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What Happens to Stolen Bicycles?

blog.priceonomics.com

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Re: What Happens to Stolen Bicycles?

#311

Post by alexfoo »

jawr wrote: post #304
greggman wrote: post #211

When I was a kid (GET OFF MY LAWN!!!) We used to be able to register our bikes with the police department. They'd stamp a registration number onto the frame of the bike using lettered taps and a hammer. The only way to take off the registration is to either file it down or cover it over, in either case a clear indication the bike is stolen. I got a bike stolen 3 times. Twice I got one back when the police found it (o…

Police stations in the UK will do this also, however they use some kind of UV ink as not to draw so much attention to it.

Various Police forces also do cycle marking for free, worth checking the website of your local force. This isn't UV ink but a unique number that is etched into the frame (they've different etches for different frame materials, I've had both steel and carbon fibre frames done).

MET: http://www.met.police.uk/transport/cycle_marking.html BTP: http://www.btp.police.uk/neighbourhood_policing/london_south...

Re: What Happens to Stolen Bicycles?

#312

Post by alexfoo »

marklabedz wrote: post #162

While we're at it, bike lock advice from one of cycling's old grey beards, Sheldon Brown: http://www.sheldonbrown.com/lock-strategy.html

That's a flawed lock strategy. I wouldn't ever want to do that. I always include the rear wheel and the seat-tube (or seat-stays) inside my D-lock.

"There is no need to loop it around the seat tube as well, because the wheel cannot be pulled through the rear triangle."

The two simple methods I've seen for defeating it (based on seeing just mangled rear wheels locked up to railings/bike racks) is to:-

a) Stamp on the rear wheel and fold it so that it fits through the rear triangle. (No tools required). b) Cut a bunch of spokes (easy to do with a pair of wire cutters) and press the rear wheel flat so that it fits through the rear triangle.

The rear wheel on one of my main bikes is £100; the rest of the bike is £1500. No chance I'm going to risk that.

Thieves won't care about not having a rear wheel if they're sticking bikes in the back of a van to sort out or sell off at a later date.

Sadly Sheldon isn't alive today to discuss and review that strategy.

Re: What Happens to Stolen Bicycles?

#313

Post by icebraining »

buffportion wrote: post #178
DannoHung wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How about a pressurized U-lock that releases a neon-pink paint cloud if the cylinder or restraining bar is cut-through? I guess the trick would be making it get on the thief and all over the bicycle. The best would be if it also stank to high heaven.

That's great, until you lose your key

That's what copies are for. Store one in a secure place.

Re: What Happens to Stolen Bicycles?

#314

Post by eru »

hessenwolf wrote: post #303
jvdh wrote: post #302

I live in the Netherlands, and bikes here are omnipresent. They also get stolen. A lot. Which is why most bikes you see in cities tend to be not too great looking. About 10 years ago in the city of Utrecht the bike stealing was a really big problem. Here also the stealing of bikes is really hard to get caught with. The police used decoy bikes to catch thieves trying to steal those, but also this only catches small pa…

Freakonomics discusses the exact same factor with drug dealing and the oldest profession - adding risk to the seller results in increasing margins which attracts more sellers; whereas adding risk to the buyer results in the margins dropping too low to be worth even a small risk for the seller. Also, when I see somebody on a re-sprayed bike, that hasn't obviously been re-sprayed with purely artistic intent, I want to…

My bike has been re-painted because the old paint was coming off. I guess that counts as another excuse.

Re: What Happens to Stolen Bicycles?

#316

Post by davidw »

wiredfool wrote: post #216
pmahoney wrote: post #207

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I believe that it's illegal to booby-trap one's house, and I've heard of (apocryphal?) cases of burglars suing homeowners for injuries sustained during a burglary... I imagine such a brake-less bike would fall in that category.

Thieves should avoid stealing fixies then. Especially from the top of a hill.

It wasn't a fixed gear bicycle: you can obviously bring one of those to a halt by preventing the pedals from going around.

Re: What Happens to Stolen Bicycles?

#317

Post by eru »

dmm wrote: post #256
spacemanaki wrote: post #188

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Care to back that up? Does the US really have that much more crime that justifies locking up more people? Recent stuff I've read on this agrees with Cass ( http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/atlarge/2012/01/30/120... ).

I don't give a damn about statistics. I want to be able to live anywhere in the US safely. Would you allow your 6yo to walk alone at night through any city in the US? I think you should be able to. I think a person should be able to live anywhere in the US without encountering violence on a daily basis, without hearing gunshots every night. Because that isn't true, I think there is too much crime.

> I don't give a damn about statistics. I want to be able to live anywhere in the US safely.

That would be a statistic, too.

Re: What Happens to Stolen Bicycles?

#318

Post by gadders »

Slightly off topic anecdote:

A colleague of mine has his bike stolen from Ham House in Richmond, but fortunately the police quickly identifed the thief from CCTV footage.

It was a particularly hot day, and they could clearly see where the thief had his name tattooed on his back.

Re: What Happens to Stolen Bicycles?

#319

Post by eru »

nl wrote: post #259
Jun8 wrote: post #55

I think a useful tactic to curb loss of expensive bikes would be to legally target the people who buy them, these are the people that cause the market to exist and perpetuate the situation. My guess is that most of these people are not crooks, i.e. they are just young people who want to but can't afford a nice bike and they know exactly what they are buying. I don't understand anything about bikes so can't give an ex…

Tangentially, and pardon my ignorance, I'm not a biker: I can't understand people who shell out thousands of dollars for a bike, are these so much better than a $500 one? As many other answers say, yes, there is a difference. Here are some details (for 'racing' road bikes, which I know best): For around $400, if you buy well online you can get something with an aluminium frame, carbon fibre fork and moderately decent…

But if you want to ride fast, why buy an upright bike at all? (Unless you want to compete in races that require it.)

Re: What Happens to Stolen Bicycles?

#320

Post by gadders »

alexfoo wrote: post #311
jawr wrote: post #304

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Police stations in the UK will do this also, however they use some kind of UV ink as not to draw so much attention to it.

Various Police forces also do cycle marking for free, worth checking the website of your local force. This isn't UV ink but a unique number that is etched into the frame (they've different etches for different frame materials, I've had both steel and carbon fibre frames done). MET: http://www.met.police.uk/transport/cycle_marking.html BTP: http://www.btp.police.uk/neighbourhood_policing/london_south...

Always used to be postcodes stamped on an unobstrusive bit of the frame when I was a kid (a looooong time ago).
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