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  • In the US, it isn't law enforcement that deals with it. it's the fact that selling stolen bikes is not a very safe or smart way to get cash.

    Consciously buying a hot bike from the thief is almost unheard of. I don't even know how one would go about it.

    Selling stolen bikes to a shop is basically impossible because of serial numbers that are registered at the time of purchase.

    The only bikes that really get stolen in the US are the crap ones that are just going to be ridden for a few miles and ditched.

    it's pretty unusual for bikes of worth to get yanked.

    Not saying it doesn't happen, it's just not common and isn't a source of paranoia for me 90% of the time.

  • is that true for everywhere in the US, though? Land use and sprawl being what they are for large parts of the US, I can see why places with very low 'every day' cyclists wouldn't be much of a concern.

    But NYC, Portland/Seattle/San Francisco? I've heard the theft there is pretty regular.

  • Theft is common in my (Canadian) city, and the thieves will take anything that has the right value to danger/difficulty ratio.

  • I suspect you just live in too rural an area. Bike theft in NYC, to pick the most obvious example, is a real concern.

    https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/14/nyregion/bike-thefts-nyc.html

    It'll be similar, to varying degrees, for all major cities where cycling levels are relatively high.

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