The Chainlink

Stolen Bike Registry - do this when your bike gets stolen

"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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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on October 15, 2012 at 8:40pm

The guys who run the shop at 5600 N Western, Shining Bikes and Things, are the most annoying and maddening ads on C-list within the bicycles category.

They always put a billion "key-words" into EVERY SINGLE AD that have nothing to do with the item/bike they are selling.  This drives me crazy when I'm searching for something particular on C-list and their crap keeps getting hits and are always half or more of the total results I get in a search which then have to pick through.  To make things worse they never go by their own name or use the same "location" tag twice so they are hard to spot as fake/spam ads.   They have made me totally give up on craigslist alerts on google.

Every once in a while I flag every single ad they have on C-list (searching by phone number) just for spite and maybe hopefully cleaning up their act.

/rant

Jim S said:

Yeah, that place sucks. And for whatever reason, seeing their ads on craigslist always makes me mad.

Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on October 15, 2012 at 9:47pm

he just gets upset about haters flagging him because they are jealous of his legitimate business.  There was a thread here about it a couple years back that degraded into something even I considered to be a mess.  The owner is straight up crazy.


James BlackHeron said:

The guys who run the shop at 5600 N Western, Shining Bikes and Things, are the most annoying and maddening ads on C-list within the bicycles category.

They always put a billion "key-words" into EVERY SINGLE AD that have nothing to do with the item/bike they are selling.  This drives me crazy when I'm searching for something particular on C-list and their crap keeps getting hits and are always half or more of the total results I get in a search which then have to pick through.  To make things worse they never go by their own name or use the same "location" tag twice so they are hard to spot as fake/spam ads.   They have made me totally give up on craigslist alerts on google.

Every once in a while I flag every single ad they have on C-list (searching by phone number) just for spite and maybe hopefully cleaning up their act.

/rant

Jim S said:

Yeah, that place sucks. And for whatever reason, seeing their ads on craigslist always makes me mad.

Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on October 15, 2012 at 9:50pm


Actually I went in, introduced myself and explained to the owner that they were known for buying bikes and asked if they checked them against the stolen bike registry.  When he said no I asked him if he would mind if I did and he asked me why I wanted to do that.  When I told him I wanted to help the bikes get returned to the rightful owners if they were stolen he explained to me that they would have to pay what he had for the bikes to get them back and things went downhill from there.

Zoetrope said:

"Hey, uh... I'm some guy or something and uh..  can I poke around your store for serial numbers on your bikes for a while after I accuse you of nefarious activity?  No?!  What the heck, dude.  So not cool, bro."


notoriousDUG said:

Well that is the shop that kicked me out for trying to check the serial numbers on their bikes vs. the stolen bike registry one day...


Permalink Reply by h' Zerocats on October 16, 2012 at 12:00am

Here's the listing:

http://chicago.stolenbike.org/node/193609

Stolen out of garage 2 blocks away.

Without the police being terribly interested I don't know what else people can really do if they feel this place is making a regular practice out of buying and selling stolen merchandise, although any and all of you are free to look through recent http://stolenbike.org listings and encourage the folks who've had their bikes stolen within a mile or two of Shining bikes to head over and take a look (and to please be prepared to involve police.)

Permalink Reply by TehDoak on October 17, 2012 at 3:15pm

http://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/bid/3315477059.html

http://chicago.stolenbike.org/node/193391

I've already contacted the owner.  Seriously though, this place really seems like 100% stolen bikes.  

Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on October 17, 2012 at 5:02pm

There is a very good chance that bike is not the same one; that is pretty much how they came.

TehDoak said:

http://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/bid/3315477059.html

http://chicago.stolenbike.org/node/193391

I've already contacted the owner.  Seriously though, this place really seems like 100% stolen bikes.  

Permalink Reply by Kevin C Dormant on October 17, 2012 at 5:36pm

The stolen bike is reported as a 57 and though the picture is a bit smooshed, that looks to be about right. The Shining Bike looks to be 60+.

And TD, no question Shining Bikes and Things is a sketchy business. But given the reports of other CL members regarding the condition of their bikes, they would have to be relying on thieves who exclusively steal bikes which are in disrepair. Seems like it would be almost a statistical impossibility.  

notoriousDUG said:

There is a very good chance that bike is not the same one; that is pretty much how they came.

TehDoak said:

http://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/bid/3315477059.html

http://chicago.stolenbike.org/node/193391

I've already contacted the owner.  Seriously though, this place really seems like 100% stolen bikes.  

Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on October 17, 2012 at 5:50pm

Shining A-holes and things may or may not be selling stolen bikes -they are just a sketchy scam outfit.

This is their current list of keywords that they put into EVERY ad they post on C-list (and they post dozens of them every day:

Keywords: wheels, bike seats, locks, grips, MTB, parts, accessories, cruiser, schwinn, raleigh, trek, trike, service, tune-up, refurbish, brand new, used, panniers, cogs, cassettes, Ulock, chainring, lubricant, rims, chains, tubes, patch kit, tire, tape, plugs, sale, discount, coupon, origin-8, specialized, giant, kona, jamis, free spirit, helmet, saddle, lock, gloves, panniers, bagsket, tires, tubes, urban, comfort, free spirit, custom bike, racer, shimano, derailleur, cranks, tools, levers, chain, caliper, bell, hybrid, kids bike, vintage, classic, rims, seat post, water bottle, gloves, trailer, trike, shifter, 4-wheeler, single speed, multi-speed, shift, crank, lever, custom bike, rack, street bike, mongoose, kona, handlebar, kickstand, tools, cleaner, mirror, reflector, lights, beam bug, lever, motobecane, hollandia, instep, track wheels, tune up, refurbishing, brake change, pedal, gear adjustment, overhaul, Arcadia Terrace, N. Park College, NEI, North Illinois University, Peterson Park, Budlong Woods 

 

So this means that anyone searching C-list for something on that list is going to get a hit on every ad that they they post even though that ad has NOTHING to do with these keywords 99.999% of the time.

 

Skezy bastards.  I hope lighting hits their store and it melts the whole pile of junk bikes to slag. 

 

Flag early and flag  often is my strategy whenever I see one of their ads. 

Permalink Reply by Joe Willis on October 17, 2012 at 7:22pm
^^^^This just gives me somthing to do tonight!!!!
Permalink Reply by TehDoak on October 17, 2012 at 7:32pm

I got this email from the owner of that Jamis:

"Well, it was her and she is safely back home thanks to your eagle eye,
my husband, and a friend who went down with the bill of sale. You can
add this to the "definitely stolen" list if you have one. THANK YOU SO
MUCH!
I'll be letting the police know tomorrow."

Honestly, we may not be able to get the police involved, but I have a craigslist search setup matching their address.  I am hoping if we make them give up enough stolen bikes that they paid for, they might start checking the stolen bike registry.   

notoriousDUG said:

There is a very good chance that bike is not the same one; that is pretty much how they came.

TehDoak said:

http://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/bid/3315477059.html

http://chicago.stolenbike.org/node/193391

I've already contacted the owner.  Seriously though, this place really seems like 100% stolen bikes.  

Permalink Reply by Jing M on October 17, 2012 at 7:41pm

forturnately my bicycle has a tracking device inside it. the theft can go to jail MUHAHAHAHA!!! >:)   excuse me :)

Permalink Reply by h' Zerocats on October 17, 2012 at 7:59pm

You rock!

TehDoak said:

http://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/bid/3315477059.html

http://chicago.stolenbike.org/node/193391

I've already contacted the owner.  Seriously though, this place really seems like 100% stolen bikes.  

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