Philadelphians are fighting brazen bike theft with technology and their own wits

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Philadelphians are fighting brazen bike theft with technology and their own wits. frankkummer documents just how far will riders will go to get back their beloved bicycles.

Lajuane Stewart’s bikes over the years have been his economic engine to deliver Grubhub and Uber Eats, so he is rightfully incensed whenever one gets stolen — which has been more often than he can recall.

But cyclists are equally tenacious. They know their stolen-bike report isn’t going to get much attention with police dealing with a surge in violent crime. He bought the $2,500 Juiced bike to help make his business more efficient. In January, the bike was locked outside the Fashion District when it was stolen. Stewart dashed inside to where police were patrolling and reported the theft.How to make your bike harder to steal in Philly

In April, he secured the bike with its new lock at 30th Street Station, figuring there was enough pedestrian foot traffic to deter thieves. He boarded a train for a two-day trip to Virginia. The bike was gone when he returned. Stewart turned on the GPS once again. “I don’t even understand why someone would steal it,” he said. “You wouldn’t get much money for it. It’s very upsetting.”“I talked to a few homeless people who hang around Seventh and Washington and showed them a picture of my bike. One said that he saw a person with the bike the previous night. He was carrying it and trying to sell it, and they gave me a description of him.”

After the first bike was stolen, Chu, 29, purchased a vintage Trek bike “still in tip-top shape” that was used by the USPS team in a Tour de France run. “It was the smoothest ride I’ve even been on,” he said.Chu locked the carbon-fiber bike one weekday morning in August to a rack across from his office near busy Eighth and Chestnut, believing it was one of the safest spots in Philly.

 

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