Stolen bikes

Even if it was the Mini-D, they're very rarely broken, because they form such a tight fit, thats hard to attack. Very unlucky indeed.

yup. that one. I left it outside waterloo for about 6 hours last night when I had to go out of town and was shitting it - double locked it, took away seatpost and clamp etc. lent a guy my pump and helped him out etc so got good karma, then BLAGHHHHHHHHHUGGHHHHHH. devil shits in face. I fancy I may just get wasted today (since its my day off and was planning to go for a ride and its not actually pissing down like it was supposed to). [shakes fist at sky]

Hi, all.
Was hoping to get some rapid advice from the forum.
My 2008 Lemond Tourmalet was stolen from outside my office in Southwark last Wednesday.
I've now seen it listed on Gumtree this Wednesday (two days ago).
It's a relatively rare bike and they don't appear for sale much. The listing I've spotted is pretty obviously dodgy. I called the police about it last night and left a message for an officer to get back to me this morning. The guy in the phone agreed the listing sounded dodgy.
So my question for you guys is... If/when the police are totally ineffectual about getting it back, what should I do about it?
Of course there's the option of "taking the boys round" but... well, I'm not up for a knife or gun fight over this (there was a petrol bombing and shootingin my street earlier this week in retaliation to a a cyclist hitting a car, so escalation of violence is on my mind!).
Last time my bike was nicked, in summer 2008, the police were totally f*cking useless. They c*ocked

Hi, all.
Was hoping to get some rapid advice from the forum.
My 2008 Lemond Tourmalet was stolen from outside my office in Southwark last Wednesday.
I've now seen it listed on Gumtree this Wednesday (two days ago).
It's a relatively rare bike and they don't appear for sale much. The listing I've spotted is pretty obviously dodgy. I called the police about it last night and left a message for an officer to get back to me this morning. The guy in the phone agreed the listing sounded dodgy.
So my question for you guys is... If/when the police are totally ineffectual about getting it back, what should I do about it?
Of course there's the option of "taking the boys round" but... well, I'm not up for a knife or gun fight over this (there was a petrol bombing and shootingin my street earlier this week in retaliation to a a cyclist hitting a car, so escalation of violence is on my mind!).
Last time my bike was nicked, in summer 2008, the police were totally f*cking useless. They c*ocked up getting it back when it appeared on Gumtree later that same day, and I ended up buying it back on the Sunday morning from a young foreign couple who'd bought £1k of bike on Brick Lane for £125. Why did I pay? Because I'd called the police and they told me it was between me and the buyers, not their problem. Totally useless.
So. I'm worried about what I might have to do now.
All thoughts welcome please! Thanks

I have never had any help at all with any stolen bikes from das cops. useless. they normally just get confused by the precise description...
escalation of violence doesn't sound good. yikes.
I plan a brick lane trip very early this sunday. any other hotspots for nicked bikes?

What do you reckon it's worth?

Well done Simon.

Very good of you, let's hope it's re-united with it's owner.

All four bikes that I've found handed in to the police failed to get claimed.

I don't know if they've centralised lost/found property these days, but in the past it was done on a station by station basis. So you lost something in Southwark, reported it at Southwark and it got handed in at Greenwich, unless you contacted all the other stations in the area to check, it would happily continue to sit in Greenwich forever.

It's only 28 days before bikes become the property of the finder these days.

Also, check before you trudge down there with it - some stations won't take bikes at all these days (like Watford, for example) because they have no space for storage any longer, so they ask you to store it at your home.

It's only 28 days before bikes become the property of the finder these days.

My workmate found £50 outside a police station just over 6 weeks ago, and decided to hand it in. She went to see if it was still there & collect it this morning if unclaimed, and it was told it had "disappeared".

She has just complained and they are now saying it was "banked" as it wasn’t claimed within the 4-6 post hand-in period.

They didnt tell her that there was a maximum claim date, when she originally handed it over

'banked'....

My mum handed money in when I was a kid and in those days it used to be 12 months found property sat with them and the finder had something like 3 months to them come and claim it. She went back to see if it had been claimed (it was something hefty like £200 back in the mid-1970's) and it apparently had been. She was surprised and asked when, "Last week." "Oh, do you know who claimed it?" "Yeah, it was errr.. A student." After fifty eight weeks? Yeah right. She was really naive and came home all pleased that some poor student had got their money back after so long.

So these days, I'll think twice about lining Plod's pocket for him whilst trying to do my civic duty. If I ever find money, I think I'll donate it to charity. At least muggers are honest in their dishonesty.

Mammon: the cops just helped my neighbour, arrested the dick selling her bike when he turned up to sell it to her. The bike is impounded but she will get back. The gangs unit see bikes as drug currency now, so take the chances they get to pick up a seller, even if all they can charge is handling stolen goods.

Our plods recommended the Kingsland Waste and Deptford markets, as well as Brick Lane. But I saw very little bike stuff at either last Saturday. I was a bit early though.

I also slightly concerned about carrying round a wallet I'd found in the street and then being stopped before handing it in, and having to explain where I'd found it. If I do ever find a wallet in the street I'm more minded these days to leave it where it is, rather than risk picking it up and having to explain how I found it in the first place....... maybe I worry too much.....

My parents found a wallet 27 years ago and handed it in, they still receive a bottle of wine every christmas from the gentleman concerned.

Really!? That's so decent! Love stories like that. Reminds you not everyone's a greedy or ungrateful sod!

Yes, it was TT week and the guy was over from near Berlin, they still meet up for a drink every year.

All,
This is a massive long shot, but it can't do any harm. The following two bikes were stolen from house burglary in York around midnight on Thursday (5 August 2010). They could reappear anywhere. But probably not at all.

2010 Surly Steamroller
59cm, black
Stock (complete bike) except for white screw-in end caps on bars and a 16t Surly fixed cog. Running fixed only with front and rear brakes fitted. Brake cables fastened to top tube with three black cables ties over black insulation tape. The white bar caps stand out obviously to a keen eye. They don't look particularly nice, but they stayed in better than the stock black press fit ones. One small tear in seat on RHS. Cheapo metal pedals with straps removed.

2004 (I think) Giant VT1
Large, in blue and silver
Thompson black straight post, 2010 Hope Tech M4 brakes (205mm front rotors, 185mm rear rotors, braided hoses, floating rotors), Schwalbe Nobby Nic UST tyres (possibly non-UST up front) on Mavic CrossMax SL wheels, Cateye wired computer, ODI lock on grips (Yeti I think). It's probably only got one pedal - a silver DMR V8.

Owned and loved them both since they were babies. Absolutely gutted :-(

bikelessfleagle.org.uk

Cheers, Dave

I had my the wheels stolen off my Mercian a couple of weeks ago on Columbia Road, I didn't go to the cops purely for the reason that they don't give a shit, especially as it's not a whole bike.

I was going to head to Brick Lane last Sunday but couldn't make it - what are the chances of them being for sale there this weekend?

Thanks for the tip. Tried Kingsland just now - just nicked bars and the odd wheel it seemed. Brick Lane tomorrow.

You should always report to the police. how are the cycle task force that has just been set up ever going to get the chance to get a handle on things if crime goes unreported? if the true scale of bike theft is unknown they wont throw any further resource at sorting it out. at the moment with a pro-cycling mayor in charge and with the olympics coming up cyclists have the chance to get some real changes made to at least the attitude and the perception that the cops dont do anything.

Just report it. everytime. give them lots of paperwork and statistics. they like statistics. it might seem worthless. it might be worthless. but eventually esp with olympics coming up someone is going to realise shit this is a bigger problem than we thought it was.

sorry for the rant but I hate lethargy. im not going to get into a debate about specific times where they have or havent been good because my own lethargy is taking over.

mini D. the fuckers can break anything tho. its just the rudeness of theft that pisses me off. and the fact it was the first time I ever actually spent ages buying the bike I really wanted. cunts. I think its the 6th bike I've had stolen in my life. it doesn't get any easier. blummin London.

The 6th bike stolen? Surely something is wrong here. I'm not sure what locks you've used before, but there is a thread on this forum called LOCKS THAT WORK, that should take you in a new direction.

That said, I can't think of any U-lock that would survive 6 hours at night, outside a bike theft hotspot like Waterloo station. But the lock you used doesn't make the list of the thread I've just pointed out to you. The bar diameter is too slim, and therefore it can be cut with just arm strength and a boltcutter.

I'd suggest locking up in safer areas, and using an alarm lock, from the thread I mentioned, when the area is dodgy.

yup. that one. I left it outside waterloo for about 6 hours last night when I had to go out of town and was shitting it - double locked it, took away seatpost and clamp etc. lent a guy my pump and helped him out etc so got good karma, then BLAGHHHHHHHHHUGGHHHHHH. devil shits in face. I fancy I may just get wasted today (since its my day off and was planning to go for a ride and its not actually pissing down like it was supposed to). [shakes fist at sky]

from outside the haggerston (fail, I know), brown (aka crimson) surly steamroller, black charge dish rear wheel, silver regular rim front wheel with ambrosio hub. charge riser bars, shitty bontrager stem, black grips. SNAKESKIN look black and white saddle that I've had for years, snakeskin wearing off. crank bros eggbeaters, wet black ritchey seat post. black vittoria randonneur tyres, both worn, esp back. tracko sticker on front right of top tube.was locked with krypto d lock.
Now I can't get to work. Or live. I want to die.
Any info/sightings appreciated.

Excuse my confusion, but was it stolen from outside the Haggerston or from Waterloo? Not exactly clear from what you have posted.......

bad luck mate. got any photos?

bad luck mate. got any photos?

Cheers. Not got any photos of the Surly but it's pretty much stock.

This is the very last photo I have of the Giant :-(
Taken before the brakes were upgraded

From outside the Haggerston.

I was talking about bikes being stolen over the last 15 years actually. Locks not too bad actually, more that thieves is the problem.

Believe it or not my total beater fluro green Raleigh was nicked yesterday too. Chained to the railings outside the door of Forbidden Planet on Shaftesbury ave. Was there at 3pm but gone when I returned at 8pm.
Heavily stickered Raleigh Pro Race, black and fluro green. Silver rear rim and Ambrosio hub, green Halo tyre. Shit and mangled black front rim and hub with a brand new Vittoria cheapo tyre. Black scratched Halfords riser bar with purple Gusset grips. Destroyed white San Marco saddle.

I feel somewhat unlucky. Now I have two bikes to look out for on Gumtree and at markets etc.