How much is scrap copper worth, wire or pipe?
Picking a bike up is more a matter of technique than sheer muscle. Back up to it, grab the lower handlebar, and lift with your legs. Saddle bags make a bike easier to pick up be cause they provide a fulcrum which allows you to rock the bike part way up. Security at the mall is less an issue than security at home, where the thieves can become familiar with where and when you park the bike. In a mall, I often leave my keys in the bike, as the likelihood of theft there is small. You still have traction on wet surfaces, but it is less than in the dry. You need to be smooth in your movements, but unless there is oil in the water, you can safely lean farther than you might think. Snow requires special care, because the road surface can be unpredictably slippery. Special attention to tire selection and preparation is called for. Hypothermia is always a risk in cold weather, rain or snow. Good riding gear is essential, including heated gear for extended stays out in the cold.
Use your head, keep your bike out of sight, resist washing and polishing on the street, so every scumbag knows you got a bike. At home get a ground anchor, set it in concrete and use a thick (10mm links min.) short chain (about 1.2 m) with a good padlock, preferably in a garage or shed. You can take the chain and lock with you (thats why its short) to secure your bike to lamp posts railings etc when your on the move. If you go with friends on bikes you can chain 2 or 3 together, so they are harder to steal. If your realy worried get a tracker fitted which alerts your mobile when your bike moves.
The prices like most metals change daily. Call your local scrap yard to find out what the going rate is.
here in Mississippi people are ripping out copper in new houses, in Jackson, thieves did 100,000 dollars damage to a business and only got bout 300 dollars worth of copper from the air conditions out side, we just passed a law making it a felony for any junk dealer to buy copper that might be stolen, it s going for $3 .00 a pound and rising every day,
Around the end of January the best-quality scrap copper was fetching about $2.25 a pound
