General Cycling Discussion - Stolen Bike

Hello,

What would you do if you would get your bike stolen by unknown thief ?

As always, nobody saw anything ...

The bike was 5 months old and worht of 1000 EUR :(

Thanks

Get another bike.....

yes I will, but 1000 EUR is not the ammount I keep in my pocket all the time :(

and this is second time.

Will invest in new one in the summer maybe, I think its useless to buy in winter, or maybe better prices now?

Prices are better Now.
I had a car stolen.
I know what you are going through.

And they found the car?

It is so sad, that it's illegal to have a bait bike, waiting with baseball on the corner :(

yes I will, but 1000 EUR is not the amount I keep in my pocket all the time :(

and this is second time.

Will invest in new one in the summer maybe, I think its useless to buy in winter, or maybe better prices now?

I worked security at a large medical center at the time.
The car was on the fourth floor of a secure parking garage.
It was found by the state police 10 weeks later all trashed out.

and this is second time.


Not to kick you when you're down, but you didn't learn to be more secure after the first time?

I think it's probably better to have your bike stolen by an UNKNOWN theif than by one you KNOW, but that being said, check your homeowner's policy - your bike might be covered? Do you Euros have that?

In the US, prices for 2008 models are down so the shops can fit the new bikes in - you might get a great deal! Perhaps you can save enough to invest in a really good bike lock?

It would never happen.
My bike is always at my side.
I roll it into stores with me when I must purchase something.
When I sleep at night, it is parked next to my bed.

I had an old friend stolen long ago ('86 Fuji IV Touring). It was the first Really Nice Ride I ever had. To this day I cry myself to sleep over it. Add this to your list of Bittersweet Life Experiences and move on.

Oh, and fix the mistakes that led to the theft; heed the insurance references above; therein lies truth.

I had "good" lock, well atleast best I could get in the shop. (obviously was not a problem for him/her)

Also, I think it's not possible to insurance the bike, as it is "risky" for insurance companies.
(But I will try to insurance with some tracking device next time, legal or not, who can find it, who cares :) it's my property, so I will track my property, and why not. If somebody ride my bike, I'm still tracking just my own property :) )

And maybe yes, it's better to be an unknown thief, or I would plan some ugly plans for him by this time.
Personally, I don't mind the bike itself, or the price it cost, but the principle. How can be our society so brainless to steal anything they see. I really don't know how would they end up, if I catch one. In this case i would like to invite, hands cut off for such people.

It was Kellys Definite (2008) with some extras.

Next time... I was thinking about a bike, but not cross, maybe full road one :D

Will need to choose something really good, I liked this one, much better than those regular and so comfortable.

There is nothing I can hide even at home, if somebody wants to steal, then they will come to my bed at night. That is why I love that USA law.. That you can shoot anybody on your property :D (If it is still correct)

What country are you in? And you can always report the theft to the police, you never know.

(I speak as someone who actually got a bike recovered by Toronto's finest earlier this year. It was missing a water bottle cage, but otherwise undamaged.)

What I did was:

1) Reported the theft to the police

2) Reported the theft to my insurance company

3) Used the money from the insurance company to help buy a new bike (they paid about 2/3 the replacement cost)

4) Got a better lock

3) Used the money from the insurance company to help buy a new bike (they paid about 2/3 the replacement cost)


If you park your bike in a high-crime area, could you get a second, older bike? Use that bike, paint it some really ugly color and... oh... put fenders on it.

If you lose it, you just get another.

1. get another bike. if you are going to ride it in an area of high crime or traffic, go with something that isn't as flashy and advertising, "steal me."

2. get a u style bike lock. i live in a rural area, so the average lock works for me. get something that can't be cut with bolt cutters or a hacksaw. there are many hardened modles out there. always use this lock religiously and lock it to something very secure.

3. when possible, park and lock it in sight of where you will be or at least where if someone doees try to steal it, another person or the public in general can see this. a thief loves privacy while they try to take your bike, so hiding it from view is not a good idea. and if you can, bring it inside with you or park it inside where it wil be watched, and still locked up.

Another tip I heard is that if you really need to leave it out of your site then don't use a bike rack, rather find some place hidden from view. Seem contrary to what you should do but considering most people aren't going to do anything about someone hacking away at your lock anyway, it is probably better to put it where the thief would have to find it to steal it.

I just thought of something while reading the thread...

The cops do it with cars to catch car thieves, I'm sure with some initiative they use a "bait-bike" in a sting and arrest these bike thieves?? I mean if they do it often enough and at random, the next time a bike nabber spots an expensive isolated bike, surely they'd hesitate?

a bait bike with a GPS hidden up in the frame, so if it can't be watched it can be tracked. hmmm...

2Boudicca: It's Slovakia (Middle of Europe).

Reported to police too, in the same hour.

I think that the thief already sprayed it to another colour or something :D

Thanks to all for help and replies ;)