Just had a thought that came from reading posts about bikes being nicked, bike thieves being organised by looking up who has what bike on which forums, where they ride, etc. And then there's these posts with people's commutes and posting links to a GPS-made route of their ride (sportstracker, for example). All this information could very easily be put together to work out where someone lives and find out what they ride and if it's worth nicking, and when they leave for work. I realise I may just have posted the info the thieving scrotes need but maybe it's something to consider when posting a "Look at my commute…", "Here's my new build…", "How lovely is my bike…".

I'm going to play with this nokia sportstracker thing but will be starting the tracking a road or 2 away from my house.

Just a thought…

That's why I never post my gps routes if they start/stop from home. All my sportstracker routes are visibile only to friends who know where I live anyway…

Its possible I guess, but I doubt if they would go to so much trouble for a single bike.

You have more chance being spotted out on your bike and followed by local chancer/scroat.

Well, if the crims hadn't worked this out before, they cerainly have now.
Thanks for telling them. Not.

it did cross my mind, but the tracker on those routes doesn't pick up immediately, and they don't start very near where i actually live, compared to the thousands of households in that area… (i hope!)

I wouldn't even post a picture on here of any of my bikes in my garden or vicinity of my house nowadays.

A bit extreme I know.

Its a risk, but unless you had something really bling, that organised crims may be interested in, then surely the bigger risk comes from folk local to you seeing you on your bike, or the bike on your car and following you home?

You only usually hear of the good bikes going missing on sites like this so it can skew the perception a bit
My Carrera pub/hack bike got nicked a couple of weeks ago along with another 2 – purely because it was there
I don't think there's anything in the GPS theory – my feeling is they generally raid sheds/bike racks & see what turns up

I'm sure that most bikes do get nicked just by being seen and followed back to where they reside. But having just looked at a couple of posts on commuting I've got a good idea of where some folk live and by searching for previous posts I could easily find out what else might be at their house. Then it's just a question of looking out for them on that road.

Starting to worry myself now. I'll shut up.

It's possible. But at the end of the day, the people who worry about these sort of things will worry, and the people who don't won't.

IMO it's far more likely that a thief is going to see you coming and going from your house, or washing your bike outside it, than trawling through all the dross on here about Kylie and baby robins for salient info about where people live.

I think there is a balance to be struck between not doing things that expose you to the risk of theft (such as leaving your bike outside the newsagents while you pop in for a paper) and doing things that can make your life more enjoyable (such as finding new routes online).

One of the easiest clues for any thieves is cycle carriers left on cars on the driveway.
I used to be lazy & leave my roof mounted carriers on my old car all the time, but now my new car has roof rails its much quicker (2 minutes) to take the whole lot off and stash it in the garage. I also keep an eye out for people following me in the last couple of miles driving back if I'm using the car.

I also keep an eye out for people following me in the last couple of miles driving back if I'm using the car.

Just because you're not paranoid, doesn't mean they're not after you 😀

Possible I guess, though unlikely.

Another interesting development is GPS in cameras, which tags your photos with location.
Very nice when you're remembering where you were on holiday – not so great when you post images of your kids, car and house, etc online. 😯

i dont have to worry about this problem of people following me or even nicking my bike as i have armed guards 😀 (at my baracks)

when i used to live with my dad in the london suberbs the only bike i had nicked from my hous was my drm rythm but it was my own fault for leaving it out side unlocked!!

i have heard of people being followed home from a ride and once the thiefs hear the boiler kick in (hot water for a shower/bath after a ride) they hoof in your door and nick you bike!!

i have heard of people being followed home from a ride and once the thiefs hear the boiler kick in (hot water for a shower/bath after a ride) they hoof in your door and nick you bike!!

phew! I knew there had to be a good reason for not bothering to wash after a ride :o) Actually, my bike is always in plain view from the pavement (terrace with no front garden), my STW Photographer of the year award is in the window and I often forget to lock the door, but no one has tried yet…

It is very rare that these expensive bikes get nicked from organised gangs looking for them on the internet. Most of the people we deal with are the usual drug riddled theives looking to get their next hit and they learn to have a clue about bikes as they get more money from their "handler". Or the other one is young kids who are so good at stripping bikes down and back together they nick a selection and then create a new bike with all the parts. You just do not (Very very rare) get gangs stealing bikes.

It's pretty easy to find out my full name and I'm in the phone book… Uplink could easily come and nick my bikes, I'm sure 😉

not so great when you post images of your kids, car and house, etc online

Burglars will come and steal your kids? 😯

I need a new one 😉

I need a new one

I'll narrow it down then: there are two in the phone book – I live in a Close, not a Place 😉

Nah – I bet all you've got is that big thing & a SS 😀

Bloody hell there area some paranoid people out there.

That sounds both plausible and reassuring munqe-chick. I often wonder how much better we would all feel if the police force devoted more time to telling us that criminals were basically rubbish. 🙂

Our local neighbourhood team recently put a flyer through my door congratulating themselves on busting a nest of Chinese dope-farmers a few streets away. It had not occurred to me for a second that there were any such persons nearby, but I immediately suspected that there were dozens more that had not been caught.

A crook clever enough to do that research would be stealing something more valuable than bikes.

What could possibly be more valuable than a bike…? 😉

grumm – Member

Bloody hell there area some paranoid people out there.

After several mates had multiple bikes stolen within hours of getting home, I prefer to be slightly more suspicious of anyone following me on the last bit before I get home.