Custom bike stolen

[cwah]

Hello,

I've unfortunately got my bike stolen. The thieve did that on day light and CCTV has captured his face so I'm hoping that maybe we can someday catch him. And the bike is so unique it can only be sold to DIY enthusiasts... so it'll probably someday come back here as well.

Here's what my bike look like:


You can see the guy stealing it on this CCTV footage. It happened this Friday 13th (is it a sign?) at 15:06 in King's Cross, London:

Please contact if you find anything

Thank you

 

[vfr400]

I'm sorry to hear that, Cwah. You don't have a lot of luck. I hope you get it back soon.

What lock was it that he cut?

 

[Nealh]

Sorry to hear Cwah, I know you put a lot of effort in to customising and bespoking your ride for your requirements. If I lived and worked in London It would be a small folder like the Kwikfold so I could take it with me.

 

[cwah]

I'm sorry to hear that, Cwah. You don't have a lot of luck. I hope you get it back soon.

What lock was it that he cut?

It was an old chain lock... I should have gone for a proper kryptonite U lock... my fault favouring convenience instead of safety...

 

[cwah]

Sorry to hear Cwah, I know you put a lot of effort in to customising and bespoking your ride for your requirements. If I lived and worked in London It would be a small folder like the Kwikfold so I could take it with me.

Yes it cost me load of time and money...

I can't bring the folder everywhere. No place in restaurant, pub, museum, friend flat and actually in most places.

 

[RossG]

Fitting a loud alarm is the way to go, I've got one on my bike so have a few others on here. A thief is unlikely to mess around chopping through a lock with an alarm screeching and wailing and everyone staring.
I parked my bike outside a shop recently, locked it (very heavy U bolt) then set the alarm. As I walked away I noticed a large piece of dust settled on the seat so I flicked it away and set the alarm off !
People came running out of the shop to see what the racket was, so yes they do work and really well. I would recommend a bike alarm to anyone.

 

[cwah]

Fitting a loud alarm is the way to go, I've got one on my bike so have a few others on here. A thief is unlikely to mess around chopping through a lock with an alarm screeching and wailing and everyone staring.
I parked my bike outside a shop recently, locked it (very heavy U bolt) then set the alarm. As I walked away I noticed a large piece of dust settled on the seat so I flicked it away and set the alarm off !
People came running out of the shop to see what the racket was, so yes they do work and really well. I would recommend a bike alarm to anyone.

Yes or a very big U like you. It would take an angle grinder 5 min to cut and would put a ******* noise out of the place...

 

[Martin56]

An n lock is useful, it makes a bike impossible to ride away.

 

[cwah]

An n lock is useful, it makes a bike impossible to ride away.

doesn't look safe at all. My bike couldn't be ridden without chain and the thief didn't know how to turn the power on. He just push it out (You can see on the video)

He's do the same with an nlock, just walk away...

 

[Martin56]

You can't even push a bike with an n lock. I hope you get it back.

 

[Nealh]

Probably might not have helped where the bike was positioned /locked up Cwah as the wall shielded him whilst disabling said lock/chain.
Though it is possible that he may have targeted your ride as I expect you leave it at the same place regularly and he has seen it many times before.
At the very end of the clip looks like he was pedalling off ok.
Try and make it bit harder next time and use two or more different lock types, the more you use the harder you make it but is a pain having to carry them all the time.

 

[cwah]

Probably might not have helped where the bike was positioned /locked up Cwah as the wall shielded him whilst disabling said lock/chain.
Though it is possible that he may have targeted your ride as I expect you leave it at the same place regularly and he has seen it many times before.
At the very end of the clip looks like he was pedalling off ok.
Try and make it bit harder next time and use two or more different lock types, the more you use the harder you make it but is a pain having to carry them all the time.

I'll juse use the faggetaboutit lock

Bike Locks & Padlocks | Halfords UK

Purchase a bike lock from as little as £5 at Halfords. From basic security to ultimate security, shop our complete range of products online and collect in store.

www.halfords.com

Can't break it unless using angle grinder for 5 good min. Not like now where he just did cut it silently with a bolt cutter

 

[jarob10]

Cwah have you a plan in place if you do happen see your bike for sale? I had no plan earlier this year when I discovered my stolen boardman had popped up on eBay. If you think ebay or the cops will run to your aid, think again my friend.

My suggestion is:

If not done so already, immediately record theft with the police, along with frame number
If you spot the bike for sale, buy it with PayPal &/or credit card. Change your delivery address to a random address, then contact the seller to arrange collection
Collect bike, immediately raise an ebay case with ‘item not as described ‘
Message seller and threaten to report him to the cops for handling stolen goods. If he fails to refund, head to the cop shop, give them the bike and seek a refund from PayPal / credit card company
Hopefully the police will return the bike to you if you can prove ownership

 

[cwah]

Good idea. I'll do that.

However my bet is that the seller will want to be paid cash in hand. I can easily imagine it being in gumtree or asking cash only in ebay

What would you suggest in that case?

 

[Nealh]

Likely hood once the scum has no use for it , is it will be dumped or sold. Whether it appears on web sites or locally for sale is anyone's guess, it will have a limited market due to it's diy build. The scum probably won't know it's voltage or battery chem so will need to find a charger, likely won't know if it is 24, 36 or 48v.

If it is stripped down for parts then no chance of seeing it again, though maybe the frame may appear somewhere, another build thread will be on the cards for us to see.

 

[cwah]

Likely hood once the scum has no use for it , is it will be dumped or sold. Whether it appears on web sites or locally for sale is anyone's guess, it will have a limited market due to it's diy build. The scum probably won't know it's voltage or battery chem so will need to find a charger, likely won't know if it is 24, 36 or 48v.

If it is stripped down for parts then no chance of seeing it again, though maybe the frame may appear somewhere, another build thread will be on the cards for us to see.

It uses an odd voltage of 63V. (15s battery) He won't find any charger for it. The battery is the most expensive part of the bike and he won't be able to use it without specific knowledge.

Even if he tried to strip out the battery, it's so bespoke it will immediately recognisable.

The motor kit uses 16" moped tyre. Again, no other uses than on my bike, and if he tried to sell, it's very bespoke.

The only thing he could sell for money, would be the phaserunner, but this part is so bespoke that it can only be sold in our community....

 

[cwah]

You can't even push a bike with an n lock. I hope you get it back.

just walk with a hand on the front fork to keep it straight. As simple as this...

 

[jarob10]

Good idea. I'll do that.

However my bet is that the seller will want to be paid cash in hand. I can easily imagine it being in gumtree or asking cash only in ebay

What would you suggest in that case?

If they won’t take PayPal / credit card, pay with fake notes. Dunno where you’d get fake currency from though

 

[cwah]

Cwah have you a plan in place if you do happen see your bike for sale? I had no plan earlier this year when I discovered my stolen boardman had popped up on eBay. If you think ebay or the cops will run to your aid, think again my friend.

My suggestion is:

If not done so already, immediately record theft with the police, along with frame number
If you spot the bike for sale, buy it with PayPal &/or credit card. Change your delivery address to a random address, then contact the seller to arrange collection
Collect bike, immediately raise an ebay case with ‘item not as described ‘
Message seller and threaten to report him to the cops for handling stolen goods. If he fails to refund, head to the cop shop, give them the bike and seek a refund from PayPal / credit card company
Hopefully the police will return the bike to you if you can prove ownership

Did you contact the police or ebay? What happened?

 

[JuicyBike]

Really sorry to hear this.
If there is any logo on the bike you could try advertising a charger with that name on ebay.
You have my sympathies!