posted 5 hours ago
There are lots of stolen bikes in Portland. I don't really ride an ebike very much because I'm afraid it will be stolen. I just bought a really old, dirty, rusty bike for $40. It rides well. It will need some minor repairs. My idea was that criminals won't want to steal it. They don't want to hold onto something that is large and that they can't sell quickly for money. I am going to fix it up. I often make my bikes a bit unusual looking because criminals don't want a bike that is easily recognizable. Especially one that's kind of weird, because then they are hard to sell. I was told by my bike mechanic to buy a "bike shop bike", not a "department store bike",even if it's used. I bought a Trek. Other cheaper bikes that they said were good quality were Giant and Specialized brands. On department store bikes, their parts are crappy, poorly installed, and you often can't get the right parts for them. Mechanics will sometimes refuse to work on department store bikes.
John S
PDX OR