How many bikes have been stolen?

jabird

A great topic for someone thinking of getting a new one. Haven't had any theft probs for about 8 years, and bikes which went previously were mountain bikes.

3 locks sounds like too much hassle for me, considering that certain journeys are marginal between walking (better with shopping / 15 mins to the nearest shopping steet) or driving, having to go through that much security would swing it against the two wheeled options.

Have never had problems with hybrids, but current one is a bit on heavy side, so planning on spending a bit more this time. Perhaps that makes it more appealing, Coventry isn't much of a cycling city, so not sure if that makes it even more or less of a target?

stujessey

The feds have come up trumps!!

Got a call last Friday from Northumbria Police to say that my bike had been found in a house raid. And it still looks brand new according to the PC who found it.

Can't wait to see it again.

Regards,

Happy Stu

LondonRidgeback

Now that's jammy!

I had my previous bike pinched from a place of work about 6 years ago. It wasn't a big-name branded one, but it grabbed attention because of it's 6-spoke coloured wheels contrasting with a chunky yellow frame (British Eagle or something like that - bloody heavy). Anyway, I used it to ride to work and left it as usual D-Locked to something like a rain gutter pipe and when I finished my day I came out and it had vanished! I was gutted.

Also had a close call with its replacement when I left it in our garage. I popped out to get it ready for a ride and it too had disappeared but we had a 'dodgy' neighbour who claimed to have 'found' it in his back garden (yeah, right!) and I got it back before he could flog it. I don't get out as much as I used to and now it occupies a space in the spare room - indoors!!! Haven't had any security issues since then

lazyandvain

I've had one bike stolen. I lived in a flat in SOMA in San Francisco, and we had two deadbolted exterior doors, and then our landing, where we parked our bikes on wall hooks. One night I came home and noticed my 1995 Trek was gone...apparently someone had forgotten to lock up and this old homeless lady had gotten in and stolen a bunch of stuff from the neighboring loft space. At the time I was just glad they didn't take my other bike, a late 70's lime green Motobecane. Later when I started getting interested in touring I realized what I'd had and lost. Plus I felt bad because the Trek was my first 'grown up' bike that my parents had bought me when I was around 12.

My younger sister had a worse but looking back, pretty funny bike loss experience. She's in a punk band and I went on tour with them in the summer of 2003. She locked her Trek to a chainlink fence and when she came back someone had cut the fence and stolen the bike. She was pretty devestated, as it had also been a gift from our folks. Not to mention she was now w/o a bike, on tour with a bunch of dumpster-diving punks.
Forward to Madison, WI about a week later. Sis and I both find bikes at a St. Vincent's charity sale. She got a Trek almost identical to the one that was stolen, and I got my cherished lime green Motobecane. The Trek goes on the rack with the drummer's bike, and mine goes in the van. The rack was not designed to go on a van. About a week later, we're driving on the freeway leaving NYC, headed for Richmond. Sis is driving, and drummer is in the passenger seat. Drummer looks in the rearview mirror and suddenly says, 'the bikes just fell off.' No one said a single word for about an hour after that. It's a funny story now, but it took about six months for my sister to see the humor in it.