Thick as Thieves

[Tsundere]

The answer is simple.

Have at least one bike for leaving locked up, one that you won't mind losing, make it look like shit.

Here's my smooth riding comfy and nippy town bike. It's a 92 Rocky Mountain Hammer, all new bearings, a sweet ride.




I enjoy leaving it locked up, I get a kick out of the snarky sideways glances it gets from bike snobs.
The 'rust' is all paint.

 

[Laldi]

The answer is simple.

Have at least one bike for leaving locked up, one that you won't mind losing, make it look like shit.

Here's my smooth riding comfy and nippy town bike. It's a 92 Rocky Mountain Hammer, all new bearings, a sweet ride.


View attachment 1000926

I enjoy leaving it locked up, I get a kick out of the snarky sideways glances it gets from bike snobs.
The 'rust' is all paint.

Top end camouflage!

 

[doctor-bond]

Retro parts bin shitters FTW! @Tsundere that’s a stunner. This one is off to Leeds full time soon, so will see how it fares:

 

[Laldi]

Retro parts bin shitters FTW! @Tsundere that’s a stunner. This one is off to Leeds full time soon, so will see how it fares:

View attachment 1000962

It's the stickers that give it that 'nothing to see here' look

 

[Russell]

The answer is to cut off demand.

How many times when you (generic, any of us) have bought a second hand bike have you asked for the serial number or provenance?

National register for bicycle serial numbers with eBay and others refusing to list bikes for sale without one and cross referencing all sales against the register. This site could very easily insist on serial numbers for all bike/frame sales. We could also have a ‘stolen bikes’ sticky with a picture and frame numbers to aid ID (might already exist - haven’t looked).

I would suggest a fair few of us who have been involved since the beginning have probably unwittingly handled stolen goods, whether bikes or parts.

Serial numbers removed on a frame? Assume it’s stolen and don’t buy it.

Dodgy black or white paint job or obvious evidence of one being removed? Assume it’s stolen and don’t buy it.

 

[Laldi]

The answer is to cut off demand.

How many times when you (generic, any of us) have bought a second hand bike have you asked for the serial number or provenance?

National register for bicycle serial numbers with eBay and others refusing to list bikes for sale without one and cross referencing all sales against the register. This site could very easily insist on serial numbers for all bike/frame sales. We could also have a ‘stolen bikes’ sticky with a picture and frame numbers to aid ID (might already exist - haven’t looked).

I would suggest a fair few of us who have been involved since the beginning have probably unwittingly handled stolen goods, whether bikes or parts.

Serial numbers removed on a frame? Assume it’s stolen and don’t buy it.

Dodgy black or white paint job or obvious evidence of one being removed? Assume it’s stolen and don’t buy it.

I think the answer is more technology. Go the whole hog and give every bike an RFID tag and QR code integrated into the metal or the carbon. No scan of provenance - no sale. Easy to track, easy to upload to eBay etc and extremely difficult to fake/remove. Serial numbers are 20th century technology too easy and not suitable for 21st century criminals.

You could make things extraordinary difficult for criminals to punt on bikes to the unsuspecting for very little upfront costs to the manufacturer. You could even load it on to the bike shops, as a legal requirement. It would dramatically reduce thefts virtually overnight.

 

[Guinessisgoodforyou]

An administrative nightmare.

 

[Laldi]

Just to be clear, I've been offered a for definite stolen Specialized ebike recently, and managed to get all the sellers contact details before I passed it on to his local constabulary. It was a 4k bike, offered for 500. When something is too cheap to be true, it's probably stolen.

 

[Laldi]

An administrative nightmare.

As is the police with involved pursuing 300,000 reported stolen bicycles each year. I know which one would be less costly to the taxpayer.

 

[Laldi]

#police work