Piling on the Stolen Bike topic

Hey everyone,

 

Not to throw gas on the bike theft fire that has definitely flaired up recently, but I thought I should post this as a warning to other cyclists.

 

This past Saturday night between the hours of 1am and 8am my commuter/mountain bike was stolen out of my back yard in quiet little Lincoln Square (sarcasm).  It was chained up with a U-lock and a cable lock to a support for an elevated deck.  The weakest link was definitely the cable lock which was cut via bolt cutters for sure.  Didn't have another option to anchor the bike down as the U-lock couldn't reach around the post.  Future bikes will be stored indoors no matter how inconvienent.

 

There are 3 other bikes in the back yard, all beach cruisers left untouched.  The bike had been there all last year and stored inside over the winter.  It had not left the back yard this season and my back yard can not be seen from the alley or the street.  No one had seen the bike out and about to be targeted. 

 

Someone literally had to walk to the back, open the gate, walk to the bike, cut the bolt and wheel it out next to the building. Either an extremely lucky "fishing" expidition for someone, or they saw it from a neighbor's back yard.

 

Either way, I wanted to let you know that this type of crap is going on in every area, so if at all possible lock your bike indoors or risk losing it.  I hope my renters insurance will cover it without lowballing me on replacement value.  I did report it to the police and will file it on the stolen registry.

 

It is a brighter Royal blue Mongoose hardtail no-suspension mountain bike with grip shifters, shimano components, custom wheels and tires.  I really don't expect to see it again, but if you see it, let me know. 

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Adam "Cezar" Jenkins on June 7, 2010 at 4:51am
Or a scrapper. Don't put it past them.
Permalink Reply by Ron on June 7, 2010 at 6:18am
I don't think a scrapper would risk jail time, when the current price of scrap metal is 200 bucks a ton.
You would need way too many bikes get to that weight. Besides there's plenty of scrap to gather in Chicago's and the surrounding suburban alleys. While certain scrappers can do silly things, lets give them a break.

Adam "Cezar" Jenkins said:
Or a scrapper. Don't put it past them.
Permalink Reply by knowbody on June 7, 2010 at 6:41am
i noticed a scrapper pass through my alley this weekend loaded with at least five bikes most of them looked like frame parts but the one heaped on top of the pile definitely looked like it was ride-able. not much else was in the bed of that truck so it made me do a double-take as it did seem a bit unusual.
Permalink Reply by J M on June 7, 2010 at 8:19am
A couple of months ago PJ and I went to recycle his bent frame and fork and got .92 cents.
Permalink Reply by Tank-Ridin' Ryan on June 7, 2010 at 9:15am
I hope you guys didn't spend it all in one place.

J M said:
A couple of months ago PJ and I went to recycle his bent frame and fork and got .92 cents.
Permalink Reply by Martin Hazard on June 7, 2010 at 7:37pm
But the the recollection of the crash is priceless.
Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on June 8, 2010 at 5:28am
Two years ago, I used to see various scrappers come through my alley several times a day. Now I might see one once a day, if that.

H3N3 said:
I believe some scrappers actually are stealing bikes. If anyone knows the value of things, a scrapper does, so don't presume that they're stealing them for scrap metal.

Anyone know a scrapper? Over the last two years the price of metal dropped such that it's barely worth the gas to drive around looking for scrap. Many or even most who supported themselves by scrapping are unable to do so anymore.

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