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The stupidity of bike thieves

12 posts & 9 voices | Started 1 year ago by Mr Agreeable | Latest reply from Pawsy_Bear

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Mr Agreeable - Member

We emerged from a restaurant in central Bristol last night to find that my mate's Specialized Tricross had been relieved of both its wheels. No doubt the scrote(s) responsible were thinking along the lines of "aha, Specialized stuff always sells for a few bob".

Thing is:

The wheels weren't branded Specialized.
Unless the thief gets hold of some thinner tyres, they will only fit a cyclocross bike.
Thanks to the Tricross's odd frame design, they will only fit a 120mm spaced cyclocross bike.
The rims are about to go pop.
They completely ignored my GF's QR Schmidt dynamo hub.

Sometimes you almost have to feel sorry for these people. Almost.

If anyone's local and wants to keep an eye out for the awkward wheels, there's a full description here:

http://www.stolenbristolbikes.com/2011/04/nouveaus-hopedt-swiss-wheels.html

Posted 1 year ago #
Margin Walker - Member

How did they get both wheels out of the D Lock yet leave the frame.....mmmmm

Posted 1 year ago #
Mr Agreeable - Member

In this case unfortunately neither of the wheels were locked, although they were both bolt-up ones.

Unless you've got one heck of a long D-lock, think nothing of removing your front wheel every time you stop, or want to ride around with a bag full of locks like some travelling bike security salesman, you usually have to leave at least one wheel unlocked. There's always a trade-off between thwarting the attentions of the scumbags and putting up with the inconvenience that extra security entails.

Posted 1 year ago #
martymac - Member

it is amazing, they will shift 3-4k road bikes to nick a 200quid mtb parked at the back of a pile.
the problem is its virtually impossible for the police to do anything about it.
i had a bike stolen from outside a shop about 10 years ago, i got it back after about 6 months, but the scrote who had it didnt get done with anything, and he didnt have to say who he'd bought it off coz he was scared of getting a kicking off the guy, so the actual thief didnt get done either.
at least i got it back, even if they had ruined the paint and removed any parts of value.

Posted 1 year ago #
Margin Walker - Member

Mr Agreeable - Member
In this case unfortunately neither of the wheels were locked, although they were both bolt-up ones.

Unless you've got one heck of a long D-lock, think nothing of removing your front wheel every time you stop, or want to ride around with a bag full of locks like some travelling bike security salesman, you usually have to leave at least one wheel unlocked. There's always a trade-off between thwarting the attentions of the scumbags and putting up with the inconvenience that extra security entails.

...and therin lies the problem.

I can sympathise but having had a Marin , Pace , Orange all robbed in big cities then there is no trade-off. Lock it properly or lose it.

Posted 1 year ago #
Mr Agreeable - Member

Not after sympathy here, just pointing out that thieves don't always follow the logic that you might expect.

That particular bike was actually locked up regularly in the same place for over a year before someone decided that some odd, distinctive wheels which fit about 1% of the bikes in the UK were just what he needed to fund his crack habit.

In terms of what people "should" be doing to secure their bikes, the answer, in an ideal world, is "nothing" - people shouldn't take stuff that doesn't belong to them.

It's a sad state of affairs if people take much better precautions than the average punter (how many bikes do you see secured by nothing more than a crappy cable lock?) and yet are somehow still "responsible" for their bike getting nicked or stripped.

Posted 1 year ago #
cyclebiker - Member

Bristol is a pain in the arse for stupid thieves,

Around 8 months ago I had my rock lobster nicked from outside the Cinema at the bottom of Union Street, I would consider this to not really be a well know bike to a thief, they cut trough my 1/2 inch rope lock (now changed for a D-Lock, lesson learnt) discarded my mrs 12 year old Orange and nicked mine?

Will keep an eye out for the wheels.

Posted 1 year ago #
davidr - Member

It's infuriating but not exactly stupid is it? The thief stole something that would sell to someone who doesn't know much about bikes. He doesn't care about the buyer.

Plus he was probably off his head on smack and stole what was easy.

Posted 1 year ago #
trail_rat - Member

i had my gary fisher rig nicked in aberdeen ......

thief was riding round a dodgy area on a bike 16 sizes too big for him (im tall)

spotted collared and bike returned - got a letter back from the childrens panel "we are doing nothing as we feel it detrimental to the childs future" - yep about as detrimental as my size 10 to the face next time !

Posted 1 year ago #
BadlyWiredDog - Member

Yeah, bring back really knowledgable niche bike thieves, the sort of criminals who make a real point of reading up on the vagaries of special sub-species of bike and steal discerningly, preferably leaving behind anything they don't need.

Thieves who know which shifters are compatible with which mechs and can select components to steal accordingly. Thieves who will only get out of bed to steal stuff hand-made from ti or steel, who wait months just in case an unattended fatbike turns up on their patch, proper, traditional bicycle thieves, steeped in years of cycling history. Because that would make it so much better?

Posted 1 year ago #
Kato - Member

I had someone steal the lever blade off one of my old Hope Mini's years ago

I did think was pretty discerning, shortly before effing and jeffing

Posted 1 year ago #
Pawsy_Bear - Member

There are no circumstance where I would leave my bike locked or otherwise onn the street. Stays in the car boot, garage or under my butt I live in Bristol

Posted 1 year ago #

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