What happens to stolen bikes?

My heart goes out to all those who have posted about stolen bikes and they raise this question: What happens to stolen bikes? Are they resold locally? On craigslist? Taken out of town? Broken down for parts? Repainted? Are these crimes of opportunity of one person or do multiple thieves scour the city for bikes? Are some bikes more prone to theft than others? Knowing the answers could help us attack the problem from the other side of the equation. 

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Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on December 23, 2011 at 7:04am

Oops I miss read!

Permalink Reply by Kevin K on December 23, 2011 at 9:20am

Over the last three years or so I've spent a number of weekends up in Madison, WI, staying downtown near the UW campus.

Being a college town there are obviously hundreds of bikes all around, running the whole range from beaters to high-end tri and road bikes.  Many of these bikes are locked up with nothing more than a thin cable lock, often to chain link fences, flimsy poles, etc.  Suprisingly few of them were locked up w/ U-locks.

Coming from Chicago, bike-theft central, it was pretty shocking to see it the first time.  I was like, if these bikes were locked up like this in Chicago, they'd be gone in 15 minutes!!

It's just sad that there is so much bike theft in this town.  We take it as a given that your bike is probably going to get stolen eventually, no matter how you lock it up. I mean, who are these people, and do they not have any respect for other people's property??  

Permalink Reply by Kevin K on December 23, 2011 at 9:55am

Joe, I'm with you here, I've had two bikes stolen in this town, and it p*ssed me off to the extreme.  I find it SO enraging.

You know how they used to shoot horse thieves in the Old West?  I'm not suggesting that, but this is one of those similar situations, where it's just so freaking wrong!

And yeah, unfortunately the cops must have bigger fish to fry (drug dealers, gangs, shooting, etc) so really the theives are allowed to run wild, with minimal if any law enforcement action.  It seems like Rahmbo is pretty serious about making Chicago a bike-friendly city, so maybe the city would consider using some of the resources allocated to that effort to tackling the theft problem.

Joe Willis said:

Swap-O-Rama is by fat the largest location of stolen bikes trying to be resold. I have coma across about 5 or 6 on CL in the last year, none of those where recovered because the police really don't give a $#!+. In one instance we had all the needed information plus his current address, 2 phone numbers email and all the info from the LBS he wrote a Fraudulent check for a bike willing to press charges. The Detective's final answer "I have tried calling but there is no answer." You will find a lot of parts on CL that are probability stolen (not all most are legit), if you are not sure ask the seller for the serial number!

P.S. Sorry to throw a rant in there but bike thieves get me all worked up and have a special place in HELL

Permalink Reply by Tim S on December 23, 2011 at 10:28am

I am always so paranoid when I lock up my bike most places and I use a flat key U-Lock with cable. Sucks that theft is so rampant in this city.

Permalink Reply by Kevin C Dormant on December 23, 2011 at 10:44am

Paranoid is good. It shows that you're paying attention. But if you're locking with a flat key-u-lock and a cable, you're way ahead of the vast majority of victims. More information on evaluating your locking system to come...

Tim S said:

I am always so paranoid when I lock up my bike most places and I use a flat key U-Lock with cable. Sucks that theft is so rampant in this city.

Permalink Reply by Jared on December 23, 2011 at 10:59am

How often are street sign poles removed to steal bikes?

Permalink Reply by Kevin C Dormant on December 23, 2011 at 11:16am

When I performed the 4/1/11 - 10/31 analysis, I grouped defeated fences (usually cut wrought iron) with defeated signposts. The number was 52/617 = 8.43% 

Jared said:

How often are street sign poles removed to steal bikes?

Permalink Reply by Gary on December 23, 2011 at 11:43am
Sorry about my mis-print, my policy is $125.00/yr, not month. I do lock my bike and do my best to keep track of my camera gear when I'm shooting. Unfortunately thieves are part of life. My personal choice is to purchase insurance so that if my bike or gear is stolen I am covered. I do not expect anything to be stolen but if it happens once in my lifetime, i wont be stuck with the loss. I have owned my bike for less than a year so I'm new to the bike scene. I have really enjoyed the group bike rides. Most of my friends I shoot photos with also have theft insurance on their camera gear.

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