Just heads up and catch those jerks

Mcharza

E*POWAH BOSS
Aug 10, 2018
2,534
4,891
Helsinki, Finland
1592234173996.png
 

SquireRides

E*POWAH Elite World Champion
Sep 4, 2018
540
556
UK
These two... who? I don't understand.

TBH not a fan of social-media based vigilantism. No idea what the source of this is. Just another thing someone on social media is telling us to share...
 

Mcharza

E*POWAH BOSS
Aug 10, 2018
2,534
4,891
Helsinki, Finland
These two... who? I don't understand.

TBH not a fan of social-media based vigilantism. No idea what the source of this is. Just another thing someone on social media is telling us to share...
True, this thing was shared on Facebook in the Specialized Turbo Levo & Kenevo group by the family that saved him
 

steve_sordy

Wedding Crasher
Nov 5, 2018
8,536
8,813
Lincolnshire, UK
I would rather ride over my own bike with a road-roller than let scumbags take advantage by stealing it.
The sale of chargers should be restricted to those who can provide a bike serial number and proof of ownership.

I record the serial numbers, reference numbers, whatever they are called that are to be found stamped, stuck or engraved on the bike frame, fork, shock.... wherever I can see one. I record a full description of the bike and the latest photo so that I can provide details if required. It's only a small pain to do, but it's worth it if it catches the person that stole my bike.
 

steve_sordy

Wedding Crasher
Nov 5, 2018
8,536
8,813
Lincolnshire, UK
When I had my super bike I used to occasionally sleep in my garage with a gun. Bikes were stolen a lot where I was living then.
It seems the prepared and able are never targeted.
I keep my bike in a brick garage, the up and over doors are bolted down to the concrete floor. The windows are screwed shut. The pedestrian door is solid wood and it has three 4" stainless steel hinges and two 5 lever mortise locks. The bike is secured with a 1.2m Kryptonite New York Noose chain with a Kryptonite lock to a Kryptonite floor shackle. All Kryptonite kit is gold rated. In addition the front wheel is secured to the frame and the bike stand with Kryptonite wire cable and a combination lock (silver). The only way they are getting that bike is in pieces!
 

Fingerpuk

Member
Apr 8, 2020
250
197
Kent
If they want the bike they’ll get the bike. My mates BMW was taken through his garage roof still attached to the concrete floor he’d bolted it to. I’d not have believed it unless I saw the hole.

Sadly it’s part of life in modern society and I can only see it getting worse. Best defence is to keep the thing well hidden when not in use.
 

jimslade

Member
Jun 14, 2019
80
58
south lake tahoe, ca
Bike theft in the states (particularly where I am in California, but probably everywhere) is rampant.
There have been attempts at city-govt sponsored bike registration schemes that never worked out.
There's a volunteer system here: 529 Garage: Register. Respond. Recover. | Join the World's Largest Bicycle Registration Service to Protect Your Bike . IDK what's available in the UK/EU.
The key to this is for all high-end bike owners to register, and for all high-end bike buyers to insist on knowing the serial number in advance and checking against the database and seeing the bill of sale.
Sadly that's asking a lot, and many don't do it. Consequently theft is still profitable.
But I totally agree, Spesh should insist on registration and transfer of ownership in their database. It would make their bikes more valuable.
 

Jimbo Vills

E*POWAH Master
May 15, 2020
805
1,429
Kent
No to both.
Best defense is appear helpless and remove the people from the gene pool and have a good story after you consult a good lawyer before talking to officials.

how many burglars have you notched up then mate?

or can’t your lawyer let you answer that ?

seriously mate, it’s a push bike you are talking about.....
 

Zimmerframe

MUPPET
Subscriber
Jun 12, 2019
13,870
20,561
Brittany, France
three 4" stainless steel hinges and two 5 lever mortise locks. The bike is secured with a 1.2m Kryptonite New York Noose chain with a Kryptonite lock to a Kryptonite floor shackle. All Kryptonite kit is gold rated. In addition the front wheel is secured to the frame and the bike stand with Kryptonite wire cabl
You know some low life will come and steal your nice door furnishings and posh locks one day ??
 

CjP

PRIME TIME
Subscriber
Jan 1, 2019
1,671
2,393
Everywhere
Apart from the nose bleed, a part of the solution would be to get insurance and then it’s new bike day.
Am I a part of the solution? Or am I creating more problems and do I understand any of the differences between what I just said?
 
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MrSimmo

E*POWAH Elite
Apr 24, 2020
1,069
994
The Trail.
The problem with most insurance policies (inc bike specific policies), have small print to say something like the bike isn't covered if it is stolen away from the home and isn't locked up. There are some which are ok but its hit and miss and usually comes down to people in the business called loss-adjusters who's job it is to minimise the payouts for the insurer to make the decision.

The other problem is the police (at least in the UK) at the moment have been apparently given guidance not to approach people due to the Coronavirus unless absolutely necessary - an example is a friend of mine was telling me over the weekend that thieves were breaking into boats where he works, they phoned the police to say the thieves were still there; the response was that the police couldn't attend scene due to potential infection from the Coronavirus. But then the day after, the police appeared, when the boat owners asked if they had come to investigate the crime, the police said no - they had heard about a horse on the loose and were looking for that! If this is commonplace, I can understand why people would want to investigate themselves - not condoning it though.
 
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Jimbo Vills

E*POWAH Master
May 15, 2020
805
1,429
Kent
Two more.
Those that are part of the solution, and those that are part of the precipitate.

in regards to bike theft surely the only people part of the cause are the people actually stealing them?

the only way to be part of the solution is to try and ensure yours doesn’t get nicked, increase security, watch out for others bikes and not buy any bikes that are known to be stolen?

what else can you realistically do?

we’d all like to go John Rambo on would be bike thief’s and chalk up a mass body count, but reality is that prob 99% of bike thefts (or other burglaries etc) happen when the owner isn’t aware.... So having Bruce Lee capability’s is kinda irrelevant.

As for the poor chap who must be a massive minority who was attacked and stolen in front of him. I feel for him. Hopefully he will recover from the encounter and get his bike back / replaced.

I’d also like to see the people responsible in stocks with their hands cut off but the sad fact of modern life is they probably won’t even get caught and if they did, absolutely nothing done to them by our poor justice system.
 

steve_sordy

Wedding Crasher
Nov 5, 2018
8,536
8,813
Lincolnshire, UK
I've never understood these two words.

As opposed to a Japanese sliding paper door finished in a wood print ?
As opposed to one made from chipboard, or hardboard panels in wooden frames, or any sort of wooden door that has a window in it.
Mine is made from 20 mm thick tongue & grooved boards set into a 45 mm thick frame with 25 mm thick cross bracing. That sort of solid wood door. The only part of it that is not wood is glue and nails.
 

speedkills

Member
May 17, 2020
230
221
Boulder, CO
Is this an extremely rare sort of thing there? I mean, there are parts of the world where if you told me someone held you up at gunpoint and took your bike I wouldn't be shocked, but I was surprised to see it in England, where I had just assumed I guess that bike thieves were of the sneaky sort (vs the violent sort) like we have in the states. I agree though, it does seem like an insurance issue. There aren't really many cases where I would recommend a 71 year old man take on two younger men in any sort of altercation.
 

steve_sordy

Wedding Crasher
Nov 5, 2018
8,536
8,813
Lincolnshire, UK
I............ There aren't really many cases where I would recommend a 71 year old man take on two younger men in any sort of altercation.
A friend of mine, sadly now dead, was one of those who would, and could, take on not just one or two but several, even in his late 60's! But he was a very special guy. He was a life-long Royal Marine who joined the Special Boat Service. The SBS are the guys that do everything that the SAS can do, including desert warfare, but wearing a wetsuit and flippers! :ROFLMAO: He retired from the SBS as a Warrant Officer 2. WO2 is one down from Regimental Sergeant Major, the highest non-commissioned rank you can be in the British Armed Forces. Even the officers pay attention to the RSM!

Among his many skills, he was an instructor in four different martial arts, two you would have heard of and two you wouldn't. When he died at the age of 67 (why, why why!) he was in Africa escorting an aid convoy when the convoy was ambushed. During the ensuing battle, he received injuries that later proved to be fatal. His eldest son went out to see him in hospital. Bearing in mind that he had grown up in a special forces environment, he told me that some of the scariest looking men he had ever seen came to pay their respects and tell him that his Dad was a very special guy and that he saved their lives that day. They all told him one by one, that if he ever needed any help just contact them and they would be there.

All hail Taz, a very special guy! I am honoured to have known him.:)

Edit: Oh and by the way, he was a very keen mountain biker, loved the DH when younger. He would have loved emtb!
 

Makende

Member
Nov 15, 2018
28
39
Malvern Hills
As opposed to one made from chipboard, or hardboard panels in wooden frames, or any sort of wooden door that has a window in it.
Mine is made from 20 mm thick tongue & grooved boards set into a 45 mm thick frame with 25 mm thick cross bracing. That sort of solid wood door. The only part of it that is not wood is glue and nails.
I would frighten you with the speed at which I’d get through your wooden door. Fortunately though you sound like you have good enough security to make the average bellend go and pick on somebody less we’ll protected. Never assume your security cannot be improved.
 

Supratad

Well-known member
Nov 13, 2019
393
306
North Yorkshire, UK
I keep my bike in a brick garage, the up and over doors are bolted down to the concrete floor. The windows are screwed shut. The pedestrian door is solid wood and it has three 4" stainless steel hinges and two 5 lever mortise locks. The bike is secured with a 1.2m Kryptonite New York Noose chain with a Kryptonite lock to a Kryptonite floor shackle. All Kryptonite kit is gold rated. In addition the front wheel is secured to the frame and the bike stand with Kryptonite wire cable and a combination lock (silver). The only way they are getting that bike is in pieces!
Unfortunately with this approach, like with “unstealable” cars, the way they get it is via you, or your nearest. How many fingers would you lose before you hand over the keys?
 

Giff

Active member
Subscriber
Oct 14, 2019
429
117
Cheshire UK
Earlier this year someone posted about the vulnerability ( being mugged) of riding an expensive eMTB. This was universally discounted as unnecessary paranoia and the unlikelyhood of any cases.....well here's one and it is a sad state that someone can't go out and ride without the the fear of being attacked.........and in what seemed to be a managed public area.
A couple of points are that I think it is unlikely that this was a random act of opportunism and the rider was either followed or observed.......especially if riding the same route regularly at similar times.
I think pepper spray is probably overkill ( and illegal in the UK ) but as with Coronavirus Stay Alert....
 

MadsB

Active member
May 15, 2020
114
146
London
This may already have been done, but why couldn’t the motor manufacturers make some sort of ‘dongle’ or something you keep on your key chain for example, that needs to be within say 5m of the motor for it to work? And if the dongle is out of range, the motor locks and renders the bike useless. Stealing a bike when the back wheel won’t move would be a deterrent surely? I suppose it would hackable like anything electronic though.
 

MadsB

Active member
May 15, 2020
114
146
London
Motor lock and not using power are completely different systems all together. You can just turn the bike off for no power. But for a fucking lock that’s a whole new system that would likely kill dudes crushing trails.

Yeah it’s always going to be a trade off with something. Maybe a finger print scanner on the on/off button. But yeah any solution is going to add weight. And they are designing an emtb, not a security bike I suppose.
 

mxtyphoon

New Member
May 23, 2020
34
20
Wisconsin SW
Bike theft in the states (particularly where I am in California, but probably everywhere) is rampant.
There have been attempts at city-govt sponsored bike registration schemes that never worked out.
There's a volunteer system here: 529 Garage: Register. Respond. Recover. | Join the World's Largest Bicycle Registration Service to Protect Your Bike . IDK what's available in the UK/EU.
The key to this is for all high-end bike owners to register, and for all high-end bike buyers to insist on knowing the serial number in advance and checking against the database and seeing the bill of sale.
Sadly that's asking a lot, and many don't do it. Consequently theft is still profitable.
But I totally agree, Spesh should insist on registration and transfer of ownership in their database. It would make their bikes more valuable.
I have mine registered with 529 Garage, at least it’s a start.
 

steve_sordy

Wedding Crasher
Nov 5, 2018
8,536
8,813
Lincolnshire, UK
I would frighten you with the speed at which I’d get through your wooden door. Fortunately though you sound like you have good enough security to make the average bellend go and pick on somebody less we’ll protected. Never assume your security cannot be improved.
I'm pretty sure that a chainsaw would make very short work of the door, but also a lot of noise. We don't live so far away from our next door neighbour that they wouldn't hear it (assuming they were in). A crowbar would lever out the locks pretty fast too. I'm just hoping that they will go elsewhere. I also have automatic lighting, which I suppose if nobody notices will give them light to see by!

At least the insurance company won't be able to say that I hadn't taken sufficient security measures.
 

steve_sordy

Wedding Crasher
Nov 5, 2018
8,536
8,813
Lincolnshire, UK
Unfortunately with this approach, like with “unstealable” cars, the way they get it is via you, or your nearest. How many fingers would you lose before you hand over the keys?
Not a single one! But that would escalate the offence from simple theft to burglary with menaces (or something like that) and would mean that when they were caught they would go down for much longer. It also means that the Police are more likely to take action instead of just giving me a crime number for insurance purposes. :(
 

Banktramp

Well-known member
Jul 13, 2019
323
314
West Midlands
As other people are saying nothing is 100% secure, they will just raise the stakes to get it.

Going back to the original post, this area is about 20 miles from me and it’s not surprising at all, they saw an easy target and took advantage of it, most likely already been sold for very little money.

when the lockdown started to allow people to go out for 1 hour of exercise I decided to go for a ride along some canal tow paths for around 20 miles, I came across a large group of youths who spotted and knew I was on a ebike, put it this I didn’t hang about but It would have been easy for them to overpower me.

I won’t be doing that again and will stick to traveling to my local trails, Poor old man.
 

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