University graduate student Bryan Kolaczkowski planned on riding his bike home on the evening of Sept. 3 after his shift in a University biology lab. Instead, he left Pacific Hall at 6 p.m. only to find a broken cable lock instead of his $700 Bianchi road bike.
Kolaczkowski, who is studying computer science, said he wishes he had known how to deter criminals from stealing his bike — his primary mode of transportation — before the theft occurred. Unfortunately, Kolaczkowski’s experience will probably be shared by an increasing number of incoming and returning students this fall term. The University Department of Public Safety expects 20 to 25 bikes to be stolen in the first two weeks of fall term alone. September and October are typically the peak months for the crime, which has become more common each year since 2002, according to the Eugene Police Department.
Thieves have already been busy this month.
Eugene resident Ryan Ashton, 13, and Lane Community College student Bethanie Ogletree both said they had expensive bikes stolen recently, after thieves broke their locks.
Ashton said that on Sept. 8 his custom-built Diamond Back BMX bike, worth more than $1,000, was locked to four other bikes with the same lock, but only Ashton’s bike was taken.
Ogletree said that on Sept. 5 she locked her Mongoose mountain bike within sight of the University Bookstore’s coffee shop, where she works. Despite Ogletree’s effort to lock her bike in a heavily traveled area within sight, a thief broke the lock and stole her bike.
Preventing bike theft
Despite the prevalence of bike thefts, there are some simple steps people can take to make their bikes more difficult or less desirable to steal, DPS officer Robert Guse said.
Guse said the vast majority of bikes stolen are not locked, improperly locked or have been secured with only a cable lock.
Guse said that most thieves are simply opportunists who “aren’t on campus with a shopping list.”
DPS will try to combat bicycle theft during the University orientation week by registering bikes and showing students how to properly secure them, Guse said.
Ninety percent of bikes reported stolen were locked with a cable lock, Guse said.
Thieves frequently cut cable locks to steal entire bikes, but rarely cut them to steal component parts, like wheels or seats, Guse said.
Both Ogletree and Ashton were using cable locks when their bikes were stolen.
U-Locks are better than cable locks, but they too can be broken with simple tools if the U-lock is not used correctly. A popular way to defeat a U-Lock is to place a small car jack inside the lock and pop it.
But, Guse said thieves can’t do this if the lock is placed through the spokes of the back wheel and the bike frame, leaving less than two inches of space inside the lock.
DPS officer Royce Myers said DPS knows about three or four people in Eugene who can pick round-keyed U-locks.
“Those people have been banned from campus, but it is possible they have taught others,” Meyers said.

A new type of locking mechanism has been developed by Kryptonite for the company’s New York 3000 U-lock and is currently available at many area bike shops. The lock utilizes a double-sided laser-cut or “wafer” key that makes the mechanism impossible to pick, Guse said.
Revolution Cycle owner Shane Ayrsman said he sells the New York 3000 U-lock for $69, less than the manufacturer’s suggested retail price, because he wants to see his customers keep their bikes.
The average price at five other Eugene Kryptonite dealers is more than $75.
“When my customers have gotten their bikes stolen, it hasn’t been because they were using the New York lock,” Ayrsman said. “They were using cheaper locks with
lightweight construction.”
Students who own Gary Fisher, Trek, Specialized or Cannondale bikes should be very careful to lock their bikes every time they leave them, because thieves seek them out more than any other brand, Guse said. Even some of these brands’ older models are highly desired.
Some students have given up on riding their high-end bikes to campus and have chosen to purchase cheaper bikes.
Ayrsman said that frequently these bikes don’t look great, but can be mechanically sound and just as fun to ride.
Guse said students going this route can pick up older bikes at Bring Recycling or Goodwill, and rebuild the bikes themselves.
Ayrsman said another option is to go to Revolution Cycle and buy a rebuilt bike for approximately the cost of building one.
But, Guse said the downside of the beater-bike strategy is there is now a market for beater bikes, making them more desirable to steal. They now require more than just a cable lock to deter the thief, he said.
After a theft
After a bike has been stolen, it has a one in nine chance of being recovered, according to EPD.
Although immediate recovery of a stolen bike is rare, it is possible if the owner makes an immediate and thorough report to DPS, Myers said.
In April 2003, Myers said he recovered a student’s new Gary Fisher mountain bike within a few days of its theft.
“[The owner] gave me a fantastic description,” Myers said. “I saw a guy riding it on campus. The bike frame was obviously too small for him and the description of the bike matched perfectly.”
When the suspect couldn’t prove ownership of the bike, he was detained and searched. In his pockets were multiple lock-pick tools designed to pick U-locks, Myers said.
The most likely way recover a stolen bike is to record the bike’s serial number and match it up after the bike is recovered. DPS records serial numbers from bikes after they are registered with the department.
Registration is mandatory on campus, and unregistered bike owners can be subject to $20 fine by DPS.
Everyone should keep a record of his or her bike’s serial number, Guse said, adding that students e-mailing it to themselves can easily store the information.
If a student’s bike is stolen before the serial number is recorded, the bike’s originating shop will occasionally have it on file. Most shops in Eugene keep a record of the serial number for two to three years.
Ayrsman said Revolution Cycle keeps a long-term record of every bike the business sells, in addition to checking with EPD before buying used bikes. “We hold used bikes for seven days before we purchase them, to check to see if they are stolen,” he said.
Often a bike changes hands in the first few hours after it’s stolen to obscure the original thief’s identity.
Guse said a bike must be more than $750 in value before its theft incurs any real penalties. If someone is caught with a bike valued greater than $750, then the thief is likely to receive a citation and a court date with the possibility of future road clean-up work. Blue Heron Bicycle owner Susan Kelley’s advice to new residents is to consider bike theft a real possibility, but not to let the threat stop them from using one of the best ways to get around town.

Tim Bobosky is a freelance photographer and Michael A. Booth is a freelance reporter for the Emerald.