How Many Stolen Bikes?

SPOODZILLA

Ok, after my latest loss i'm starting to think i am not mean to own a nice bike for more than 6 months. Thinking back, i've had a ridiculous number of bikes nicked. I've never actually worn a bike out, its always been nicked before I've had to replace anything!! Anyone else had a bad time of it?

The list (think i'm missing a couple, but):

1. Raleigh Something - 2nd hand, pushed off it the day I got it!!
2. Raleigh Nitro - paper round bike, stolen from outside the shop at 6am
3. Raleigh 80's racer - another paperround casualty
4. Raleigh Air (i think) - locked up outside a news kiosk
5. Carrera Kraken (green) - stolen from train station (left for 3 hrs)
6. Carrera Kraken in red - stolen from lockup at work
7. Carrera Kraken in blue - stolen from the same lockup!!
8. Trek 3700 - From outside a shop
9. Specialised Hardrock Sport - Broken into shed at home
10. Specialised Hardrock Sport - From outside the chinese takeaway
11. Merlin Malt 1 - From my garage
12. Giant FCR1 - Also in garage, taken at same time as Malt
13. Trek 7.3FX - From the train station (my fault, left overnight)

All locked up with D locks, multiple cable locks, unless behind a locked door. Didnt stop them getting nicked :-(

Currently have a 2006 Trek 1500 that stays in house or at my desk at work. And a 2009 Carrera Fury, again kept in house, or locked up with a motorcycle lock and 2 cable locks.

Agent57

In 42 years, I've never had a bike stolen.

davis

Wow.

Just wow.

:shock:

That's truly terrifying -- where do you lock them up? And, never, so far (I dearly hope it stays that way).

Edit: I meant where in the country, really -- I did read the comments!

jonginge

Ho lee feck

1 old ridgeback mr silver MTB. It was on its last legs anyway.

Sirius631

The only bike I've had nicked was an unidentifiable heavyweight that I converted to a cyclocross bike. It was on loan to my brother in order for him to get to college when his Rotory was stolen. Guess I should have judged my brother's ability to lock up bikes with a bit more scepicism. Bugger has never offered to repay me.

SPOODZILLA

Manchester & surrounding. It really is lovely, honest!!

I must be some kind of bike thief magnet....

ndru

Perhaps we should talk about your locking technique - did you try to lock it to something
Seriously though, tough luck. I would hate to have my bike stolen.

Headhuunter

Had 1 bike nicked from the Luton town centre when I was about 17 or 18. It was a cheapo Halfords MTB of some kind. Since then I've never had a bike nicked (touch wood). I currently use 2 massive D locks, one round the front wheel and frame and one round the rear. Heavy to carry round but there's always someone else's bike less well protected near mine that is likely to get targetted 1st...

SPOODZILLA

Hmm, I thought everyone had bikes stolen, didn't realise I was such a special case.

Cafewanda

You very special

None stolen thus far.

Headhuunter

SPOODZILLA wrote:

Hmm, I thought everyone had bikes stolen, didn't realise I was such a special case.

Don't use cable locks, they're an utter waste of time, you can cut through them in a couple of seconds, always use big chains and D locks. Try to lock the bike in a busy, well lit place near other bikes, thieves may be less willing to spend time breaking locks when there's a good flow of people walking past and if your bike is near others, the thief may go for one of those - bit like being a single herring in a shoal of fish when there's a shark about! Lock your bikes when in the shed or garage, I have mine wrapped up in locks and locked to the shed itself and the shed door has 3 padlocks on it.

The Rookie

Only bike I've vere had stolen was a funny step through thing we hired in france with a canal boat (Loire valley), they didn't provide locks and we had all 4 stolen at a swimming pool. They had already been returned to the boat company by the Police by the time we returned the boat!

Simon

squired

None yet, but just the other night I had one of my regular dreams that I come home to find the garage door open and all the bikes gone!

mroli

Back wheel nicked once. That's it for me - touch wood.

MonkeyMonster

Most of the bits I hadn't actually locked, including brake levers etc but frame, wheels and saddle were there - seatpost had gone back in uni days.

Nothing recently but then I am exceedingly circumspect locking outside my or friends houses and at work its inside the front door down steps etc.

shouldbeinbed

Just one, trek MTB eldest borrowed it and left it lying unlocked in the back garden. I even heard them nicking it but never twigged since i didn't know it was out there alone and unlocked

suzyb

davis wrote:

Wow.

Just wow.

:shock:

+1

Alphabet

only one so far (touch wood) - a POS that i used to get to uni and back 10 years ago. i did managed to completely write off a kona cinder cone, but that's a different story entirely

SamWise72

Back in 1985, my pride and joy, a Coventry Eagle Kermesse, my first decent bike, all 531, skinny tyres etc. Stolen from in front of the library, where it was locked with one of those crappy combination locks you could get in the 80's. Since then, better locks, no stealing. And I try always to lock in a very public place, as near as possible to more expensive bikes that are less well locked.

attica

SPOODZILLA wrote:

Ok, after my latest loss i'm starting to think i am not mean to own a nice bike for more than 6 months. Thinking back, i've had a ridiculous number of bikes nicked. I've never actually worn a bike out, its always been nicked before I've had to replace anything!! Anyone else had a bad time of it?

The list (think i'm missing a couple, but):

1. Raleigh Something - 2nd hand, pushed off it the day I got it!!
2. Raleigh Nitro - paper round bike, stolen from outside the shop at 6am
3. Raleigh 80's racer - another paperround casualty
4. Raleigh Air (i think) - locked up outside a news kiosk
5. Carrera Kraken (green) - stolen from train station (left for 3 hrs)
6. Carrera Kraken in red - stolen from lockup at work
7. Carrera Kraken in blue - stolen from the same lockup!!
8. Trek 3700 - From outside a shop
9. Specialised Hardrock Sport - Broken into shed at home
10. Specialised Hardrock Sport - From outside the chinese takeaway
11. Merlin Malt 1 - From my garage
12. Giant FCR1 - Also in garage, taken at same time as Malt
13. Trek 7.3FX - From the train station (my fault, left overnight)

All locked up with D locks, multiple cable locks, unless behind a locked door. Didnt stop them getting nicked :-(

Currently have a 2006 Trek 1500 that stays in house or at my desk at work. And a 2009 Carrera Fury, again kept in house, or locked up with a motorcycle lock and 2 cable locks.

After that many I can see how you would blame yourself, but unless you left it unlocked with a neon "take me, I don't want this bike any more" sign flashing overhead, it wasn't your fault. A crime was committed and you should be looking for vengeance! You need a D-Lock and...


...a fighting D-Lock!!! :twisted:

AndyOgy

I have recently been made aware of a particularly nasty type of bike theft:

As it was suggested, it's good to leave the bike in as crowded a place as possible. However, the thieves have a way around this. They will put epoxy resin or superglue into the lock. The owner will usually end up leaving the bike there. The scumbags then return in the middle of the night, correctly armed with angle grinder/bolt cutters, and nobody is around to stop them.

If this happens to you, report it to the police and pay whatever it costs to get a 24hr locksmith out.

Clever Pun

Had a battered trek hybrid nicked from canary wharf years ago, that's it

Headhuunter

AndyOgy wrote:

I have recently been made aware of a particularly nasty type of bike theft:

As it was suggested, it's good to leave the bike in as crowded a place as possible. However, the thieves have a way around this. They will put epoxy resin or superglue into the lock. The owner will usually end up leaving the bike there. The scumbags then return in the middle of the night, correctly armed with angle grinder/bolt cutters, and nobody is around to stop them.

If this happens to you, report it to the police and pay whatever it costs to get a 24hr locksmith out.

They do the same thing by locking their own D lock round your bike, so you return, find your bike locked with someone else's lock, inevitably give up and go home and whilst you're away they angle grind your lock at their leisure later. If it ever happens to me I won't be abandoning the bike, I'll be getting a locksmith or a friend with a hacksaw or something, or perhaps borrow someone's car jack and jack the thief's lock apart

andy83

This makes me kind of happy im not in london with the stories of what they do, doesnt seem as bad in birmingham

I had the same bike stolen twice. Wasnt insured the first time so just bought the same bike again cos i liked it

First time when locked up at work, then 18 months ago just finished upgrading the bike to full deore xt and i loved it. Then it got nicked, i was gutted.

redvee

Only had one bike nicked, a green & yellow Dawes reynolds 500mtb, though I did come close to losing it on day one of ownership. Got it home and did have plans of putting it in the shed but left it in the hallway to fettle the saddle height etc. That night the shed got broken into which wasn't too secure tbh, didn't mention it to anybody yet the local scroars who lived across the road told my Dad where the ToysRus Falcon racer I had nicked from the shed was, coincidence??? Eventually lost it outside Boots in Clifton. One thing I learned when without bike was how easily you lose your fitness when you have no bike to ride.

SPOODZILLA

I need to add a back wheel too. That was a curious case, phoned local bike shop for a quote for a new back wheel, they just happened to have a part worn back wheel with the correct cassette on it just come in!! what are the chances??

I must stress this is spread over 20 years. solution has been to not leave bikes out of my sight!

Oh, and finally, a thread I havent been topped at :?

Libraio

I've lost two bikes to thieving scum. A 10 speed Batavus road bike when I was 13 and a no name mountain bike I'd done up when I was 18. Took a ten year break from cycling after that one.

SimonAH

Gotta be honest, never had one nicked. Never use a lock either - just don't leave the bike out of my sight.

gadgetmonster

I had my old BMX bike stolen, and they hacked through the metal post to get it. That was when I was a teener in the 80s.... it's weird that they got through all that trouble when the lock I had on it was set on default. It was a very old BMX too at that time, so I really didn't think anybody would steal it!

Fireblade96

Two stolen:-(
First, my trustly yellow MTB which had travelled to the States with me and seen commuting action round Seattle and Boston; stolen within weeks of my return to the UK, from the bike rack in the underground car park at work. In front of the security camera, which unsurprisingly showed nothing.

Second was an upgrade replacement purchased with the insurance money from the first. Stolen within my first month of ownership from where it was double-locked to a bus shelter, within eye sight of the pub where I was having dinner.

I may have mentioned this before, but I *really* hate bike thieves...now I have two big locks securing a knackered "town bike", none of the others ever leaves my sight.