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

Glencree

Your average €1000 bike isn't being exported or involved with criminal gangs, it's being sold for as little as €30 ... And there's plenty of buyers out there!!

Average person won't report stolen and very few will follow through with court appearances to get thieves convicted.

Zyzz

Glencree wrote: »

Your average €1000 bike isn't being exported or involved with criminal gangs, it's being sold for as little as €30 ... And there's plenty of buyers out there!!

Average person won't report stolen and very few will follow through with court appearances to get thieves convicted.

A bike that costs €1000 is most definitely being shipped out of the country.

iwillhtfu

Zyzz wrote: »

A bike that costs €1000 is most definitely being shipped out of the country.

Not necessarily. €1000 bikes aren't as stand out as they once were and if anything they're more common with the btw scheme.

A lot of the btw scheme bikes are bought on a whim and forgotten about soon after i'd imagine a number of people don't even bother reporting them stolen.

Thargor

They're not being sold for €30 though, anything under €50-60 is always junk.

iamtony

iwillhtfu wrote: »

Not necessarily. €1000 bikes aren't as stand out as they once were and if anything they're more common with the btw scheme.

A lot of the btw scheme bikes are bought on a whim and forgotten about soon after i'd imagine a number of people don't even bother reporting them stolen.

I'd say it's more organised than junkies robbing them and selling them for a quick fix its too big and too many are getting taken on a daily bases and you don't see rough areas with kids cycling around on top end bikes, well maybe the odd time, but I'd say they are going to a Eastern European country if I had to guess.

iwillhtfu

iamtony wrote: »

I'd say it's more organised than junkies robbing them and selling them for a quick fix its too big and too many are getting taken on a daily bases and you don't see rough areas with kids cycling around on top end bikes, well maybe the odd time, but I'd say they are going to a Eastern European country if I had to guess.

Take a trip out to a well known market in Kildare during the summer and you'll be amazed at what you see.

As for bikes going to eastern Europe why would they bother with the expense when they could sell them off no problem in England or here for that matter. I work in England a fair bit and I know for a fact I could go over there next week and come back with a high end bike for €3-400

I doubt it was ever junkies stealing bikes to be honest I don't know where anyone go that idea from.

I can guess what eastern European country you're talking about and I'm always amazed at how we blame them for everything.

Glencree

Go sit in the courts and listen to the facts, €3000 bike being sold on street, asking price €100, junkie settles for €30!!

Happening every day... No big conspiracies!!! Sellers on adverts with 50 plus bikes advertised in their history !!!

dubmess

RainyDay wrote: »

Glad to hear he got it back - kudos to Think Bike. I presume the buyer lost out? Did you think about reporting it to the cops, who might trace the buyer via Think Bike?

Nope buyer didn't lose out. As soon as he heard it was stolen he gave his details to the mechanic. I contacted him directly and he drove up to me with the bike. I gave him the €50 he had paid for it. He was a nice guy, knew he'd fxxxed up, and was quick to get it back to me.

The hunt is still on for bike no. 2.

CatFromHue

iwillhtfu wrote: »

Take a trip out to a well known market in Kildare during the summer and you'll be amazed at what you see.

As for bikes going to eastern Europe why would they bother with the expense when they could sell them off no problem in England or here for that matter. I work in England a fair bit and I know for a fact I could go over there next week and come back with a high end bike for €3-400

I doubt it was ever junkies stealing bikes to be honest I don't know where anyone go that idea from.

I can guess what eastern European country you're talking about and I'm always amazed at how we blame them for everything.

Yeah I'd in the city centre you could say it's junkies but not the bikes that are taken from gardens/sheds/houses.

How true this I don't know but I heard the person who robs the bike then dumps it nearby very quickly after doing so and a van would then pick it up from there at a later date.

The person who robbed the bike only has it in their possession for a short period of time.

The person who collects it is just after finding a bike, or bikes.

RainyDay

dubmess wrote: »

Nope buyer didn't lose out. As soon as he heard it was stolen he gave his details to the mechanic. I contacted him directly and he drove up to me with the bike. I gave him the €50 he had paid for it. He was a nice guy, knew he'd fxxxed up, and was quick to get it back to me.

The hunt is still on for bike no. 2.

You were very generous to give him the €50. Technically, he broke the law, and could have been done for receiving stolen property. If you pay €50 for a bike from a dodgy source, you know well that it's robbed.

Xpro

RainyDay wrote: »

You were very generous to give him the €50. Technically, he broke the law, and could have been done for receiving stolen property. If you pay €50 for a bike from a dodgy source, you know well that it's robbed.

Happens every day of the week, how are you to know if a bike is stolen? Same with Donedeal, stolen goods left right and centre and people are totally oblivious to it.
And if it was you that bought it, you wouldn't look at yourself as someone who broke the law:rolleyes:

RainyDay

Xpro wrote: »

Happens every day of the week, how are you to know if a bike is stolen? Same with Donedeal, stolen goods left right and centre and people are totally oblivious to it.
And if it was you that bought it, you wouldn't look at yourself as someone who broke the law:rolleyes:

If you buy a €300 bike for €50, it's stolen.

Muahahaha

iamtony wrote: »

I'd say it's more organised than junkies robbing them and selling them for a quick fix its too big and too many are getting taken on a daily bases and you don't see rough areas with kids cycling around on top end bikes, well maybe the odd time, but I'd say they are going to a Eastern European country if I had to guess.

My guess is that the bike theft industry consists of roughly 30% junkies doing it for a fix, 20% under 18s doing it for cash and the remainder 40% are full time bike theives who just do it for the easy money, why work when 10 minutes work can net you €400+.

I'm just pulling those figuers out of the sky of course but I think its a mix of all three groups. I think some junkies are lone operators in so far as they steal the bike and then they try to sell it themselves. However bike theft is on such a scale in Dublin now that there has to be some sort of clearing houses in a industrial estate somewhere, a place where every junkie and every teenage bike robber knows he can get an instant €100 for the bike. The junkie just wants a quick fix and the teenager just wants quick cash so given that they don't want to get caught with stolen property it makes sense to get rid of it ASAP and leave the selling/exporting up to a criminal gang who run a much larger operation dealing with stolen bikes from all over the city.

As for exporting them I reckon its a distinct possibility. We only rarely hear of someones stolen bike showing up on Adverts or Donedeal, it happens far too infrequently compared to the amount of bikes stolen. Eastern European operations already run businesses in Dublin where they export second hand clothes (the 'We Buy Your Clothes' shops here and there). All those used clothes that wouldn't even fetch €5 here end up in markets in Ukraine, POland, etc being sold at decent enough prices. It wouldn't be a huge stretch to say that if there is profit in used clothes in Eastern Europe then there most certainly is profit in high end stolen bikes.

Pinch Flat

A guy used to live near me who travelled a lot for work - he was telling me once how he was offered a bike in Karachi Pakistan of all places - hundreds of what looked like nearly new bikes for the equivalent of €50 to €100. The local he was with said they were stolen from Ireland and the uk and shipped out for resale.

The time I had my own bike stolen mid 2013 - when I foolishly turned my back on it to help my 6 year old pick and ice cream in our local spar - the guy in the shop said that a couple of bikes a day would go missing for a period of time - perhaps over a week - all by the same guy (didn't make any effort to make himself less visible to cctv), guy would appear maybe a month or two later and the same pattern of thefts. Quite a little scummy business he has going.

ted1

There shipping boat parts back to Eastern Europe http://m.independent.ie/irish-news/military-gang-steals-millions-in-boat-parts-26758956.html

Why not container loads of bikes

gambeta_fc

Bike stolen in London ends up in Barcelona:
http:// road.cc/content/news/142683-spanish-connection-social-media-helps-cyclist-gets-bike-stolen-london-back

[Sorry, can't post full links yet]

boombang

Anybody missing a ladies Pashley in dark green? Just speculation as I saw one earlier with an unlikely owner. The friend I was with was convinced it must be stolen.

iwillhtfu

I'd imagine a similar operation is going on here some place and surely with a bit of effort the gardai could find where.

http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest-news/stolen-bike-chop-shop-uncovered-lancashire-157048

Xpro

<snip>

Mod note
If you have suspicions about specific situations report them to the Gardai, Do not post any details here

vektarman

I thought I'd share a good news story, I was in the middle of posting a pic and information on my stolen bike on Boards when the Gardai knocked at my door and said they had my bike in the back of their car, my Son had been pushed off the bike the previous evening by a gang and one of them cycled off on the bike, the guards were able to identify the thief by his description.
They called to the guys door and when confronted he admitted he had the bike and handed it over there and then, I don't want to go into too many details as there may be legal proceedings but fair play to the guards, they were on the ball and that guy got the shock of his life when they called.

Thargor

This is a stolen bicycle thread Lau, better off reposting over in Motorbikes:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=577

CramCycle

Thargor wrote: »

This is a stolen bicycle thread Lau, better off reposting over in Motorbikes:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=577

Post moved

smacl

Don't know if this has been said already, but for those with stolen bikes or concerned about theft, could well be worth contacting http://bikeregister.blogspot.ie/ I was looking at a 2nd hand bike on-line a couple of days ago, checked model and details on bike register before putting in an offer, and found the bike to be stolen. Very identifiable bike in this case so no doubt about its origin, passed details on to Gardaí and owner via bike register. No idea if they got it back but hope so, also glad not to be buying a nicked bike. Usual craic of if it seems to good to be true, it probably is.

zl1whqvjs75cdy

Just reading the comment about the bike in Barcelona reminded me of something when I was there last summer. I was strolling down by the port and, as anyone who knows Barcelona will tell you, that area is frequented by people selling knock off bags and purses etc. I saw one kid, maybe 17/18, pushing a high end bike (Trek 1.2 I made it) along the pier. He was in baggy shorts and skate shoes, while the pedals on the bike were clip ins. I immediately twigged the bike as stolen and my suspicion was confirmed as the thief offered the bike for sale to all the gentlemen peddling the knock off bags. The thief walked right past a group of police as he was going to the pier and not one of them copped that the bike and the "owner" did not go together.

It seems to be a similar story in Dublin, with the Guards either not recognizing or not caring when bike and "owner" don't match. If a dodgey looking type is pushing a thousand euro worth of bike around would they not stop him/her and ask a few simple questions? If the word "groupset" incites terror in someone with a high end bike in their possession there is obviously something up. Or is bike theft simply too low a priority these days to merit that kind of community policing approach?

mirrormatrix

donkeyoaty0099 wrote: »

It seems to be a similar story in Dublin, with the Guards either not recognizing or not caring when bike and "owner" don't match. If a dodgey looking type is pushing a thousand euro worth of bike around would they not stop him/her and ask a few simple questions? If the word "groupset" incites terror in someone with a high end bike in their possession there is obviously something up. Or is bike theft simply too low a priority these days to merit that kind of community policing approach?

I think what you are referring to is known as profiling. Just because some "dodgy" looking person is walking around with an expensive bike doesn't mean it's not theirs. Would you like it if a guard pulled you over to quiz you about whether you actually own your bike or not? I know I wouldn't.

endacl

mirrormatrix wrote: »

I think what you are referring to is known as profiling. Just because some "dodgy" looking person is walking around with an expensive bike doesn't mean it's not theirs. Would you like it if a guard pulled you over to quiz you about whether you actually own your bike or not? I know I wouldn't.

I wouldn't mind. A quick scan of the bikeShepherd QR code stickers on the frame would demonstrate that I am the owner. Compulsory registration and spot checks would be a great idea.

smacl

mirrormatrix wrote: »

I think what you are referring to is known as profiling. Just because some "dodgy" looking person is walking around with an expensive bike doesn't mean it's not theirs. Would you like it if a guard pulled you over to quiz you about whether you actually own your bike or not? I know I wouldn't.

I don't think I'd mind either. Suggesting the police shouldn't ask questions of potentially innocent people for fear of upsetting them would seriously limit their ability to investigate anything whatsoever. Asking a question is not an accusation.

smacl

Xpro wrote: »

Happens every day of the week, how are you to know if a bike is stolen? Same with Donedeal, stolen goods left right and centre and people are totally oblivious to it.
And if it was you that bought it, you wouldn't look at yourself as someone who broke the law:rolleyes:

If you are in any doubt, you ask for proof of purchase. AFAIK, if you buy a stolen bike on Donedeal / Adverts etc... you are in receipt of stolen goods and have broken the law regardless of whether or not you are aware that the goods are stolen. Proper order too, IMHO, as if there wasn't a market for stolen bikes, people wouldn't steal bikes.

CramCycle

donkeyoaty0099 wrote: »

It seems to be a similar story in Dublin, with the Guards either not recognizing or not caring when bike and "owner" don't match. If a dodgey looking type is pushing a thousand euro worth of bike around would they not stop him/her and ask a few simple questions? If the word "groupset" incites terror in someone with a high end bike in their possession there is obviously something up. Or is bike theft simply too low a priority these days to merit that kind of community policing approach?

I used the same bike for everything for awhile including club spins, head to toe in lycra, or down to my local shops dressed as a scruffbag. I often wear shoes/runners on my clip in pedals. means absolutely nothing. While we all like to think we can pick people out, we can't get it right alot of the time. I have had the courier crowd come upto me accusing me of stealing one of their bikes when I met a boardsie in town a few years ago just caused it looked like one of theirs but I was dressed in regular clothes/as a student.

My old flatmate had a roadie question him while on my bike as he borrowed it to pop out to his friends house.

mirrormatrix wrote: »

I think what you are referring to is known as profiling. Just because some "dodgy" looking person is walking around with an expensive bike doesn't mean it's not theirs. Would you like it if a guard pulled you over to quiz you about whether you actually own your bike or not? I know I wouldn't.

I don't like the idea of profiling but I have no problem with a Garda asking me a few questions while doing spot checks, has happened twice before, nothing came of it. He even apologised for stopping me, I just said I am glad you are doing your job. I have seen plenty of well dressed scumbags in my day, the lads who nicked bikes from Dundrum in a Hi ace and hi vis jackets looked like council workers. Another post near the beginning of the thread showed a boardsies wifes bike getting stolen from a car park, guy walked in with a helmet and hi vis, looked like a well dressed college student.

TripleMinor

mirrormatrix wrote: »

I think what you are referring to is known as profiling. Just because some "dodgy" looking person is walking around with an expensive bike doesn't mean it's not theirs. Would you like it if a guard pulled you over to quiz you about whether you actually own your bike or not? I know I wouldn't.

But he was a "dodgy" looking person walking around with an expensive bike AND trying to sell it to people who sell knock off clothes.
I would hope any guard would pull over and quiz a person in this case. What reason would any legitimate bike owner have to do this?