That’s terrible. Really hope you get the bike back, and most importantly are ok.

Hope the police catch the lowlifes.

I also thought pepper spray, what are the legalities of it? :/ the TPT goes past the back of my estate and there always seems to be groups of rough looking lads hanging about with crossers. Unfortunately it’s my main route it to the trails.

“Hay mate, ‘ow much is yer bike werf?!”

I also thought pepper spray, what are the legalities of it?

Dont bother.. you may as well be carrying a loaded gun in a judges eyes.

To be honest, I’m amazed this doesn’t happen more often and it was my main concern before buying an expensive bike, seems like an “easy” way of getting your hands on a few £Ks worth of gear.

I asked my copper mate about it and he’d never heard of it happening with bikes in our area. According to him, robbery is a very serious offence and in general is quite rare.

I have my bikes covered through my halifax home insurance and supposedly I’m covered for this eventuality – they dont expect you to put yourself at risk in order to protect your goods.

Sympathies with the OP, hope you get your bike back and some justice.

I remember a similar thing happening at steetley quarry at conisbrough a couple of years ago to some youngster.

Police helicopter followed us around there for ages then some police on foot turned up.. We didnt know why so ignored them and kept riding. Took them about an hour to finally catch up with us before realising they were chasing the wrong people.

We have a couple of police on crossers round here. No idea how much of a deterent they are though.

OP… A description of the perps would help pls…

If pepper spray isn’t an option maybe it’s time the moanin ninnies woke up to the idea of CCTV instead of complaining that it invades privacy. If you’re not doing anything wrong you have nothing to hide and if the council / government want to be seen to be doing its bit for ‘broken Britain’ then I think cycle ‘highways’ like the TPT should be pretty high on the list for a bit of protection from the all-seeing-eye

Pepper spray, as with CS spray, is illegal. No matter how tempting, don’t do it kids – you would face charges for carrying an offensive weapon at the least and possibly firearms charges – Section 5(1)(b) of the Firearms Act 1968 “prohibits any weapon of whatever description designed or adapted for the discharge of any noxious liquid or gas”. … There are similar, legal, alternatives though such as this which get around the FA 68 by the fact that the substance it dispenses is not noxious and therefore the container has not been “designed or adapted” to fire “noxious liquid or gas”.

CCTV costs too much and is often of such a poor quality that it’s useless or they could just wear a hat.

tiny little helmet cameras are often quite effective.

We had an issue while playing bike polo in inner city playgrounds with people being abusive and threatening, couple of us turned up with cameras and we never saw them after that. As long as you don’t advertise it at the time they’ll probably not notice it and you can pass it to the police

@davetrave: do you know anyone who has used that spray, are you generally aware of it or did you just Google it? Just wondering because I can honestly see a fair few riders getting a can so long as 1) it works and 2) it’s totally legal.

Not only that but they will be covered in a bright red foaming dye that will get into their eyes and nose and mouth and is quite difficult to wash off. Making their way home from any such incident leaves them looking like they are covered in blood and that will attract attention to themselves, something they really do not want!
This acts as a brilliant Criminal Identifier as well because the red dye also contains an invisible Ultra Violet Tracer which only shows up under UV Light (which of course, the police have!)

Nice.

Did a quick google search for something like “self defence spray uk legal” or words to that effect. The company at that link is UK based, there were also a few others that came up as well, so I would have thought that if they’re UK based and importing the stuff in to the UK then it’s been cleared by the powers-that-be.

PS My sympathies to the OP – glad you made the right decision and came away unscathed. This is one of my fears when riding my (v expensive) custom FS and why I don’t ride it anywhere other than up in the hills where these kinds of scrotes are unlikely to make the effort to get to.

OP – that’s horrific! at least you’re alright.

you hear of incidents like this in the back of beyond in the USA, but not here in the UK…

i like the sound of the dye spray though.

You want to put CCTV in is what is effectively the countryside, on the strength of one person having their bike nicked? I’m amazed Dave didn’t appoint you Home Secretary in yesterdays reshuffle. He missed a trick there 😆

Its a bloody awful story. You must have been terrified! I hope you get a result. I’m sure the police are taking this very seriously though. There’s a bit more to it than a missing bike. If they get away with it, I doubt they’d have any reservations about doing it again. And its bound to end in something genuinely nasty at some point

Actually this does make you wonder about the tactics these scrotes could adopt on certain trails in certain well know areas. I’m not going to publish anything here but I reckon we can all think of a few sections where sadly their chances of “success” could well be higher.

They must be desperate people to risk life imprisonment for a bike

Are you for real? It’s not a “bike”. It’s a few hundred quid to spunk away on their recreation of choice.

OP, hope you are OK dude. Good luck with getting the result you want.

PS OP would it be worth contacting your local paper to tell them the story – might aid in a. warning others of the risk in that area, b. helping track down the scrotes concerned.

Very sorry to hear about this, and I hope you are ok. There have been several similar incidents here in London, and i find it depressing that people will risk long terms of imprisonment for what will ultimately be just a few hundred quid at best.

As for fighting back; it’s all very well to talk of fighting fire with fire using pepper spray etc (which is totally illegal, as is going equipped for any sort of violent confrontation; anything that can be used as a weapon will land you in a lot of trouble), but unless you are trained/expereinced in dealing with sirtuations where you are under threat of attack from persons with weapons, the best thing to do is simply give them what they want. They will be anxious to leave the scene as soon as possible, and any delay witll make them more agitated, which could lead to them carrying out a violent act, in panic.

Be mindful that you are not permitted by law to carry anything which could be used as a weapon, even if it is purely for self defence. A ‘weapon of opportunity’ may be used to defend yourself, but we’re talking about a stick you find lying in the road/trail, not something you’ve brought along in your pack ‘justin case’. Even here, you could end up in serious trouble if your attacker is injured, as there’s then the issue of ‘reasonable force’ which is a legal mindfield. So it’s better off just letting the bike etc go. As a bike can ultimately be replaced.

Could you use your multitool to slash your own tires? The scumbags won’t be able to make a quick getaway at least, giving you time to run away and call law enforcement. If they leave the bike, great.

I was going to suggest carrying a can of mace (this is what I used to do when I lived in NYC), but it’s classed as a firearm in the UK. Although, if you maced someone “tooled up” trying to steal your bike, would they really contact the police?

Dreadful. You did exactly the right thing. Robbery with violence is very serious indeed. The starting point is a four year custodial sentence.

I think with such a valuable bike, I’d now consider a tracking device. The TopCap looks very interesting.

Sucks :s

Had close calls a couple of times on the canal up to Tottenham, couple of rudes jumping out of a side alley and shouting “Get of yer bike!” Needless to say i didnt 😛

Hope the police get you some closure…

Sorry to read this buddy it must have been terrifying, unlike all these armchair Steven Segals i’m not to proud to say I would have done exactly the same.

I love my bike as much as the next person but point a knife at me and it’s yours. You did the right thing.

Edit:

djaustin – Member
Dreadful. You did exactly the right thing. Robbery with violence is very serious indeed. The starting point is a four year custodial sentence.

I think with such a valuable bike, I’d now consider a tracking device. The TopCap looks very interesting.

It’s a good idea that, if it works, and at 10% of the price of a good bike seems to me like a worthwhile investment.

the instructions for that tracker are pretty involved!

(and my sympathies to the OP!)

I was going to suggest carrying a can of mace (this is what I used to do when I lived in NYC), but it’s classed as a firearm in the UK. Although, if you maced someone “tooled up” trying to steal your bike, would they really contact the police?

Really bad advice. Did you ever have to use the mace? It’s very easy to sit behind a keyboard and feel brave, but in the actual reality of a situation, unless you are trained/experienced in dealing with sudden violent confrontations, you will more than likely not be able to function in a calm, rational contrleed manner at all. attempting to inflict injury on an attacker could backfire with disastrous consequences, especially if there’s more than one. No sense in being a hero; just give them what they want, and let them go. The sooner thay are away from you, the better.

I’ve often wondered if this ever happens, when I’ve ridden past a group of scrotes, what are you going to do if they decide to take bike and bag?

First time i’ve heard it happen probably wont be the last either…….

Really bad advice. Did you ever have to use the mace? It’s very easy to sit behind a keyboard and feel brave, but in the actual reality of a situation, unless you are trained/experienced in dealing with sudden violent confrontations, you will more than likely not be able to function in a calm, rational contrleed manner at all.

I’ve done the NYPD firearms and tactics training (pepper spray is a module within this training) but never had to use it in earnest thankfully.

Endura GTX Rambo Stabproof/Windproof Jersey is already on the drawing board.

Probably…

So it has come to this.

Really sorry to hear this. I will keep an eye out for your bike.

Loving the Top Cap tracker – well worth £120

Haha, nice one teasel!…we might all need one soon!….my sympathies with the OP, that’s a shit story, I hope it has a happy ending

Top cap tracker looks like a good idea but surely if they get too common then it’ll be the first place a thief will check once they have your bike.

That topcap tracker looks good, I got my ghost 5900 nicked from outside the gym last year, they had a 10min window to get it, I could’ve been outside as soon as I got the txt to say the bike was moving if I had that….*drifts off into voilent fantasy involving killing bike thiefs with bare hands outside gym*…..

Sold!!

I wonder if enough folks on here decide that topcap tracker is the way to go we could negoiate a discount?.I realise a group buy would be complicated to sort ( I’ve been involved in a couple on a audi quattro forum which worked well) but maybe mods could look at it cos this has shocked alot of people on here…

Well handled, fella!

I’m glad I’m reading your posting as opposed to a news story about a cyclist getting stabbed to death.

It’s only a bike and can be easily replaced. It must have been particularly scary when it happened but it sounds like you coped admirably.

As for the incident, I’d keep on at the police to try and collar the perps. I’d suggest writing down everything about the incident that you can remember – date, time, location, weather conditions, what was said, by whom, a detailed description of each of the people involved, distinguishing features, accent, hair style and colour etc. This could prove to be important when it comes to a possible court case. When I was hit by an idiot from behind in a car, I wrote down everything at the time in great detail and was able to use it to inform my evidence in court which ultimately led to a successful conviction.

Don’t expect the police officers who investigate to be as well prepared. The officer who took my statement and visited the perp couldn’t remember the colour of car despite it being in the crime report she took from me and having seen the bloody thing! Clearly, she had failed to refer to the statement before going into court to give evidence.

Anyhoo’s, glad you are in one piece.

On the bright side, hopefully you are insured so it’s new bike time!!!!!!!! 😀

Well handled, fella!

I’m glad I’m reading your posting as opposed to a news story about a cyclist getting stabbed to death.

It’s only a bike and can be easily replaced. It must have been particularly scary when it happened but it sounds like you coped admirably.

As for the incident, I’d keep on at the police to try and collar the perps. I’d suggest writing down everything about the incident that you can remember – date, time, location, weather conditions, what was said, by whom, a detailed description of each of the people involved, distinguishing features, accent, hair style and colour etc. This could prove to be important when it comes to a possible court case. When I was hit by an idiot from behind in a car, I wrote down everything at the time in great detail and was able to use it to inform my evidence in court which ultimately led to a successful conviction.

Don’t expect the police officers who investigate to be as well prepared. The officer who took my statement and visited the perp couldn’t remember the colour of car despite it being in the crime report she took from me and having seen the bloody thing! Clearly, she had failed to refer to the statement before going into court to give evidence.

Anyhoo’s, glad you are in one piece.

On the bright side, hopefully you are insured so it’s new bike time!!!!!!!! 😀

Hope you’re going ok 14gg, don’t let the bastards get you down.

OP…

So how about a description of the guys that did it????

Group buy on those top caps is a smart idea

Got the description…

Worksop Guardian

OP, as people have said, sounds like you did the right thing – possessions are just objects that can be replaced; people aren’t.

As for those TopCap Tracker devices, I thought of that too, but from what I can see they can only be armed with the little fob and hence would only be of use if the bike was being locked up and left somewhere – unless you could arm it remotely, say via the web or from a phone, then they wouldn’t really be of use if you got bike-jacked.

Hope you’re OK mate.
Was it really right by the side of the Lake ?

Re the top cap, you would just arm it before you set off then if you were mugged it’d just continue to record where it was