99Bikes - Famous Bike Heist for 10 days

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AUbicycles
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99Bikes - Famous Bike Heist for 10 days

Postby AUbicycles » Wed Aug 06, 2014 8:36 am

I changed the name to Famous Bike Heist but 99Bikes are calling it "Steal a bike today".

In short - from August 6 for 10 days they are giving away a bike a day and on their Facebook page at 12:30pm each day will reveal the location and combination lock password - the first to the bike who unlocks gets the bike. It is a fun idea that will surely have you nervous at lunchtime. As a hint, they have stores in the Goldcoast, Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.
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The staff at one Sydney 99Bikes store I visited were not particularly welcoming when I shopped as an everyday customer a while back (and generally I don't return in these cases) but a newer closer store has opened, I havn't visited though the rule of thumb is that each store is different so they have clean slate.'



Correction, they are calling it Pedal Heist, which got lost in their communication.
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Re: 99Bikes - Famous Bike Heist for 10 days

Postby nitestick » Wed Aug 06, 2014 9:27 am

Interesting idea but perhaps a bit dangerous. What if a) your bike just so happens to be mistaken and has the same combination on it or b) someone gets a serve for mistaking someone's bike for the giveaway?

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Re: 99Bikes - Famous Bike Heist for 10 days

Postby AUbicycles » Wed Aug 06, 2014 9:45 am

A very remote chance. Judging from past experience, I assume that the locations are monitored so that staff can document (for marketing) and would likely step in. The bikes are very likely clearly identifiable.

What will happen is that there will be plenty of people looking to see if the bike is still there - so you have to be quick.
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Re: 99Bikes - Famous Bike Heist for 10 days

Postby queequeg » Wed Aug 06, 2014 9:59 am

I think Vodafone or Virgin ran something similar a couple of years ago. The clues were riddles, so you were told the suburb but the location was revealed by a series of clues. I missed the North Sydney bike by about 2 min and saw the victor wheeling it away! You have to be very quick.
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Re: 99Bikes - Famous Bike Heist for 10 days

Postby Summernight » Wed Aug 06, 2014 10:14 am

Thanks for the heads up. :)

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Re: 99Bikes - Famous Bike Heist for 10 days

Postby nezumi » Wed Aug 06, 2014 12:32 pm

Brisbane today!

The Pedal Heist is on! Today's location is Lorna Jane on James St, Brisbane. Get there first, unlock the bike using combination 9-9-7-1, ride it away!

I'm in Melbourne :(
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Re: 99Bikes - Famous Bike Heist for 10 days

Postby cancan64 » Wed Aug 06, 2014 12:39 pm

nezumi wrote:Brisbane today!

The Pedal Heist is on! Today's location is Lorna Jane on James St, Brisbane. Get there first, unlock the bike using combination 9-9-7-1, ride it away!

I'm in Melbourne :(
I wonder if it will still be there on Friday when I go past that location
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Re: 99Bikes - Famous Bike Heist for 10 days

Postby Summernight » Wed Aug 06, 2014 12:44 pm

nezumi wrote:Brisbane today!

The Pedal Heist is on! Today's location is Lorna Jane on James St, Brisbane. Get there first, unlock the bike using combination 9-9-7-1, ride it away!

I'm in Melbourne :(
Will we be fighting over the same bikes then? :P

You're in the same area I am in the CBD so we might well be if they put one close to us. :P

EDIT: First bike found in less than 14 minutes...

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Re: 99Bikes - Famous Bike Heist for 10 days

Postby nezumi » Wed Aug 06, 2014 1:10 pm

Summernight wrote:
nezumi wrote:Brisbane today!

The Pedal Heist is on! Today's location is Lorna Jane on James St, Brisbane. Get there first, unlock the bike using combination 9-9-7-1, ride it away!

I'm in Melbourne :(
Will we be fighting over the same bikes then? :P

You're in the same area I am in the CBD so we might well be if they put one close to us. :P

EDIT: First bike found in less than 14 minutes...
It's on! (like Donkey Kong?)

You may have an advantage though - my phone died on my ride in today (I lost my Strava!) so I don't have mobile FB - otherwise I would be on my bike ready and waiting for the location :P
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Re: 99Bikes - Famous Bike Heist for 10 days

Postby queequeg » Wed Aug 06, 2014 2:35 pm

I'd be checking up on the locations of the Sponsor's stores in your area :-)
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Re: 99Bikes - Famous Bike Heist for 10 days

Postby celeste boy » Wed Aug 06, 2014 2:36 pm

Oh to be on Facebook!

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(but I have no friends who like me)
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Re: 99Bikes - Famous Bike Heist for 10 days

Postby Summernight » Wed Aug 06, 2014 2:37 pm

nezumi wrote:It's on! (like Donkey Kong?)

You may have an advantage though - my phone died on my ride in today (I lost my Strava!) so I don't have mobile FB - otherwise I would be on my bike ready and waiting for the location :P

It's a fair competition then as I don't use mobile data either. :P We're these two nerds sitting at our computers waiting for 12.30PM and we'll miss it anyway, even if it is right outside our buildings. :mrgreen:

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Re: 99Bikes - Famous Bike Heist for 10 days

Postby brett.hooker » Wed Aug 06, 2014 7:20 pm

Much less than 14 mins... I was there in 7 mins and it was long gone... What an awesome comp! I haven't run that hard in years!!!! :-)
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Re: 99Bikes - Famous Bike Heist for 10 days

Postby AUbicycles » Wed Aug 06, 2014 9:09 pm

The winner didn't hand around? Good work though.
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Re: 99Bikes - Famous Bike Heist for 10 days

Postby brett.hooker » Wed Aug 06, 2014 9:21 pm

Yeah; they did! Colloquial "long gone"...
It was pretty funny running down there... Only two blocks for me, but I was running with about five other guys and I think we kind of worked it out pretty quickly when we all realised that dudes in the office clobber were out for an extended jog.... :-)
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Re: 99Bikes - Famous Bike Heist for 10 days

Postby Hoyley » Thu Aug 07, 2014 10:17 am

Nope didn't hang around after I found it at 12:28 walking down the road for lunch.
It was A bit of a lucky find and I was joking about it being on James Street with a colleague earlier in the morning.

Now what to do with a pedal uptown in sky blue?

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Re: 99Bikes - Famous Bike Heist for 10 days

Postby Hoyley » Thu Aug 07, 2014 10:23 am

Btw the bikes have a small orange tag on them with the pedal heist logo. That is what gave it away. There was also a guy from 99 bikes acting inconspicuous nearby.

Worth going even if you are not first as he was handing out a stack of $20 vouchers for the people that turned up.

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Re: 99Bikes - Famous Bike Heist for 10 days

Postby Summernight » Thu Aug 07, 2014 10:24 am

Hoyley wrote:Nope didn't hang around after I found it at 12:28 walking down the road for lunch.
It was A bit of a lucky find and I was joking about it being on James Street with a colleague earlier in the morning.

Now what to do with a pedal uptown in sky blue?
:lol:

I did think that when I saw the photo of you with the bike. :)

Do you have a lady friend who might like a bike?

Will they even be offering higher end bikes in this giveaway? Might be nice to know before I jump out my office window with a jetpack at 12.30PM. :P

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99Bikes - Famous Bike Heist for 10 days

Postby Hoyley » Thu Aug 07, 2014 10:28 am

I was hoping for the Merida scultura team edition!

Only pedal bikes on offer. I was going to try to get my wife into riding with it but given she is 6 months pregnant it may have to wait.

And seriously who can turn down a free bike?

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Re: 99Bikes - Famous Bike Heist for 10 days

Postby Summernight » Thu Aug 07, 2014 12:31 pm

Today it is at University of Queensland in St Lucia, outside Student Flights. Combination 9915

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Re: 99Bikes - Famous Bike Heist for 10 days

Postby Hoyley » Thu Aug 07, 2014 12:32 pm

No second one for me :(

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Re: 99Bikes - Famous Bike Heist for 10 days

Postby Calvin27 » Thu Aug 07, 2014 12:35 pm

Hmmm, I don't see anything on my fb feed... :(

Do you get to keep the lock that everyone knows the combination to haha?
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Re: 99Bikes - Famous Bike Heist for 10 days

Postby Summernight » Thu Aug 07, 2014 2:24 pm

Calvin27 wrote:Hmmm, I don't see anything on my fb feed... :(

Do you get to keep the lock that everyone knows the combination to haha?
UQ one was found in under 7 minutes.

I'm pretty sure you can change the lock combinations... The photos show them with the lock on the bike, so maybe you do keep the lock too? :P

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Re: 99Bikes - Famous Bike Heist for 10 days

Postby Hoyley » Thu Aug 07, 2014 2:28 pm

Yes you get to keep the lock and the combo can be changed. No helmet though so no riding away.

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Re: 99Bikes - Famous Bike Heist for 10 days

Postby AUbicycles » Fri Aug 08, 2014 10:14 am

Well done Hoyley.
I think that is the trick - you need to be on the streets at 12:30 ready and not at your place of work.
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