My Lapierre Zesty 514 and Cotic Soul were taken from my garage last night. Gutted doesnt begin to describe the feeling……Some people have advised that I should check Gumtree/Ebay etc over the next few days.

What do I do if I see them on there? I’m sure my inclination would be to go round with a few large mates with cricket bats but seriously, has anyone been in this position and what works best? I’ve heard of the police being informed and doing nothing and the thief successfully selling the bikes etc….

I believe if you have the address there are people on here who for a price will go all ‘Iranian Embassy’ on them for you 😉

😆

Sorry OP but that did make me laugh.

As for the bikes, if you do spot one arrange a viewing and call the police when you’re there?

So you haven’t actually spotted them yet then, post a topic when you have.
💡

Hope your house insurance sorts it out.

I’m sure my inclination would be to go round with a few large mates with cricket bats but seriously, has anyone been in this position and what works best?

A cricket bat is all wrong. First the scum bag would think you middle class due to the “cricket” in cricket bat. Second its a little more difficult to swing than a baseball bat.

Personally aluminium baseball bat, approach the event with the intention of returning with a)your bike and b) a nice knik in the bat so it may be framed and retired as a good bat that has served its want in life.

Seriously going round with the boys is a pretty safe bet. If the scum bag gets arsy he isn’t going to call the police. I would however urge caution in that they may know where you are aswell. Advise said scum bag its not in his best interest to bother you again.

go have a look check thier yours… then nick em…

I’d take 1 stw hard man along – pingu fits the bill!

Found one on Gumtree this weekend that is clearly not legit… at first I was dull and rung the number to see if the guy knew his onions and to see if it was just a bargain. He didnt know what mud was..so i left that one.

Best thing is if its yours or a mates, do something. If its somebody off here you know has lost a bike. Tell them and the police. Otherwise dont get involved.

Found one on Gumtree this weekend that is clearly not legit… at first I was dull and rung the number to see if the guy knew his onions and to see if it was just a bargain. He didnt know what mud was..so i left that one.

Best thing is if its yours or a mates, do something. If its somebody off here you know has lost a bike. Tell them and the police. Otherwise dont get involved.

Hmm, i must have short term memory loss.

‘So you haven’t actually spotted them yet then, post a topic when you have’.

Oh sorry did I get you here on false pretences? Sort’ve workin on the basis that by the time either of them appears on Gumtree for a shift-it-quick £200 it might be sensible to already have some kind of plan rather than start asking for advice at that point.. 🙄

Maybe time for an stw vigilante group. Every time one turns up on gumtree/ebay 20+ people tip up with appropriate ‘bike liberation’ equipment…? Would work well for all the stuff disappearing in airedale at the moment.

Just a thought, seeing as the police don’t seem too fussed.

On a more serious note, I hope you do track your kit down and have some success in retrieving it.

When considering vigilante action remember he/they do know where you live as well.

@lifer, I wasn’t being entirely serious, but it is a very good point. I’d imagine your typical bike thief will find it easier to round up a few thuggish mates with less to lose than your typical middle class mountain biker.

Frustrating though, isn’t it?

Frustrating though, isn’t it?

To the victim, for sure, how many posting are actually victims, rather than the vicarious frustrated?

I don’t think it does just affect victims. It affects everyone who wants to leave their bike locked up somewhere, or who is making choices about how to transport kit especially when living in an area where the following home thing is known to take place. It costs money to insure against and more money to buy extra security measures.

For the record I’ve had two bikes stolen, one when I was really reliant upon it and couldn’t afford to replace it.

gingerss – Member

@lifer, I wasn’t being entirely serious

No worries mate was aimed at the ‘cricket bat’ reference in the OP.

A cricket bat is all wrong. First the scum bag would think you middle class due to the “cricket” in cricket bat.

your typical middle class mountain biker.

So, Giles, Freddie, Ginger and Mungo nip round to see this grease oik, gave him a damn good thrashing.

On the cricket theme, how about a cricket ball in a sock? A bit full metal jacket but it might just do the trick.

Whilst applying said cricket ball method you could repeat the line, ‘this is my bike, there are many like it but this one is mine’.

*Notes to self that a career in the police force probably wouldn’t end well*

The unfortunate situation is that firstly they probably know where you live as its probably the same toe rag that nicked it.

Secondly most on here have “to much to lose” by taking the law into our own hands.

Even if you catch someone red handed and defend yourself or your property said toe rags go straight to the police and complain they were assaulted. The situation was they were mugging my mother which they failed to mention. You then end up arrested.

Thats why we pay insurances and hope that when unfortunate things occur we get compensated. Sad fact of life.

Best advice, tell Gumtree and the police.

Would I recover my property, in a heart beat but thats me, I would go round assertain its mine and call the police from the location concerned.

As per some of the posts above, if I ever see mine come up for sale (very unlikely now, it’s been 5 months) then I’d arrange a viewing, probably taking a mate or two with me, then (once I was sure it was my bike, of course!) give the guy the option of just letting me walk away with my bike or me ringing the Police to come and sort it out. This is where the mate or two would be handy, Mr Scumbag might be tempted to get punchy if you’re on your own, less likely of you’re not. Of course, as soon as I got home I’d ring the Police anyway.

What I’d do if I just saw somebody riding down the road on it is another matter. I suspect it would involve confrontation and me getting myself in trouble…

What I’d do if I just saw somebody riding down the road on it is another matter. I suspect it would involve confrontation and me getting myself in trouble…

indecent exposure is definitely not a “what to do?”

Me…its just a bike. It’s insured. Make the call but don’t expect the police do do anything.

An arrest is an arrest, & fact is its easier to throw the book at you for allegedly lamping poor Johnny Dole-Scum, than to do the footwork involved in nicking him.
Sad but true.

its just a bike. It’s insured.

The fact that so many people have this attitude is the reason that bike theft is easy and free of consequence.

I’ve been on both ends of this situation. One time, the police were called with knowledge of where my stolen bike was. They did nothing and 7 years later I’m still looking out for the bike when I’m out and about. Even though it was insured, it still angers me when I think about it. On the other hand, I (legally!) re-appropriated a bike from some skag head, and that felt damn good.

If you were to go to round to a house and discover the bike, then go back later with a few mates, there would be very little the thief could do. As long as you don’t actually assault anyone, then you’ve not committed any crimes. Just beware of a swarm of the thief’s mates appearing at very short notice…

Me…its just a bike. It’s insured.

And how much does it cost to insure a bike? and what does it do to your premium the next year? and then scum knows you’ll have a nice new shiny bike to nick if they pop back a month later.

I do wonder how scum might feel if you grab them, zip ties to the wrists, cloth bag over the heads, throw them in the back of a car and take them for a drive. Being as scum tend to be responsible for most crime, police might get a bit more free time out of it.

If you find your bike in an ad.. arrange a viewing and once you ascertain its yours just ring the police and tell them you’ve shot/stabbed the scrote. Its the only way they are guaranteed to arrive in a big hurry.

its just a bike. It’s insured.

I had a bike stolen from home in what appeared to be a targeted attack and the insurance covered it, about 18 months later we were burgled this time very random low lifes grabbing whatever they could before scarpering, again insurance covered it but when we came to renew we were no longer able to get the same cover (i.e bikes) and any insurance company that did cover expensive bikes or named bikes was either unrealistically expensive or wouldn’t insure us at all. That was all a couple of years ago now and at the next renewal our bad risk status should have dropped to a level where insuring the bikes becomes viable again.

Whilst applying said cricket ball method you could repeat the line, ‘this is my bike, there are many like it but this one is mine’.

Show them your warface!

I’m searching for my recently stolen Langster at the moment, so I’ve read up about this.

You can setup email alerts on gumtree/ebay so make sure you do that, also if your bikes had some nice parts search for them too (if you see something dodgy look at there history for other parts of your bike, in gumtrees case this can be done by googling the mobile number)

Best advice for recovery I can give is to arrange a viewing (in a very public place, and as ever be very careful) then phone you local police station and ask them to come with.

This is because the police need to fill out all sorts of forms to either raid the home or arrange a sting (they may also just be ‘too busy’)and by you arranging this it skips that step and forces their hand.

I also found an article on someone who did find there bike and their struggle to get it back *link*

P.S If your in London the bikeshd service might help, if not drop me an email (john@stolen-bikes.co.uk) as I’ve designed a similar service covering the UK that I’m using in my own search