Pinkbike Poll: Have You Had Your Bike Stolen?
I was fifteen when my pride and joy was taken from me while I slept in a tent only ten feet away. That chrome BMX wasn't anything special - it cost a less than just the seat post on the bike I own now - but it was worth a lot to me, so you could imagine my disappointment when I woke up that morning to find it no longer chained to the only tree in our campsite. The chain was still there, laying on the ground next to my friend's mountain bike, and I can only assume that it was my ride's shiny chrome frame, cranks and handlebar that attracted the scum who took her. Or maybe it was the forty eight spoke wheels, four pegs and the gyro - it was fully loaded, after all. That crime led to me getting my first mountain bike, which then led me to typing this twenty years later, so you might say that things worked out in the end, but the thought of someone else riding my steed around still bothers me to this day.
I'd wager that a lot of us have had a bike stolen at one point or another, be it an inexpensive bike from outside the corner store when you were a kid or a multi-thousand dollar dream machine from your garage while you slept, and while one of those is a lot more financially damaging than the other, I feel like both should be punished by swiftly removing the thief's hands with a large axe. I doubt that would deter these scumbags, although maybe stringing up the hands outside of your garage would deter repeat offenders? Just a thought. These crimes aren't always relatively small dollar, spur of the moment things, as we saw recently when Shimano's demo truck was hit at World Champs and twenty Di2 drivetrains, an unnamed number of Saint and mechanical XTR groups, and multiple sets of Shimano wheels will pilfered. There were also nine complete bikes grabbed, seven of which were Scott Spark demo bikes that had been built up with Di2 drivetrains. I'm not exactly Sherlock Holmes, but I'd wager that gig was a well planned out operation rather than a crime of opportunity like a shiny BMX that was locked to a tree being snatched.
So, have you ever had your pride and joy stolen? And if so, were you able to get it back, or was it gone forever?
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I'd wager that a lot of us have had a bike stolen at one point or another, be it an inexpensive bike from outside the corner store when you were a kid or a multi-thousand dollar dream machine from your garage while you slept, and while one of those is a lot more financially damaging than the other, I feel like both should be punished by swiftly removing the thief's hands with a large axe. I doubt that would deter these scumbags, although maybe stringing up the hands outside of your garage would deter repeat offenders? Just a thought. These crimes aren't always relatively small dollar, spur of the moment things, as we saw recently when Shimano's demo truck was hit at World Champs and twenty Di2 drivetrains, an unnamed number of Saint and mechanical XTR groups, and multiple sets of Shimano wheels will pilfered. There were also nine complete bikes grabbed, seven of which were Scott Spark demo bikes that had been built up with Di2 drivetrains. I'm not exactly Sherlock Holmes, but I'd wager that gig was a well planned out operation rather than a crime of opportunity like a shiny BMX that was locked to a tree being snatched.
So, have you ever had your pride and joy stolen? And if so, were you able to get it back, or was it gone forever?
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Member since Oct 18, 2005
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"Why with a spoon?" "Because it will hurt more"
Go ahead and take my bikes, I'll just get new ones with my insurance money, but when karma breaks your neck while riding my stolen bike, I'll be the one laughing.
and now just think: the trike was stolen from the thief
Why?
So they can buy too many drugs and OD to death!
Im not saying overcoming addiction is easy, but I don't think as many have really given the effort to atleast see what it takes to recover. It just pisses me off that their cycle will likely continue as long as there is a good man's dime/property to keep them afloat.
You still don't get it. Relapses are a thing, and these people can put all of their efforts in and still f*ck up. When addicts are off of their high and have been sober for long enough time to think, they may say that they will stay clean. Some of them will, but others just can't. It isn't about their choices, it is their brains telling them that they can handle one more hit of meth, that they will clean up after the next drunken night. It is unfair to make the assumptions that you are. I am reading a book right now called Beautiful Boy by David Sheff. Take a look at it. It will open up your eyes.
I haven't experienced it personally, which I am thankful for, but recently my eyes have been opened up to addiction, and it displeases me to see many people here that think that addicts are the lowest class of humans. You have an awesome story. Stay clean dude! Best wishes.
I learned the following
-no place is "safe" and high-end bike theft is VERY rampant in Denver, CO
-The police will only assist you after you do the work. There are far too many bike thefts for them to put too much work into it.
-thieves can strike fast and are pretty balsy
-ALL cable locks are a f*cking joke and only slightly better than nothing at all. I now use 2 u-locks (one on the frame and the other on the frame) and a kryptonite fahgettaboudit chain lock connecting them
-Home owners and rental insurance policies often have special provisions. Mine was ASI and are very unethical. They claimed to add a special exclusion limiting bike coverage in Colorado to $1,000. I never received or signed this and my original policy didn't have a bike exclusion. Call your insurance company and verify the coverage. I immediately switched to Farmers who actually insure your items and don't just collect monthly payments.
-Write your serial number down...right now!!! Most shops don't keep them and it will make getting it back easier.
-Statistically speaking, thieves try to resell on craigslist (in the US anyway) or a pawn shop. I haven't seen a lot of Bronson's in a pawn shop though. I intentionally did not post on craigslist so I could catch the person. I watched several times a day for 3 months and sure enough, he posted it. I arranged a "sting" with the police for me to buy it and we got it back.
-Lastly, don't steal from me motherf*cker. He just got sentenced to 30 months in jail last month. I hope you get butt raped!!!
project529.com/garage
My thought was that we should have pressed the issue with the authorities just so the thief couldn't steal someone elses bike
I started researching mini GPS units that could be hidden under the saddle or in the frame somewhere, but couldn't find a product like that. Anyone know of something out there like that?
Tile only works with Apple, correct?
Put a couple more nice bikes on the front porch the next night as bait and waited beside the house with a baseball bat all night hoping the scumbags would return for more... the only thing I could think of to get my bike back.
I hear someone moving bikes around in the front. I come up behind him ready to clock him if he ran. Suddenly I realize he's holding my roomates $500 bike. Turns out he lived with the guy who stole it and was returning it. Good thing I didn't clock him. But he swore he didn't know anything about my more expensive bike, and I never saw it again.
Good to have insurance though! I was paid what the bike was worth new, and ended up making a huge profit!
Bike thieves disgust me though, and I wonder why police don't try using bikes as bait to find these thieves and likely their bike staches. I tried explaining to the officers over and over again that my bike was worth more than some cars when I reported it, but it was clear that they could care less and weren't about to put any effort into finding it....
Call me jaded but Cops (in Canada at least) don't seem that interested in solving property crimes. Most stolen cars are never recovered but then they're insured. I'd love to get bike insurance but when I inquired the quote was ridiculous - like $3/per hundred insured, per year
My dad had a bike stolen from him in the 70's, he put word out at his school that if he found out who did it, he would "beat them up" I guess the thief was a member of his school and got scared, flash forward to 98 we moved to a new city and I became friends with this kid at my school, he rides over to my house on an old bike, my dad recognizes it as his bike, same color, distinguishing stickers that my dad put on the bike. He asked where he got it, from his uncle. Turns out it was a kid from his school that my dad knew that lived on the same block, that my dad had dealings with! Small world eh.
Obviously though your neighborhood is so safe that you got 2 bikes stolen, so you don't have to take precautions to keep your property safe.
After recovering from that, I grabbed myself a £50 Eastern BMX off Ebay as there was a wicked skatepark where I was and I wanted something cheap and fun to rag around Uni. Within a couple of weeks of that being at Uni, the same thing happened. Stripped down only the frame was left. They'd had a good go at the BB as it was wrecked, and the lock has been sawed down a bit. I apparently didn't learn my lesson from the first bike and should have locked the whole bike up.
Still, managed to get myself a Kona Stinky from the insurance on the hardtail so it wasn't all bad.
Best bike I ever owned I would say and it carried me to and from work, around xc trails, over mountains and most importantly Down Mountains.
I think I saw it again on a well known buy/sell feature of a certain website but I guess the person probably didn't know the bikes history. Gone were a lot of the parts and stripped of paint but when I contacted to ask about very specific things it seemed to have all the same dents and problems.
Still I have my whyte 901 now and I think it's a great bike and I ride it a lot more and further than the DHi could ever handle
Then again this past April - My trail bike that traveled all over the country with me and saw hundreds of miles of single track around the US - that one really stung... the trail bike is a tool for adventure and hangs with you through times of glee and times of uphill suffering.
It always sucks because it feels personal.
As a result, I had frame stickers made that have a skull and cross bones that says "deathtobikethieves" and now each and every bike I own has this sticker placed somewhere on the frame.
I am paranoid enough about it that I got a insurance rider added on to car and renters insurance for 10K in 4 bikes. If they go missing I get the declared value with no deductible. Unlike my tools above where they would only pay if I purchased the exact same tool, if the bikes get stolen I get the declared value to do whatever I want.
My DJ is listed as Deity Streetsweeper with line by line every component on it and its value. Doesn't matter that deity doesn't build complete bikes.
The insurance is $175 a year, well worth it. Don/t assume your home owners or renters will be worth a crap on any bike stuff that is high end !
The bike recovered by shady means is either back in the hands of people who deserve to ride...or has been parted out as the people who had interest in it originally have seen fit. Death to bike thieves!
If you are dropping serious money on bikes get some form of insurance. Theives are everywhere and your $100 bike lock is broken in two minutes with a dremel.
Get insurance and try and find one that covers accidental damage.
Velosurance.com
(I am a real customer not a paid spokesperson)
anybody have insurance company recommendations for Canada?
So I started walking home, when I saw this shortlegged guy trying to get his feet to the pedals of my bike in a courtyard nearby. I just went over knocked him from the bike and grabbed it back. He started running, while an elderly woman who was watching started yelling "oh my god oh my god" ...very funny. Well I started chasing the guy but then - man no...this guy was like pig-mint, all vermin. I really did not want to touch him.
Bike thief's know the high value of bikes. Or more correctly the high value of the parts, and strip them down for their near untraceable parts, to be sold on auction sites or markets at their real 2nd hand value, without the worry of 'hot' items forcing them to reduce prices.
I have had 2 bikes stolen, both high personal value, and both to my knowledge stripped down. I even managed to get some of the parts returned. I ended up doing a dissertation on this sort of crime, and the reality, at least in my case, is that it was a business for these then 14/15 year olds. They could make in a Thursday (steal Thursday night, collect from hide and strip Friday, sell on Saturday at market) what most others their age would take a few months to do. Without the worry of drug charges for example. Bikes are only now becoming an area of concern for police forces, and so it was easy pickings with slim chance of getting caught, and even if so, very minimal if any charges.
Steal a car. Every part is traceable, and can only be sold to a very specific person with that model car. Steal a bike, and the buy/sell page will show that there are a lot of potential buyers, with only the frame with any noticeable markings.
For anyone interested, below is the link for my stolen bikes:
www.pinkbike.com/buysell/1053389
buy a cheap bike, fill the frame with explosives, lock the bike with the weak lock, then wait for the first f*cker who wants stole it and while he rides away hit detonate. Everything record on camera so we all have fun too.
It want get you your bike back, but feel of satisfaction would be priceles.
Have taken to bringing my bikes inside my apartment with me every night. Not dealing with losing part of my soul to some five-fingered (not anymore though, if I catch him!) douchebag.
Bastards. They're the worst kind of people. I assume my bike ended up in Toronto a day or two after it was stolen, to be sold second hand.
Gunmetal GT Ruckus UF, with a sweet silver saint crank, 25th anniversary chrome Hayes 9's, a lovely Argyle and a wheelset I built myself- WTB double wides rolling on saint hubs. It was, and still is, my favorite bike of all time. I haven't been able to replace it... I no longer work at shops, so getting sweet parts is a lot tougher these days
Ever ask who is buying the stolen goods.
where does the stolen stuff go?
Buy n sell perhaps?
The next bike I had stolen was my Hutch Trick Star in 1988. I loved that bike. I was at a freestyle contest at a bike shop in Midlothian, Ill. I went in the shop to sign up for the contest. Left my bike outside with at least 20 other bikes. Signed up for the contest, bought a cool sticker to put on my bike. Came out smiling, and my bike was gone. All the other bikes were there. All the other bikes were at least as nice as mine. I wonder why mine was the target. A Hutch fan, maybe?
For those who don't know, those old Trick Stars go for thousands of dollars these days in the vintage BMX collecting world. Wish I still had it. If that thief is out there reading this, has turned a knew leaf (found Jesus or something) and wants to make amends for his past, I'm willing to forgive, no questions asked. Just give me my bike back! (Not holding my breath).
Non-bike people just don't realise how much a bike means to us, they just see it as another object like a flatscreen TV. Always get another one with the insurance money. But to most of us we know how much time we've spent earning the cash to buy our dream ride with the spec we want and fettled it to near-perfection. Steal my car or TV and I'll be very angry, but I'll get another one. Steal any of my bikes and I will be baying for blood.
I kept it in my backyard and one day it was gone. I knew it was my jobless loser mentally ill guy next door, but I had no proof.
I still think about that bike from time to time...
seeing 5 guys running and 2 on the bike was a sick moment , was with that strange feeling like you are dreaming, cause you can't believe it happened
- Now I want to know is Pinkbike going to follow this poll up with a lock, app, GPS or other sort of proactive measure to help us keep these thefts from occurring?
At this point I had already mounted the curved bared, pannier rack bearing mud guard rattling cruiser hammering away at any terrain that came in front of me. I felt like I was on a world champs run , chasing this bike thief down at full tit! Whilst screaming " I ride Downhill you really think you can get away"
At this point I had put at least 5 seconds up on my opponent , I felt like i was decimating him much like Gwin decimated the field this year. I pointed the cruiser at my opponent and crashed right into him.
Got my DJ bike back, and was away laughing. The misses couldn't believe it when i rolled back with the two bikes.
Life lesson ; Don't steal a bike from a DH rider armed with another whip.
Had another lower end BOSS Stolen out of the bike rack when my sister borrowed it and used a cheap lock.
Man I loved that bike...
My current bike is now locked up tighter than Fort Knox.
Once bitten.....
www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxmnqmNVrEI
Read the description
Sandwich finished and about half way through my beer when I realize I can see under my truck to a pair of shoes standing kinda close to the tailgate. Guy is there for longer than just a look so I get up and decide to walk over and see what's up. I'm about half way up the street when I see my bike get lifted up out of the bed. I start sprinting as hard as I can, but I'm trying to be as quiet as I can too. I was far enough away that I was scared if the dude saw me he could just bail off on my bike before I could get to him. As I come around the back of my truck, he's another 25 feet or so sitting on my bike looking down at the gears. At this point I'm still trying to be quiet at a full sprint but I decided I was going to absolutely crush this dude. About 5 steps away and I couldn't contain myself anymore- I got a Samuel Jackson-esque "Motherf*cker!". He starts to look back when I tackle him.
I've spent a few years when I was younger with various marital arts- tae kwon do, jujitsu, escrima, wrestling, judo, you name it. I'd like to tell you I busted some awesome Bruce Lee TV action hero moves on him. Nope. I was just a full steam ahead, clumsy ball of rage. We both go down, bike goes flying, I somehow reach over and bounce his head off the pavement one more time before we both scramble to our feet. I'm still so mad I can't think, he's now got a concussion, my bike is lying in the middle of the street. He tries to run away but ends up running toward my bike. I shove past him, grab the handle bars and lock eyes- "This is mine motherf*ker." He does a little concussion stumble one eighty and takes off running down the side walk. At that point I still wanted to kill this dude, but I didn't want to leave my most prized possession just chilling in the street, so walked it back to the truck.
You're probably wondering where my buddy was in all of this- apparently sidi clipless shoes and running on pavement don't mix so well. By the time he actually got to me, it was over.
Aftermath- everyone eating outside of Aptos St. BBQ saw what happened. I found a spot for my truck right out in front and about 15 people assured me they would guard everything while I went back inside and finished my beer. Got the other half finished, got back in the truck and headed home.
Lessons learned-
1. Anywhere in Santa Cruz county is not safe for bikes. Don't let them out of your possession! Take that thing inside with you or lock it up in you car. Try to make it so people can't see it's in there.
2. Cable locks slow people down but not for long. I think that guy cut through mine in 2-3 mins tops with something small enough to hide in his pocket. Don't trust anything smaller than a hardened chain for even a short time.
3. Karate can't prepare you with how to deal with someone sitting on your bike, you just have to figure that one out as you go but a running start worked pretty good.
4. Don't nurse your beer, that sort of thing will get your bike stolen if you're not careful.
Police can't really do much if they recover bikes in a bust if they don't know who the owner is
1. ALWAYS park where you, or someone you trust, can see them. If you can't get parking near the restaurant where you want to eat...suck it up and eat elsewhere.
2. If you must leave them unattended make sure they're left in a very busy public location and locked in such a fashion that it's very obvious what thieves are up to. Lock your bikes to the vehicle, then lock them to each other with another lock and lock the front wheels with another. 3 locks to cut is likely more than most thieves are likely to take on in a busy public location. Making it difficult and forcing thieves to be conspicuous will often make them simply move on to the next target.
3. Only stay in hotels that have secure storage or, even better, will allow you to take them in the room with you.