Stolen Push-Bikes..

Associate
Joined
10 Oct 2009
Posts
691
After having my bike stolen I bought a bike around a year ago from a family members friend in Cambridge. I had no reason to think it wasn't legit and so happily paid a good price for it and transported it back to London. My work office moved that following week to a new location and so I began to commute there on my bike after having it fully serviced and some parts replaced for around £130. 3 days into working at the new premises I finish up work, leave the office and head to jump on my bike. Two police officers and some young guy are standing close to it, but I think nothing of it and go to unlock it. Low and behold the guy had just moved to London from Cambridge and started work in an office around the corner from mine. He'd spotted the bike as the one he'd had stolen in Cambridge and called the law! I couldn't believe it! The police said that if we were happy to resolve it ourselves then it would go no further and they took both out details. After the guy produced the log book he'd got with the bike displaying the serial number I had no choice but to return it to him with all spanking new parts. Gutting for me but great for the guy who's bike it was.

I called a few ads on gumtree after that trying to get myself a new bike, however 3 of the ads I called wanted to meet outside a bingo place in order for me to check out the bike rather than a street address! Obviously some shoddy goings on there! I bit the bullet in the end and just bought a brand spanking new bike.

Oh.... two weeks later some sod pinched my wheels from a locked bike in a locked shed in a locked courtyard. It may be cheaper for me to get a car :D
 
Soldato
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
5,649
Location
Newcastle
I'd never leave a bike of any real value in the centre of any town if I'm honest. My Cube stays in my house or locked up at work on a guarded site in the middle of nowhere. I can't even lock it to a fence and go into a pub\shop opposite without freaking out.

Bike insurance next time seems the way to go. :)
 
Soldato
Joined
1 Oct 2004
Posts
10,772
Location
Cambs/Herts
It's surprising that your insurance won't cover it. My student insurance covered mine when it was stolen from outside a faculty building, although I did pay an extra £30 to "upgrade" the policy.
 
Soldato
Joined
21 Nov 2008
Posts
4,663
all these bike thefts... why dont people setup a string operation? :D film it... go around the country catching bike thieves, it would be epic :|
 
Associate
Joined
11 Jun 2009
Posts
1,248
My mate had a >£4000 bike stolen on Wednesday...
Someone used bolt cutters on the chain while it was temporarily locked outside his flat (he had had it less than 24hrs).

If anyone sees a customised 2010 Specialized Demo 8 pottering around the Cheltenham area, drop me a PM please :)
 
Soldato
Joined
14 Dec 2005
Posts
12,488
Location
Bath
There's a lot of stolen bike threads all of a sudden....

Think I've been pretty naive with mine TBH; it's worth £1500 so it lives in the garage but I used to ride it to school with the weedyest lock ever and just dump it in friends gardens / driveways.... think I'm gonna be a bit more careful now!

Was at Centre Parcs with it once and had the key for my cable lock snap in the barrel, ended up sawing through the cable with the metal-saw on my swiss knife.... took 20mins but I got there in the end!
 
Soldato
Joined
26 Aug 2003
Posts
4,495
Location
The North
Sorry to hear that, best of luck getting it back!

I had my bike stolen, from my locked house, in my locked room where it was locked to the end of my bed :( The reason it was in the house was because I'd only just brought it and was still shopping around for insurance :( Thieves never went near the garage either it seems!
 
Associate
Joined
31 Jan 2009
Posts
71
Location
Lincoln
I am amzed at the number of people from lincoln getting them stolen.

I'm on my 4th in a couple of years. And suprise suprise, im from lincoln too.

3 stolen from town, same again bolt croppers to get through my D locks. And the 4th was stolen from my back garden, same again as it was chained to the wall.
 
Soldato
Joined
1 Jan 2008
Posts
11,023
Had one nicked from inside a locked car park beneath my flat. You need a digital fob to get into it too, and the bike was locked up inside, yet they still got it! Reported, got a nice letter from the police but nothing more was ever done about it.

Earlier in the year the secure bike cage in the car park (through main digitally locked gates and then massive padlock on a steel structure) was ramraided by a white transit and they made off with £1000's worth of bikes and mopeds and motorbikes.

Basically, if you own a bike in Bristol, do make sure it never leaves your sight, or that it's a rubbish £20 one.
 
Associate
OP
Joined
19 Jul 2008
Posts
443
Location
Lincoln
I am amzed at the number of people from lincoln getting them stolen.

I'm on my 4th in a couple of years. And suprise suprise, im from lincoln too.

3 stolen from town, same again bolt croppers to get through my D locks. And the 4th was stolen from my back garden, same again as it was chained to the wall.

Were yours were taken from Silver Street? That's where both of mine have been taken from.
 
Permabanned
Joined
20 Dec 2008
Posts
1,827
Its easy to steal cars/bikes and make sure there not found again..

You Steal it, take it right away to the Spraying place(you have a guy on the inside working there) He would spray in a totally different colour from what is was and change the plates and remove all noticable parts like rims, then maybe add details to it so it looks different.

Then Job done, its impossible to find...

All you need is a man on the inside to spray and change parts of the bike/car then its yours.
 
Associate
Joined
5 Jun 2004
Posts
246
What kind of lock did you have?

If it was a cable lock then no wonder it was nicked, piece of cake to cut through, quicker than using a key.

D-locks seem pretty solid though.

I had a bike nicked that only had a cable lock, but bought a new more expensive bike, bought insurance and a silver grade D-lock, and been safe so far.
 
Back
Top Bottom