ntula

Stolen 1972 white peugeot px10 - return reward

hi, i am not sure where to post this, but mine was stolen last week, 12 january 2012 from a locked basement room in san francisco. admins/mods please move this to the correct forum if this is not the place to post it.

i just would like the bike back, if someone sees it or bought it, i will pay you a reward and if you can provide info on the thief i will compensate you for the full amount you paid minus the reward - don't risk keeping it as you could be charged with grand theft, breaking and entering, and possession of stolen property.

if you see the bike being sold, take a picture of the thief and email me, it goes to my cell phone, and call the police.

1972 vintage peugeot px10, 25"/63cm

white frame with chrome ends.

campagnola components - crank, shifters.
ideale seat

red bag under seat, worn yellowish grip tape on handlebars

1 inch clincher rims. tire cleaners. mafac center breaks with extended pads.

tires were not inflated and need a special pump, so thief had to walk away carrying it.

i want to make sure this does not happen to anyone else,
$200 reward for information leading to the ass kicking,
i mean arrest and conviction, of the scum bag thief.

$100 no questions asked return reward , and compensation of the amount of purchase price if you provide info on the thief and can prove it in some way.

serial numbers of the bike and components have been distributed to the police and all local bike shops, please just return it, no questions asked, and reward given,

bike has difficult to remove blue and silver california bike license sticker on it and a sticker that says, "if you value your life as much as i value my bike, don't f•ck with it". reynolds 531 sticker is cracking and has antique appearance.

i will never stop looking for it - i built the bike as a teen.

subsounds23@gmail.com

silvercreek

It may help to know where you are.

cb400bill

OP states the bike was stolen in San Francisco.

lostarchitect 

It may help to read the post more closely.

silvercreek

Sorry about that.

3alarmer 

I dunno about the rest of the country, but bike theft
has really reached epidemic numbers here in NorCal.

KonAaron Snake 

You can sell them quickly. you can ride them away and the police don't seem to care about bike theft (although they typically care about burglary) in most areas I've lived in. It's treated like a nuisance crime, but the bikes can be extremely valuable.

It doesn't help when so many collectors seem willing to turn a blind eye towards theft...or rationalize it away with an "I don't know it's stolen, the meth addict might have gotten it from his dad!"

RaleighSport

Unfortunately in the bay area your bike can move a few towns over and never be found..

ntula

san francisco.

Scooper

What neighborhood?

Watch craigslist and let local bike shops know it has been stolen. Pictures and serial number would help.

EDIT - I see the serial number has been given to local bike shops and SFPD, but that doesn't help folks like me who might see a '72 63cm PX-10 matching the description to positively ID it.

zukahn1 

I know theres little chance of this since you don't have the bike. But a picture of the bike and the serial number would help. I take pics including serial numbers of all the bike I have owned recently by filing a police reports with this info I have gotten one of the three bike I have had stolen back. Not a good track record about 30% but a lot better than zero.

recumbenttoad

Yep, the police in my area do not care one bit about bike thefts and they will basically tell you that. I had a commuter bike I had about $1,200 in with accessories stolen about 2 1/2 years ago and they all but laughed when I reported it. They also told me that they put no effort into looking for stolen bikes. It's big business that apparently has a minimal amount of repercussions.

rootboy 

This sucks big. I concur. Posting the serial # here might just help. Couldn't hurt. All PX-10s of that vintage had a number plate riveted to the bottom bracket, didn't they?

ilikebikes

OP hasn't replied yet, guess he/shes not to worried. If it were me I'd be checking (on a daily basis) and re-checking every spot I posted in.

ilikebikes

Yeah man, you're right, I did miss post #9, my fault. BTW if I needed to "vent" I wouldn't do it here., so your suggestion isn't needed.

ntula

unfortunately the serial number, being on the bottom will not help a quick visual id of the bike as the thief or person who has it may not permit you to look at that, or removed it, since on the px it is a tab, or, altered or "damaged" it. there are not too many 63.5 px10s with a don't **** with me sticker and a cal license on the tube that have a vintage campy crank that requires a special tool to remove, campy shifters, and extended brake pads with heat sinks and tire cleaners. it also had sr bars with the split mounting stem. the grip tape was really old as well.

i do think i engraved my cdl number on it and some of the parts, but i may be mistaken as it was years ago.

if someone tries to sell you a tall px, or any high end bike, for like $100, you know it is stolen: you either call the police or buy it and then try to find the owner with the help of the police and flyers and listings. if you call the police every time a thief tries to sell a bike, it will get rid of the thieves and send a message that stealing bikes is not worth it. if you buy a bike that seems to be legit, always ask for the persons id and get a receipt, if they refuse, call the police.

i will reimburse anyone that buys it for me, the thief can be caught later... cell phones have cameras.. just say i am buying it for a friend and i want to send them a picture of it and then take a picture of the thief as well.

ntula

on the other note, it seems like a bit of corruption withe lack of enforcement with bike theft. some of these bikes that are getting stolen are worth up to $15k. one good thing back when it was required to license bikes is that the sticker was in full view and the owner info was recorded for easy recovery. with computer it seems like a good idea to bring that back and on a national level.

BigPolishJimmy

ntula, you are posting on a forum full of vintage bike loving junkies. px10 and campy parts are not as uncommon amongst this crowd as you may think. Stickers come off easily, much more so than serial numbers. Organized thieves have tools. You have been evasive about the serial number, but it'd sure help someone like me who is in another state and will actually look at the serial number if it pops up on my local craigslist. Any pics and concrete identifiers would help us help you. We're on your side but you have to gives us something solid to look for. In any case I'll keep an eye out in SWMich for a px10 with a license number on the tube, or a sticker on the tube that might be hiding something for that matter.

DavidW56

I will keep an eye in SE MI as well, but I have to say, PX-10s don't show up on CL often.

norskagent

Some years ago I saw a fuji track bike leaning against a rundown house in the "wrong" part of town, I mentioned it to one of my friends and it turned out to be his friend's bike that had been stolen a few days prior. His friend went and retrieved his bike. I posted the story here on bikeforums (singlespeed & fixed) and promptly got called racist for making correct assumptions about my observations.

anixi

This episode should be a heads-up to all us CV'ers. We should always take down serial numbers, take pictures, and record everything in a log, before we do any work on a bike. The OP's post has inspired me to change what I do from now on.
Since my area is very rife with thievery, and the local Police's property crimes division has been disbanded, I'm on my own. But, I'm going to do what I can anyway!

anixi

Boy, if you're a racist, we're all in trouble. Political correctness gone mad!

prettyshady

I look every week for px10's on ebay (searching white peugeot), so i'l keep yours in mind.

retyred

I'll be glad to join the posse. We'll catch that varmint!

gaucho777 

I'm local (Berkeley). I'll be glad to keep an eye out as well. I know you've described your bike, but pictures are still helpful. There may be distinguishing marks which will help identify it. Parts, stickers, even serial numbers can be removed. You might want to head out to at least one of the local swap meets. I've never been to the one in SF near the 101/280 interchange, but the swap meet in Oakland by Laney College is a known thieves' den.

Also, since this was stolen from a locked basement, have you considered an inside job? Is the space shared by other tenants? Any of your friends--I mean, acquaintances--have access to the space last week? Signs of forced entry? Other items stolen?