Where do all the stolen wheels go?

My front wheel was ganked from my bike last week in a 30 min span of time... Later that week I saw a man walking down the street (near the scene of the crime) with a rear wheel so followed him . He saw that I had pulled off and was watching so he ducked into a building... I knew it was stolen from his reaction to me watching.. so I called the police. Of course they didnt take me seriously even after I gave them my case number for my stolen wheel earlier that week.

after 10 mins of waiting and no sign of a cop I left. Now that I think about it I should have circled the building and tried to follow him from a distance.

Anyways, the answer is; stolen wheels go to the patten office on Harrison LOL.

Anyone really know?

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Permalink Reply by millenial removing Bernie tattoo on August 11, 2008 at 7:27am

I suppose bling wheels go on to cl, trash wheels go to the aluminum scrapyard, and really trash wheels go to the steel scrapyard.

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Permalink Reply by Chucko on August 11, 2008 at 3:05pm

Not sure where all the stolen wheels go, but why is it that so many cyclists just abandon their bikes after a wheel theft? I always feel so sorry for the neglected bikes, sitting there until thieves steal the rest of them, bit by bit. I've been tempted to liberate a few abandoned bikes myself, before the city cuts them off and sends them to the scrap heap, or wherever they go.

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Permalink Reply by Garz on August 11, 2008 at 5:49pm

From what I read on a different blog. Many front wheels go to replace curb damaged ones. Many people only lock the frame and leave the tires un done. LINK to Fark forum. The Link gets silly after a bit , but still has value. In the article I was amazed the the University of Madison has has nearly $2 million work of bike stolen in the past 5 yrs.

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Permalink Reply by 2slowtrek on August 12, 2008 at 3:17am

With abandoned cars there is a form you can fill out at a police station and after x amount of time they let you take possession.
We live in a city with so many tow trucks that its not applicable to us... but maybe worth investigating for bikes.

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Permalink Reply by vxla on September 22, 2008 at 5:13am

Chucko said:

Not sure where all the stolen wheels go, but why is it that so many cyclists just abandon their bikes after a wheel theft? I always feel so sorry for the neglected bikes, sitting there until thieves steal the rest of them, bit by bit. I've been tempted to liberate a few abandoned bikes myself, before the city cuts them off and sends them to the scrap heap, or wherever they go.

Because thieves like Village Cycle Center charge $100 for a new wheel on a $300 hybrid.