Bike theft in the UK is a scandal!

the ferry
the ferry Posts: 258
edited February 2013 in The cake stop
Bike theft in the UK is a scandal!
starting from scratch i'm trying to build an opreration to tackle bike theft. All things will be considered owners, bike shops. insurance companies and the cycling community such as yourselves. Please point me in the right direction to any ideas out there or any random thoughts you may have - be creative! Thank you in advance for any suggestions.
John

Comments

  • awallace
    awallace Posts: 191
    How is it a scandal? I am for no minute saying it is acceptable. Have you considered contacting your local police? I think you've got to either work with someone on a legit operation, campaign the authorities (good luck, people cant stop war, life and death let alone bike theft) or do something vigilante style which will land you in more hot water than the thief.

    Good luck though.
  • desweller
    desweller Posts: 5,175
    There's a GPS tracker product on the market that you can put into your steerer tube, but I think it would be better if it was a) in the seat tube and b) not removable.

    Alternatively, packing the seat tube with explosives and a remote trigger has definite appeal...
    - - - - - - - - - -
    On Strava.{/url}
  • ooermissus
    ooermissus Posts: 811
    awallace wrote:
    How is it a scandal?

    Hard to think of any other stolen property which is sold so brazenly - toe rags on gumtree etc who have a nearly new bike to sell every week or so because they "don't need it now they're going to university." All from the same mobile number, albeit with different names - barely any attempt to hide what's going on.

    Theft must be one of the biggest disincentives to cycling if you include (i) all the places its impossible to take a decent bike if you're going to have to leave it for any extended period of time; (ii) all the people who live in small flats where bike storage is really tough; (iii) all the people who give up when their bikes are stolen.

    I'd like widespread secure parking in London, maybe with some clever system where you had to be a member and with facial recognition for people taking bikes in and out. Would also like a sustained effort to clean up the second hand bike market.
  • Mikey23
    Mikey23 Posts: 5,306
    Something that needs to be considered and reasonable precautions taken ... I have to say that here in the south west it is not the top of my agenda. I have a reasonably expensive bike, it is insured and provided that I look after it, the insurance company will pay up
  • the ferry
    the ferry Posts: 258
    Scandal?
    we've had 142 stolen so far this year so thats in only 47 days in a average size town (100,00 including all the outlining villages)
    I've biked all my life and been very lucky i suppose but obviously some poor souls are having the heartache of being a victim of this stuff.
    If there was a magic answer then we would of had it by now eh?
  • smoggysteve
    smoggysteve Posts: 2,909
    One of the reason bikes or anything else is stolen so freely is opportunity. A certain amount of responsibility has to rest with the owners. I am not saying all people are at fault for having a bike stolen and I think any thief is a scumbag who needs a kicking. But if you know you are taking a risk leaving a bike somewhere then you have to wonder why are so many bikes are stolen. There are thieves who will go that extra mile to steal something if its profitable but the majority of stolen bikes are taken by the opportunist thief.
  • the ferry
    the ferry Posts: 258
    ..so how about insurance companies refusing to pay out if you have been reckless or say have no BB/seriel number to pass on to police?..
  • GiantMike
    GiantMike Posts: 3,139
    I would expect a bike to get stolen so I wouldn't ride anything that would bother me too much if it got stolen. My current commuter came from a tip.
  • RideOnTime
    RideOnTime Posts: 4,712
    DesWeller wrote:
    There's a GPS tracker product on the market that you can put into your steerer tube, but I think it would be better if it was a) in the seat tube and b) not removable.

    Alternatively, packing the seat tube with explosives and a remote trigger has definite appeal...
    :D
  • the ferry
    the ferry Posts: 258
    sounds like a great idea..
  • ooermissus
    ooermissus Posts: 811
    SmoggySteve wrote:
    A certain amount of responsibility has to rest with the owners.... if you know you are taking a risk leaving a bike somewhere then you have to wonder why are so many bikes are stolen.

    Sadly there are no locks that will withstand a well-equipped thief for more than a few minutes. Plus you're looking at 2-3kgs to carry the two locks that you need to ward off opportunists in a high crime area.
  • the ferry
    the ferry Posts: 258
    but there must be a massive market for knocked off bikes? so who has been offered a stolen bike to buy??
  • smoggysteve
    smoggysteve Posts: 2,909
    ooermissus wrote:
    SmoggySteve wrote:
    A certain amount of responsibility has to rest with the owners.... if you know you are taking a risk leaving a bike somewhere then you have to wonder why are so many bikes are stolen.

    Sadly there are no locks that will withstand a well-equipped thief for more than a few minutes. Plus you're looking at 2-3kgs to carry the two locks that you need to ward off opportunists in a high crime area.

    There is more to bike security than buying a big F@ck-off lock. Its things like where are people leaving them? Is it in a well lit area with people passing by regularly. Is it left in a rickety old shed over night with a crappy lock on the door? You have to do more to prevent a thief the chance to even think its worth nicking. My bike is only ever in my Cellar (I know not many people are fortunate to have one) or its below me. I never park it up somewhere and leave it out of reach to me or a cycling buddy. I've seen how quick a thief can have a car away. I aint taking a chance with my bike.

    To above post. If a bike is stolen, don't assume its going to always turn up on gumtree or ebay as a complete item. Thieves are smart. They will do what they do with cars now. dissasemble it and sell it on as bits. Who is going to be suspicious or someone selling a set of wheels or a groupset here and there? And the odd frame turning up is not unknown. Anyone who goes to the trouble of stealing bikes left right and centre and then trying to sell them on complete is dumb.
  • ooermissus
    ooermissus Posts: 811
    SmoggySteve wrote:
    I never park it up somewhere and leave it out of reach to me or a cycling buddy. I've seen how quick a thief can have a car away. I aint taking a chance with my bike.

    Which more or less proves my point - your reaction is to never use your bike for any of the normal things that people use bikes for - going to the pub, the shops, visiting friends etc. That's a major reason not to cycle for most people, just as only hardcore car enthusiasts would drive if you cars were stolen so regularly that it wasn't safe to leave a 'decent' car outside for any period of time when it wasn't being driven.
  • JackPozzi
    JackPozzi Posts: 1,191
    SmoggySteve wrote:

    To above post. If a bike is stolen, don't assume its going to always turn up on gumtree or ebay as a complete item. Thieves are smart. They will do what they do with cars now. dissasemble it and sell it on as bits. Who is going to be suspicious or someone selling a set of wheels or a groupset here and there? And the odd frame turning up is not unknown. Anyone who goes to the trouble of stealing bikes left right and centre and then trying to sell them on complete is dumb.

    I was in my LBS a while back when a policeman wheeled in a Pinerello F4:13 with a sticker from the shop on it, asking if they had any idea who it might belong to. Turned out some scrote had burgled the owner's house and taken the bike, the taken it into Cash Converters and asked if they'd give him £150 for it! Luckily some thiefs are very dumb...
  • smoggysteve
    smoggysteve Posts: 2,909
    ooermissus wrote:
    SmoggySteve wrote:
    I never park it up somewhere and leave it out of reach to me or a cycling buddy. I've seen how quick a thief can have a car away. I aint taking a chance with my bike.

    Which more or less proves my point - your reaction is to never use your bike for any of the normal things that people use bikes for - going to the pub, the shops, visiting friends etc. That's a major reason not to cycle for most people, just as only hardcore car enthusiasts would drive if you cars were stolen so regularly that it wasn't safe to leave a 'decent' car outside for any period of time when it wasn't being driven.

    I can do those things, I just don't use my very expensive road bike. I use my hybrid if I am just popping to the shops etc. I am in a different country mind where bike theft is not as bad but I would not leave a bike that looks expensive alone somewhere. I take a bike that blends in with the rest of the bikes left on the racks in the town centre.

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