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 Kevin C Dormant on July 26, 2011 at 2:10am

I always like to hear that a stolen bike is recovered, but there are some significant gaps and some fairly implausible assumptions in this story. The "goodness of the thief's heart?" Have you actually seen and positively identified your returned bike? How is it secured to the street sign? With yours' or someone else's lock? If it was stolen from a "sucker pole" and returned to the same "sucker pole," it is not yet secure. Details would be greatly appreciated.

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Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on July 26, 2011 at 2:17am

I'm not saying this is necessarily the case, but I have found through personal experience that in a strong enough solution C2H5OH can totally dissolve a bicycle for a few hours to the point where it is completely invisible...

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Permalink Reply by Alex Schultz on July 28, 2011 at 4:38am

I had my bicycle taken this morning from my apartment in Humboldt Park on Richmond and North. It is a polished aluminum Vitus 979 (so it looks like chrome) with a white Concor saddle and bar tape. Suntour Sprint derailleurs and brakes, Stronglight 93 cranks, sewup mismatch wheelset with Sprint hubs and a Campy rim in back with a Wolber rim in front.

MY NAME IS STAMPED ON THE BOTTOM BRACKET SHELL

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Permalink Reply by Ruby Red on July 28, 2011 at 5:36am

Hey Alex,

I live on this block as well. I'm kind of surprised and shocked that it was taken FROM your apartment. Not your building, but your actual apartment? Got any photos of it? I'm curious which building you're in, but you can PM me if you don't want to post on the board.

-Ruby

Alex Schultz said:

I had my bicycle taken this morning from my apartment in Humboldt Park on Richmond and North. It is a polished aluminum Vitus 979 (so it looks like chrome) with a white Concor saddle and bar tape. Suntour Sprint derailleurs and brakes, Stronglight 93 cranks, sewup mismatch wheelset with Sprint hubs and a Campy rim in back with a Wolber rim in front.

MY NAME IS STAMPED ON THE BOTTOM BRACKET SHELL

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Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on July 28, 2011 at 5:47am

I'm assuming it wasn't stolen from his personal space but from a common area in the building. I don't consider these common areas to be much more secure in the long run than leaving it out on the sidewalk. My building is constantly being left unlocked by uncaring neighbors who leave the gate and doors to the lobby ajar for friends coming over or even the mail-carrier who is too lazy to close the door behind her when she leaves (this gets really annoying in the winter as the lobby freezes really fast at -0!)

If the door is ajar the street-people come right in and root around looking for stuff to sell for booze/drugs. We even have to kick passed-out drunks out of the gated area who come to stretch out and sleep off their firewater. I wouldn't trust a bike-room or common area in the basement any more than outside. It might be dry but a thief actually has more privacy to cut a lock than if they were outside and in plain sight of the road/sidewalk.

Ruby Red said:

Hey Alex,

I live on this block as well. I'm kind of surprised and shocked that it was taken FROM your apartment. Not your building, but your actual apartment? Got any photos of it? I'm curious which building you're in, but you can PM me if you don't want to post on the board.

-Ruby

Alex Schultz said:

I had my bicycle taken this morning from my apartment in Humboldt Park on Richmond and North. It is a polished aluminum Vitus 979 (so it looks like chrome) with a white Concor saddle and bar tape. Suntour Sprint derailleurs and brakes, Stronglight 93 cranks, sewup mismatch wheelset with Sprint hubs and a Campy rim in back with a Wolber rim in front.

MY NAME IS STAMPED ON THE BOTTOM BRACKET SHELL

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Permalink Reply by Mo on August 10, 2011 at 9:05am

Anyone have any experience with this National Bike Registry?

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Permalink Reply by Mo on August 10, 2011 at 9:25am

this might help with Twitter for {Stolen Bikes Chi}

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Permalink Reply by ad on August 10, 2011 at 10:27am

I signed up for the National Bike Registry around four years ago after purchasing one of my bicycles (a Surly, so not exactly rare but not super common). About a year ago, they called me to ask if my bike had been stolen recently.

Apparently, a bike that was the same make, model, size and year had recently been recovered in the Chicagoland area. They were checking to see if it was mine. They did not say how the bike was recovered or how they found out about it. I was a bit confussed because they take your serial number as part of the reg. process, which obviously would not have matched the serial number on the recovered bike (assuming that whomever had recovered it had released that info to them). I was happy they at least took the time to check with me, though. Take my story for what it's worth, I guess. I admit I haven't used the service to register any of my other bikes.

Mo Camplin said:

Anyone have any experience with this National Bike Registry?

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Permalink Reply by Poptart on August 11, 2011 at 5:29am

hey im on to a guy on craigslist from Rogerspark

he is selling bikes from 50-70 bucks on craigslist

wondering how to handle it

i have his home address , phone and email...

but he is super flakey and gets sketched out easily

anyone with info on what to do with this information should email me

bterry371@gmail.com

just dont want this guy to continue stealing bikes and selling them

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Permalink Reply by Vilda on August 11, 2011 at 6:39am

Blake, i would tell you to find out what Police District the address u have for this guy falls in and contact the tactical unit of that district directly with as much info as possible. And key notes like bike A, that he is selling for $50 bux is worth $500 bux. and bike b etc.... Dollar value is important because if the guy is just sellin magna's the bust won't peak interest. Hope that helps.