Stolen Mercian

straightedgeandy One of my guys has just had his lovely blue Mercian nicked on Grays Inn Rd WC1, yellow deep v on the front, purple on the rear, reward from me if its recovered etc

keep em peeled peepz

Andy, you restore my faith in mankind! Err... well, fleet controllers at least. And Mark probably hasn't been with you lot as long as most of your riders...

VB, chris crash's stolen bike blog is not in the "Links" section. deserves a quick link

ChrisCrash, how about putting up a stat table in your blog on what locks (brand-model) were used when bikes were stolen? would be interested to see what the hit rate is on which lock

I've seen that guy around and said hello before, gorgeous bike... Really happy he's got it back... :)
I'm also mystified by who would be buying this stuff knowing it's probably nicked... They've obviously found a market somewhere...

teenslain I've seen that guy around and said hello before, gorgeous bike... Really happy he's got it back... :)
I'm also mystified by who would be buying this stuff knowing it's probably nicked... They've obviously found a market somewhere...
"dont shit on your own doorstep..." the gear is being shifted outside of London.

i think all the gear will turn up in the summer when everyone forgets about these stolen bikes and we'll all be buying them without knowing.

hael [quote]teenslain I've seen that guy around and said hello before, gorgeous bike... Really happy he's got it back... :)
I'm also mystified by who would be buying this stuff knowing it's probably nicked... They've obviously found a market somewhere...
"dont shit on your own doorstep..." the gear is being shifted outside of London.[/quote]
Is the market really that big outside of London though? I didnt anywhere in Europe had a comparable "trend" as London does right now...

silver .... so lets just make sure that no one here buys any of that shit. it should be promoted as a key aspect of the london "fixed gear subculture" (if i may)..... don't buy anything you don't know where it comes from.
I think you can safely say that goes without saying, there are a few posts/stories about people being offered bits/bikes and not feeding the market but saying "yeah hold on I know someone thats interested" and then checking on here and the people getting their stuff back.

yeah it's hot in stoke on trent!!

runcible rakan [quote]hael [quote]teenslain I've seen that guy around and said hello before, gorgeous bike... Really happy he's got it back... :)
I'm also mystified by who would be buying this stuff knowing it's probably nicked... They've obviously found a market somewhere...
"dont shit on your own doorstep..." the gear is being shifted outside of London.[/quote]
Is the market really that big outside of London though? I didnt anywhere in Europe had a comparable "trend" as London does right now...[/quote]not comparable trend, but think of some French roadie who fancies a nice Mercian frame for his training bike or a guy in Belgium who needs a new Cinelli stem, it wouldn't be too hard to flog stripped components to other bike enthusiasts in the EU using a medium like ebay with its country specific variants.

hael [quote]teenslain I've seen that guy around and said hello before, gorgeous bike... Really happy he's got it back... :)
I'm also mystified by who would be buying this stuff knowing it's probably nicked... They've obviously found a market somewhere...
"dont shit on your own doorstep..." the gear is being shifted outside of London.[/quote]
I can see it now, a boot sale out in Essex somewhere, tressle table groaning with Dura-Ace and Phil hubs, a few Keirin frames and deep-V wheelsets leaning against the van while a pit-bull pisses on them...Still don't see where the out-of-town market is, unless Ilford chavs have started riding fixed... Call me naive, but are they really savvy enough/arsed to move the stuff to bike jumbles up north?
Just a thought...

parts from briankwans bike nicked in SOAS ended up on ebay from a seller in Ipswich who had bought them seemingly in good faith from a third party. Never saw how far he got with ebay and the po-po.

To be honest, one nitto stem looks pretty much like another once you strip a bike.

runcible rakan [quote]
Is the market really that big outside of London though? I didnt anywhere in Europe had a comparable "trend" as London does right now...

There are other parts of Europe where it's as big - berlin springs to mind. Thing is I reckon these guys can do fine by selling it on ebay or whatever here. Leave it a few months and no one will remember.

having had 3 bikes nicked myself I know what that sinking feeling when you come out of a building and find it gone is like.

teenslain [quote]hael [quote]teenslain I've seen that guy around and said hello before, gorgeous bike... Really happy he's got it back... :)
I'm also mystified by who would be buying this stuff knowing it's probably nicked... They've obviously found a market somewhere...
"dont shit on your own doorstep..." the gear is being shifted outside of London.[/quote]
I can see it now, a boot sale out in Essex somewhere, tressle table groaning with Dura-Ace and Phil hubs, a few Keirin frames and deep-V wheelsets leaning against the van while a pit-bull pisses on them...Still don't see where the out-of-town market is, unless Ilford chavs have started riding fixed... Call me naive, but are they really savvy enough/arsed to move the stuff to bike jumbles up north?
Just a thought...[/quote]

M.K. Soni "Do not under estimate your enemy."

;)

hael [quote]teenslain [quote]hael [quote]teenslain I've seen that guy around and said hello before, gorgeous bike... Really happy he's got it back... :)
I'm also mystified by who would be buying this stuff knowing it's probably nicked... They've obviously found a market somewhere...
"dont shit on your own doorstep..." the gear is being shifted outside of London.[/quote]
I can see it now, a boot sale out in Essex somewhere, tressle table groaning with Dura-Ace and Phil hubs, a few Keirin frames and deep-V wheelsets leaning against the van while a pit-bull pisses on them...Still don't see where the out-of-town market is, unless Ilford chavs have started riding fixed... Call me naive, but are they really savvy enough/arsed to move the stuff to bike jumbles up north?
Just a thought...[/quote]

M.K. Soni "Do not under estimate your enemy."

;)[/quote]

Yeah, true enough... ;)

cheers for posting this andy!!! LEGEND!
basically full story is ...
went in a building i've been in hundreds of times (packages ALWAYS ready at reception)
bike was in sight, but package wasnt ready, waited 5 minutes no sign of package, checked bike, still there, 5 minutes more pass I start trying to chat up the receptionist, look back bikes gone!! argh run around like a headless chicken bump into another courier who asked about my bike then he sped off to confront the dirty crackhead, couldnt find her. another courier goes by and tells me my bikes safe,WOW great! go to squat get bike back no problems. crackhead lady tells me i should lock my bike ! ok fair enough i should have , carry on working. was the scariest 20 minutes of my life!so so happy to have her back and will definately be more careful in future.
Thanks for the concern.and thanks again andy

very lucky !

Does all this high spec, high cost bike theft not sound like a better angle for that BBC reporter to investigate? Rather than just "fixie" culture? Whoever was in contact should suggest this, and to be honest this would make a good matra for any hack probing for stories.

+1 yeah lets have some proper news!

I remember reading a cycling magazine years ago and it had an article about London and they locked up 4 or 5 fully kitted out road bikes and left them out overnight in various location each with 2 heavy duty locks ..the next day all but one were gone, the one that was left was stripped of everything the only thing left was the frame and two rims/tires, they cut the spokes to get the hubs!!

Last night I dreamt my bike was nicked, which really freaked me out.

there was a short film made as part of a 3 Minute Wonder series on bikes done by a guy who was highly annoyed having had 3 bikes stolen in the space of 2 months or something: they set up the camera across the street from a locked bike and then sent an actor in with a huge pair of boltcutters, middle of the street, middle of the day, he cuts the lock - not even subtly - not one single passerby blinks an eye. They did this about 5 times, he did not get challenged a single time. That's our society for you. Self-preserving.

I dreamed I had really curly hair so i wouldn't need to get a wig for saturday night

stelle there was a short film made as part of a 3 Minute Wonder series on bikes done by a guy who was highly annoyed having had 3 bikes stolen in the space of 2 months or something: they set up the camera across the street from a locked bike and then sent an actor in with a huge pair of boltcutters, middle of the street, middle of the day, he cuts the lock - not even subtly - not one single passerby blinks an eye. They did this about 5 times, he did not get challenged a single time. That's our society for you. Self-preserving.
lol I seen that, didnt one guy stop and give him advice on cracking D locks??? he also opens up a lamp post and plugs in an angle grinder in one of the scenes.

hael I remember reading a cycling magazine years ago and it had an article about London and they locked up 4 or 5 fully kitted out road bikes and left them out overnight in various location each with 2 heavy duty locks ..the next day all but one were gone, the one that was left was stripped of everything the only thing left was the frame and two rims/tires, they cut the spokes to get the hubs!!

There was a slightly above (but not much) average MTB locked up to the railings on the north side of vauxhall cross recently. The owner left the front wheel unlocked during the day and it vanished. They then clearly couldn't be bothered to take it home on its one wheel, so within the last 10 - 15 days its been stripped of *every *available part. The only thing left on it is the bb, and a seat post that looks like its seized.

I don't think its the quality of the parts that matter, its the ability to shift them quickly at a low price level to meet the needs of your next fix. That and the magpies.