There have been a number of bike thefts/vandalisms over recent weeks at the bike shed at the station. On Tuesday two separate thefts of wheels and a saddle were reported (and only because I happened to be at the front of the station to see the two owners wheeling their bikes off on the remaining wheels).
Whilst the bike shed has natty little signs bearing the standard disclaimer that you leave your property there "at your own risk", please please please report any incidents to a member of staff on duty, so we can pass the details on to BTP. The two men mentioned above were about to leave without mentioning their losses, which suggests that more incidents are occurring that aren't reported.
In the meantime it might be an idea if you cycle in to have an extra lock/s for your wheels and any other loose bits on your bike, to be on the safer side.
Amersham Lu Station - Bike Thefts
Started by
funkydoodycool
, Jan 16 2009 02:10 PM
3 replies to this topic
#2
ubu
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Posted 18 January 2009 - 01:37 PM
the bike shed has natty little signs bearing the standard disclaimer that you leave your property there "at your own risk"
A natty little sign saying CCTV might help, as a deterrent.
#3
KevinR
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Posted 18 January 2009 - 03:06 PM
Thanks Funkydoodycool, your warning is very much appreciated. It's easy to get complacent about bike theft in sleepy safe old Amersham (particularly in comparison with London, where the time from parking a bicycle to it being nicked can be measured in nanoseconds 
).
).
#4
echinosum
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Posted 31 March 2009 - 05:04 PM
Until about 8 years ago, I regularly used Amersham cycle shed; I used it over a period of about 10 years. I then moved house and now regularly cycle to Chorleywood station.
As long as I was using Amersham, there was a constant trickle of thefts from the bike shed there. I had a front wheel stolen from there once. If you are going to leave a bike all day every day at a place like Amersham Railway Station (even now the Iron Horse is no more), you have to lock it up properly with a U-bar lock or similar level of security, with an extension or second lock to ensure frame and both wheels are secured. Best not to be the most expensive bike in the shed too. That is just The Way Of The World.
About 3 years ago we had a truly major spate of cycle thefts/vandalisms at Chorleywood. In comparison to Cw, Amersham is the Wicked City, so this was surprising. During this period, every bicycle with a snippable lock was stolen, and every other bicycle was vandalised, unless it looked complete wreck. I had two bikes vandalised. One guy had his bike stolen, then his new bike vandalised the first day he used it. The cycle shed at Cw is on the London-bound platform, ie accessible to ticket-holders and trespassers only (as Amersham's used to be). But in a secluded location at the end of the platform, and, originally, outside the CCTV coverage area. It seems people were travelling up the line from other stations to enjoy themselves nicking bikes in Chorleywood.
Eventually all the cyclists moved to parking their bicycles in the rain outside the station, where they couldn't be seen from the train, and I have not heard of any problems since. There seem to be few problems if you park your bike in the street in Cw (I even forgot to lock mine one day recently), but the railway station platform is a uniquely dodgy spot, despite the continuous presence of station staff.
Finally, LUL put in a CCTV camera from which the bicycle shed can be seen. However only a few people use the bike shed these days. This is because of the semi-closure of the ticket office, and the difficulty of getting staff attention from the platform side to let you out (there's window that is supposed to be for info for people on the platform, but the blind is permanently closed). Sometimes I failed to get attention and ended up climbing out, no doubt to the amusement of someone watching on CCTV.
It is interesting that there are two cycle sheds at C&L. One is just an area under the station canopy on the Amersham bound platform, which is in plain view of anyone using the station. The other is a shed on the London-bound platform, which is secluded, as at Cw. I tried suggesting to LUL that the cheapest solution at Chorleywood was to copy C&L, ie have an area in plain view under the station canopy, rather than expensive CCTV. I also tried asking them if they had any info on similar goings on at C&L which might confirm my theory that a parking area in plain view was unlikely to have the same level of theft/vandalism. But they ignored those points in answering my letters. To their credit, they did eventually implement CCTV about a year after they said they would.
As long as I was using Amersham, there was a constant trickle of thefts from the bike shed there. I had a front wheel stolen from there once. If you are going to leave a bike all day every day at a place like Amersham Railway Station (even now the Iron Horse is no more), you have to lock it up properly with a U-bar lock or similar level of security, with an extension or second lock to ensure frame and both wheels are secured. Best not to be the most expensive bike in the shed too. That is just The Way Of The World.
About 3 years ago we had a truly major spate of cycle thefts/vandalisms at Chorleywood. In comparison to Cw, Amersham is the Wicked City, so this was surprising. During this period, every bicycle with a snippable lock was stolen, and every other bicycle was vandalised, unless it looked complete wreck. I had two bikes vandalised. One guy had his bike stolen, then his new bike vandalised the first day he used it. The cycle shed at Cw is on the London-bound platform, ie accessible to ticket-holders and trespassers only (as Amersham's used to be). But in a secluded location at the end of the platform, and, originally, outside the CCTV coverage area. It seems people were travelling up the line from other stations to enjoy themselves nicking bikes in Chorleywood.
Eventually all the cyclists moved to parking their bicycles in the rain outside the station, where they couldn't be seen from the train, and I have not heard of any problems since. There seem to be few problems if you park your bike in the street in Cw (I even forgot to lock mine one day recently), but the railway station platform is a uniquely dodgy spot, despite the continuous presence of station staff.
Finally, LUL put in a CCTV camera from which the bicycle shed can be seen. However only a few people use the bike shed these days. This is because of the semi-closure of the ticket office, and the difficulty of getting staff attention from the platform side to let you out (there's window that is supposed to be for info for people on the platform, but the blind is permanently closed). Sometimes I failed to get attention and ended up climbing out, no doubt to the amusement of someone watching on CCTV.
It is interesting that there are two cycle sheds at C&L. One is just an area under the station canopy on the Amersham bound platform, which is in plain view of anyone using the station. The other is a shed on the London-bound platform, which is secluded, as at Cw. I tried suggesting to LUL that the cheapest solution at Chorleywood was to copy C&L, ie have an area in plain view under the station canopy, rather than expensive CCTV. I also tried asking them if they had any info on similar goings on at C&L which might confirm my theory that a parking area in plain view was unlikely to have the same level of theft/vandalism. But they ignored those points in answering my letters. To their credit, they did eventually implement CCTV about a year after they said they would.
