SaddleSoar

I left my beloved commuter LHT unattended for 2 minutes outside my house before heading to work this morning, and some P.O.S. decided it was time to upgrade their own ride, leaving me with some department store special. So, if anyone happens to spot my bike on Craigslist or the like, please do me a huge favor and let me know. (This happened in San Jose, CA)

Thanks,
Stuart

Black Surly LHT
Salsa Cow Bell drop bars with Shimano 9sp bar ends and Dura Ace brake levers
700C "roadie" rims with reflctive Schwalbe Marathons 700x28 11-24 cluster
LX Crank, XT Rear Der.
Niterider 250
Lezyne frame pump

Jeraimee

Sorry for your loss Make sure you report it to the cops and you might want to give us the serial number.

Tourist in MSN

Demand that the cops fingerprint the old bike the thief left and see if it does any good.

Niles H.

I had a bike stolen in SJ off my front porch while I went inside briefly. Maybe it was the same guy. Sounds like a new technique, though -- cruising around on a cheap bike and swapping. He didn't leave me anything.

Don't know how much chance there is of finding someone commuting on it or selling it at the flea market or on CL, but may be worth a try.

Part of the challenge, for me, is not allowing it to ruin or sour too much of your time, and to recover a positive state of mind and attitude or outlook, and move forward even more positively than before. Otherwise you can end up losing even more -- time, mood, state of mind, meeting the day in a good condition inwardly, quality of living -- those sorts of things count too, and you don't have to allow him to damage those.

Niles H.

Good idea. Some cops are a lot more helpful than others. Sometimes you can end up with a good one who will actually make some efforts and have some useful approaches.

simplygib

Here is a search for all of Craigslist.org for ads over the past week containing the words "Surly Long Haul Trucker."
Good luck.

Nakedbabytoes

Suckage dude. I hope you get your wheels back soon! Somebody had a LHT stolen here locally also(Lincoln Nebraska). Why can't people just leave **** alone that isn't theirs?

DropBarFan

Sorry for the loss. Last year local cops warned about opportunistic burglaries in local residential area: thefts from unlocked garages & cars (even in a 'low crime area').

indyfabz

I feel your pain. A few years ago, someone came into our house while we were upstairs in bed watching the news and walked off with by custom Robert Beckman touring racks and the Surly LHT attached to them. Since the panniers only work with his racks, they are sitting lonely in the basement until I come up with a way to convert my Nitto racks to accomodate them.

Keep you eyes peeled. You might even cruise through bad parts of town. I had a friend who did just that the day after his bike was stolen. He fortuitously saw someone riding it. The guy left it outside and went into a store. My friend pulled up in his van, jumped out, tossed the bike in the back of the van and took off.

SaddleSoar

Yeah, I'm still keeping an eye out around my neighborhood and outside the local convenience stores and bus/train stops. If I happen to come across my bike, I'm not really sure what I'll do. It's probably easiest to steal it back. It seems like a bad idea to confront someone who knows where you live. I figure if I could get a clean photo of his face, then he may be more willing to "make a deal" with me.

gif4445

I hate thieves. I would hope my judgement would be as good as yours if I confronted the dip****. But probably not.

Tourist in MSN

A former co-worker commuted to work on his bike. Bike was stolen at work. Couple weeks later it was parked outside work with a different lock on it. He called the cops. I do not recall if he had proof of ownership or not, but the police cut off the lock for him. He said that the police offered to watch it to catch the new owner who may or may not be the thief, he said that was not necessary. (I would have said yes please.) He said he decided to commute on something else to avoid the new owner (if the new owner was not the thief) accusing him of theft since they both worked in the same office building complex.

I license my bikes with the City. I trust that will serve as proof of ownership, even when I do not renew the licenses when they expire. Several decades ago my dads bike was stolen, police found it and returned it, he had licensed it so they knew who to return it to.

This reminds me that I need to hide my business cards in a few places inside my new bike that I will be building up with a note on it that says - if you are a bike mechanic working on this bike, demand to see proof of ownership before you return it.

AWB

Sorry to hear that someone stole your LHT Hopefully you get it back.

On both my bikes I have printed a small tag with my name on and stuck it up under the saddle.

Niles H.

There is some chance he was on his morning commute and is now using your bike for same, but choosing a somewhat different route to avoid riding by your place.

Chris Pringle

What do you guys think of the value of this device to recover a stolen bike?

indyfabz

While it doesn't work with bar ends, sticking your info. (business card, perhaps) inside one end of the bars is a way to tag the bike without it being seen and removed by the thief. I have another friend who did that. His Colnago C-40 was stolen from a synagogue. Several years later, a guy walked into the LBS that had originally sold the bike and asked if they would like to buy it. By chance, the vicim was related to the shop owner and thought he recognized the bike. The shop owner asked the guy to leave it for inspection. He did. The shop owner called his relative, who told him to look inside one of the bars, where he found his business card. When the guy returned, the shop owner paid him $150 for the bike to avoid any trouble.

Myosmith

Good idea about tagging bikes, but my question is: How does the law work when a piece of stolen property shows up several years later? It may have changed hands multiple times, possibly through honest people who bought the bike off Craig's List, a yard sale, police auction, pawn shop, or even another LBS.

indyfabz

I believe if you can prove it's your property and that you did not abandon or otherwise dispose of it yourself, you are entitled to it. There is no "good faith purchaser" doctrine as far as I know.

I carry the receipt with the serial number for my stolen LHT in my wallet. I have the police report readily accessible at home as well as photos of the bike. While I don't expect to see it again, I am prepared to take action if I do.

Number400

Some good ideas here. I think I will make up some strips and put them in my handlebars.

maybe something like:
If you are in possession of this bicycle and did not purchase it from _________,
it is stolen and you are in possession of stolen goods.

The serial number is on file with the Police Dept. and area bicycle shops.

Please contact me @ ________ to return and a reward will be offered.