The Chainlink

"With all the stolen bike posts lately (and no one thinking "I wonder if there's something under Useful Links for this."), I think it's well past time to make a sticky about the Stolen Bike Registry"

 - Tank-Ridin' Ryan

 

Well said Ryan.

 

 

http://chicago.stolenbike.org/

 

Done and done.

 

And sticky too.

 

 

Cheers - Lee Diamond

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Happy ending to Sean's story:

http://www.thechainlink.org/photo/surly-pacer-bike-recovery

http://chicago.stolenbike.org/node/192724

Let's hear it for the folks at Play-it-Again Sports!

After 7 weeks,
We too recovered a bike stolen from our building's parking garage May 25.
We urge all Bike Theft Victims to check SwapOrama.
Ours was found at the Alsip location Flea Market from a seller with 3 previous stolen bike incidents.
Cops told us the 41st and Halsted swapOrama is the #1 location for stolen bikes.

Great thanks to STOLENBIKETREGISTRY &  Cyclist's Gerry and Marsha from Mokena for emailing us with the tip.
it's truly unbelievable it is back with us and unscathed.

Cordless angle grinder can have that lock cut in just about one minute.

Daniel G said:

Had no idea theft was so bad here. Bought a NY Fahgettaboudit mini, here's hoping most bike thieves cannot pick a lock, which seems a damned sight easier than actually trying to saw this steel brick.

About the City, I've used a cable & U- Lock since 2007.
Only had one incident, where theyd got the u-lock.
We live in a 20 unit building with shared indoor heated parking garage.

The very next day after ours was nicked, my neighbor's was stolen and 2 wks later another neighbors.
It's extremely violating. They are cherry picking the pricey ones here and leaving less unlocked bikes untouched!

The Auto Body shop employees across our alley would have any tool needed to get what they want, should they follow in after a car opens the door

Agreed-- while there is some sporadic evidence of lock picking going on out there, the greatest likelihood is an angle grinder, against which your lock only requires an extra 20 seconds or so compared to a 'basic' U-lock.

Adam, did your informants refuse your $500 reward?  Was there police involvement?

notoriousDUG said:

Cordless angle grinder can have that lock cut in just about one minute.

Daniel G said:

Had no idea theft was so bad here. Bought a NY Fahgettaboudit mini, here's hoping most bike thieves cannot pick a lock, which seems a damned sight easier than actually trying to saw this steel brick.

NotoriousDUG,

Yes, my informants refused the reward from point of first contact.
The morning of the recovery they'd even drove back out to meet us, concerned we might not find it.
I again offered reward to them twice and they only asked that we "pay it forward"

As for Police Involvement...

July 8, Upon 7am arrival at SwapOrama we spoke w onsite plain clothes officer to inform him our bike had been sited and we intended to collect it. He advised we call swapOrama office number he provided and not personally approach the seller when located. Once spotted, we noted the lot number and one of us kept a visual eye on the bike from an inconspicuous distance. The other called 911 as well as the office number provided and went to personally find an officer. Cops were there within 10 minutes to review folder of our photos & the police report we'd filed on May 25. The more evidence of ownership you can bring the better, especially without a serial number. Police approached seller with that evidence, reclaimed the bike and delivered it to us at our vantage point on location.



h' said:

Agreed-- while there is some sporadic evidence of lock picking going on out there, the greatest likelihood is an angle grinder, against which your lock only requires an extra 20 seconds or so compared to a 'basic' U-lock.

Adam, did your informants refuse your $500 reward?  Was there police involvement?

notoriousDUG said:

Cordless angle grinder can have that lock cut in just about one minute.

Daniel G said:

Had no idea theft was so bad here. Bought a NY Fahgettaboudit mini, here's hoping most bike thieves cannot pick a lock, which seems a damned sight easier than actually trying to saw this steel brick.

Any thoughts about donating the $500 to stolenbicycleregistry? I have no doubt they can use it.

 

Daniel-

sorry to inadvertently pile on. Your lock is fine and there's really not much point in making people feel inadequate when they've made one of the better lock choices.

Daniel G said:

It's retail/LBS price of $110 is probably not worth it, but it's been on Amazon for $70 for a while now. Yes, I am an economic scourge. The weight is the real cost, but I ride with panniers all the time anyway and I've got ten lbs of gear pretty much permanently written into my accounting. Twenty extra seconds of grand theft in a public square is a long twenty seconds. More cyclists=more bystanders who won't tolerate daylight robbery. I don't need to outrun the bear, etc. Different tests produce different numbers, the numbers that sold me on the NY:F Mini were 3 minutes compared to 20 seconds for a $40 Kryptonite. The value/credibility of these numbers is highly debatable, obviously, but I think it suffices to say that laboratory test conditions are not something a bike thief frequently encounters.

A good lock, worth seventy bucks, do not care about the weight if it delays the theft of my bike by a year. Not really sure how else to respond to the increasing threat of theft besides playing the arms race and vandalizing my own bike to reduce its desirability. Not riding a Huffy.

already contacted.
its invaluable.
shame is news there hasnt been updated since 2009.

cheers

I've scrolled several pages looking for the next step to after you've registered your bike, so feel free to just point me in that direction if my question is already answered.  But, what do you do if you find your bike?  On E-Bay, craigslist, backpage, swap meet or just driving around town?  Do you call the cops--will they come?  Self-recovery?  

Katie,

It depends greatly on the situation. I have a document I send victims if they plan to search at a specific flea market, but I'm not aware of any prepared general info on what to do if you spot your bike. There may actually be downsides to putting it out there publicly (i.e. handing thieves a manual to help them work smarter.)

Did you have a bike stolen?

h': yes, I did and I think I've located it, but I'm not sure how to proceed.  I'll try to PM you with other details.  

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