Truck Driver Gassed & 10,000 Bikes Worth of Shimano Kit Stolen in Germany

Feb 8, 2022 at 8:11
by James Smurthwaite  
photo

A truck driver was gassed and parts for the production of ten thousand bicycles were stolen in an organized robbery in January.

The parts were stolen from the largest Czech bicycle producer, Bike Fun International, that produces full bikes under the Rock Machine and Superior names and components through ONE Bikeparts. BFI says that the thieves stole important Shimano components and as a result, customers will have to wait almost a year longer for some of its models in future. MTBnews.de reports that brakes, rear derailleurs, Di2 batteries, various e-bike parts, hubs and displays were among the parts stolen totalling around €270,000.

The well-planned heist took place on the night of January 21 at a motorway rest area in Germany during a truck driver's break. The cargo was being taken to an assembly plant and it's believed that the truck had been followed from the time it was loaded. It's claimed that the perpetrators waited for the driver to take a rest break then put him to sleep with gas let into the cab before taking the cargo. Finally, the thieves sprayed the cargo area with a fire extinguisher, which is believed to have been to disguise the evidence and make it harder to trace them.

BFI says it will be able to replace some components from stock or from its next production but the impact of the crime on future production was described as "significant" as it compounds the supply chain issues facing the whole industry.

Petr Krkoska, BFI supply chain director, said, "From the consignment loaded mostly with expensive e-bike and bike parts only nine boxes of low-end components were left in the truck. This will delay production of some models by almost a year, as there is no alternative on the market for many of the parts from this shipment. We are a strong and stable company, so this is just another obstacle out of many we are facing last years, but would this happen to smaller manufacturers, it would be liquidating for them.

"We really haven't seen this situation before. Even Shimano has not faced with a targeted robbery of a shipment on a similar scale. We hope that due to the shortage of parts, these cases will not be repeated, because despite all the measures we have set up, no insurance cover can compensate us for the loss and especially the reputation for late delivery. We decided to communicate this matter to warn other producers, because it could happen to them also."

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Member since Nov 14, 2018
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271 Comments
  • 724 15
 Has to be an Outside job.
  • 74 1
 100% there will be a movie starring Mark Whalberg on this one.
  • 5 0
 @jomacba: You mean Chris farraday
  • 7 1
 @jomacba: It already sounds like a movie.
  • 2 0
 @Kimura: I see what you did there!! Wink
  • 32 25
 I honestly can't imagine who is downvoting this. Sitting at home peering through the blinds, scowling at the people who walk by. "NOPE, I DONT LIKE THIS ONE BIT!".
Definitely the type of person who calls the cops on kids who use sidewalk chalk calling it "Vandalism".
Jokes people... they're just jokes...
  • 11 86
flag chrsei (Feb 8, 2022 at 9:33) (Below Threshold)
 @jomacba: Sitting in my office staring through the blinds while having lunch- just downvoted you because "NOPE, I DONT LIKE THIS ONE BIT!" - it's freedom of opinion.
  • 50 3
 At least it was only "Expensive e-bike parts"
  • 1 3
 @jomacba: ayyy
  • 8 1
 Drivetrain parts will be hard to move
  • 45 5
 Wouldn’t have happened if the parts were from a BMX background
  • 18 1
 @jomacba: Outside CEO is downvoting it plus staff.
  • 11 0
 @jomacba: 100% there will be a movie starring Mike Levy on this one.
  • 3 0
 @enis: Maybe they are trying to save the trails lol
  • 12 17
flag rivercitycycles (Feb 8, 2022 at 10:18) (Below Threshold)
 Truck driver gassed………sounds like chronic flatulence was used on this heist
  • 3 1
 What a gas!
  • 18 4
 @chrsei: You are 100% correct! Freedom of opinion.
I think your opinion is dumb.
!!!Freedom of opinion!!!
  • 6 27
flag GotchaJimmy (Feb 8, 2022 at 11:06) (Below Threshold)
 Can you guys please shut up? Please. It's soooooooo. SO unfunny. Pure cringe
  • 30 3
 @GotchaJimmy: To be fair, nobody's talking... Were typing, your reading. It's the voice in your head that won't shut up.
  • 18 1
 @GotchaJimmy: cringe? what are we 16 year-old tiktoks?
  • 3 0
 @92hokie: Sounds like the thieves were a well oiled machine though...
  • 23 16
 @jomacba: "This is 'Murica. And here we have freedumb of speech!!!" LOL
Sometimes.... I swear, I hate to even admit I'm from the US.
  • 12 3
 @chrsei: Sitting in my office with a plate of grilled bacon. Call my man, Dwight, just to see what is shakin'.
  • 13 17
flag DRomy (Feb 8, 2022 at 13:30) (Below Threshold)
 @tmwjr777: Wow, you really have no clue how the world works or how much worse your life would be without the freedoms you so readily disparage.
  • 18 6
 @DRomy: That's not true at all. I appreciate the comforts and freedoms being a US citizen provides me with. I just think a lot of Americans should think before the speak more often. Not that I am impervious to foot in mouth syndrome 100% of the time. But there seems to be an awful lot of Americans who should learn to just shut their stupid mouth on occasion. It's ok to keep your thoughts to yourself sometimes. Just sayin. Smile
  • 19 2
 @tmwjr777: jesus, i come to pinkbike to matserbate not talk about freedoms man!
  • 5 2
 @tmwjr777: Fair enough. The irony is, they would probably say the same thing to you about your comment. So, where does that leave us? With freedom of speech and (hopefully) the ability to agree to disagree without name-calling or demonizing.
I'm with you that people spout off way too much in the age of social media. But freedom isn't freedom if people can't tolerate that with which they disagree. For a society, freedom is frustrating -- that's why dictators always quash it -- but being okay with agreeing to disagree can help ease the frustration.
  • 5 1
 @DRomy: yeah, freedom to be as stupid as you can possibly be and still draw a breath.
  • 7 1
 @DRomy: Freedom isn't free, it cost folks like you and me...
  • 2 1
 @manitunc: Yep, it cuts both ways.
  • 1 0
 @Kimura: he's in prison, aka a Farraday cage.
  • 10 15
flag Davec85 (Feb 9, 2022 at 2:13) (Below Threshold)
 @tmwjr777: That freedom of speech and the many other freedoms that you have are what made America the superpower it is and has given you a quality of life unimaginable to most of the world's population. If you hate it so much move to Cuba or something, then you'll know what side your bread is buttered.
  • 3 4
 Everyone on pb is a boomer with no sense of humor except for me. Your jokes bore me. Find something funny to say.
  • 1 0
 @astorms: As the truck driver or as the gas?
  • 1 0
 @Davec85: I butter both sides of the bread, this way I'm always in flavor town Wink
  • 2 0
 @joshslewis1: Kind of ironic that everybody else is the problem but you hey? Smile
  • 2 0
 @jomacba: buck o five
  • 246 15
 Eastern Europen guy on the street corner in a trenchcoat, opens it up.. "Hey kid... need a drivetrain??"
  • 27 75
flag gooral (Feb 8, 2022 at 9:28) (Below Threshold)
 Why Eastern European? Do you know something we do not?
  • 30 89
flag danstonQ (Feb 8, 2022 at 9:50) (Below Threshold)
 @gooral: no he doesn't. Leave them alone with their fantasms.
BTW: for sale: shimano Altus 7spd long cage: 300€, brand new Smile
... I'm not from an "eastern european country", but from the average north-american inbreds POV I am from an eastern country somehow...
  • 57 2
 IIRC Germany has a substantial insurance and registry system for bikes and parts which makes them more difficult to sell in EU countries, thus are typically moved and sold in neighboring non-EU countries like Ukraine.. or "Eastern Europe"

This is similar to the bike theft rings in the US which move bikes and parts to Mexico for sale were they are less easily tracked or recovered.

You guys can calm down
  • 20 48
flag Skarhead89 (Feb 8, 2022 at 10:29) (Below Threshold)
 RACIST!!!!
  • 76 2
 @Rafe1234: Yeah, allegedly Russians are already piling up by the border, waiting to procure the Ukrainian sourced parts.
  • 11 0
 If you see him, let me get his number. Having a hell of a time getting a new shimano chain.
  • 56 1
 @gooral: Czech the article. It may hold a clue.
  • 15 5
 @gooral: @gooral: lots of Europeans know something you don't: this is statistics from Denmark showing every 4th theft or burglary are made by people from eastern Europe,sad but true, its common knowledge here www.dr.dk/nyheder/indland/hver-4-tyv-kommer-hertil-fra-udlandet
  • 4 28
flag gooral (Feb 8, 2022 at 12:33) (Below Threshold)
 @mi-bike: not really mate, Czech Republic is not in Eastern Europe, so still no idea....
  • 12 9
 @lenniDK: If we apply Danish statistics to Germany, to simplify things, then there is a 25% chance of this crime being committed by someone from Eastern Europe and 75% by someone from Germany... Every 4th you say, right? My question stands.
  • 5 5
 Ignorance is bliss, isn't it?
  • 6 3
 While I have no doubts that Eastern Europeans can be involved in notable portion of crimes in Central Europe, I have a really hard time seeing any reasonable motive behind mentioning it here.
  • 3 3
 @mi-bike: His point is Czech Republic is not in Eastern Europe. It’s in Central Europe - along with Poland etc…
If the OP had just said ‘blah blah blah Central Europe’ then everyone could have focused on where exactly these drivetrains were being sold cheaply and not on continental geography.
  • 5 3
 @lenniDK: if someone made a research which Scandinavian country has highest percentage of a*sholes, who do you think would come on top? I know the answer, the issue is whether there is any point to mention it?
  • 6 0
 @mwysel: while this is correct, for many people in Germany/Austria/Italy/Countries further west, the definition of "Eastern Europe" is connected to language. Slavic language = Eastern Europe. It probably has a lot to do with the iron curtain, which ran quite neatly along the language barrier, except for that "bit" of Germany.

And living close to that line, I can unfortunately confirm that the vast majority of organized crime around here is not done by locals, but by foreigners from eastern countries. Our local criminals are more involved with politics.
  • 5 0
 Someone cracks a joke about Eastern Europe and all the Eastern Europeans start arguing about which part of Eastern Europe is considered Eastern
  • 3 0
 @Garyraybmx: The unexpected effect of Brexit is that we no longer get called "Contintenal Europe".

I personally don't care. I am a Pole living in Sweden. But if Poland, Czech Republic or Slovakia are Eastern Europe, then what is Ukraine? Far Eastern Europe? That would confuse everyone on CNN and Fox. You'd think Ukraine has oil and weapons of mass destruction. I think we should ask Joe Rogan and Tucker Carlson what they think. If you want to ask someone from Europe though: Danish and Dutch know everything! they figured out sea level after all. Florida pay attention.
  • 117 2
 My first thoughts go out to the driver and I hope he or she is okay. Unfortunately, nothing about the driver's condition was mentioned in the article. And I also hope there is CCTV footage that can be used to send these scumbags to jail.
  • 28 0
 Yeah, these were my first thoughts too. How is the driver doing now? This must have been traumatic.
  • 22 83
flag Boxmtb FL (Feb 8, 2022 at 8:43) (Below Threshold)
 First thought, should be some cheap shimano parts for me to buy soon…
  • 30 65
flag blowmyfuse (Feb 8, 2022 at 8:52) (Below Threshold)
 If you picture the sales manager at Shimano dressed as Gru plotting, you'll get your answer:

First....we make Dee Biek Partuhs.
Den....we sell Dee Biek Partuhs.
Den....we steal Dee Biek Partuhs.
Den...we sell Dee Biek Partuhs AGAIN!!!!

"Mom....you're going to be Verry, Very PROUD!!!!"
  • 7 6
 Well, we don’t know what gas was used, but at least they didn’t attack the driver directly. These truck heists can get bloody real quick. Hope she ok.
  • 20 12
 is sleeping gas actually a thing? I thought it was just some made up fantasy-action 007 stuff.
  • 14 6
 @Spindelatron: youre joking me right.
  • 32 14
 @Spindelatron: It's 100% a made up load of nonsense. Basically an urban myth, that's been rubbished by anaesthetists everywhere.

The driver most likely slept through it all, or was in on it, or was threatened and is keeping his mouth shut. Or was in a bar somewhere. The gas thing is pure fantasy.
  • 12 0
 ”The perpetrators waited for the driver to take a rest break then put him to sleep with gas let into the cab before taking the cargo”

Yeah thats nuts, who knows what his/her health status is, could probably have died if there is a weak heart or whatever involved
  • 5 2
 i did some super legit internet research on wikipedia and found this thing about a Moscow Theater Hostage crisis. czech it out, holy shit. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moscow_theater_hostage_crisis
  • 8 0
 @mtb-scotland: Diethyl ether causes strong and pretty long excitation prior to sedation, it is also very unpleasant to inhale so its unlikely it was used. Most other anesthetic gases are either slow to work and/or have a small margin between sedation and killing the patient. The driver was either very lucky or it was not gas.
  • 4 0
 @mtb-scotland: no way you could use ether like this. Nothing available outside the KGB is really a possibility. Most likely he was just asleep.
  • 4 0
 @Spindelatron: Welcome to the European RV break-in business.
  • 1 1
 @kevinturner12: "rather common the further south in Europe you go". It says when using the Google. Narcotic gas alarm www.ebay.co.uk/itm/202629156532
  • 9 1
 It’s real and it happens. The type of gas used in most attacks has a density less than air. It floats upwards so an alarm close to roof height is recommended and an alarm 10cm above the floor for carbon monoxide, liquid petroleum (propane/butane) alarms sold here even come with a sticker to put on your front window to let thieves know you have a gas alarm. The most common place for this is at rest stations on main highways. Organized criminals are also renowned for key hacking tricks so they don’t even need to break in they just unlock the doors via remote once the gas has kicked in. I have not heard of a death but I have heard countless stories of this happening over the last decade.
  • 2 1
 Didn't former F1 driver get robbed this,way?
  • 2 1
 @Jolinwood: it’s not possible to do that without killing a proportion of the victims. The royal college of anaesthetist have debunked the whole idea
  • 6 2
 @oldfaith: My girlfriends parents got robbed this way once. The made a small hole in their tent, pumped the stuff in, made another hole where they knew the phone and wallet were and stole it. I don't think they had physical problems afterwards but it is shocking to be intoxicated and robbed both without knowing. For this poor driver to be all alone when this happened, it must have been twice as scary (and then twice that as this is the where she/he sleeps regularly).

@Xenon303 : Last season a F1 driver felt robbed but from what I understand it didn't happen like this.
  • 6 7
 @vinay: would be cruel if you browse pornhub and see yourself in action while intoxicated and you cant remember a bloody thing. horror.
  • 1 1
 @Konyp: couldn't tell you the effects on humans as I've only ever used it on rodents.
  • 9 0
 @vinay: You believe organised criminals are using sophisticated anaesthetics to steal a wallet from some elderly folks who are already asleep?

Want to buy a bridge?
  • 5 0
 No idea what really happened here so I do not want to suggest anything. When I was younger (like 15-20y ago Smile ) it was common in Slovakia (where I come from) that trucks delivering goods like TVs, computers, bikes etc. got robbed without drivers knowing anything and them using strange excuses (food got poisoned, going on a toilet, sleeping pills in cafe etc), where in the end they got involved in the deal (so no danger involved).
A friend of mine used to re-sell stuff which came from such “sources” back then (never bought anything from him, am too honest for that, but he was offering things for good prices after such robberies appeared in the news… he was not involved in the actions, just in the “business”)

But I hope those wild times are long gone now in my homeland Smile
  • 1 2
 @ice29: where in Slovakia did you grow up
  • 4 0
 @mtb-scotland: get your spelling right! It's ether or....
  • 4 0
 @honourablegeorge: Yeah. LOL> there's two holes in the tent and our phones are missing. Must have been KGB nerve gas, and not that wicked ouzo we skulled at the bar.
  • 1 0
 @oldfaith: I've heard you wake up with really bad headache and dont remember you have been robbed...
  • 1 1
 @honourablegeorge: No, I don't believe these anaesthetics are sophisticated.
  • 4 0
 @honourablegeorge:
I think Richard Hammond got gassed once. The thieves took his clothes and such. The next morning, evidence was found. “Gas canisters” oddly resembling gin bottles.
  • 1 0
 @initforthedonuts: that was James May pulling a fast one
  • 1 0
 @ice29: Long gone now?! Are you kidding?! This is peanuts compared to the oligarchy in the CEE region. Smile
  • 1 0
 I hope he is ok. Honestly, he most likely will be. "Gassing" drivers to rob their vehicles is a common story, especially among camping car/ RV/ Campern/ Mobile home/ Caravan owners.
For now, there's no significant and unambiguous recorded evidence of this having happened, especially not in larger numbers which you would expect from gang crime, which most of the systematic robberies represent. However it has been found that most victims have slept too deep to wake up while they were robbed by "skilled" burglars.
"Gassing drivers" can be regarded as a common urban legend, which will most likely also apply here.
  • 2 0
 @JoeMisc: I frequently lurk an Italian RV owners FB group. Now and then, a story pops up where a family wakes up in the morning, everyone feeling strangely nauseous and dizzy, the RV broken in, phones, wallets and cameras stolen.
Call it an urban legend if you want, I prefer sleeping in campings or closed RV rest areas, with a gas detector always running overnight.
  • 1 0
 @Tasso75: Out of curiosity, what types of gas does your gas detector work on?
  • 1 0
 @Konyp: Propane, butane, CO and aethers.
  • 2 0
 @Tasso75: To be frank I don't think any of these gases could be used in a robbery. Propane, butane and CO put you to sleep by displacing oxygen, so in if you are knocked out you wake up dead. Aether would wake you up before sedating as its so unpleasant to inhale.
Of course it is a good idea to have such sensor in your RV for fuel gas leaks.
  • 71 1
 "only nine boxes of low-end components were left in the truck"

The people want to know what products were so bad, not even a thief would take them!
  • 58 86
flag endurogan (Feb 8, 2022 at 8:42) (Below Threshold)
 Any model of shimano brake
  • 101 0
 the return items from Henry's Giant build
  • 51 7
 It was probably SRAM NX components.
  • 48 2
 boxes of brakes clearly labeled with 'wandering bite point'
  • 7 0
 Sadly, it might be people in the bike industry of some sort. Too much knowledge of the products being stolen and whereabouts of the products being picked up and delivered.
  • 2 0
 f they were anything like the thieves that robbed Loomis Fargo in 1997, they didn't bring a big enough escape vehicle. Those thieves left the armored car with $7 Million in cash still in the back.
  • 44 0
 Gotta check the tapes for black Honda Civics with green under glow and rolling on Moshimoto ZX tires.
  • 6 0
 I didn't thought that I'll need to scroll this far for this. Fast and Furious heist with cars for the bike parts. Oh the irony...
  • 38 0
 i'm guessing the next Fast and Furious will feature rad bikes...
  • 4 1
 what does rad power ebikes have to do with this
  • 26 0
 Gassing somebody enough to knock them out, but not enough to kill them, is tricky. Those are some amazingly sophisticated thieves (or lucky and reckless ones). The driver got pretty lucky there. I wonder how they determined it was gas?
  • 32 2
 Because the driver said "I didn't feel anything, I fell asleep and when I woke the entire truck was empty". LMAO driver in on it.
  • 8 0
 Yeah that's what I was thinking too... I'm not saying the driver either fell asleep or was on the take, BUT, it seems very hard to believe that they were able to fill the cab with sleeping gas while he was in the cab without him noticing, or filled the cab while he was out of it then he got back in and fell asleep. Either way, hope everyone is OK and a bummer that people will have to wait for bikes.
  • 2 0
 @nouseforaname: My thoughts exactly.
  • 43 3
 I gas my wife in bed nightly, especially after eastern cuisine. She manages to come round eventually
  • 1 2
 @tacklingdummy: dummy... After more and more thefts in motorhomes have become public in which the thieves used anaesthetic gas to stun the sleepers, caravan gas alarms and motorhome gas alarms are installed more often.
  • 2 0
 @Midnightwheelie: So, you think deep state business strategy for gas alarms? Extremely far fetched, but funny. Lol.
  • 7 1
 @sewer-rat: i call that a dutch oven
  • 1 1
 @OCSunDevil: my guess is he falls asleep with the window open and then they run a tube in to add the gas, so he doesn't wake up. It does sound easy to over (or under) do it though, so definitely would be pretty sophisticated.

Also, I would imagine the gas would leave traces behind in the cabin so it can be confirmed he didn't just fall asleep.
  • 1 0
 @sewer-rat: name checks out
  • 2 0
 @mtb-thetown: Simplest solution is usually the truest one. A gang of thieves ready to move an entire trucks worth of gear is not relying on the fact that the driver needs to fall asleep AND fall asleep with the window open AND fall asleep deep enough and long enough to not notice he's being gassed.
I'd bet cab doors were left open when he 'woke' so gas 'dissipated'.
  • 3 1
 this is a well known tactic in Europe. It happens all the time unfortunately. They wait until they fall asleep and slip in a hose with a noxious gas. There was a famous case with a 200,000 worth of legos that this happened to.
  • 1 0
 @neoides: I thought I had heard of it before. I wonder if it was the same crew....
  • 23 0
 Math: Parts for 10,000 bikes worth 270,000 Euros, that's 27 Euros per bike .. quality stuff!
  • 4 0
 Readin, Ritin, and Reft clickn
  • 1 0
 Thought the same thing.
  • 1 0
 Definitely was a loss in translation somewhere...even Shimano Revoshit shifters and Tourney F/R derailleurs on Walmart bikes costs more than €27.
  • 1 0
 Uhhh.... math?
  • 2 1
 @thegoodflow: it's confusing because, according to his wife, he has seven bikes that were >USD 3k, but would rather struggle with Sclaverand than buy Reserve valves
  • 2 0
 @ceecee: uhhh... what?
  • 1 2
 That's the worth of the components for 10.000 bikes not the worth of 10.000 bikes that should have been produced. ‍♂️
  • 1 0
 @tandlis: so do you know any component for 27eur? Or quality component for that matter. I guess even when we include sales prices it's like 50-60eur. That's also suspiciously low if we think there could be multiple shimano components on a OEM bike.
  • 16 0
 F_ck you bike thieves.
  • 15 1
 I thought knockout gas wasn't real like people who don't try to get a discount on a new bike, or people who read Beta
  • 15 2
 Hopefully its mostly ebike components.
  • 12 0
 The boxes of reverbs went untouched...
  • 9 1
 Don’t let this distract you from the fact that Hector is going to be running three Honda civics with spoon engines, and on top of that, he just went into Harry’s and bought three t66 turbos with nos, and a motec exhaust system.
  • 8 0
 Also the driver: "I have been driving for 14 hours straight and I haven't slept in three days, and I am wired on schnapps, benzedrine, and those little chocolate-covered peanuts."
  • 5 0
 Not the biggest fan of the brand (but for a Czech brand it is doing OK), but it´s NOT called ROCKRIDER, it´s called ROCK MACHINE. The original article on MTBnews.de reports Rock Machine (and Superior) manufacturer is affected, not Rockrider. Rockrider is a different brand.
  • 7 0
 Did anyone at the rest area notice someone unloading a whole semi of goods ?

It seems crime is out of control all over the place.
  • 6 0
 If they unloaded into another semi, they probably just backed the two trailers together so could walk from one bed straight into the other. A freight company sometimes transfers items like this from truck to truck in a big parking lot across from my work. I mean, if I saw two semi's like this it wouldn't necessarily sound any alarm bells for me.
  • 1 0
 It's a semi centipede method and no crime is not out of control it is highly controlled and planned
  • 10 2
 If I czech on that fake shimano site it will now slovak items are now back in stock
  • 6 2
 Czech out the puns on this guy!
  • 7 3
 Who else is hungary for more?
  • 8 1
 If the local authorities can't get this theft ring under control, it's gonna Herzegovina's approval rating
  • 7 0
 @wowbagger: feeling Austriacized?
  • 3 0
 @calmWAKI: maybe the down votes are going to herzegovina his feelings
  • 6 0
 @pink505: not Finnished yet?
  • 7 0
 @calmWAKI: Norway I am just getting started
  • 5 0
 @pink505: Iran into car polish commercial when ordering turkey and Chad stole my place in line. This is what happens when you russian to get food for Georgia. She says It's not that I can't get food in time, it's that I can nada in general.
  • 6 0
 @calmWAKI: It spains me to keep this going.
  • 4 0
 @pink505: Iran out of puns so I'm Ghana have to leave this thread.
  • 2 0
 @HardtailHerold: Ghana LOL I exploded with laughter like a canister of Bhutan
  • 1 0
 @calmWAKI: touché Smile ) hitting us right in the lost monarchy
  • 1 0
 @wowbagger: Polish and Czech resistance in 1800s: Kaiser kaput!
  • 7 0
 So does this mean we will have a new series of "heist" movies focused on bikes and bike parts?
  • 12 0
 Friggin Furious 10: Continental Drift
  • 2 0
 Sam Hill to play Scut Farkus, hand tattoos and all. Mike Levy to be his Grover Dill side kick, aspirational hand tattoos and all. A Shift-Miss Story.
  • 8 0
 Heat 2: High pivot
  • 8 0
 €270,000 so around 5 X Di2 groupsets were stolen
  • 10 1
 Bullshit on the gas
  • 3 0
 Hasn’t anyone here seen GoodFellas?
  • 4 0
 Hmmm you sure the truck driver got gassed?

It is very common for truck shipments to get lost, and the the truck driver makes up a fake story and is part of the heist itself. The give the truck driver a decent amount of money, he will make up a bullshit story.

This happened before with my previous company when we shipped Siemens PLC's to Brasil. As soon as the shipment was loaded off the ship, we couldn't track it anymore. 1 day later the truck driver made a police report saying he got stopped on the road by a roadblock, and people with guns held him captive until the truck was unloaded.

We found out at a later part, the truck driver was part of the heist and collected around $10000. While the shipment itself was worth over 240000.
  • 21 14
 Of course the gassing happened in Germany...
  • 4 3
 ZZZING DAAAAAAMN SAVAGE
  • 2 1
 A soft lob down the middle of the plate...and its outta here!!! touch'em all.
  • 9 0
 *Jerry Seinfeld Voice* I mean what is it with Germans and Gas
  • 2 1
 slow clap..........
  • 3 4
 @kenoath: you know, they organize their DHWC session in Snowshoe / West Virginia, where the KKK was lynching and burning "the forbidden word" people not so long ago; they can make jokes about our past...
  • 3 0
 Oh boy...if bike (and bike parts) theft is such big business now that organised crime bosses see the value in it...do you think that might that deter the chancers and petty theives who once were our biggest concern? Who want's to be pushing wheels on the someone else block (or entire city) !?
  • 2 0
 Dunno if it matters to me who steals my bikes tbh
  • 8 1
 Gas, you say? What kind? My money's on Argon 18, Propain, or Nox...
  • 1 0
 Nox?? BWAAA
  • 1 0
 Ridley Helium
  • 3 0
 Laughing gas for Bike Fun
  • 6 0
 This is getting ridiculous
  • 5 0
 I am suddenly wondering about my cheap bike part purchase on ebay from the Ukraine.
  • 5 1
 Well, the wait for my Rock Machine just got a bit longer. Worth every minute though...
  • 2 0
 Wait, Rock Machine bikes are avilable to purchase in Canada? I own a Rock Machine hardtail myself and the bikes aren't really anything special. All of their frames are made in China, they just assemble them in the Czech Republic, also their main full-suspension frame hasn't changed for 5 years or so, I would say it's fairly outdated and I personally wouldn't really consider buying another bike from them.
  • 1 0
 Rock Machine =/= Rockrider
  • 1 0
 @bananowy: Actually Rock Machine is correct and Rockrider, which is an in-house brand of Decathlon, incorrectly stated in the article bikefunint.com/en/home
  • 1 0
 @AMGoran: Got it, thanks
  • 7 2
 Cheap stuff on ebay!!!!!!!
  • 8 0
 Is that honestly where this stuff is sold? How does one sell 10000 cassettes?
  • 5 0
 At least most of the stolen Fox suspension components were there last year. 350€ for 2021 Fox X2 etc. from Ukraine @BigMulaCeazy:
  • 6 1
 Doesn't this 'gassing' happen to motor home owners on the continent?
  • 8 0
 We leave are used undies on the steering wheel of are campervan when we go riding in europe , helps reverse the process, makes thieves think twice about breaking in
  • 10 0
 @RUSTYBOI77: Skid marks prominently displayed.
  • 6 1
 @MrMentallo: we try to hide the skid marks other wise they might catch on that we have bikes in the back
  • 1 1
 @naptime: Yes, it does. Toghether with disconnecting sensors/cutting cables from the ECU while you're sleeping, and the next day proposing you to "fix" your engine for like 3K €.
  • 2 1
 @Tasso75: none of that is true
  • 2 0
 people claim it does, but there really isn't much evidence. Pretty much every motorhome owner I know at least knows someone who claims to have been gassed on an overnight stay at a rest area.
  • 3 2
 It should go without saying that this criminal act can only be condemned and needs to be prosecuted. I also hope the truck driver is going to be alright.


Although that being said; Is 10.000 Rockrider "bikes" not being made actually a bad thing?
  • 3 0
 Bike Fun International - the manufacturer doesn't make Rockrider bikes, the brand is called Rock Machine. It's either just a typo or the author didn't get his info right. rockmachine.us
  • 4 0
 Missy Giove wouldn't even have to fill the team van with weed, the bike parts in it are worth more!
  • 2 1
 Dumb American here: Is Europe not as advanced as I thought? Pretty much every rest area here now has CCTV for security. Officials could use that CCTV to get a description of the semi and direction of travel, then pull the truck's tag and registration off the cab at the next weigh station/inspection station CCTV that it inevitably had to pass through.
  • 3 0
 @jamessmurthwaite BFI - doesn't make Rockrider bikes, the brand is called Rock Machine.
  • 2 0
 I hear people said they saw 3-4 black Honda Civic’s with body kits and green under glow with a gang leader who was a bald guy in a white t-shirt.
  • 1 0
 Didnt think we would get to a point that organised crime would focus on the theft of bicycle drivetrain but there we go... poor driver. Definitely have someone on the inside to allow this to happen too.
  • 4 0
 Is this where all the shimano cassettes have gone
  • 1 0
 My kids all ride Superior bikes (there good kids bikes don't get me wrong). I'm pretty sure there all tourney/SRAM gripshift 1x7's with formula hubs and tektro v brakes. Not exactly the steal of the century.
  • 2 0
 Police are looking for a man in a top hat and wearing a monocle. Last seen evading capture by using his umbrella as a parachute.
  • 4 0
 Chain Reaction needed a restock
  • 2 0
 Further investigation shows truck driver was shown clips from "Keeping up with the Kardashians" and immediately fell into a depressed slumber.
  • 3 0
 If the thieves used Nitrous oxide they’ll be laughing all the way to the bank with that haul .
  • 3 0
 @jamessmurthwaite it´s Rock Machine, Rock Rider is kinf of a Decathlon bikes while RM scored in EWS on the other hand
  • 2 0
 Duel to all Czech media the demage is about 250 milions CZK (= 1 milion EUR). The bike brands are Superiora And Rock Machine (not Decathlons Rockrider).
  • 1 0
 Hmmmm... 10,000 bikes worth of components = €270,000?? :-D ... the math doesn't add up, that is like €27 a bike LOL for "high end" components.
  • 4 1
 What in the Fast and Furious is this?
  • 1 1
 This guy gets it!
  • 3 0
 hey guys check out my new website www.toetally_legit_shimano_gear.com
  • 1 0
 The world certainly is going to [Sierra Hotel India Tango] real quick and "Covid" is the only weak excuse people will come up with
  • 1 0
 I work for UPS. If you ever want to take my truck and packages go for it. I'm not about to risk my life for cardboard boxes. Enjoy.
  • 1 0
 It was just Monday afternoon, after this news was posted in Czech when I got notification that store is preparing my late September order for Shimano pads Big Grin
  • 1 0
 Pssst…. Over here kid, I got a Saint derailleur I’ll sell ya. Just fell off da truck. You need a cassette wit dat? We got em. Genuine Shimano here kid.
  • 2 0
 Driver had nothing to do with it
  • 2 0
 What type of gas? This is really vague.
  • 3 0
 The type of "gas" that leaves a couple grand in the driver's pocket to "fall asleep" or make up some other bullshit story.
  • 1 0
 Effing method actors. Can we stop making Fast and Furious movies and Italian Job reboots?
  • 1 0
 never mind just read the whole thing. they put him to sleep with some type of gas agent. interesting strategy
  • 5 3
 Wow Gas and Germans?? I want to solve the puzzle!!
  • 1 0
 Notice they left all the XTR 2x12 groupsets and wheels...........................
  • 2 0
 thank God it was only e bike parts.....
  • 1 0
 They must have paid full retail for these stolen goods, did you see Shimano's recent 49% increase in revenue?
  • 1 0
 The truck driver was "gassed." I'm sure, now he is enjoying the loot with his homies
  • 1 0
 NotOutsideCEO is suspiciously quiet in this thread... Insurance scam maybe? ;-)
  • 1 0
 I could do with a new chain...Just sayin
  • 1 0
 Those boxes have chains... They left the gold...
  • 1 0
 Armored vans for bikeparts.. I knew this was coming..
  • 2 1
 Hmm. Maybe make things more expensive so this stops happening.
  • 4 3
 Who gives a shit about what was stolen...is the driver ok?
  • 1 0
 He probably has his feet kicked up in the Caribbean as we speak
  • 1 0
 Must have been a big fire extinguisher
  • 1 0
 This is only motivated because of watching "budget vs Baller" episodes
  • 2 0
 3 black honda civics
  • 1 0
 In other news- look for cheap Shimano parts on eBay this Spring!
  • 1 0
 After all the humour I sincerely hope the driver is recovering ok.
  • 1 0
 Maybe it was Specialized. They need to build up their direct order bikes.
  • 1 0
 The thieves escaped on bicycles!!!!!
  • 1 0
 There must be a heap of redditors here. lol
  • 1 0
 possibly it will be only available parts that you can buy Big Grin
  • 1 0
 I didn't know Danny Ocean needed bike parts now
  • 1 0
 No comment from SRAM?
  • 1 0
 EBay is going to be lit
  • 1 0
 New Fast & Furious?
  • 1 0
 So is the driver ok?
  • 1 0
 Death to bike thieves
  • 1 1
 he's damaged goods
  • 3 6
 I'm flabberGASted! P.S. I hope the driver doesn't have any long term effects.
  • 1 3
 All those Canyon orders just got delayed.
  • 1 1
 @moravianfromtheeaglemountains: Everyone using Shimano is going to get delayed.

Shimano screwed up in the pandemic and did not bump production until it was too late. SRAM picked up on the trends sooner and bumped their production sooner. So they have WAAAAAAY more stock. That's why you'll be seeing a lot more bikes coming with either SRAM or mixed kits on them.... and more TRP in the market. Those guys are playing this smart and making moves at the right time.
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