You are hereTheft, and a warning to the unaware.
Theft, and a warning to the unaware.
If there's one thing that pisses me off, it's bike theft of any form, on any level. Components, bikes, wheels, whatever. If you didn't pay for it, fuck you. C'mon y'all, you know what it's like to have a bike stolen. Your bike is your baby, doubly so if it's something you've put time into fitting and customizing to your tastes. We need to do the right thing about bike theft, it's not an option. If you find the owner, you get it back to them. If you steal shit, you kill yourself because you're worthless. We can take care of our own, and make sure justice is served without breaking too many teeth or involving too many unpleasant authority figures.
There are several reasons this has been on my mind lately. Obviously one of them is the late unpleasantness that has been intruding on the otherwise badass bike events that we've had recently. Hurt feelings, pissed off people and misunderstandings abound, and I hope all that shit is resolved quickly. I do gotta say I'm glad everyone involved is pretty chill and friendly, because if this were real biker shit (as in the 1%er kind, not the doctor/lawyer/harley rider schmucks) there'd be blood and broken limbs aplenty, and it'd have been resolved last week.
Another reason is that it seems like almost every day I'm seeing new stolen bike notices posted to craigslist. Here are the ones posted since Thanksgiving:
http://austin.craigslist.org/bik/940813590.html
http://austin.craigslist.org/bik/939115350.html
http://austin.craigslist.org/bik/937878058.html
http://austin.craigslist.org/bik/937004239.html
http://austin.craigslist.org/bik/936689088.html
http://austin.craigslist.org/bik/936516890.html
That's in less than a week! There are a total of 32 stolen bike postings since November 2nd, that's approximately one a day for the last month. Be vigilant, lock your bike up securely, don't leave loose wheels hanging there if it's going to be out of sight, and if you see someone on a stolen bike, DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.
Yesterday I got to find out about a happy ending! My favorite travelling biker Fred came upon an incredibly rare Ibis Mojo that was posted as stolen on Craiglist, locked to a pole with a very cheap lock not at all befitting the value of the bicycle. The gentleman who was riding it was wearing work boots that did not interface with the clipless pedals, and when confronted said he'd bought the bike from someone who was also selling a laptop and other items stolen from the same house about a week back. The police were called, the real owner showed up, and I didn't find out how it all ended but he pulled down his "stolen" ad from Craigslist so I can only assume it's all good now. Hopefully he got the rest of his stuff back too. Hell yeah, I love it a plan comes together!
I'm not going to name any other names besides Fred, who's a hero in my book for representing and dealing with that stolen bike. You're all my friends and I don't like calling people out. Our community is small, if stolen shit shows up on the rides it'll be figured out. If you're offered a deal that's too good to be true, it's probably hot. If you buy it, maintain an expectation of having to give it back. If you're on something stolen and you know it, keep a keen eye out because other bikers might see it and recognize it, and not everyone talks first. And if someone steals something off one of my bikes, I'll be buying it back with their teeth. In public I may act like a sweetheart, but I'm really just not that nice. Hell, to me bikes are personal, and when someone fucks with me personally I can be downright mean. Don't say I didn't warn ya. <3
Not everybody reports things or posts it on craigs...my neighbor on one side lost 2 bikes 2 weeks ago and my neighbor on the other side lost one on thanksgiving...all this at their homes in broad daylight...watch you shit kids... I think there are more thefts than we know
... in bicycle theft protection!.
(And then when you go `wtf?' ... context. Though the `wtf' feeling doesn't completely go away ...)
If something has a serial number, write it down. Keep track of all your serial numbers, and keep it in a few places. If there's a theft or fire or something, these will be extremely valuable!
Take some pictures of your bike. Update them after each significant change.
Put your name on stuff.
Keep receipts when possible.
If your bike is stolen, file a police report. Give them the serial number and your pictures. Post to CL and include the picture -- if your bike is distinctive, a picture is worth more than a thousand words (which people won't read anyways.)
Put your name and number on your lock, on your cycle computer, on your lights, in your bags, etc. Most people are honest, and if they find something with a name on it, they'll give you a call -- and little things like that get lost all the time, even if your bike didn't get stolen. And the police, UT, etc. all auction off stuff they recover but can never find the owner of -- but if they find a name or the serial number matches a police report, they'll give you a call.
Get a good U-lock. Use it. Chain/cable locks are fine for use in addition to your U-lock, but they can ALL (even the $100+ ones!) be defeated in minutes with bolt cutters, so don't rely on it by itself. Small U-locks are generally more secure than large ones, as there's no room to jam a jack in there to break it open, but even the best U-locks will fall in under 10 minutes to power tools, so don't lock your bike somewhere where it's not visible. And consider having a beater bike for cases where you'll be locking it up for a long time.
If your bike lock comes with a warranty that covers stolen bikes, make sure you fill everything out and send it in. They know that few people do this, and so the warranty is largely just a gimmick, but if (and only if) you follow all the rules (and do it at the right times) they'll generally pay if your bike is stolen. Your bike might also be covered by a homeowner's or renter's insurance policy.