountain bike, and use both to commute and race…..and I look superb on both.

troll-sniffer said :

Oi be constantly amazed at da moneys dat pipples in dis town chuck at bike shops. Oi be sure there be a few road racin’ types who could actually benefit from the few milliseconds afforded a sprint to the line, but for the remainder of the ‘look at moi’ brigade, you’re just victims of a giant con.

Especially the tosser brigade who buy the $6000+ bikes to commute to work! Recently a scientist in Pommyland released a study into the difference between an old steel-framed treadlie and the same commute on a fancy wank-bike. The result? The old faithful steel treadlie was actually slightly faster over the course of the trial. He’s not claiming it was a science experiment, and didn’t need to be, it did prove that over the long term, by the time road and weather conditions, personal well-being and other factors were taken into account, there’s no significant advantage in a lightweight treadlie outside a racing situation, where the finer points of acceleration come into play.

Oi not be sayin’ like that the victim here ain’t some fancy pants Tour de France contender moind, oi just be sayin’ if he or she not be, there be a lot of dollars pointlessly placed in the hands of a local boike shop what be rubbin’ there hands in glee at a new sale.

I would dispute this, I had a high quality Carrera steely then upgraded to a 2k++ Cannondale. I could not believe the difference between the two. The Cannondale (7 kgs) feels like it is on a rail, absolutely stable through any corner. Wish I was good enough to max it out, definitley money well spent. I tend to agree with Watson, in that further $s would be for the bling.

As a long distance ride-to-work communter, the owner of a $5k roadbike (for racing), a $1k roadbike for commuting, a collection of hard tail and dual suspension mountain bikes, I have a little more experience on this topic than most. I am a little scientific about this as well and regularly track my ride to work with a GPS app on a smartphone. Firstly, the difference between a roadie and a fatter tyred mountain bike for a standard commute is enormous. A mountain bike is slower for commuting. The difference between my ride-to-work roadbike and my race bike is very small. The carbon-fibre framed bike is a nicer machine to ride, but a little less robust, whereas a mountain bike can be ridden over bumps and drops and such with a little more gusto.

I’ve ridden to work on an old steel framed clunker and it was much slower and much harder work.

The law of diminishing returns certainly works against the bicycle. As others have said, the difference between a standard and a top of the range bike is minute. This is a good thing because for most people, a decently set up bike can be purchased for a relatively small amount of money. Apart from the winter chill, Canberra really is a wonderful city to cycle in.

The Frots said :

It might be cheaper if you simply bought a box of carbon itself – without the rest of the bike!

At $23/tonne, its a pretty good deal. More expensive than water, but thats about it.

The Frots said :

It might be cheaper if you simply bought a box of carbon itself – without the rest of the bike!

Well, trees are essentially carbon fibre so it would be cheapest just to make a bike out of wood.

dungfungus said :

Rollersk8r said :

dungfungus said :

What is this “carbon fibre” stuff that the bikes are made of? My bike is made from steel.
We were repeatedly told yesterday that anything with carbon in it is now evil so is it possible some well meaning greenies have taken matters into their own hands to pre-emptively destroy these two wheeled threats to our environment?

That’s where you’re wrong – wouldn’t have this problem if everyone went out and bought a carbon fibre bike! Carbon capture!

So this means that if everyone grows more plants & trees in their gardens and captures this carbon gas stuff (I can’t afford one of these carbon fibre bikes) we won’t have any more problems for the enviroment? I know fibre is good for us but what does it taste like with carbon? Is it harmful?

It might be cheaper if you simply bought a box of carbon itself – without the rest of the bike!

Rollersk8r said :

dungfungus said :

What is this “carbon fibre” stuff that the bikes are made of? My bike is made from steel.
We were repeatedly told yesterday that anything with carbon in it is now evil so is it possible some well meaning greenies have taken matters into their own hands to pre-emptively destroy these two wheeled threats to our environment?

That’s where you’re wrong – wouldn’t have this problem if everyone went out and bought a carbon fibre bike! Carbon capture!

So this means that if everyone grows more plants & trees in their gardens and captures this carbon gas stuff (I can’t afford one of these carbon fibre bikes) we won’t have any more problems for the enviroment? I know fibre is good for us but what does it taste like with carbon? Is it harmful?

troll-sniffer said :

Oi be constantly amazed at da moneys dat pipples in dis town chuck at bike shops. Oi be sure there be a few road racin’ types who could actually benefit from the few milliseconds afforded a sprint to the line, but for the remainder of the ‘look at moi’ brigade, you’re just victims of a giant con.

Especially the tosser brigade who buy the $6000+ bikes to commute to work! Recently a scientist in Pommyland released a study into the difference between an old steel-framed treadlie and the same commute on a fancy wank-bike. The result? The old faithful steel treadlie was actually slightly faster over the course of the trial. He’s not claiming it was a science experiment, and didn’t need to be, it did prove that over the long term, by the time road and weather conditions, personal well-being and other factors were taken into account, there’s no significant advantage in a lightweight treadlie outside a racing situation, where the finer points of acceleration come into play.

Oi not be sayin’ like that the victim here ain’t some fancy pants Tour de France contender moind, oi just be sayin’ if he or she not be, there be a lot of dollars pointlessly placed in the hands of a local boike shop what be rubbin’ there hands in glee at a new sale.

Driving a Porsche probably won’t get you to work any faster either – but people are able to pursue their interests and spend their money how they like.

troll-sniffer said :

Especially the tosser brigade who buy the $6000+ bikes to commute to work! Recently a scientist in Pommyland released a study into the difference between an old steel-framed treadlie and the same commute on a fancy wank-bike. The result? The old faithful steel treadlie was actually slightly faster over the course of the trial. He’s not claiming it was a science experiment, and didn’t need to be, it did prove that over the long term, by the time road and weather conditions, personal well-being and other factors were taken into account, there’s no significant advantage in a lightweight treadlie outside a racing situation, where the finer points of acceleration come into play.

Oi not be sayin’ like that the victim here ain’t some fancy pants Tour de France contender moind, oi just be sayin’ if he or she not be, there be a lot of dollars pointlessly placed in the hands of a local boike shop what be rubbin’ there hands in glee at a new sale.

I think if it gives them pleasure to ride an expensive bike, who are we to deny them that? The 50-something guy who buys a midlife-crisis-red porsche, could have saved his money and bought a Ford Falcon instead.

Ok, maybe there is less difference between an expensive and cheap bike than there is between a Porsche and a Falcon, but they’re both just status symbols nevertheless. You might awell tell women that polished glass looks just as pretty as diamonds.

As for the English study… I’ve never cycled in England, but in other European countries like Holland and surrounds, cyclists commute in a very different way than we do in Canberra. There is no lycra in sight anywhere, you cycle in your work clothes and therefor it is very uncool to get sweaty, so you cycle slowly but steadily. The surface is quite rough too, so if they compared it to racing bike, they were immediately disadvantaged there.

So if you cycle for speed like most do in Canberra, you’d probably benefit from something slightly better than your grandma’s old bike. Though I also agree that once you’ve gone over $2000 any differences will be totally superficial.

That rant was way off topic, but I enjoyed it. 😉

dungfungus said :

What is this “carbon fibre” stuff that the bikes are made of? My bike is made from steel.
We were repeatedly told yesterday that anything with carbon in it is now evil so is it possible some well meaning greenies have taken matters into their own hands to pre-emptively destroy these two wheeled threats to our environment?

That’s where you’re wrong – wouldn’t have this problem if everyone went out and bought a carbon fibre bike! Carbon capture!

Oi be constantly amazed at da moneys dat pipples in dis town chuck at bike shops. Oi be sure there be a few road racin’ types who could actually benefit from the few milliseconds afforded a sprint to the line, but for the remainder of the ‘look at moi’ brigade, you’re just victims of a giant con.

Especially the tosser brigade who buy the $6000+ bikes to commute to work! Recently a scientist in Pommyland released a study into the difference between an old steel-framed treadlie and the same commute on a fancy wank-bike. The result? The old faithful steel treadlie was actually slightly faster over the course of the trial. He’s not claiming it was a science experiment, and didn’t need to be, it did prove that over the long term, by the time road and weather conditions, personal well-being and other factors were taken into account, there’s no significant advantage in a lightweight treadlie outside a racing situation, where the finer points of acceleration come into play.

Oi not be sayin’ like that the victim here ain’t some fancy pants Tour de France contender moind, oi just be sayin’ if he or she not be, there be a lot of dollars pointlessly placed in the hands of a local boike shop what be rubbin’ there hands in glee at a new sale.

What is this “carbon fibre” stuff that the bikes are made of? My bike is made from steel.
We were repeatedly told yesterday that anything with carbon in it is now evil so is it possible some well meaning greenies have taken matters into their own hands to pre-emptively destroy these two wheeled threats to our environment?

I think it was a general motorist who, not being able tolegally smash into cyclists and get away with it, saw an opportunity to take two bicycles off the road!!

If it were me owning them, I’d have a look in cash converters! And yes, I’m joking!!

RedDogInCan said :

dtc said :

I seriously doubt the thief knew the bikes were worth $18k – they were probably just seen as looking nice and reasonably available (unless we now have thiefs with a good understanding of carbon fibre).

Oh, I think you’ll find the thieves knew exactly what they were worth, who owned them, how they were secured, and where the owner was going to be that morning.

Yeah.. weirder things have happened but this one does quack a bit like a duck.

The Darwin award comment deserves it’s own special RiotACT award. Maybe as well as the Mully, we could have the Merlin Bodega for making statements without fully understanding what they mean. I remember during the Mully kerfuffle, one of the Mully clan piped up and said “Those Police, they just take the law into their own hands”. See, that statement deserved a Merlin Bodega!

dtc said :

I seriously doubt the thief knew the bikes were worth $18k – they were probably just seen as looking nice and reasonably available (unless we now have thiefs with a good understanding of carbon fibre).

Oh, I think you’ll find the thieves knew exactly what they were worth, who owned them, how they were secured, and where the owner was going to be that morning.

“Around 9.30am the victim parked his vehicle on Beltana Road, near the Pialligo and Fairbairn Avenue intersection. The victim had two bicycles secured to the top of his vehicle. He returned to his vehicle about 30 minutes later to find both bicycles had been stolen.’

‘Spending that much on two bikes, leaving them in a dark place at night expecting them to be there when you get back and expecting the ACT police to find them has to be the trifecta of Darwin awards. ‘

Didn’t do particularly well in English comprehension in school, did you Einstein

insurance job

I seriously doubt the thief knew the bikes were worth $18k – they were probably just seen as looking nice and reasonably available (unless we now have thiefs with a good understanding of carbon fibre). Given that the thief didnt know they were worth $18k, would you claim a ‘darwin award’ if the bikes had only been your standard $500 bike? It probably would have made little difference to the thief.

That said, anyone who can tell the difference between a $800 gear set and a $1500 gear set (let alone more exxy ones) is seriously misled. And even if they can tell the difference, unless you are a professional and it actually means something, why bother. I’m not one for telling people what to spend their money on, but a bit of reality is usually worthwhile.

merlin bodega said :

Eighteen grand for two bikes!?! Evolution fails us again. Spending that much on two bikes, leaving them in a dark place at night expecting them to be there when you get back and expecting the ACT police to find them has to be the trifecta of Darwin awards. Wise thinking tells me though that the buyer of the said bikes is likely to be the taxpayer in one form or other.

I stayed tuned to see how long it takes one or other of the sports organisations around town to stump up for the next bikes.

Your whole rant about darwinism and evolution failing is just stupid.

Someone, who obviously has more money then you, probably makes a living or part living through their bikes, they get stolen so you say it’s their fault?

Race car’s cost hundred’s of thousands of dollars, they still get stolen, so it is now the owner’s fault for having a life?

Your comments are what is wrong with the world, the people who should be being slagged off are the lowly maggot infested, dead coyote scrotum’s that can’t keep their hand’s to themselves.

merlin bodega said :

Eighteen grand for two bikes!?! Evolution fails us again.

Methinks you don’t understand what evolution means.

merlin bodega said :

…has to be the trifecta of Darwin awards.

Except that the (ex-)owner of these bikes hasn’t taken himself out of the gene pool…

merlin bodega said :

Spending that much on two bikes, leaving them in a dark place at night

Agree with the poor decision of leaving 18K worth of bikes unattended in public, but it was at 930am, not at night in a dark place. By the sounds of it, it was daylight on a busy intersection. Being the entry road for the nursuries in that area, there would have been a few car driving by on Beltana Road.

Eighteen grand for two bikes!?! Evolution fails us again. Spending that much on two bikes, leaving them in a dark place at night expecting them to be there when you get back and expecting the ACT police to find them has to be the trifecta of Darwin awards. Wise thinking tells me though that the buyer of the said bikes is likely to be the taxpayer in one form or other.

I stayed tuned to see how long it takes one or other of the sports organisations around town to stump up for the next bikes.

Frustrating that this type of opportunistic theft is more frequent in Canberra; If it were me I probably wouldn’t leave close to $20k worth of carbon-fibre machinery strapped to the roof of my parked car.