The etiquette of an unsolicited bike fix

[ShawnoftheDread]

@Supermau 95167 wrote:

Me too. Never had anything stolen but I strip my bike of lights, saddlebag, and pump when I get to work. I never want to say, “I told you so” to myself.

It’s all lawyers and bankers in my building and therefore everything is very safe.

hahahahahahha

[jrenaut]

@ShawnoftheDread 95174 wrote:

It’s all lawyers and bankers in my building and therefore everything on my bike is very safe.

Fixed.

[kcb203]

@hozn 95124 wrote:

I do feel like I should start telling people when their helmets are on backwards, though. That probably could have serious safety implications too. But they look so happy.

Do you say anything when someone has their helmet strapped to their backpack or handlebars rather than on their head? I used to say in a friendly voice “Helmets work better when they’re on your head,” but I’ve seen so many people doing this recently, that I’ve given up.

I do say something to parents when kids have their helmets on too far back, exposing their foreheads. A friend of a friend’s kid crashed on his bike and cracked his skull because the helmet was too far back. He’s recovered, but far too many people don’t know how to wear a helmet.

[Emm]

@Supermau 95167 wrote:

Me too. Never had anything stolen but I strip my bike of lights, saddlebag, and pump when I get to work. I never want to say, “I told you so” to myself.

Everyone in my building leaves their helmets, bags, and water bottles (???) unsecured on their bike. I leave just my saddle bag. I’d be angry if someone took the CO2 cartridge and spare tube I keep in there, but it wouldn’t end my world.

I will have to reconsider this next year when my office moves from a place with secure parking in a garage to a place with only outdoor, public racks. I’ll also need to switch the pin in my saddle so it’s no longer quick release. Bleck.

[Supermau]

@Emm 95192 wrote:

Everyone in my building leaves their helmets, bags, and water bottles (???) unsecured on their bike. I leave just my saddle bag. I’d be angry if someone took the CO2 cartridge and spare tube I keep in there, but it wouldn’t end my world.

I will have to reconsider this next year when my office moves from a place with secure parking in a garage to a place with only outdoor, public racks. I’ll also need to switch the pin in my saddle so it’s no longer quick release. Bleck.

My building seems very safe, and I do see bikes with lights on them that go unmolested all day, but it just seems too easy since our parking is racks outside. My saddle bag is essentially the repair kit too, and wouldn’t be a major loss but I’d be pissed if someone lifted it anyway! Stripping takes all of a single minute so I do it.

[dasgeh]

@Geoff 95164 wrote:

You can leave your light on the bike? Ever since my pump and tool bag were stolen from my bike while in the parking garage, I wouldn’t dare.

Government garage: controlled entry, cameras trained on bike parking. One of the few pro-bike policies (that isn’t a pro-bike policy at all) of working here. It helps that the guy who runs the garage is a cyclist and is always trying to find things he can do to help.

[sethpo]

This thread has made me wonder if I shouldn’t just come in one night and fix the flat tire on the bike belonging to someone who has left it up on the (limited) racks for weeks. I tracked down the owner and offered twice to help fix it but she seemed almost insulted by the offer and insisted she’d take care of it….and hasn’t.

Stealth flat repair can’t be all that bad, right?

[ShawnoftheDread]

@sethpo 95195 wrote:

This thread has made me wonder if I shouldn’t just come in one night and fix the flat tire on the bike belonging to someone who has left it up on the (limited) racks for weeks. I tracked down the owner and offered twice to help fix it but she seemed almost insulted by the offer and insisted she’d take care of it….and hasn’t.

Stealth flat repair can’t be all that bad, right?

It will probably go flat again before she gets around to noticing.

[rcannon100]

@sethpo 95195 wrote:

This thread has made me wonder if I shouldn’t just come in one night and fix the flat tire on the bike belonging to someone who has left it up on the (limited) racks for weeks. I tracked down the owner and offered twice to help fix it but she seemed almost insulted by the offer and insisted she’d take care of it….and hasn’t.

Stealth flat repair can’t be all that bad, right?

Yah except at my office that is a sure fire indicator that someone is not a commuter and not using the bike parking for commuting. A bike sitting for long periods with a flat is a bike not in use. Eventually it gets tagged, notice is circulated, and if the bike is not removed, the lock is cut and the bike is moved to storage.

Yes, secure parking is a criteria for a LAB bike friendly business. While I always tell cyclists to lock their bicycles, secure, access controlled, weather protected garage parking is a big feature.

And I will add… one of the few times we had a problem who says he came down to his bike, found his brakes “adjusted” and concluded that someone was trying to steal his bike. He demanded that the camera video get reviewed blah blah blah. (a) dont touch other peoples bikes (b) lock your bike always.

[hozn]

@kcb203 95190 wrote:

Do you say anything when someone has their helmet strapped to their backpack or handlebars rather than on their head?

While I think it’s pretty silly to have a helmet strapped to the handlebars, I wouldn’t say anything, no. In the case of the helmet on backwards the user must just not know they’re doing it wrong, whereas certainly when someone takes off their helmet and hangs it from their bars they know what they’re doing (and I don’t feel I should correct that). But the exposed forehead seems like a pretty good thing to point out, since there’s probably simply ignorance at play there too.

[kcb203]

@sethpo 95195 wrote:

This thread has made me wonder if I shouldn’t just come in one night and fix the flat tire on the bike belonging to someone who has left it up on the (limited) racks for weeks. I tracked down the owner and offered twice to help fix it but she seemed almost insulted by the offer and insisted she’d take care of it….and hasn’t.

Stealth flat repair can’t be all that bad, right?

At every Ironman race, there are inevitably a few tires that go flat during the swim because people didn’t inflate them properly or check to make sure the tube wasn’t pinched. Supposedly, during the swim, every tire is checked and the Ironman staff will change whatever flat tires they find. The racer is none the wiser–they just get on their bike with a nice, fully inflated tire.

[dkel]

@kcb203 95209 wrote:

At every Ironman race, there are inevitably a few tires that go flat during the swim because people didn’t inflate them properly or check to make sure the tube wasn’t pinched. Supposedly, during the swim, every tire is checked and the Ironman staff will change whatever flat tires they find. The racer is none the wiser–they just get on their bike with a nice, fully inflated tire.

They should make changing a tire a required part of the race. Then it would really be Ironman.

[Tim Kelley]

@kcb203 95209 wrote:

At every Ironman race, there are inevitably a few tires that go flat during the swim because people didn’t inflate them properly or check to make sure the tube wasn’t pinched. Supposedly, during the swim, every tire is checked and the Ironman staff will change whatever flat tires they find. The racer is none the wiser–they just get on their bike with a nice, fully inflated tire.

Got a link for verification?

[Terpfan]

@hozn 95202 wrote:

While I think it’s pretty silly to have a helmet strapped to the handlebars, I wouldn’t say anything, no. In the case of the helmet on backwards the user must just not know they’re doing it wrong, whereas certainly when someone takes off their helmet and hangs it from their bars they know what they’re doing (and I don’t feel I should correct that). But the exposed forehead seems like a pretty good thing to point out, since there’s probably simply ignorance at play there too.

My helmet is hanging off the front of my handlebars. It’s old and crappy. Honestly, I kind of want someone to steal it so I have an excuse to buy a new one. Of course my bike is also locked up to a parking sign that I can see from my office window maybe 10′ feet away (same level). I did finally convince my job’s HR to buy a bike rack for myself, one very part-time cyclist, and a guy who drives a moped into work. And they’re even putting it under cover. Wahoo!

[kcb203]

@Tim Kelley 95240 wrote:

Got a link for verification?

I looked for one. I’ve heard it several places, but could be urban legend.

[Author]

Posts