Stolen Bikes Thread - Mod Note please read post #1 before posting

ballooba

How long after it was robbed before it showed up for sale? I'm looking for a bike that was robbed 10 days ago or so.

connolly1991

ballooba wrote: »

How long after it was robbed before it showed up for sale? I'm looking for a bike that was robbed 10 days ago or so.

It went up 8 days after so he waited awhile. It was stolen in Lucan but being sold in Dorset Street. Keep checking Gumtree,Adverts.ie and Done Deal

iwillhtfu

connolly1991 wrote: »

It went up 8 days after so he waited awhile. It was stolen in Lucan but being sold in Dorset Street. Keep checking Gumtree,Adverts.ie and Done Deal

What website did you see it on?

connolly1991

iwillhtfu wrote: »

What website did you see it on?

Adverts. The guy didn't mention the right bike name so search all bikes within the dates it was stolen.

Glencree

Great outcome, shame on the cops who weren't arsed to follow up.
Sadly I know the bad guy will get free legal aid, numerous court dates, and no jail time

RainyDay

connolly1991 wrote: »

Please can you help. I have found my partners bike online being sold by someone on Adverts but the guards said they cant help me until Friday but the bike will be sold by then.

Just curious - what was their logic about waiting until Friday? Was this about waiting for a particular Garda to come on shift? Why did that Garda have to deal with the matter?

sebcity

RainyDay wrote: »

Just curious - what was their logic about waiting until Friday? Was this about waiting for a particular Garda to come on shift? Why did that Garda have to deal with the matter?

That's what I noticed when mine was stolen. If you went down with an update or something other Gardai didn't really want to know. It's like the first one you report it to is stuck with it and nobody else cares.

check_six

sebcity wrote: »

That's what I noticed when mine was stolen. If you went down with an update or something other Gardai didn't really want to know. It's like the first one you report it to is stuck with it and nobody else cares.

Maybe they work off commission? Could get unpleasant if two Guards were fighting over your custom!

MB Lacey

Just want to post a good news story which was completely down to Garda intervention and action.

Friend of mine had her bike stolen in March, searched all the websites - nothing.
This weekend, driving near the area she lives, her OH spotted a guy wheeling a bike into a shop.
'There's your bike!'
She went into the shop and said to the guy (who was a member of staff working there) 'this is going to sound weird, but I think I just saw you with a bike which looks very like one I had stolen, would you mind showing me the bike, just so I can put my mind at rest'.

He was happy enough to bring the bike out front explaining how he bought it from his boss so it couldn't be hers etc...
As soon as she saw the bike she knew it was hers but didn't say anything, just went along with the fact that it wasn't the same bike (clever).

She went to Garda (Mountjoy I think) and explained very excitedly what had just happened.

Her and 3 garda jumped in a garda car and went down to the shop, talked to the guy, who put up a convincing story that the bike wasn't stolen, but they confiscated the bike and took it back to the garda station.

Because my friend had never written down the serial number they asked her to come back with other evidence that the bike was hers.
Within an hour she was back with photos of the bike from trips away, photos of her and the bike, the c/c statement showing the purchase of the bike and the lock she used which matched the scrapes where it used to knock against the frame.
They concluded the bike was definitely hers, wheeled it out to her and said 'there you go'.

Within 3 hours of seeing her bike, she had it back because of help from the gardai.

Advice from this story is the usual:
Write down the serial number of your bikes (usually under the bike), take selfies of you and your bike, put stickers all over your commuter bike (too much hassle for thieves to remove), use quality locks and lock it properly to a secure fixture.
Finally I like the idea of writing a little note and sticking it inside the handle bar (or wherever).
If a dispute of ownership arose between you, thief and gardai, you could go into Magician Mode, ask the garda to check inside the left handlebar where you have previously left a secret message.
They unravel the message, smile in admiration and hand you over your bike, you cycle off smirking full of self congratulations and the thief is left kicking the ground in frustration, whilst being handcuffed.

The smug satisfaction I imagine I'd feel if this ever actually happened feeds my PMA every day.
(despite not yet having left a note in my handlebar, and probably never bothering to).

Anyway, just wanted to share a story of someone getting their stolen bike returned in the 'correct' and legal way.
Imagine if the garda had have shrugged in the first place.

Alek

What has happened to the shop guy / his boss?

connolly1991

RainyDay wrote: »

Just curious - what was their logic about waiting until Friday? Was this about waiting for a particular Garda to come on shift? Why did that Garda have to deal with the matter?

Yeah they said the garda that normally deals with it wasn't back until Friday but in the end they contacted another station close by to help with the matter

Beasty

With something like this that could be considered a high volume (and often, but certainly not always, "low value") crime it would not surprise me if some stations have dedicated "stolen bike specialists". Maybe they perhaps try and keep a better grasp on what is happening generally in the bike stealing world, who the potential suspects may be, where stolen bikes may get sold etc. Seems entirely reasonable to me as that avoids having all gardai having to get up to speed and on top of all the "niche" areas of crime.

evilcowforever

I was hoping you could help me regarding a stolen bike. My boyfriend’s bike was stolen from his office’s bike parking in Ballsbridge/Grand Canal Dock at the weekend. It is a black and red Specialised Hardrock 2009.

He has reported it to the Gardai and I have informed bike shops/repair workshops and DoneDeal.ie.

You probably get loads of these posts everyday so thank you for taking the time to read mine. Any help with this would be greatly appreciated.

MB Lacey

Alek wrote: »

What has happened to the shop guy / his boss?

They were going to deal with that afterwards, so she didn't know.

Beasty

evilcowforever wrote: »

Any help with this would be greatly appreciated.

As a new user you are unable to post links to photos. However if you do have a picture of the bike could you PM a link to me or one of the other mods and we can post it up here for you

EDIT - now added

connolly1991

The guy that was trying to sell my partners bike online said he wasn't the one who robbed the bike but bought it a market in Balbriggan for 120 euro. The guards also seized a bike frame from his home that he also claimed was bought at this market. Not sure of the bike type but guard said it was an expensive one.

TheBoss11

Are there any locks that are unbreakable or very difficult to break? Within a reasonable price. Cheers guys.

Mercian Pro

TheBoss11 wrote: »

Are there any locks that are unbreakable or very difficult to break? Within a reasonable price. Cheers guys.

How much did you pay for your bike? How much are you prepared to pay for a lock?

If you do a search for Bike Lock in the Cycling forum, you should get plenty of opinions.

TheBoss11

Mercian Pro wrote: »

How much did you pay for your bike? How much are you prepared to pay for a lock?

If you do a search for Bike Lock in the Cycling forum, you should get plenty of opinions.

300 for the bike. I have a lock but don't know if it's very secure. Ideally spend under 50€ on a new lock. Are those U locks the best?

Mercian Pro

The Dublin Cycling Campaign are hoping to pressurise the powers that be into tackling the serious issue of bike theft. As part of the process, they are trying to collate as much information as possible on the problem. They are doing this through an online survey at
http://davidtimoney.maps.arcgis.com/apps/GeoForm/index.html?appid=b198ccf29d5a4e198043612def11635e&webmap=bb280a7d9699404ba36ec600d87291b5
As you will see on the survey site, participants are in with a chance of winning some good cycling prizes including a bike. Most of the questions relate to any bike you had stolen within the past five years. If you are unlucky enough to be in that category, please participate.

Mercian Pro

TheBoss11 wrote: »

300 for the bike. I have a lock but don't know if it's very secure. Ideally spend under 50€ on a new lock. Are those U locks the best?

The better ones are good but some of the cheaper ones are rubbish. I have the mid-range Kryptonite Evolution and you should be able to get one of them online for around €50. Even more important than the lock are where and how you lock your bike. Most of the time my bike is either in a secure car park at work or locked to a wall bolt in the shed at home. If I do bring it into town, I try to find the most public well lit location and make sure to lock the wheel and frame to a secure post. A tight fit between bike, lock and post is best with a cable lock around the other wheel preferably.

TheBoss11

Yeah my job don't let me bring it into the back yard of the building so I lock it to a pole with a cable lock. I'd imagine the cable locks are easily breakable though

endacl

TheBoss11 wrote: »

Yeah my job don't let me bring it into the back yard of the building so I lock it to a pole with a cable lock. I'd imagine the cable locks are easily breakable though

Yes. Some can be cut with a scissors, believe it or not. There's no such thing as a lock for under €40-50 quid. Only pieces of crap sold as locks.

BailMeOut

There must be some inexpensive option to 'chip' and GPS track bikes these days?

iniall

TheBoss11 wrote: »

300 for the bike. I have a lock but don't know if it's very secure. Ideally spend under 50€ on a new lock. Are those U locks the best?

I just got this lock on Amazon.co.uk for £21.99:

http://thesweethome.com/reviews/best-bike-lock/

The linked review is a good overview of bike locks and what will and will not deter thieves.

GetWithIt

Mercian Pro wrote: »

The Dublin Cycling Campaign are hoping to pressurise the powers that be into tackling the serious issue of bike theft. As part of the process, they are trying to collate as much information as possible on the problem. They are doing this through an online survey at
http://davidtimoney.maps.arcgis.com/apps/GeoForm/index.html?appid=b198ccf29d5a4e198043612def11635e&webmap=bb280a7d9699404ba36ec600d87291b5
As you will see on the survey site, participants are in with a chance of winning some good cycling prizes including a bike. Most of the questions relate to any bike you had stolen within the past five years. If you are unlucky enough to be in that category, please participate.

I was somewhat surprised by the initial survey results. The map indicated that there were no real hotspots. It was an almost perfect distribution across the city centre. Not sure what that means.

Also, the full site is here http://www.dublincycling.ie/videos/how-lock-your-bike-correctly-avoid-thief-video including video of how to lock your bike correctly.

Thargor

iniall wrote: »

I just got this lock on Amazon.co.uk for £21.99:

http://thesweethome.com/reviews/best-bike-lock/

The linked review is a good overview of bike locks and what will and will not deter thieves.

Those gray Kryptonites are the weakest U-Locks you can get, orange or yellow for something that will offer a bit of deterrence. Nothing stops an anglegrinder though.

endacl

Thargor wrote: »

Those gray Kryptonites are the weakest U-Locks you can get, orange or yellow for something that will offer a bit of deterrence. Nothing stops an anglegrinder though.

A boot in the hole stops an angle grinder.

iniall

Thargor wrote: »

Those gray Kryptonites are the weakest U-Locks you can get, orange or yellow for something that will offer a bit of deterrence. Nothing stops an anglegrinder though.

Did you read the review on the link? It doesn't agree with you about the locks (but yes, nothing beats an anglegrinder),

quozl

I've read it. He does actually recommend the Yellow Kryptonite - the New York - it comes down to cost, weight and value of the bike being protected according to the article to decide between those two.

He doesn't feel the orange is worth the cost increase. I'm not confident that I'd agree with him on that. Part of his reasoning is very suspect - he points out that both the series 2 and 4 get a sold secure silver rating. That doesn't actually mean they're equivalent or that Sold Secure consider them equivalent. Sold Secure only have a granuality of 3 levels! So each band has to cover quite a wide range of lock strength. There have been a few bikes in this thread stolen with those level 2 kryptonites. There definitely hadn't been any with the New York locks the last time I read the whole thread (about a year ago but i've read most posts since too) and I can't honestly say that I remember series 4 kryptonites showing up in here? It's hard to know how much of that is down to how many more series 2 locks there are out there and how much is down to the more expensive locks being harder to break without power tools.

I wouldn't trust my bike with one of those series 2 locks but I don't even like trusting it with a single kryptonite evolution mini while popping into a cafe for 15 minutes and I use a New York u-lock plus a evolution mini chain when locking up normally, so I may tend to the over-cautious

If I had a cheap run around town beater then I'd happily trust it with a series 2 kryptonite. I'd never trust a cable lock for anything