Ever seen some one riding your stolen bike

gtd.
gtd. Posts: 626
edited September 2010 in MTB general
Almost a year ago my 03 Giant terrago FS1 was stolen in the middle of the night, It was locked to my iron gates half way up my drive.

Went to local town center on my lunch brake to get some ibuprofen as my impacted wisdom tooth was playing up.

Riding there I saw my old bike go past with some scrote on it. i managerd to get him to the police station and said look this guys riding my bike desribed the bike and a few hidden features like chooped down seat post and I have the missing bit in my garage still.

Guy kept saying he bought it from a pit village in Durham a couple of weeks ago saw it in the AdMag. I'm in Teesside. Then kept changing his story. eventually he said he bought it off a mate. they arrested him, asked if I wanted to make a complaint or did I just want it back. I just wanted the bike, he has no prievious so he probbably bought it off a bag head and although he knew it was dodgy.

Its not a great bike and it now has some little extras, lights, mud guards, replacement grip shifter and a new rear hanger and it looks like its had a rollamajig fitted although the hayes nine HD's no longer work properly but probabbly just want bleeding, the judy TT's look worn but might be ok and the seat rails are mangled as ther binder both had snapped just before it was stolen so I had done a tempoary repair with a M6 bolt and fastener instead of an M7 bolt and fastener.

I never thought I'd see my old bike again I was expecting that given the fact the gear hanger was bent and the seat post was knackered that it would have been stripped for parts, rock shox, race face bits, wheels etc. but to see it being ridden in almost the same condition it was stolen in shocked me :lol:
Mountain: Orange Patriot FR, SubZero & Evo2LE.
Road: Tifosi Race Custom.
Do it all bike: Surly Disc Trucker 700c/29er

Comments

  • That's rather fortunate!! I've never seen my bike that was stolen, i have however, almost crashed whilst checking out every single bike around looking for it.
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  • Tim.s
    Tim.s Posts: 515
    There was a guy in our local club had his downhill bike nicked, about 18 months later a couple of bobbies who know a bit about bikes ask some dude why he is riding a full blown downhill bike through the city centre at midnight and he throws it at them and runs off!

    They run the frame number and this chap gets his bike back, thing is his insurance company had given him a new one so he now has two exactly the same.
    "Didn't hurt"
  • Andy!
    Andy! Posts: 433
    Marcus_C wrote:
    That's rather fortunate!! I've never seen my bike that was stolen, i have however, almost crashed whilst checking out every single bike around looking for it.

    I can relate to that.

    For a couple of years I used to keep checking out bikes the same model but the upgraded front wheel and painted out rim brake strip on the rear was never on them...except one that did look like it went past one day but I was going in the other direction :evil:

    They were welcome to it. Marin with too stiff alloy frame that was too big, knackered chain rings and chain, manipoo fork and hayes sole brakes (rubbish). Insurance got me a Malt 2 with LX gear and Rev Air fork :D
  • F@RRR
    F@RRR Posts: 62
    i had a blinged up marin bear valley stolen back in the 90's and was in the shop picking up the insurance replacement when a guy rode past on the stolen one :shock: i jumped on the new bike and chased after him and drew up alongside cand said "nice bike where'd you get it from"? , he tried to accelerate away but i grabbed the end of his bars and we both ended up in a heap in the road. a row followed and someone called the police . I had hold of both bikes and he was trying to pull the nicked one from my grip, the arrival of the police distracted me for a second and he head butted me and split my head open . i dropped the bikes and he was off the law gave chase and he tried bunnyhopping up a kerb and would of escaped down an alley but the cops managed to open the door and knock him off :lol:

    they asked me to prove it was my bike which was easy cause there was a piece of paper up the seat post with my name and postcode on it. he got done for assault i got £150 compensation and a scar to impress the chicks with 8)
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  • gtd.
    gtd. Posts: 626
    been keeping my eyes open for ages was riding round on a townsend steath :oops: for a while I was given 8) gave up looking once I did my hellcat up.

    scoured ebay for a few weeks as I thought it would have been stripped for parts.

    Looked out for kids with my wheels and brakes, think I own the only two bikes in town with Hayes HFX Nines with V8 discs front and back, old bike had BFL levers new one Straitline X-Rays. also has Michelin City Protecs which I aint seen on another bike round here either.

    Now going to transfer the race face bars and stem and genuine hayes discs off the Giant on to my Hellcat then once I get new wheels and crank set for the Hellcat I'll put the swap the wheels as the giant has a freewheel not a free hub and cassette.

    If I didnt have toothache I might have never found my bike
    Mountain: Orange Patriot FR, SubZero & Evo2LE.
    Road: Tifosi Race Custom.
    Do it all bike: Surly Disc Trucker 700c/29er
  • man i would be so annoyed if i saw someone with MY bike. all hell would break loose!
  • Stuey01
    Stuey01 Posts: 1,273
    F@RRR wrote:

    they asked me to prove it was my bike which was easy cause there was a piece of paper up the seat post with my name and postcode on it.

    What a great idea!
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  • A friend of mine had the lock cut and his giant stolent from outside a shop.

    He went on ebay to see if it was on there, and low and behold it was lol. The people has already put it on ebay for sale, just a few hours after stealing it.

    He informed the police, got his bike back and got the couple who stole his bike prosecuted.

    The neve of some people.


    Liam
  • My wife managed to nick her bike back when the thief left the bike in our hallway - obviously forgetting where he'd orginally nicked it from - he was visiting the bloke who lived in the flat upstairs. sometimes the expression "thick as thieves" is very true indeed. :lol:
    Hello! I've been here over a month now.
  • Not advised but…

    Three weeks after my missus’s Spesh was stolen from the shed, I was driving home from N Wales with my mate and just turned into my area when some scrote came bombing out of an alleyway on said bike (all 6ft of him looking like a d1ck it must be on a 13” D4W, girly coloured bike…). I dunno why as I’m generally a pacifist but instinct kicked in and I slammed on the brakes, jumped out of the car, chased him 50m down the road and well, I’m not proud, but beat the sh1t out of him there and then. Reckons he bought it off a mate for £50 but given it was a £800 bike he knew what the score was. Bike was fine except a bent mech hanger, probably caused when he stacked it into a wall when I first hit him… Like I said, not advised but strangely satisfying given that I’ve personally lost 4 expensive bikes to scumbags over the years.
  • stingmered
    stingmered Posts: 60
    edited September 2010
    Not advised but…

    Three weeks after my missus’s Spesh was stolen from the shed, I was driving home from N Wales with my mate and just turned into my area when some scrote came bombing out of an alleyway on said bike (all 6ft of him looking like a d1ck it must be on a 13” D4W, girly coloured bike…). I dunno why as I’m generally a pacifist but instinct kicked in and I slammed on the brakes, jumped out of the car, chased him 50m down the road and well, I’m not proud, but beat the sh1t out of him there and then. Reckons he bought it off a mate for £50 but given it was a £800 bike he knew what the score was. Bike was fine except a bent mech hanger, probably caused when he stacked it into a wall when I first hit him… Like I said, not advised but strangely satisfying given that I’ve personally lost 4 expensive bikes to scumbags over the years.
  • BigJimmyB
    BigJimmyB Posts: 1,302
    Stuey01 wrote:
    F@RRR wrote:

    they asked me to prove it was my bike which was easy cause there was a piece of paper up the seat post with my name and postcode on it.

    What a great idea!

    I'm doing that to ALL my bikes when I get home!
  • BigJimmyB wrote:
    Stuey01 wrote:
    F@RRR wrote:

    they asked me to prove it was my bike which was easy cause there was a piece of paper up the seat post with my name and postcode on it.

    What a great idea!

    I'm doing that to ALL my bikes when I get home!

    Me too - I'm gonna do it to all my bike - er, I mean my bike, when I get home.
    Hello! I've been here over a month now.
  • Foobies
    Foobies Posts: 134
    had my old marin nicked from outside where i used to work, tehy cut through the fence i had it locked to... was outside work one night talking to a bouncer and having a fag and the scrote rode past on it... me n the bouncer gave chase after shouting some abuse but he got away... never seen it since....
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  • GTD. wrote:
    , think I own the only two bikes in town with Hayes HFX Nines with V8 discs front and back

    Nope, my mate has them, granted only the rear brake but still has them. :wink:
  • When I first moved to England I brought all my bike with me from the states. Had about 10k in total of bikes from spending all of my money on them when I was younger. Each and every one of them was nicked from inside our back garden which had a 3 metre tall wooden fence and the back was padlocked from the inside. Was a right bummer, now I keep my bikes in my flat, which is the best safety measure.
  • One of our neighbours had her bike nicked from work. It was parked there the week after with the same lock and code, so she unlocked it and changed the code...
  • 2 bikes nicked from my garage so II keep my eye out for my Spesh, the Marin was 11 yrs old they can have it....
  • BigJimmyB wrote:
    Stuey01 wrote:
    F@RRR wrote:

    they asked me to prove it was my bike which was easy cause there was a piece of paper up the seat post with my name and postcode on it.

    What a great idea!

    I'm doing that to ALL my bikes when I get home!

    Me too - I'm gonna do it to all my bike - er, I mean my bike, when I get home.

    Me 3 .... thats a funkin great idea wish i'd have read this post before my Anthem got nicked :cry: ... although insurance company came up trumps n now also have a shed like fort knox :D
  • I had a bike nicked and a while later somebody arrived where I work for a job interview on it. The police were called, but he said he found it in a skip. :roll: . luckily I had the bike insured so it wasnt too bad. But he didnt get the job. Mike
  • jayson
    jayson Posts: 4,606
    Ive had a few bikes nicked over the years and ive never seen any of them ever again unfortunately.

    As someone above did i too would beat the living bejesus out of anyone if i happened to see them riding my nicked bike, there wouldnt be much left for the police im afraid when i was finished.

    Scumbags deserve so much more than that but i dont intend on spending 20yrs in prison over some scumbag bike thief.

    I can feel an angry rant comin on so i'll leave it at for now..... :evil:
  • Zaim
    Zaim Posts: 28
    In all my years of cycling I have had 7 bikes stolen from me in one form or another. Out of those 7 only one was ever returned to me because I knew the person who stole it off me!

    A friend and I were walking back to my friends place when I was approached by the person who stole my bike. He knew my friend and I knew of him. He asked if he could have a ride and I initially said no but after much verbal persuasion I let him have a ride on my bike, after all he’s not going to steal it I know of him.

    As he rode around the corner out of my sight my friend said ‘You know he’s stolen your bike?!’ ‘Don’t be daft we know who he is and where he lives’. As already told above he did steal my bike and what followed was a long story that ended up with me in the back of a Police car giving chase and the bike finally being returned to me with a bent rear mech hanger.

    I mentioned that only one was ever returned to me but actually the first bike stolen from me, a Marin Bolinas in bright yellow, was purchased by one of my friends about 3 years later from a ‘chap down the market’. It was clear it had gone through a number of incarnations during its 3 years away but it was definitely my Marin.

    Now all my bikes are data tagged, locked to immovable objects, in a double locked shed with an alarm fitted and a security camera for good measure. A couple of them only ever get see he light on the trail.
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