MTB id and theft?

john10012

Can anyone tell me if mountain bikes and bikes in general have the equivalent of a VIN on a car?

And also is there some sort of crime database that people can check to make sure that a used bike they may be considering buying is not actually reported as stolen before they buy?

This would I'm sure be very useful information for a lot of people who may consider buying a used bike on eBay etc.

The only other way to try and ensure this is by asking if the seller has original receipts which they may not always keep even if they did buy the bike themselves and it is a genuine sale and transfer from one owner to a new owner.

cooldad

Most have a serial number.

The Rookie

Frame number, usually on the BB shell underneath.

The rest of the 90% of the value of the bike has no ID.

No national database.

97th choice

There are some registration schemes available, try the bike register

stubs

Unfortunately it takes about 15 mins to strip a frame of all the easy to sell and valuable parts stick them on ebay and take frame to scrapyard. You can use Smartwater but not many people have an ultraviolet light. Best thing is buy the best security you can get, insure the bike and keep fingers crossed.

compo

Also go for the UV pens on fork/rims etc

It doesn't show up so is unobtrusive but is better than nothing. However I don't know if it washes off etc?

The Rookie

It can be removed, yes.

Like smart water or microdot though, only any use once the bike is in the hands of the Police.

MrM

UV pen fades. Fades even quicker if exposed to heat & sunlight.
If using UV pen its best to remark it often.

compo

Fair enough, didn't know if it worked, but thought it'd be worth a shout.

On a related issue, do they make some sort of GPS tracker you can drop inside your frame or something?

cooldad

compo wrote:

Fair enough, didn't know if it worked, but thought it'd be worth a shout.

On a related issue, do they make some sort of GPS tracker you can drop inside your frame or something?

Using search you might find some strange person posting some strange things up about these.