Transition Bicycles Is The Latest Victim of Bike Theft

Nov 22, 2021 at 13:52
by Sarah Moore  
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These two unique bikes were among the seven bikes stolen from Transition Bicycles' headquarters in Bellingham, Washington.


Barely one week after Guerrilla Gravity's Denver showroom was broken into and thieves made off with seven bicycles and on the same day that we're reporting on eight men being been charged for being a part of a $1.5 million mountain bike shop burglary criminal ring in Colorado, Transition Bicycles has shared that they've been hit by bike thieves.

Their Bellingham, Washington headquarters were broken into last Wednesday, November 17th and perpetrators stole five bicycles as well as their trailer. Among the bikes stolen were two unique bikes, including one of the first bikes the brand ever made, the Dirtbag, and the Factory World Cup team TR450. The three bikes were from Transition's demo fleet, including a Spur X01 XL in black powder, Spire carbon GX XXL in Huckleberry, and Spire alloy GX XL in raw

Transition has asked that everyone to keep an eye out for these bikes and to email info@transitionbikes.com if you have any information.


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Member since Mar 30, 2011
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164 Comments
  • 639 2
 I never wish bad things upon anyone but I hope these thieves step on a Lego
  • 323 3
 F*** me mate, wind it back in a bit. /s
  • 136 1
 I'd go as far to say a chromag dagga to the shin.
  • 59 2
 @scottrap: Still better than stepping on Lego.
  • 42 4
 @philthyphill I don't care who you are or what you have done, no one should have the misfortune of stepping on a Lego.
  • 10 3
 @crusoejfawkes:

Clearly never stepped on one of these f'ers.

s.yimg.com/aah/albee-baby/magna-tiles-magna-qubix-3d-magnetic-building-blocks-9.jpg
  • 17 1
 @scottrap: Nah, they deserve the full Brooklyn Machine Works.
  • 31 1
 We still hang bike thieves in MT
  • 3 1
 @traildad69: I had a bike stolen in MT, it was a sad day.
  • 3 1
 @crusoejfawkes: i beg to differ. Everyone should step on one...so they know.
  • 3 1
 @traildad69: 3-7-77
  • 13 1
 @scottrap: or maybe we have a Lego pedal concept lying in here.
  • 2 1
 @Fix-the-Spade: agreed. I’ll be on the lookout with my BMWs ready for battle.
  • 4 1
 @Fix-the-Spade: Shinburger all the a*sholes
  • 2 1
 @bhuckley: those look like the Yeti Cycles of building blocks
  • 4 1
 @bhuckley: definitely sat on one… by accident.
  • 8 29
flag jrocksdh (Nov 22, 2021 at 20:45) (Below Threshold)
 It's as if these bike shops etc havnt been paying attention...these mobs have really become emboldened since last summer riots.
  • 39 1
 "Is there anything worse than stepping on a Lego in the middle of the night?" - Jeremy Clarkson

"A Landmine" - James May
  • 4 1
 Make the thieves walk on a mile of legos barefoot. Also make sure the Legos are not placed in a way for even weight distribution.
  • 2 1
 @bigtim: yeah we all thought it but Noone was gonna say it
  • 16 1
 Nah, a UK 3 pin plug
  • 2 1
 @Davec85: Holy crap that hurts!
  • 4 0
 @Davec85: Isn't that prohibited by the Geneva Convention?
  • 8 0
 What dirt bag steals a dirt bag
  • 13 0
 @staylo85: sounds like they need more patrols. Or they could post some sentinels outside. At any rate it could spur some change.
  • 2 0
 @crusoejfawkes: child molester?
  • 1 0
 I stepped on one of my kids jacks 30 years ago, and plenty of legos. Jacks are way worse when it pops through the bottom of your foot.
  • 1 0
 comment of the year hear ^^^^^^
  • 2 0
 @Beaconbike: I'll get the torches and pitchforks ready
  • 1 0
 @Ride406orDie: Preach.
  • 1 0
 Pretty sure that breaks the Geneva Conventions
  • 1 0
 @crusoejfawkes: how about a chainring?
  • 1 0
 @Davec85: the only thing worse than that is an apple AC/USB converter
  • 2 7
flag MX298 (Nov 24, 2021 at 21:03) (Below Threshold)
 Hard to feel sorry for a bike company that moves to a town and doesn't support local riders! Karma?
  • 2 0
 @MX298: this sounds like a personal beef because they didn’t support you specifically. But saying things like that pretty much ensures no one will take you.
  • 1 0
 @jsnfschr: or an upended plug !!
  • 1 0
 @imnotdanny: there are arguments for both sides...
  • 70 11
 Hey Pinkbike,

What are you doing to ensure that stolen goods aren’t sold via the buy/sell pages? Is there any moderation of the for sale items?
  • 20 6
 Seriously. With all the new $$$ flowing this seems like the least you could do for “the community.” I shudder to think about the number of stolen bikes and parts that have generated clicks in the buy and sell over the years
  • 12 10
 No, please no moderation
  • 4 7
 @JohanG: why not? Is that too much deviancy and perversion being shoved in your face by an industry of mush brained idiots?
  • 35 1
 They don't even strip metadata from photos. Every photo you post in buy/sell will tell the thieves exactly where to go to steal your shit unless you manually remove it yourself. I already reported to the buy/sell mod and the response was basically hand-waving.
  • 6 1
 @bigtuna00: how does one strip metadata from photos we post? This seems like useful info!
  • 11 1
 @mtshakira: you have to use an app to erase the exif data. FB had this issue and now does it automatically when you upload, kinda like what PB should do as well.
  • 10 1
 @mtshakira: Right click on the photo you want, go to properties > details then at the bottom click remove properties and personal information.
  • 38 2
 @dreamlink87, yes, there are moderators for the Buy&Sell. In addition, every ad has a "Report" button on it - if you see something suspicious, click that to alert a mod.
  • 20 4
 @bigtuna00: I just went through quite a few Buy/Sell posts and looked for photos that appeared to be taken by a mobile device (biggest culprit for including location data). I downloaded a dozen or so and examined the EXIF data. Fortunately I didn't find any GPS data. That said, for most I can tell exactly what kind of device was used, the software version of the device, and the original date/time.

To do further testing, I uploaded an image with GPS data. I then downloaded it from Pinkbike. The GPS data was intact. Check out the photo in my profile in the album titled 'Norway'. Download the image and look up the coordinates. Is it really Norway?

Honestly, this is really concerning and very negligent on Pinkbike's part.
  • 9 1
 @mikekazimer: It wouldn't hurt to publicly disclose the frame serial numbers and confirm if the bikes are registered with the likes of Project 529. Transition should have that info in their records at least for the demo bikes. I understand the PB BuySell currently is relatively self moderated for stolen goods. However, PB could leverage their massive international audience to allow for readers ("future subscribers") to access the serial numbers in situation such as this, just in case the thieves try to sell the frames anywhere (even off PB). The forks have a permanent serial number etched on the CSU, this may be harder to trace to the individual bikes as that may get lost in translation in batch assembly.

With Outside's future plan to go public (IPO), vast capital resources, and perhaps PB employees potential stock options. It would be the "right amount of stupid" (Levy - EP 79) as the BuySell is updated and monetized to add serial number registration to the PB ecosystem.
  • 8 2
 @fisc2307: FaceBook may strip metadata during the upload process but do you think they're not collecting it for their purposes?
  • 9 1
 Demand serial numbers.
  • 2 1
 @mikekazimer: Awesome, thanks for the info.
  • 1 1
 @mtshakira: for example:

www.comparitech.com/blog/information-security/remove-metadata-from-photos
  • 11 1
 @mikekazimer: did that 5 months ago; was assured "tech team" would be notified. Photo metadata, including location data, is still included by default. It's also not possible to delete photos. Yes you can put them in the trash, but the trash is still reachable by any user. You really should address this, it's a huge security risk.
  • 3 1
 @TheStabbyCyclist: Hopefully folks are manually stripping the metadata. I know I am. Of course since you cannot delete photos, all my old photos with location data are still there for anyone to find...
  • 9 1
 @bigtuna00: Yet another concerning fact. I honestly can't believe users don't have to the ability to delete photos.
  • 2 0
 @TheStabbyCyclist: nope, its south Iceland.
  • 35 1
 Hopefully these thieves get struck by lightning while simultaneously being hit by a bus. Or brought to justice, either works for me.
  • 8 1
 How's about all of it!
  • 26 1
 I'm sure they'll be able to sell that TR450 and Dirtbag... What the hell people? So dumb.
  • 32 1
 Its easy to think that but not everyone is going to know these are unique bikes. I'll be honest, if I saw that TR450 or Dirtbag for sale I would have no idea they were anything special if I didn't happen to see this post on Pinkbike.
  • 3 23
flag cdkozeluh (Nov 22, 2021 at 14:21) (Below Threshold)
 @sino428: I think they were being sarcastic..
  • 17 2
 Lol, as if its even possible to ride, much less sell, 26" wheeled bikes. Hell, those things don't even have idlers or smaller back wheels compared to the front...unrideable in every sense of the word.

Jokes on them!
  • 13 3
 @jackalope: I'll have ypu know my 26" specialized big hit from 2002 DOES have a smaller rear wheel than front...long live 26/24 mullets
  • 3 1
 @Bike-guy2323: the original mullet big. That thing sucked. The rear wheel was like an anchor.
  • 10 1
 @Robbyc1979: still hauls ass...slowly
  • 7 1
 I hate saying but that dirtbag looks like something your local DUI offender would be riding to the corner store for a 4pk of Natty Ice. Can't believe we rode that shit back in the day! Lol.
  • 3 1
 @MikeGruhler: Natty Ice is sold in 4 packs?
  • 2 1
 @Bike-guy2323: the dirt bag that was stolen was 26/24 mullet as well. I talked to its owner when I was in Bellingham a couple months ago in the outpost.
  • 3 1
 Surely too hot to handle... and a Spur, rumour has it there is only one of those frames ever made... at least if feels that way when you try to order one this side of the pond!
  • 2 0
 @Robbyc1979: that was fine. 2002 was all about the wheelie drop. Urban freeride or die
  • 1 0
 @lightsgetdimmer: Yessir! 4pk of tall boys
  • 1 0
 @MikeGruhler: tall boys ie:16oz not man cans ie:24oz? Sign me up
  • 25 1
 Two XL's and a XXL? Tall thieves. Either that or not even thieves can find a medium or large right now.
  • 4 2
 Probably the normal sizes were all being demoed
  • 19 1
 Can peoples just keep their hands to themselves? It's not that hard you know.
  • 89 1
 I do that and I get called a 'selfish lover'. You can't win these days.
  • 18 3
 @bigtim: Left hand got jealous?
  • 16 1
 If they break into Ellsworth HQ, we'll know exactly how desperate they are.

But seriously, I hope all these f*cks get moderately dismembered.
  • 9 0
 Thieves are the worst people. I am going to be completely honest here, I do penetration tests for a living. I do physical and cyber penetration tests with a team of people and 98% companies simply do not care. They don't think they will ever be broken into and have anything stolen. It sucks and this will probably get down voted but if you truly love your business and your customers you will at least setup a basic assessment of your security to protect you, the business, and the customers.
  • 9 1
 I'm bringing my Bottlerocket into the bedroom tonight. My girlfriend may not like it but if she wants to bring her Cannondale too that's fine.
  • 1 0
 My dear man! you have your priorities straight! Heres mine:

www.pinkbike.com/photo/20952053
  • 7 2
 I wish these guys would stick to hacking the catalytic converters out of our Tacomas over stealing our bikes before we can even buy them....We know times are hard for criminals because we are all at home all the time due to the covid but leave the bike companies and bike shops alone.
  • 9 1
 Spire XXL is absolutely a monster, keep an eye out for a 7' rider on a transition.
  • 17 11
 They need to install automatic machine guns to shoot these bish on the spot
  • 5 1
 Sorry Transition crew. So bummed on the Dirtbag. Luckily I have a selfie with it from last month. Unfortunately, every bike shop should have retracting window cages to prevent this shit. Bike thieves suck.
  • 1 2
 Transition must get cracked frames in for warranty, they should polish them up and use those as "display" bikes.
  • 9 2
 If only the security guard had been on patrol.
  • 5 1
 at the top of a Spire?
  • 1 0
 I volunteer.
  • 2 0
 If every responsible online site that has anything to do with buying or selling bikes simply insisted on entering the frame serial number, we could make it very difficult to shift stolen frames online. It would be so easy to flag a stolen frame.
  • 1 0
 Unfortunately they usually strip them and sell the parts. I've seen pictures of piles of pricey carbon frames in homeless camps and sketchy areas around Seattle
  • 6 1
 If I were Evil or Kona I'd be doubling down on the security right about now.
  • 8 3
 I thought y’all had guns in Murica... why not just sit inside with a shotgun and then plead self defence after ya kill em?
  • 2 1
 Oh ok...more realistically hire patrol service Dogs work really well too
  • 5 1
 Oh Hell No! That Dirtbag and Bryn's 450 are legendary (and worth hardly nothing). F'ing F!
  • 4 1
 You can take my car, but my bike? That's serious. It took me 7 months of constant looking and I'm not giving it up without a serious fight.
  • 3 1
 "Transition has asked that everyone to keep an eye out for these bikes and to email info@transitionbikes.com if you have any information." for example, if you need warranty service for these bicycles
  • 1 0
 Same time every year, this is, unfortunately, Christmas shopping for some people .. its happening here in the UK too, always picks up around xmas, then, in the new year you see kids riding about on badly sprayed mountain bikes, with no decals, that are several times too big or them
  • 6 2
 Good luck trying to sell that dirtbag or team bike, morons.
  • 17 1
 I don’t know… not everyone is a diehard history buff. To some kid, “Custom Transition DH/park bike, needs nothing $800” is pretty compelling
  • 2 3
 @VtVolk: Unfortunately a lot of this kind of stuff sells south of the border as well
  • 7 2
 @brandaneisma: true. Canada is too small of a market and everyone knows everyone. So we have to send it south of the border to at least WA.
  • 2 3
 @Jvisscher: ahh I meant a lot of stolen bikes are sold in latin america
  • 2 1
 @VtVolk: that’s not even that far off from my headline for a TR450 earlier in the year… older bikes don’t look that remarkable to kids who might not have been alive when they were made, they’re just trying to find something from a reputable brand at their price point.

Isn’t that how most of us started this hobby?
  • 2 2
 @Jvisscher: AHAHAHA. Savage.
  • 2 0
 @brandaneisma:
Really? I’m sure they’ll be sold in the good ol US of A on Facebook market place. Probably already sold.
  • 5 1
 Vicious cycles are occurring!
  • 5 1
 There WILL be a special place in hell for these guys.
  • 7 4
 When criminals are allowed to do whatever they want without being held accountable...
  • 1 0
 Tf is going on? Danny hart, transition , gg, , evil (possibly) either getting bikes stolen or employees stealing money. Not to mention a woman being murdered. This shit has gotten way way way out of hand
  • 2 0
 I like the Outpost, cool store, good vibe, chill beers I hope they get their stuff back. We could use a Christmas miracle and some good news for them.
  • 4 1
 A big mean dog maybe two would do wonders to deter thieves.
  • 2 1
 @lake-st a well trained Anatolian Shepard would scare off pretty much anyone!
  • 4 1
 This is getting ridiculous.
  • 5 2
 Youd think these headquarters would have even 1 survailance camera....
  • 1 0
 And insurance. . . .
  • 4 1
 I hope their bike creaks for the rest of their lives!
  • 3 1
 Fairhaven Bike, another shop in Bellingham, was also burglarized a couple weeks ago.
  • 3 1
 Bellingham sucks. . . . . . .
  • 3 1
 Been scrubbung the local market places all night.
  • 2 0
 WTB Spur X01 XL in black powder.
  • 2 0
 ISO XL Spur in black powder. Reach out, thieves! Not a cop!
  • 2 1
 Dang, what sad times we live in. I hope they get the historical bikes back & best case the demo one's too.
  • 2 1
 My dirtbag was battleship grey! All in, I was out $1500. Not something I’d break into a store for…
  • 3 1
 I hope they get scooter ankled
  • 3 1
 Do they have the serial numbers recorded somewhere that they could share?
  • 3 1
 Why not location chip the showroom bikes? Glue it inside the seatpost
  • 3 1
 Get fucking fucked right off! This is BS.
  • 9 6
 Refund the police!
  • 7 4
 I have no clue why people were retarded enough to defund them in the first place.
  • 8 1
 Because the police care so much about bike theft??? Apparently you have never had a bike stolen, police could give two shits about bike theft.
  • 2 1
 @sunringlerider: exactly
  • 4 4
 @sunringlerider: Because their resources were limited even prior to the "geniuses" who decided to defund them. Therefore, unfortunately, criminal law enforcement very much is subject to, and always has been, a sort of "triage" where crimes are rank ordered in terms of priority. Bike theft, while certainly a big deal to bike enthusiasts, doesn't rank up there with things like murder, etc.

In any case, this is all going to correct itself and is already in some cases. Defund is perhaps one of the dumbest political movements in history.
  • 1 0
 @sunringlerider: I’ve had one stolen, I had a tracker on it and got it back in a day.
  • 3 1
 Why not get 24 hour security, or a couple of Rottweilers?
  • 2 1
 Forgot about that azonic seat, would instantly ruin the looks of any bike you it on.
  • 2 1
 These bike companies are going to need secret underground Headquarters soon!
  • 1 0
 I see every single comment here has a down vote...possibly check into that?
  • 2 0
 drop in some bear traps....for the next break in
  • 5 4
 This sucks worse than Dec. 3
  • 3 1
 Scum of the earth!
  • 2 1
 There’s been a lot of bike shops and hq’s being stolen from
  • 3 2
 Plenty of unemployed veterans would take up a private security gig.
  • 2 1
 Supply chain issues are out of control!
  • 2 1
 Dry Oury grip treatment in the clink for these scuzzies.
  • 2 5
 this has to do with profit margins..... both for brands and the robbers........ bikes dont cost 6500 to 11,000 we overpay...... and robbers never get to sell hot product for profits like bikes why steal anything but high end new bikes ...
  • 3 1
 Not one single person is forcing you to purchase a bike at any price. Nice victim blaming.
  • 1 1
 @bman33: your choses narrow within reasonable prices. Every bike company has make a killing the last two years. I can buy a brand new 450 MX bike for less then an high end enduro bike.
  • 2 0
 @truehipster: Yes, MTB's are expensive. That said, we can buy a bike with the same components pros race, minus a shock tune here or there. We can buy a STOCK 450 for $8k. To buy a 450 with the same components as a top MX pro rides, is closer to $50k-$80k. Big difference
  • 2 2
 They’re being shipped out of the country.
  • 1 0
 Acosta, Garcia, Leday, Melina, Mena-Barreno, Quijada, and Rocha-Chairez are the 8 arrested.

I wonder what country it's being sent to?
  • 2 1
 What the shit
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