Bike was stolen today at Western Brown Line :((

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Permalink Reply by h' Zerocats on September 3, 2010 at 2:27am

Another report a bit further south on Western, also a cable lock, last night or this morning:
http://chicago.stolenbike.org/node/190352

I have recently started to wonder why there are so few reports of thefts along Western Ave.
Guess I don't need to wonder about that any more.

The Lincoln Square/Ravenswood area has been getting hammered by bike thieves the past few weeks.

Please do your best to file a police report-- often they let you slide even though you don't have your serial number. Best time to call is in the middle of the night (the wait times for 311 have been excessive otherwise lately.)
Can you think of anywhere the serial number may have been recorded? Is there a chance the seller might have written it down?

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Permalink Reply by Brendan Finucane on September 3, 2010 at 2:42am

Wow, I just filed police report and stolenbike.org report-- I had no idea there was so much bike theft here in Chicago! It's U Lock only for me, from now on...

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Permalink Reply by h' Zerocats on September 3, 2010 at 7:38am

My guess is 50-70 thefts a day within Chicago city limits-- only a small percentage take the time to make a report. Please send your police report number to info (at) stolenbike.org so your listing can be updated-- without it there's much less anyone can do if they see your bike and you're not immediately able to answer your phone.
Can you think of anything else you (or your friends) might have that would help you prove it's your bike? Pictures of yourself with it that are high enough resolution to print maybe?

Brendan Finucane said:

Wow, I just filed police report and stolenbike.org report-- I had no idea there was so much bike theft here in Chicago! It's U Lock only for me, from now on...

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Permalink Reply by dan brown on September 3, 2010 at 9:27am

try to hit the swap-o-rama today or tomorrow. good luck. this really sucks

H3N3 said:

My guess is 50-70 thefts a day within Chicago city limits-- only a small percentage take the time to make a report. Please send your police report number to info (at) stolenbike.org so your listing can be updated-- without it there's much less anyone can do if they see your bike and you're not immediately able to answer your phone.
Can you think of anything else you (or your friends) might have that would help you prove it's your bike? Pictures of yourself with it that are high enough resolution to print maybe?

Brendan Finucane said:

Wow, I just filed police report and stolenbike.org report-- I had no idea there was so much bike theft here in Chicago! It's U Lock only for me, from now on...

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Permalink Reply by Jack on September 3, 2010 at 10:59am

I live up by the Western brown line stop and will keep my eyes peeled for your bike. I had mine stolen from the area back in early June. Totally sucks. Definitely a U-lock is needed, if not more. Bikes will be stolen and they start with the easy to nab ones. The goal seems to be make yours tougher to steal than others as the robbers don't seem to care what the bike actually is.

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Permalink Reply by h' Zerocats on September 3, 2010 at 11:30am

Swap-O-Rama is closed Fridays-- summer days are Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday/Sunday.
Be forewarned though-- without proof of ownership with serial number, you may not be able to get it back even if you do see it there.
I'll try to give you (Brendan) a call today to walk you through what to do there if you go.
Will also try to get a little primer on it up in the Bike Theft Task Force group.
Be aware that discussing this in a public forum may be a good way to assure your bike does not end up at a public flea market any time soon-- you may want to delete this thread once you read this. Thieves do know how to access the internet.

dan brown said:

try to hit the swap-o-rama today or tomorrow. good luck. this really sucks
H3N3 said:

My guess is 50-70 thefts a day within Chicago city limits-- only a small percentage take the time to make a report. Please send your police report number to info (at) stolenbike.org so your listing can be updated-- without it there's much less anyone can do if they see your bike and you're not immediately able to answer your phone.
Can you think of anything else you (or your friends) might have that would help you prove it's your bike? Pictures of yourself with it that are high enough resolution to print maybe?

Brendan Finucane said:

Wow, I just filed police report and stolenbike.org report-- I had no idea there was so much bike theft here in Chicago! It's U Lock only for me, from now on...

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Permalink Reply by h' Zerocats on September 3, 2010 at 11:38am

Another thing that would be nice to have in the task force group would be a "places to look" with listings of used bike stores by general part of town.

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