Stolen bikes...where do they end up?
07-23-09, 10:58 AM
#26
2 sober 2 care
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There was a great article in Bicycling a few years back about bike shops. One of the stories was about a bike shop in NYC that would strip the components off a frame and put them on a new frame for resale. Luckily that shop was busted.
07-23-09, 12:49 PM
#27
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Good, sounds like they were the bicycle equivalent to a chop shop. Which with the way that gas prices are still going. They may become more common. :-(
07-24-09, 12:53 AM
#28
Cycle Year Round
Their was a shop in Canada like that as well.
07-24-09, 01:15 AM
#29
just going for a ride...
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I have run across more then one bike on CL where the ad was vague on details. When I e-mail questions about the bike and what part of the city they are in. They will say they are new to biking and do not much. They are out of town right now but will be passing through soon.
I wonder how many bikes are stolen in one city and posted on CL in another. Someone looking for their stolen bike is not likely to check another city's CL.
I wonder how many bikes are stolen in one city and posted on CL in another. Someone looking for their stolen bike is not likely to check another city's CL.
07-24-09, 09:37 AM
#30
Full Member
I had a client in Georgetown who caught some kid snooping around his office. The kid bolted and left behind what looked like a flat-black spraypainted Bad Boy. I've certainly seen more than one such painted bike in DC......
07-24-09, 10:31 AM
#31
Bike ≠ Car ≠ Ped.
^^^ Cannondale Bad Boys are already painted flat black; was it some other Bad Boy-style bike?
07-24-09, 02:58 PM
#32
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I live off I-81. You'd be amazed at the number of pickup trucks towing another pickup truck, both with temp paper plates and loaded with bikes I see headed out of the NE headed south. Numerous daily..
I'll venture a guess if you could run serials there would be a few hits.
I'll venture a guess if you could run serials there would be a few hits.
07-24-09, 03:00 PM
#33
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When I was in college at UC Berkeley, I knew a guy (another student) who would drive a van over to Stanfurd (our rival school) and grab a few bikes.
The Stanfurd campus is so big and the students are fairly well off so almost everyone owns a decent bike. Most were the Specialized Hard Rock variety but there were slightly higher end Rock Hoppers, etc.
But there were so many bikes that the bike racks near the dorms were always full. So students would just lock up their bike with a U lock to itself (front wheel to frame and frame to ...nothing!)
So the guy would grab these bikes and stick them in the van. I think he would go on average once a week and grab 3-4 bikes.
Once back at Berkeley he would get the U locks off. Rumor was that he used a car jack to get them off. Either way, he had all the time in the world once he got them into his van.
The guy was fairly well known through word of mouth on campus as having bikes. Since everyone knew they were from Stanfurd they didn't really care as much. He generally sold them for around $60-$100 depending on the bike.
Like most bike thieves, even though these thieves can get through U locks, chains, cables, etc...most are simply looking for a quick way to get a bike. So they will grab the bike if you don't secure it, they will grab wheels or saddles if there are quick release bars, etc.
I have a crappy costco bike that was like $100. It's a real *** but I ride it sometimes to the local market. I have no doubt that it would get stolen if I left it out unlocked. However, I have a really small and light LAPTOP cable (it's barely thicker than dental floss) and I use it to lock up the bike to a rack and nobody touches it because it's locked. You could probably cut the cable in 1 second with a wire cutter.
Everyone I know has had a bike stolen (I've had like 3-4 bikes stolen) and it sucks. The worst was when I was 5 years old and I got a new bike for Christmas. I was too naive to think anyone would steal it so the day after Christmas I left it outside in front of our house in the afternoon after a ride and it got stolen. Stealing a kid's bike is the ultimate low...who would do that other than another kid?
RVD.
The Stanfurd campus is so big and the students are fairly well off so almost everyone owns a decent bike. Most were the Specialized Hard Rock variety but there were slightly higher end Rock Hoppers, etc.
But there were so many bikes that the bike racks near the dorms were always full. So students would just lock up their bike with a U lock to itself (front wheel to frame and frame to ...nothing!)
So the guy would grab these bikes and stick them in the van. I think he would go on average once a week and grab 3-4 bikes.
Once back at Berkeley he would get the U locks off. Rumor was that he used a car jack to get them off. Either way, he had all the time in the world once he got them into his van.
The guy was fairly well known through word of mouth on campus as having bikes. Since everyone knew they were from Stanfurd they didn't really care as much. He generally sold them for around $60-$100 depending on the bike.
Like most bike thieves, even though these thieves can get through U locks, chains, cables, etc...most are simply looking for a quick way to get a bike. So they will grab the bike if you don't secure it, they will grab wheels or saddles if there are quick release bars, etc.
I have a crappy costco bike that was like $100. It's a real *** but I ride it sometimes to the local market. I have no doubt that it would get stolen if I left it out unlocked. However, I have a really small and light LAPTOP cable (it's barely thicker than dental floss) and I use it to lock up the bike to a rack and nobody touches it because it's locked. You could probably cut the cable in 1 second with a wire cutter.
Everyone I know has had a bike stolen (I've had like 3-4 bikes stolen) and it sucks. The worst was when I was 5 years old and I got a new bike for Christmas. I was too naive to think anyone would steal it so the day after Christmas I left it outside in front of our house in the afternoon after a ride and it got stolen. Stealing a kid's bike is the ultimate low...who would do that other than another kid?
RVD.
07-24-09, 03:25 PM
#34
jackalope
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when i was 13 i had a kid come up to me with his friend from my school and asked if he could ride my bike around for a second i knew him pretty well and decided it would be alright. the kid hops on the other kid stands there with me as the other one goes across the parking lot on my bike and then i get my shirt pulled over my head and punched bike taken. they run off. well i know these kids i know where they live so i get my 17 year old brother and he rallied up his freinds went down to old ralphys house and got my bike ralphs brother came out and i watched mine hand him a beating i wouldnt wish on anyone. the next day in school i saw ralph i got suspended for 10 days. when i got back i saw ralphs freind i got expelled
07-24-09, 04:04 PM
#35
just going for a ride...
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My daughter had a good saddle stolen, they actually replaced with a cheep one. So she could ride home. Its the first time that I've heard of anyone trading parts.
07-24-09, 05:16 PM
#36
Full Member
A while back there was a LowLife that lived in a small pull behind trailer by an industrial area about a mile from my home. Behind the privacy fence next to his trailer he had about one hundred bikes or so.
One day I asked him if I could get a few parts off one so I could put my bike back together. He didn't want me back there and within a couple of days they were all gone. As it happened I drove by one of the ghetto junk yards and saw them being loaded up into a rolloff scrap iron bin. Another time I replaced the gutters on the house and took the old ones in for scrap. Someone had brought in an almost new Trek and the junkman gave him a few dollars for the alloy frame and rims. Incredible! I pondered giving him twice for what he paid for it , but conscience got the best of me as I knew that surely it was stolen.
Had my first two wheeled bike ,a red Sears Spyder stolen from a nearby public pool. It was not locked up. About a week later I saw an older and bigger dude riding it around the area . No pals were there that day to help me liberate it . Never saw it again after that .
Mod edit- the one word in red replaced another that is borderline inappropriate. Let's keep it clean folks
One day I asked him if I could get a few parts off one so I could put my bike back together. He didn't want me back there and within a couple of days they were all gone. As it happened I drove by one of the ghetto junk yards and saw them being loaded up into a rolloff scrap iron bin. Another time I replaced the gutters on the house and took the old ones in for scrap. Someone had brought in an almost new Trek and the junkman gave him a few dollars for the alloy frame and rims. Incredible! I pondered giving him twice for what he paid for it , but conscience got the best of me as I knew that surely it was stolen.
Had my first two wheeled bike ,a red Sears Spyder stolen from a nearby public pool. It was not locked up. About a week later I saw an older and bigger dude riding it around the area . No pals were there that day to help me liberate it . Never saw it again after that .
Mod edit- the one word in red replaced another that is borderline inappropriate. Let's keep it clean folks
Last edited by no1mad; 12-14-12 at 01:34 PM.
07-24-09, 05:26 PM
#37
feros ferio
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I live in San Diego County, where most of the locally stolen bikes and cars go south of the border. I have lost two cheap bikes and a 17-year-old Ford Pinto station wagon to theft. When I was on the prospective jury panel for a $3.95(!) WalMart shoplifting case, during voir dire we learned that some 30% of us had been victims of automobile theft.
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"Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing." --Theodore Roosevelt
Capo: 1959 Modell Campagnolo, S/N 40324; 1960 Sieger (2), S/N 42624, 42597
Carlton: 1962 Franco Suisse, S/N K7911
Peugeot: 1970 UO-8, S/N 0010468
Bianchi: 1982 Campione d'Italia, S/N 1.M9914
Schwinn: 1988 Project KOM-10, S/N F804069
07-25-09, 05:00 PM
#38
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During the "ten speed bike boom" of the '70s, stolen bikes would be sold to to various unsavory characters, usually at a fraction of their value. The cash would be used by the drug thug who stole it in the first place, to feed his habit. Sometimes, they would just wind up in someone else's garage, or just pass through several hands. i.e. "I bought it from a guy, who knows this guy....."
That was then. Today, I think Maddyfish has called it pretty spot-on. They get resold on ebay or craig's list, or they get stripped down and the parts sold. Thieves are smart enough to know that most cyclists are passionate about their machines, and can spot it from a distance. But, if disassembled and the parts are scattered to the winds, well, problem solved.
That was then. Today, I think Maddyfish has called it pretty spot-on. They get resold on ebay or craig's list, or they get stripped down and the parts sold. Thieves are smart enough to know that most cyclists are passionate about their machines, and can spot it from a distance. But, if disassembled and the parts are scattered to the winds, well, problem solved.
07-26-09, 06:49 PM
#39
Full Member
07-26-09, 07:18 PM
#40
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+1
I'm sad to say that two of my older brothers ran a bike chop shop when we were kids. This story reads like something that Stephen King would write, in the 'Stand By Me' style.
This happened around 1978-1981 time frame, when the BMX racing craze was in full swing. They did it as an act of retribution and once the score was settled they stopped stealing bikes. The reason I know about is that I caught them sneaking a bike in the house one night. I was never sure how many bikes they stole, but I was under the impression it was somewhere from 6-10. Once my brother had gotten his revenge, they stopped. I also don't know the quality of the bikes, although at least one of them was a Redline.
One of my brothers had one of the nicer BMX bikes around since he had won the bike from a BMX magazine as a grand prize in a drawing which they sponsored. The bike had a Torker frame with all top of the line components.
Some of the older kids in town took offense to him showing them up by daring to have a niceer bike than they owned. So a group of them jumped him and beat the snot out of him. Being that he was smaller and younger than them, he couldn't get them back by fighting them one on one, so he concocted a plan to steal each of their bikes and sell them off.
Bear in mind this happened in a small rural town, where kids could and did leave their bikes out on their front porch and no one would steal them. And my parents were clueless.
He and one of my other brothers snuck out every few nights for a couple of weeks, until they had gotten the bike of every kid who beat my brother up. They than stripped them down and disposed of the frames. I really don't know what they did with the frames. However, they kept all of the components, including handle bars, and goosenecks. At one point our garage had more bike parts than some bike shops.
The LBS was right down the street from our house at the time and the son of the shops owner was a friend of ours (he was around the same age 10-12). He worked at the shop part time, which was useful in this scheme for two reasons. One, whenever my father asked about all the bike parts, my brothers just told him that they were given the parts by the friend at the bike shop. And, the friend at the bike shop was also the fence for the stolen bike parts. He had connections with other kids who came into the shop, so he arranged to sell them the stolen parts on the side. I believe he told the kids that they were "used" parts.
I find it somewhat ironic that the brother who concocted the scheme became a cop when he grew up.
I'm sad to say that two of my older brothers ran a bike chop shop when we were kids. This story reads like something that Stephen King would write, in the 'Stand By Me' style.
This happened around 1978-1981 time frame, when the BMX racing craze was in full swing. They did it as an act of retribution and once the score was settled they stopped stealing bikes. The reason I know about is that I caught them sneaking a bike in the house one night. I was never sure how many bikes they stole, but I was under the impression it was somewhere from 6-10. Once my brother had gotten his revenge, they stopped. I also don't know the quality of the bikes, although at least one of them was a Redline.
One of my brothers had one of the nicer BMX bikes around since he had won the bike from a BMX magazine as a grand prize in a drawing which they sponsored. The bike had a Torker frame with all top of the line components.
Some of the older kids in town took offense to him showing them up by daring to have a niceer bike than they owned. So a group of them jumped him and beat the snot out of him. Being that he was smaller and younger than them, he couldn't get them back by fighting them one on one, so he concocted a plan to steal each of their bikes and sell them off.
Bear in mind this happened in a small rural town, where kids could and did leave their bikes out on their front porch and no one would steal them. And my parents were clueless.
He and one of my other brothers snuck out every few nights for a couple of weeks, until they had gotten the bike of every kid who beat my brother up. They than stripped them down and disposed of the frames. I really don't know what they did with the frames. However, they kept all of the components, including handle bars, and goosenecks. At one point our garage had more bike parts than some bike shops.
The LBS was right down the street from our house at the time and the son of the shops owner was a friend of ours (he was around the same age 10-12). He worked at the shop part time, which was useful in this scheme for two reasons. One, whenever my father asked about all the bike parts, my brothers just told him that they were given the parts by the friend at the bike shop. And, the friend at the bike shop was also the fence for the stolen bike parts. He had connections with other kids who came into the shop, so he arranged to sell them the stolen parts on the side. I believe he told the kids that they were "used" parts.
I find it somewhat ironic that the brother who concocted the scheme became a cop when he grew up.
07-27-09, 08:30 AM
#44
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i had a friend get his car stolen. when the police recovered it a few days later, the thieves had taken out the 2 front seats but they had replaced them with cheaper mismatched front seats. my friend didn't have full coverage so he drove his car around like that for years with the mismatched front seats. in addition to the mismatched seats, the ignition was a screwdriver jammed into the ignition keyhole and the trunk keyhole was drilled out so you had to stick your finger in there to open the latch.
he later sold the car and said that he saw his car again on the street a month later being sold but the new owner had fixed the ignition and the rear trunk. i asked him "how do you know it was your old car?" he said "i saw the same mismatched seats in there."
so i guess sometimes thieves replace, not just take.
07-28-09, 01:55 PM
#45
meandering nomad
I came out of my house one morning and my bike was gone but over a little ways was a girls bike that the thief left for me. I guess he couldn't ghost ride.
07-28-09, 02:03 PM
#46
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I talked to a guy today who works at a convenience store in the city (not a particularly nice part, though I'm not so sure nice areas even actually exist around here. nice blocks, maybe). in the process of the conversation, i told him i was saving for a new bike and he said if I worked there I could get my hands on pretty much anything dirt cheap (less than $50). Thieves (he speculated drug addicts) offer him stuff all the time.
of course, that may be because he buys some of the stuff. he had a Tom Tom he got for $15.
of course, that may be because he buys some of the stuff. he had a Tom Tom he got for $15.
07-31-09, 07:29 AM
#48
Senior Member
The bicycles stolen in Miami end up in Haiti. Every day, if you stand by the Miami River, you can see freighters going to Haiti that are piled high with old junk bicycles. Literally, its a mountain of junk bikes piled up on each other. Apparently in Haiti, any piece of used garbage sells for what we would pay here for a Wal-Mart bike.
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Il faut de l'audace, encore de l'audace, toujours de l'audace
1980 3Rensho-- 1975 Raleigh Sprite 3spd
1990s Raleigh M20 MTB--2007 Windsor Hour (track)
1988 Ducati 750 F1
07-31-09, 09:55 AM
#49
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Please remember, it is a supply to demand situation. I presume, the public consumer is also liable for fueling the amount of stolen goods.
07-31-09, 10:57 AM
#50
Bike ≠ Car ≠ Ped.
The bicycles stolen in Miami end up in Haiti. Every day, if you stand by the Miami River, you can see freighters going to Haiti that are piled high with old junk bicycles. Literally, its a mountain of junk bikes piled up on each other. Apparently in Haiti, any piece of used garbage sells for what we would pay here for a Wal-Mart bike.
