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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Permalink Reply by S on April 29, 2015 at 4:48pm

Didn't know that about the colnago, but the zipp/hed/spinergy wheels are probably not worth too much especially if they can't accept 11 speed cassettes, the specialized transition looks like it's worth about 700-1000 which is still something but a lot cheaper than the 4500 retail price.  Still seems pricey for the swaporama.

Permalink Reply by Jaik S. on April 30, 2015 at 5:34am

Me & the lady are going south this weekend. We'll see what we can come up with.

Permalink Reply by morebanjo on May 16, 2015 at 6:30pm

DID YOU LOSE A BIKE IN WICKER PARK/NOBLE SQUARE AREA? SAT 5/16/2015

This morning there was an unlocked bike leaning against a pole on the corner of Blackhawk and Greenview.  10 hours later I noticed it was still there. I took a look and noticed the chain was off the chainring and stuck, and the derailleur was jacked up. I'm assuming one of two things happened: 1.) the bike was stolen, and then abandoned when the chain got messed up, or 2.) someone was inebriated and accidentally left it out.  I secured the bike and left a sign with my phone number where it was sitting.

If you or someone you know had a bike stolen recently, or drunkenly left it out, PM me with a description.  It hasn't yet popped up on the stolen bike registry but I will continue to monitor it.

Permalink Reply by David S. Kato on June 28, 2015 at 6:09pm

this was posted on my FB page:

Attachments:
Permalink Reply by OldGuyCyclist on July 13, 2015 at 7:34am

I had an expensive (to me) bicycle returned, thanks to Stolen Bike Registry.  The guy at the pawn shop who rescued the bike told me that he checks the registry before accepting a bike for purchase/pawn.  Especially an unusual bike.

Take (and keep) photos of your bike; record the serial number; keep receipts for the bike itself and accessories that you buy; file a police report if the bike is stolen.  You will need this stuff for an insurance claim.

Permalink Reply by Skip Montanaro 0mi on July 14, 2015 at 4:42am

Maybe this post doesn't belong here, but...

Our son has been borrowing my old Schwinn three-speed (maybe 70s vintage?). I only used it for noodling around Evanston, most often just to shorten the trip to the Metra. It is (was) a lamentable bike, the least of my many steeds. It had rusty steel rims, the chain had rusted over the winter (freed up with WD-40 - couldn't be bothered to replace it). Only one gear of three worked reliably. In short, it is (was) the perfect bike to not have to worry too much about.

Joe has been taking it into city the past few weeks, tossing it on a CTA bus for the ride down Western Ave to wherever he was going. Alas, like many people, he was locking it with a cable lock. I knew it was only a matter of time before it was stolen. This happened in the past couple days.

So, what was the great attraction to a bike which barely worked? It didn't have a Brooks saddle. It sported rust everywhere you looked. The one thing it had was heft. My wife is convinced it was metal scrappers. I must admit she has a point. Here in Evanston, I see way more bikes on the backs of scrappers' trucks than seems reasonable. The only value of the bike was in its scrap value. They cut the cable and took it as well. I can't imagine the bike would be attractive to anybody else.

Have other people wondered about metal scrappers and their apparent fondness for crappy bikes?

Permalink Reply by Kevin C Dormant on July 14, 2015 at 4:59am

Scrap value of steel bikes is pennies per pound. It has far more value as a functioning bike.

Permalink Reply by Skip Montanaro 0mi on July 14, 2015 at 5:01am

To you and me, sure. I don't think that's the equation a metal scrapper uses...

Permalink Reply by Kevin C Dormant on July 14, 2015 at 5:24am

Scrappers are far more aware of the market value than you or I. They know that a barely functioning bike sold for $20-25 yields more revenue than taking it to a scrap metal yard.

Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on July 14, 2015 at 6:04am

Could the guy who stole it have sold it for $20?  Probably within a few minutes, to a passerby in some back alley. 

Almost completely zero risk, a minute or two of "work," and then $20+ of free money?

You do the math.   

Do that a once or twice a day and you can buy a lot of 40oz beers, fifths of gin, or a rock of crack...

Permalink Reply by Skip Montanaro 0mi on July 14, 2015 at 6:37am

Why take a snipped cable lock?

Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on July 14, 2015 at 6:48am

Because leaving it on the ground makes it really obvious to anyone that is nearby that you are stealing the bike, rather than just having "unlocked" it.  

With even a cheesy tool, it doesn't take much longer to snip a "bike floss" cable lock than it does to unlock it, especially as a lot of folks never oil their locks and sometimes I've seen folks at bike racks wrestle with their own locks for a minute or so trying to get them unlocked legitimately.  

To the casual passer-by a dude hunched over a lock working on it might as well be working his key or the combination.   But the minute a dude throws a cut cable on the ground and leaves it there as he (or she) rides/pushes the bike away it's a dead-giveaway what is going on.  If the cable lock (or U-lock for that matter) is placed in a bag and taken with the bike it looks just like the guy owns the bike and is simply unlocking and riding away. 


They can throw the lock away later a few blocks away, acting casually like it is just some random garbage they are tossing out. 

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