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It's not really a case of being hard, you're simply being facetious / clever/ smart arsed or whatever STW attitude.
It's simply a case of people knowing the police can't or won't do anything about it so taking your 5k bike back from some thieving little **** is a better option.
Many who are insured will just let them keep the bike and get a new one, some can't afford to do that, so why should they ?
One guy I know was standing watching the thief riding his bike while he called the cops. They warned him if he took it back he could be charged with theft as they would need to prove the thief did't own the bike ! I mean, who would stand for that.?.
tabletop2
Free Member
So many hard men who knewPosted 12 minutes ago
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tomhoward
Full Member
Was just thinking that.Posted 9 minutes ago
it is not a question of being a 'hard man'. it is just being a stand up kind of bloke and not letting people take the piss.
thieves are not too bothered by the police as they know they will just get a warning.
if you face them up and let them know you are gonna cause them grief, that is a different thing for them. makes em worry and think a bit.
One guy I know was standing watching the thief riding his bike while he called the cops. They warned him if he took it back he could be charged with theft as they would need to prove the thief did’t own the bike ! I mean, who would stand for that.?.
A courier mate in London had his bike stolen - opportunistic "I'll just grab that while it's unlocked for 5 seconds". My mate had literally just leant it against a post to lock it up and was getting the lock out. He gave chase in his helmet, cycling shorts, courier bag etc and in a panic after a few seconds the thief dropped the bike and started legging it. Police got involved at this point (it was near a major station so there was a significant presence) and spent the next 10 minutes interrogating my mate as to if he could prove he owned the bike.
It was like - there's two people here. One wearing a helmet, cycling shoes and clothing and carrying a courier bag. One slightly overweight yoof in tracksuit bottoms. Who do you think owns the bike...?!
Lots don't trust the police full stop. A guy on a motorbike started shouting abuse at my grandson last night, (he adjusted his motorbike helmet when riding so older guy starts ranting about giving bikers a bad name etc !!! wtf)
Grandson stopped and asked said ranting old bloke why he was following / chasing him.
Cops drove up, told old guy to be "on your way sir" then went through every single detail of my grandsons (fully legal) 125 motorbike , plus questioning him about where he was going etc.
The guys threats didn't interest them.
Do you thing my grandson will be inclined to trust the police if his mountain bike gets stolen ?.
This thread should be as much about police failings as it should about getting yer bike back.
if you face them up and let them know you are gonna cause them grief, that is a different thing for them. makes em worry and think a bit.
Which is fine, until you meet someone who is less stable and/or more stabby than you.
Years ago a mate had his Kona nicked out of my garage (I'd been working on it), we found out who'd nicked it later that day by asking around & fortunately we knew where the thief lived. My pal, who wasn't a police officer back then & is probably the shortest sargeant the police have ever employed, went to his house & asked the dad where his son was (the dad was a previous thief cos he'd nicked stuff from an outbuilding of ours years before this), the son wasn't in but dad told him who he was with & in what car. Luckily for my mate he saw the car by the village green later on so he went up to the kid who'd nicked it & told him in no uncertain terms that he wanted his bike back pronto. The kid said he'd sold it so my pal told him to unsell it. (think of that scene in 'Lock Stock & Two Smoking Barrels' but on a much smaller scale), he got the bike back later that night.
Had anyone considered the possibility that the OP is a thief trying to work out whether someone is gonna pwn him with bombers?
The guys threats didn’t interest them.
I'm not here to defend the cops but: you're a cop in a car. You come upon some old dickhead in a car and a young dickhead on a bike yelling at each other in the street. The guy on the bike says the old guy was threatening him. There is no evidence of this. What do you expect them to do?
Did the motorcyclist kick off when the driver was sent on his way? Was it really necessary for him to stop and get into it with the driver in the first place...?
I’ve had bikes stolen on three separate occasions and had my property recovered once.
First time I was around 18 and almost a year after it had happened saw someone of a similar age to me riding it. He wasn’t riding particularly fast so I jogged after him and took it back off him, didn’t really have it out just said it was mine and I was taking it back. A few days later he came into the bike shop with his dad (not sure how he knew I worked there) ranting he wanted it back as his son had legitimately purchased it off a bloke in a pub for £50. I explained that I had legitimately purchased it trade from the shop he was stood in which weakened his argument somewhat and they left.
Second time I was having a pint with a mate outside a pub in Holborn and looking at my road bike locked to a railing across the road. A van pulled up to the junction momentarily blocking my view and as it pulled into the junction it took me a couple of seconds to register the bike had gone. Someone had stepped out of the van with a set of bolt croppers and taken the bike in seconds. A mate gave chase to the van as I phoned the police and gave them a partial number plate and description of the van that had pulled onto Holborn now. They weren’t the least bit interested, even though traffic at that time of day (and the usual police presence in that area) meant they could easily apprehend them. They just told me to go to a station and report it.
Third time we had our shed broken into and £8k worth of bikes stolen while we were away. The Police didn’t even want to come out. I got an anonymous email from a police officer suggesting I check out a certain bike shop so took a mate along, but there was nothing to suggest they were up to anything dodgy.
Unfortunately in most bike theft cases, the only thing the Police are useful for is supplying a crime number so you can claim on your insurance.
I’m not here to defend the cops but: you’re a cop in a car. You come upon some old dickhead in a car and a young dickhead on a bike yelling at each other in the street. The guy on the bike
The older guy was also on a bike and was standing shouting at my grandson when the cops rolled up.
He stopped because he was outside his girlfriends house. The guy followed him the whole way.
What would I expect? I’d expect home to be treated with respect instead of instantly being a potential collar.
There was no excuse for it.
He should have asked what had been done about the couple who drive into him and did a runner two months ago ,the ones the police told him they could find no problem ( He gave them their address ffs)
Nothing done.
No defence
Find your own bike is still my advice
So many hard men who knew
True - there's some hard IT workers out there. But in fairness we are talking about bike thieves here - absolute lowest tier possible, other criminals must laugh at them. It's not like going round for a straightner with a gangster's crew is it?
Wouldn't be my first port of call, admittedly - the small chance of something going catastrophically wrong (eg cricket bat story above) isn't worth it outside of huge emotional attachment to a bike. But it's not some ridiculous posturing to say you'd go and take it back - it's way more likely in the hands of a complete casualty than with some hardened crim.
My wife's nearly new early 90's £500 uninsured Marin Eldridge got pinched, so when I heard from an acquaintance where it might be I was happy enough to cough up £50 to the fence to get it back with no hassle - the parents of the kid who actually nicked it gave ended up giving me £60 as compensation 😀
imagine this scenario.....
you are at a bike park, sat having a coffee after a ace ride.
your bike is in a rack, and someone walks over to the rack, and removes your bike, and starts walking away with it.
what are you going to do ?
We aren’t talking about that though, this is if the bike has gone and how best to get it back, not stopping the theft in the first place.
In your situation though, what would you do if the thief pulled a knife? All whataboutery of course, but I’d say going after the thief later increases the chance of that, or similar, happening.
If he looks like you Ton, lend him an allen key to get the front wheel off so he can get it in the car 😉
what are you going to do ?
This isn’t hypothetical, this happened to me. Sat in pub. See bloke fiddling with my lock. Run out, he’s got it unlocked in his hands by this point. I didn’t approach immediately, I stopped about 2 metres short. “Oi that’s my bike”.
A woman, with him, pipes up, “no it’s his!”
“Is it farrr….” Replies I.
Fortunately at this point a couple more punters stream out the pub.
They drop the bike and leave.
imagine this scenario…..
you are at a bike park, sat having a coffee after a ace ride.
your bike is in a rack, and someone walks over to the rack, and removes your bike, and starts walking away with it.what are you going to do
I certainly wouldn't do what I didn't do to to the chap in my garden who didn't have his fingers broken when he didn't attempt to strike me.
Not an IT Worker
you are at a bike park, sat having a coffee after a ace ride.
your bike is in a rack, and someone walks over to the rack, and removes your bike, and starts walking away with it.
There was an interview with an ex London bike thief in The Albion magazine. Just dug it out.
[i]"If I've got a cordless angle grinder and I raise it to your face, you're not going to keep coming towards me".[/i]
Out of interest,
What do we think is the likelihood of someone following through with that threat?
It's easy to play the hard man and wave about an angle grinder like you've just fallen out of Gears of War in order to discourage / intimidate someone. It's a whole other proposition to actually take it to someone's face. There's quite the gulf between 20 hours of community service and life imprisonment over, what, 50 quid for a fenced bike?
Reckon I'd be more scared of someone armed with a Maglite than an angle grinder.
For me, I think the odds are not favourable enough to chance they'll suddenly start behaving like a responsible citizen. Dunno though.
When i was 16 i lived at home with my 18yr old brother. We let a room out to pay towards the costs. One of the tennants arranged to meet me one day and robbed the entire house, including my new racer.
He was well known locally so it was only a matter of time. My brother and a mate spotted him whilst driving along. They dragged him behind some garages, kicked the daylights out of him then threw him in the car and took him to the copshop. When they got there the police were more interested in my brothers car. Aparently a member of the public reported a disturbance involving his car and the police were looking for him.
After a bit of discussion my brother and his pal were sent on their way and the lad got prosecuted for it. I got £5 per month for a year or so if i remember rightly.
This would be about 1991
what would you do if the thief pulled a knife?
https://giphy.com/embed/RlrngobuyxuOH9u7Cb <p>via GIPHY</p>
Bugger, I might be hard but I don't know how to embed a gif! Any one know any IT experts?
what are you going to do ?
I'm 11.5 stone of pure wimp and never been in a fight in my life. What do you think I'd likely do? You are seeing it through different eyes to some of us.
There was an interview with an ex London bike thief in The Albion magazine. Just dug it out.
“If I’ve got a cordless angle grinder and I raise it to your face, you’re not going to keep coming towards me”.
That's going to work really well as a deterrent, isn't it?
Me : Go on then , take the bike (while taking phone out of my pocket.
Him : Hold up, I just need to put this angle grinder somewhere while I remove remove your bike.
Me : Hello, police, I've just been attacked with an angle grinder. I'm following the assailant who is slowly wandering down the street trying to hold a running angle grinder and my bike............. ah don't worry, he's put it in his rucksack now. (Muffled thuds and swearing.)
What do we think is the likelihood of someone following through with that threat?
It’s easy to play the hard man and wave about an angle grinder like you’ve just fallen out of Gears of War in order to discourage / intimidate someone. It’s a whole other proposition to actually take it to someone’s face. There’s quite the gulf between 20 hours of community service and life imprisonment over, what, 50 quid for a fenced bike?
Reckon I’d be more scared of someone armed with a Maglite than an angle grinder.
I don't think there'd be much chance of him trying to cut my face off (though worse things have happened, for less reason).
I do think he might take a swipe at me to chase me away, and end up inadvertently slicing through an artery or three.
I did once chase after someone after seeing him break a cheap lock on a bike, when he stopped and said "I've got a knife!" I backed off sharpish.
He was wearing a t-shirt and put his hand to his armpit to grab the 'knife' so I didn't really believe it at all... not taking chances though!
I'm ten stone something and not very good at fighting (probably, not really tried it since I left school)
Walking through my university campus many moons ago two blokes were hacksawing a bike lock, lots of people about, no-one doing anything.
I walked over and asked what they were up to (politely)
They showed me a broken kwy and said it was their bike and they were trying to get the lock off.
Fair enough, carry on.
.
Why was I the only person to challenge them?
And would I have done that to two blokes late at night in a dark alley rather than Broad daylight with a dozen witness? Maybe not.
That’s going to work really well as a deterrent, isn’t it?Me : Go on then , take the bike (while taking phone out of my pocket.
Him : Hold up, I just need to put this angle grinder somewhere while I remove remove your bike.
Me : Hello, police, I’ve just been attacked with an angle grinder. I’m following the assailant who is slowly wandering down the street trying to hold a running angle grinder and my bike…………. ah don’t worry, he’s put it in his rucksack now. (Muffled thuds and swearing.)
Haha, maybe. But said thief has more likely just used the angle grinder to remove the D-lock from your bike (so not a perfect parallel with Ton's scenario...). And they are quite quick to switch off.
If I knew where the bike was, first call to police, no action, then I'd get a few mates and go and get it. I'd let the police I was going.
If I'd seen it ridden, I'd chase them down, but just slow enough so they died of a heart attack trying to get away.
The odd breaker bar, a few mates and my own battery angry grinder.
“If I’ve got a cordless angle grinder and I raise it to your face, you’re not going to keep coming towards me”.
Id pull out my 9 inch cordless angle grinder and in my best Ozzie accent i'd say " call that an angle grinder?" Gnnarrrr
I’m ten stone something and not very good at fighting (probably, not really tried it since I left school)
It doesn't matter, Adrenalin takes over, and even a few whacks to the face you'll not really feel at the time. Just get in close and bite the bastards nose off 😆
I would say Police. But be prepared to pester them and help with their enquiries. Get an officers name who is responsible and make it a priority for them. They will need proof it's yours.
Also, this covers you legally if the guy decides to take you to court for assault etc.
And would I have done that to two blokes late at night in a dark alley
Depends whether you think or just react, my experience at uni when I was a 10.5 stone, er gym bunny actually. Two youth having a go at my lock, bike stashed I thought out of sight, middle of the night, unlit snicket. Shouted and ran at 'em, and they ran off. Luckily, given I'm Walter the softy basically.
My eldest's bike (Scott Scale 24) got nicked earlier this year. School holidays, he was in a holiday care programme based in his own school hall. I got a call mid-afternoon from one of the staff, he'd gone outside to ride his bike and it was gone. They'd done a lap of the grounds, couldn't see it. They said he'd used it less than an hour before, so the theft was quite recent.
I figured it's school holidays, must've been nicked by some bored scrotes loitering in the school grounds. There are two parks not too far from the school. I was working at home, also not far away, so jumped in the car and headed to the closest park where I spot four yoofs hanging around on a distant bench. They have some bikes. I started walking to wards them, was fairly sure one of the bikes on the ground was my son's. Also noted that the four lads were probably 16-18. One of me, four of them, didn't really fancy getting face to face with them.
Luckily I saw a mate doing a spot of rugby league training with his mates and their kids. He's a big lad, as are his mates, so I quickly asked him to keep an eye on me and come over if anything kicked off. The yoofs clocked me making a beeline towards them and started moving away. I confirmed it was my son's bike (not a common bike here, also way too small for the yoof), shouted "oi", the lad pushing it just put it on the floor and they walked quickly away. Result! Probably about an hour from theft to recovery.
Definitely try the police first OP. If that didn’t work I’d go round posing as a potential buyer and then just ride off. If unable to do that I’d consider nicking it back. Was it stolen from your house originally or somewhere else?
[quote=Ton]i would go to the house and ask for it back. if refused i would force my way into the property and remove my property.
Its a bit easier to do or say when you are a huge ex rugby forward 🙂 See us fancy boys in the backs? we got no chance
I have taken or attempted to take stolen motorbikes off scrotes. Once successfully and once I had to beat a "strategic retreat"
If you see the bike still around, go to a fence and offer to buy it back. Course, helps if you know your community.
If it's completely gone, report to police and claim on insurance (if covered)
I've known many deranged numpties who will do stupid stuff if you face them down, or call the police on them and you have to live in the community. Not even going to describe the crap I've seen.
Not even going to describe the crap I’ve seen.
Gowan GowAaN GOWAAN
You did read his forum name?
Of course if someone pulls a knife/taser/gun you'd have to run and see if the police will get it back. But I'm 15 stone, boxed and played rugby for my university, so used to a bit of combat. And carried the hod for my cousins in the holidays to keep fit.
I'm sure most bike thieves lead more desperate lives.
Ok everyone calm down, espressoal is here.
It's not about going in all guns blazing and there seems to be a strange expectation that they will immediately stab you, it's just a matter of going to the door and giving the options, give them time to think about it, be diplomatic and not threatening but do express that you are serious, you can walk away anytime, they can't, they are more likely to feel threatened, you know where they live and don't know what comes next.
If no satisfaction with that then you can do all the hard stuff, but personally I don't think that ever achieves much.
Ring the police and tell them it's Tom Cruise's bike that has been stolen:
Instant response
CCTV trawls
Full investigation
👍
Nothing like brown nosing a 'star' who doesn't even pay UK tax!
The police probably recovered it quickly to avoid Tom going full into full on Mission Impossible mode - who knows how much trouble that might have caused?