Hi

I really feel for the post a few minutes ago about the stolen Soda
But it got me thinking

I bough a second hand Soul frame last month

When I tried to make a note of its frame number I couldnt because its been painted over at the factory
I asked the guy I bought it off for help
He couldnt tell me so he phoned the shop on my behalf
They said they dont keep any record of Cotic frame numbers because they usually cant make them out!

Surely thats not good?

No, but Sodas aren’t painted.

My Soul has a lovely coat of custard slapped all over its frame number

Im guessing there are a lot more Souls than Sodas around

strange.
frame number on my soul is very very clear to read indeed. actually, no it’s even clearer than that.

unlike my well cheap droessiger frame, where I had to hold it in the right light to distinguish digits.

got photos of both secretly stored online “just in case”.

Paint that’s thicker than a lady-of-the-night’s make-up is not unusual over frame numbers. It’s part of my job to write down frame numbers and some of them can be a right bugger. As Andy said, the trick is to get the light right – shining a bright light from various angles helps. There’s always a way, even if the 3s, 8s, 6s and 0s all look the same 😉

Some kind companies mask the area after priming and before topcoating/lacquering so it’s very easy to read but don’t even get me started on the feckers that cover over the frame number with the BB cable guide…

I had my Soul stolen over a year ago. I had recorded the frame number but couldn’t find it at first. I had the receipt from Cotic and the reference number from that. When I contacted Cotic turns out that they don’t keep records of the frame numbers either.

Both of mine are easy to read

Be surprised if it’s just Cotic. In fact I’d guess that most stores/mfrs don’t record frame numbers. And if they did I doubt they’d hand them out later willy nilly.
I may be wrong.

I’ve had a bike where the frame number was stamped unevenly, the first half readable, the second half invisible. (Gary Fisher?)

We also had a bike that came with a sticker rather than stamped into the frame, apparently it doesn’t matter as they can grind a number off or just remove the sticker??!! At least grinding leaves them with a paintjob if they don’t want it to be obvious!

No idea whether this happens as a norm in bike industry but would have thought it should/would to monitor warranty times? Easy to record and in most industries product traceability is high up the agenda.

No idea whether this happens as a norm in bike industry but would have thought it should/would to monitor warranty times? Easy to record and in most industries product traceability is high up the agenda.

The frame factory record frame numbers. As an importer I would never do it normally.
I was once told I had to (by HMRC) on chinese imported carbon frames. Which we did, dilgently for a year. Then transpired we didn’t need to do it at all. My, that was a very fun time.

When I tried to make a note of its frame number I couldnt because its been painted over at the factory
I asked the guy I bought it off for help
He couldnt tell me so he phoned the shop on my behalf
They said they dont keep any record of Cotic frame numbers because they usually cant make them out!

Surely thats not good?

Can you not go down the police station and get them to stamp it on for you? I remember you used to be able to do that ages ago. I also remember hearing about policemen knackering nice road frames by hammering the BB and buckling the seat tube.

Wouldn’t it be better if the frame number was in a couple of places on each frame and was somewhere more easily visible i.e. anywhere other than the of the BB?

Wouldn’t it be better if the frame number was in a couple of places on each frame and was somewhere more easily visible i.e. anywhere other than the of the BB?
POSTED 59 SECONDS AGO # REPORT-POST

Huge potential for factory getting number wrong in each place. They could do it, of course, but I would imagine it could easily add £20 to retail price.
I must admit I have never considered anti theft measures when designing a mountainbike frame. Perhaps I live in cloud cuckoo land though?

Surely if you are that worried, one of them tracker chip things down the seat tube is the best bet?

My stolen orange 5 had a datatag fitted but when I told the copper he said he’s never heard of it and they didnt have any kit to check for them!

The frame number on my specialized is virtually invisible. Not unusual I was told, especially with black paint which tends to be put on thicker. Two bike shops failed to find the serial number when I asked if they knew where they were normally stamped on this model.

not just cotic. my blue pig is nigh on impossible to read aswell

Sheesh, on the one hand you have folks complaining of paint being so thin it wears off on the first ride and now this 🙄 . Surely a thick coat of paint is a good thing – took a torch and a few different angles to log the frame number of my BFe but surely that’s better than a shoddy paint job. Kona used to mask the serial number before painting (not sure if they still do).

Huge potential for factory getting number wrong in each place. They could do it, of course, but I would imagine it could easily add £20 to retail price.
I must admit I have never considered anti theft measures when designing a mountainbike frame. Perhaps I live in cloud cuckoo land though?

Surely if you are that worried, one of them tracker chip things down the seat tube is the best bet?

Surprised there’s such a big potential as I thought it was a bloke with a “stamp”. Bash it into the frame twice (or more) rather than once. I’m also surprised you think such extra work would cost c.£10 or £15 at the manufacturers. However, I don’t design / get bikes made so I’m suggesting without thought for or knowledge of the implications 🙂

Imagine bikes with the number in a couple of places and legible. Any time someone flogs a frame they either put it on the ad or get asked. If number is recorded during original sale it starts to become a good and reliable way of tracing / demonstrating ownership.

Frame numbers are good because they don’t demand separate kit. Chips are only as effective as the number of scanners and the number of coppers using them. I suspect that’s very few.

It’s almost like a registration but as it’s the factory mark that’s already applied there’s little of the hassle of a proper registration system. Sure it’s got to be recorded at point of sale but that isn’t such a big thing. Alternatively the owner just keeps a record / photo.

I had 3 bikes nicked last year. Lots of bikes look the same, expecially once they’re stripped down. Plus, a dent or scratch might be unique and well know to the owner but I bet they’ve not got much proof apart from memory. Plus, if / when something similar is recovered X months later can it be remembered? Plus, what do coppers put through a database or whatever? My 2006, TNT, metallic blue and silver Turner 5 Spot with specifically upgraded RP23 (PUSH tune) was unique to me. I imagine to the average copper it’s just a blue and silver bike with bounce both ends, if that. If there’s a reliable number on it then plod can just bang it into whatever database they use, just like serial numbers on laptops etc. Sure, you can grind and disfigure one number with the reasonable excuse that it’s wear and tear, especially under the BB. But to do the same in two locations is a clear sign it’s probably dodgy.

Maybe as well, if it becomes easier to identify a bike by the number and harder to make such numbers unrecognisable, therefore, harder and less profitable to flog, maybe scrotes wouldn’t see them as such a lucrative thing to nick.

I’d never worried about locks, chains and alarms before but once someone has it away with a few grands worth of your stuff you start to wonder how to make it harder for the ***** and how it’d be easier to catch them.

😎

It’s a CEN requirement to have every frame stamped with a serial number. The standard doesn’t say anything about who should keep a record of them or how long they should keep them though…

As a manufacturer we’re planning on keeping them to track warrantee issues, essential to track batches if there is a manufacturing problem.

Can you not go down the police station and get them to stamp it on for you? I remember you used to be able to do that ages ago. I also remember hearing about policemen knackering nice road frames by hammering the BB and buckling the seat tube.

Our local PF used to, but now they direct you here:

http://www.immobilise.com/