The bike is sitting in front of me right now, I smell a rat.
I’ve called the supplying shop (R.M. Cycles) and they smell a rat too, but thy can’t get hold of the chap they think it belongs to, so I’m running out of options. All I know is that this chap has something to do with helicopters. For obvious reasons I’ve not even asked for any of his details.

It’s a Bianchi Superleggera, 57cm, in classic Bianchi colours.
FULL Campag Super Record
Mavic Ksyrium SLR wheels, Conti GP4000 25mm tyres.
FSA SLK carbon bars.
I reckon 2-3 years old

If you can’t get his, then see if you can get the address of the person who bought it in, some sort of free competition to win stuff should do it…

Sorted.
I’ve just had a call describing the bike exatcly. Police already involved.
I feel good right now, i’m not gonna lie.

Good work PP 🙂

Not all superheroes wear capes…..!

🙂

We already have the details of the person that brought it in. I doesn’t look like they stole it but I recon they knows it’s nicked.

Well done PP 🙂

Huzzah 🙂

Happy ending?

Happy ending?

As a reward? Bit excessive…

Of course now we have to tell a ‘customer’ he can’t have ‘his’ bike back.
Not looking foreward to that.

Let (Peter)Plod(y) do that?

Not all superheroes wear capes…..!

No Capes !

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M68ndaZSKa8[/video]

well done. I stopped at RM Cycles on my way to Brugge last year. Really nice place and very helpful.

My mate had two spokes break on his rear wheel and cos it’ only had about 12 spokes it was like a pringle.

RM agreed to get it straight into the workshop, replaced the spokes, straightened the wheel, tweaked his gears which had caused the loss of spokes in the first place, filled up our waterbottles and got us back on the road within 45 minutes.

A tenner was all it cost us too!

Let (Peter)Plod(y) do that?

Impractical. They’d have to sit waiting in the shop.

Good work Sir. Bloody good job.

My friend was a bike mechanic in a shop when a bloke came in with a bike for repairs. He stripped the wheel down and somewhere along the line though to himself, “I built this wheel”. He then used his mental filofax to recall who he built it for and asked them if they’d sold their bike, the wheel and forks had been nicked off the owners bike that week.

All hail the geeky bike mechanic and their spidey senses.

Indeed. It’s not hard to spot when you see it though.

He just called up. I took the call. That was AWKWARD.

Nice work, good for you.

(is it too late to offer £75 for it if I get round there pronto?)

Excellent work Mr Poddy

Managed to do this a few times in my bike shop days, nerve wracking at the time but a bloody brilliant feeling reuniting people with stolen bikes. We generally asked the felon to come into the shop to collect his bike and when he arrived there’d be a nice Policeman waiting in the workshop for him.

Of course this only works when the bikes are stolen by daft local scrotes, most high end stolen bikes are whisked out of the country by the organized gangs so there’s never a chance of this happening.

‘angin’s too good for ’em etc etc.

most high end stolen bikes are whisked out of the country by the organized gangs

Really?

That’ll be why in December, when I lost four bikes from my back garden, the police recovered three of them, but the fourth was long gone.

I had no idea they ran bike rings similar to car theft rings.

So then he came in 10 mins before closing and kicked off. I prudently turned my GoPro on (No you’re not seeing the video) and refused to give him any info. That wasn’t a nice way to end the day but that’s the way it goes. I’ve had worse in my former life….

Well done PP.
Now, where is the ‘like’ button????

Managed to do this a few times in my bike shop days, nerve wracking at the time but a bloody brilliant feeling reuniting people with stolen bikes. We generally asked the felon to come into the shop to collect his bike and when he arrived there’d be a nice Policeman waiting in the workshop for him.

Likewise. Always paid to keep the local police on side. We made sure they were looked after as customers, they made sure we, and our customers, got the service we needed!

Really?

That’ll be why in December, when I lost four bikes from my back garden, the police recovered three of them, but the fourth was long gone.

I had no idea they ran bike rings similar to car theft rings.yeah. They do. Not most, but many. We used to get a guy/gang from eastern Europe somewhere popping up on almost all the buy and sell groups in Scandinavia and Germany too. Selling loads of nearly new frames, wheels and parts at ~30% of new prices. Frames with no serial numbers, no receipts, no history. They were pretty clued up on what they were selling as well. A lot of people actually got what they bought too. IIRC they eventually identified one of the guys, who became extremely unpopular as he was fairly well known within the local scene supplementing his meagre income………

And FWIW they were shifting proper high end stuff. Under 2 years old, €1500-2000 or up for frame only, ultegra/chorus/xt and up sort of stuff.

Not older mid range stuff. Not worth the effort of stealing, shipping, stripping and selling for a frame you can only get €100 for. I would guess they sent a lot of cheaper bits to landfill as well.