Last Sunday morning at 9:00am my son’s road bike was stolen from the back of our yard. Reported to the police but they did not have any leads to go on. Thanks to a suggestion from a friend on Facebook I set an alert for the bike on Gumtree, I got the alert email last night informing me of a match. We rang the guy this morning and arranged to view the bike finding out that he lived in the same suburb that I do so (our suspicions grew further). Police took over and sent two undercover officers to the address. They soon sussed the bike was indeed the stolen item and attempted to make an arrest. The ‘perp’ fled out the back door and make a runner from his own house! Some other stolen bikes were also recovered. So far the police have made three arrests. #result.

Things I learnt:-

1) The bike was only 2 months old. My son (who was visiting at the time) had not made a note of the serial number. We’ve made a note now!
2) The bike was not marked, you can have your bike chipped or etched. Even a roll of paper in the seat tube or handlebar tube with your details would be better than nothing to the help Police return a stolen item.
3) The bike was left unlocked and unattended for no more than 5 minutes, never leave a bike anywhere unlocked, even your own home!
4) If your bike is stolen set up alerts on E-bay and Gumtree. I kept the search generic and simple as possible to get the best chance of a match, our region and the bike manufacturer.

🙂

glad you got it back!

Sounds like the police are quite keen to go after this sort of stuff these days once they have something to go on. Likes

Good result. An Ebay search is my usual advice, but sounds like Gumtree should be too. Often thought a well worded Wtd ad might flush the scum out also.

Grand advice, especially the Gumtree bit.

Always done the paper in the seat tube thing. Such a simple way to prove to the police that it’s yours. And in the bars too, won’t be seen as easily if the crim’ starts to strip it down for selling in bits.

Must be so great for the police, and their stats, when you’ve got something so solid to go on.

Good news about the bike. It definitely parts to be proactive! In my experience the police would only get involved on production of a serial number, despite overwhelming evidence in other ways. I’ve now marked everything with Smartwater, which the police kindly provided for free.

5) if you buy an ‘obscure’ brand you’ll probably have a better chance of recovery. Far too many Trek, Giants and Speciliaized out there for the Police to go hunting after on eBay/Gumtree.
6) We were very tempted to meet without the police and ‘sort it out’ privately but that would have just made things worse. The police were great once I’d fully explained the Gumtree thing and why we thought it was our bike.
7) When making contact with the seller he did not know the frame size, simple questions like that brought a stutter from him. Any legitimate seller would not hesitate to answer.
8) Watch for people watching you as you leave/arrive home with bike,,

4 arrests now!

Ace. Well done.

Result! 😀

Good work Sherlock! Hopefully they get dealt with properly and not just 10 hours community service.

🙂

15 lessons learnt (full list:-

15 Lessons learnt from this weeks stolen bike incident:-

1) The bike was only 2 months old. My son (who was visiting at the time) had not made a note of the serial number. We’ve made a note now and taken a photograph! Also record the number in the manual that came with the bike.

2) The bike was not marked, you can have your bike chipped or etched by the police.. Even a roll of paper in the seat tube, inside tyre or handlebar tube with your details would be better than nothing to the help Police return a stolen item. http://www.immobilise.com/index.php

3) The bike was left unlocked and unattended for no more than 5 minutes, never leave a bike anywhere unlocked, even your own home!

4) If your bike is stolen set up alerts on E-bay and Gumtree. I kept the search generic and simple as possible to get the best chance of a match, our region and the bike manufacturer.

5) if you buy an ‘obscure’ brand you’ll probably have a better chance of recovery. Far too many Trek, Giants and Speciliaized out there for the Police to go hunting after on eBay/Gumtree.

6) We were very tempted to meet without the police and ‘sort it out’ privately but that would have just made things worse. The police were great once I’d fully explained the Gumtree thing and why we thought it was our bike.

7) When making contact with the seller he did not know the frame size, simple questions like that brought a stutter from him. Any legitimate seller would not hesitate to answer. Ask where it was bought, frame size, maintenance, mileage, etc but try not to be too obvious. Tell then you live somewhere other than where the bike was stolen to avoid arising suspicion.

8) Watch for people watching you as you leave/arrive home with bike. Just because you’re paranoid does not mean they are not watching you!

9) Never ever leave your Garmin on your bike when you’re not there. Far to easy to walk off with. Leaving your Garmin on your bike outside a cafe is asking for trouble.

10) Consider using ‘secure’ skewers to protect wheels and seat posts. http://atomic22.com

11) Some thieves really are stupid. Don’t give up hope.

12) Whilst the Police were great we had to phone then up constantly to get action. Calls left weren’t returned, not having a go (they are busy people) but you have to help move the ‘process’ along. It took over 10 calls yesterday to make all the final arrangements with the undercover squad.

13) Check local ‘For Sale’ noticeboards often found in local supermarkets and community centres.

14) Consider placing a ‘Wanted’ add locally or on Gumtree to see if the thief contacts you. You never know you might get lucky. Again tell then you live somewhere other than where the bike was stolen to avoid arising suspicion.

15) Remember that most bike insurance policies (including home insurance policies) won’t pay up if the bike was away from the home and not locked up at the time of the theft!!!