Stolen bikes

Anyone lost a bike in Battersea? I found a bike in a skip near the Albert Bridge this morning. 27" wheels, rattle-canned (unfortunately covered the frame #). No saddle and a bent front wheel.

It's obviously used, but looks quite well taken care of (someone's made sure to match the valve caps to the frame colour) which makes me think it's been nicked and dumped.

I'll speak to the police later, but if it's yours and you can name the make & colour...

Muharrem Sener pics:

"He would often go to the stations he targeted dressed in smart clothes and sunglasses in order to avoid suspicion that he was a thief. Once he had cut the cycle locks he would then casually put on a cycle helmet along with cycle clips to blend in with other commuters before he cycled away".

W.A.C. - Unfortunately he did it for 6 years before the law gave him an actual bashing for it...

Edit - "Prosecutor Charles John-Jules said although Sener was caught committing crime repeatedly on CCTV he somehow managed to remain free." mental.

I'd blame you 100% for the second theft, and you partially for the first. Instead of beating others up, I'd hope you beat yourself up......then get over to the Locks That Work thread, and at least read the original post of the thread. Read the whole thread if you have time. And, good luck with your next bike.

so what you're saying is that thieves are in their *right *to steal a bike because the owner used a cheap lock? i'm sorry, but that is definitely just wrong. anyone has the right to take anything that doesnt belong to them. if you see a car parked with windows open and keys inside, that doesnt mean that you can go for a ride, end of story. dictionary.com says:
theft –noun

1. the act of stealing; the wrongful taking and carrying away of the personal goods or property of another; larceny.
   
   

i think everybody agrees then that the only one to blame is the thief, regardless of how crappy the lock was. if i, as robbed, want to blame myself, it's my problem (and my psycologist).

Don't use a light and flimsy lock when out shopping again, please. It was convenient for you, and even more convenient for the thief.

yeah, fair enough. i too will be lots more careful, no doubt.

what concerns me most is that saying 'thats life, buy another one' doesnt fix the problem. the more locks i buy, the more tools thieves will use, it's an endless loop. and as much as i'd love to, getting to beat up the first fucker i see doesnt realistically solve the problem neither, and also would add possible retaliation sooner or later, and could give me a police criminal record. so what should we do? start some charity to convince people that buying stolen property is wrong? go home and cry?

Going there so will let you know. Good luck

anyone has the right to take anything that doesnt belong to them.

I think you might have meant the opposite.

I think you might have meant the opposite.

i would rep you, but i can't.

i meant no one is allowed to take what doesnt belong to them.
well, you get me :)

my point is that a theft is a theft, it's not to blame on the lock i use. i should be able to leave my bike there without locks, to start with! (this is obviously a complete unrealistic and uber optimistic thought, i dont expect anyone to believe the world would be like this, except for john lennon).

still going on the hopeless search to brick lane on sunday 7amish-i know its the day of rest but its the only action i can take, not in it for violent confrontation, just want my bike back thats all. if anybody fancies it 07904668870 adam ta.

i'm sure most people wouldnt go for body contact, but i wonder what you would be doing then. talking them into returning your bike? buying it back? i've been there myself and i still dont know what i would have done if i had found mine (though i like to think i'd smacked them). :

Let me repost this blog entry I wrote after my bike was nicked six weeks ago, since it fits in with this discussion:

**Face to face with the Brick Lane bike thieves **

My bike was the closest thing I had to a girlfriend. So after someone stole it earlier this week, I took advice I'd often given and went to look for it on Brick Lane, where it's common knowledge that stolen bikes are sold.

I got there at 7.30am and saw a dozen police officers march with unswerving purpose into the beigel shop. When asked, one said "If your bike turns up it won't be at a stall; it'll be someone standing with it in the street." But, he said, the thieves might be put off by today's strong police presence. "Oh, are you going to arrest them all?"
"No, we're here to police a demonstration against shops selling fur."

It wasn't until 9.30am that the thieves appeared. On Cygnet Street I saw a man in a grey tracksuit smoking a spliff and standing by a Chris Boardman mountain bike. As I walked past I heard him say he'd sold a similar bike for £240 the other week. I sat nearby and watched over my newspaper and soon there were six to ten young guys with him. Tall skinny kids with baseball caps, polo shirts, trainers, and stolen bikes. I didn't speak to them at any point. Every bike this gang steals causes someone inconvenience and misery. They might not have stolen mine, but I still hated them. They scattered when two policemen walked past.

I caught up with one of the officers. So did another man from the crowd who said he was here looking for his wife's stolen Specialized racer. The officer replied that he knew the gang were selling stolen bikes; and that dealt drugs, too, though not at the same time. But the police have to prove that the bikes are stolen, which is difficult unless the bike's owner is with them and can quote the frame number. The bikes are often taken overnight, before the owner has even noticed. And when the police walk by, the gang are just hanging out, not trying to sell anything.

I asked if I could let him know when the bike thieves returned. I thought he might give me his mobile number. But he told me to find another officer or go to Brick Lane station, which is closed on Sunday.

Taking a break to gorge on beigels, I saw a Chinese lady DVD seller being led away in handcuffs for crimes against intellectual property. By the time I got back to Cygnet Street, the non-abstract thieves had returned with more bikes. There was a burgundy Langster, a Specialized Rockhopper, and one of those black single-speed bikes with red rims you so often see around town.

Infuriated, I walked through the Brick Lane crowds to find a policeman. None were about, so I cycled to Liverpool Street police station. I told the desk sergeant "There's a gang selling stolen bikes on Cygnet Street. Can you send in a squad with Tasers and pepper spray? They'll need to go in from both sides."
"Well, how do you know the bikes are stolen?"
She wrote down the information I gave, suggested I tried Bethnal Green station, and asked if I wanted to leave my name and number. Somebody would call me in the week. I declined.

I went back and watched for another hour. A Polish guy was trying out a mountain bike, for which the seller wanted £80. "Where did you find this?" he asked jokingly. His friends waited next to me and I had to stop myself from lecturing them. They hardly looked like they ate out of bins or had no choice. For the quoted price they could have brought a bike from one of the legitimate traders. And yet from a greedy sense that they were entitled to something better than they could afford, they were choosing to buy an obviously stolen bike.

I asked for a quiet word with a nearby stallholder. To my surprise he was happy to talk about "those herberts". For six, seven years he'd had run-ins with the council and the police trying to get them to act. "They're not junkies though, are they? They're estate kids" I said. "They're lowlifes, that's what they are" he replied.

The thieves are mostly teenagers. My housemate later said that even if it were easier to arrest and charge them, it wouldn't be good for society. With criminal records, their employment options would be restricted and they'd be more likely to become career criminals. But it seems to me that they've already made that choice.
http://poshsquatter.blogspot.com/

just had my cinelli handle bars and stem stolen off my road bike in convent garden if anyone sees them for sale please message me

i dont know handle bar stem and sti levers could get say 50 quid the person or persons who did it have to have some balls taking a allen key and a pair of wire cutters to it on a busy street its just really shit cause i ust got them like 4 days ago

not necessarily, these punks know a thing or two about bike parts now too, there's way more brooks saddles and other bits going now at brick lane etc

who else would happen to be carrying allen keys in their bag?
I would suggest checking "current projects" instead of brick lane for this one...
how we ever gonna beat them if we can't even stick together?

Fuck me; parts have been being nicked off bikes for ages now. And not by people who post in Current Projects you muppet. Saddles, bars, levers, chainsets even chainring bolts. The same people who nick whole bikes have figured out there is a market for parts and have bought - or nicked - the necessary tools. Including allen keys. You really are going to make a lot of friends spouting off about something about which you clearly know fuck all and then suggesting that you think it's people on here.

i do hope I'm wrong....the thought that it might be a one of our own cycle geeks that fancied what he saw makes me wanna cry

Your almost supernatural ability to alienate people on here should really make you cry.

no i dont think it was someone on here but the didnt take a concor saddle attached a dura ace seat post but may be they were going to some back for that

I think you need to post less, man

no i dont think it was someone on here but the didnt take a concor saddle attached a dura ace seat post but may be they were going to some back for that

Why not go to Polo tomorrow; it was probably one of those bastards. Or EdScoble, he's always thieving. That GA2g takes an unhealthy interest in stolen bikes if you ask me. Or maybe it was Tynan; after all you often see him at drinks with a bag full of spares. Or Velocio; he's got to pay for all those servers somehow. In fact why don't I just admit that I have stolen every bike and bike part ever mentioned in this thread. I can't help myself. Just saying the word Nitto has my fingers reaching for a boltcutter.

fuck the bar i wanted to change that anyways its the shifters that cost a fucking fortune .... anyone have any.. 9 speed campag

wigan...
are you drunk or where you just born a prick?
I seriously doubt that someone around here would do such a thing but a cinelli bar is quite desirable.
Like I said, I do hope my suspition is way off.

Hey, I've got a sister; maybe you'd like to make one of your highly successful 'humourous' comments? Don't get arsey with me you dumb pig-ignorant fuck. You know nothing and you suggest that we start looking for stolen parts in the Current Projects thread? Were you born stupid or will you be down Brick Lane tomorrow looking for your stolen brain?

i do hope I'm wrong....the thought that it might be a one of our own cycle geeks that fancied what he saw makes me wanna cry

No, they all listen to Minor Threat, so you can trust them :-)
And seriously, pro bike thieves will strip your frame of components if they can't chew through the lock. They know what sells.

You've upset other people on a different thread haven't you?

If you're new to this site, perhaps try to re-read the rules and repeat that 20times until it's imprinted in your brain....

I mean seriously, accusing people on this very site of stealing?

Of course you're harmless, you just spurt shit, not fist hurling on people's faces.

stop thinking too much, use common sense, and in the end it's just a bicycle that can be replaced, it's not the lost work of Shakespeare.

Nobody said it was a Black kid, darling, as a "black estate kid" wouldn't be bothered to nick handlebars. Probably a Traveller-triathlonist. Or one of those bloody Italians claiming back what's theirs. Could be also Polish - don't trust a man with the moustache.

just can't steriotype like that can we?

One's for sure. It was a bike thief.

Well I;m just a racist south african "apparently"
(...)
Looks like it's back to the "nursery" for me until I make an appearance at the SE or S drinks next week

Nah, Safa aren't racist - just bit arrogant that's all (or maybe it's just the accent? Still nicer than mine). And you're welcome to come up. I had a hard time too before I actually met the tough crowd. You can't just burst in all guns blazing ;-) Most of guys here are lovely cunts and they have loads of knowledge to share if you're patient enough.