DS bike stolen

[Tigger71]

My DS is 14 and has had his bike for about 18 months that we bought for £300 in a sale. He has always looked after it very well and followed our instructions to always lock it in a public place when in our small quiet town. Last week it was parked and locked for two hours outside Sainsbury’s in town. When he got back the bike and helmet were gone. He was gutted and upset and blamed himself.

Now off to buy a new bike today but we now have to pick something ”less cool” or trendy and as cheap as we can get (but still ok to ride) with the hope it will be less attractive to steal. Which makes me angry in a way that thats what you have to do to hope it doesnt get stolen. Also going to get a clumsy D-lock instead of the coiled lock we had.

Any other advice to make it more difficult / less attractive to stealing?

[Guest]

Sorry to hear that .
No advice either apart from getting a less desirable bike.
Ds’s bike was a £600 specialised and some 🤬 stole it from our local train station ,it even had a top of the range kryptonite lock and they still got it!
No cctv either apparently .
He now just uses an old mountain bike my dad had in the garage .
Sad that you can’t have anything nice these days

[Tigger71]

Originally Posted by PumpkinKitty

Sorry to hear that .
No advice either apart from getting a less desirable bike.
Ds’s bike was £600 and some 🤬 stole it from our local train station ,it even had a top of the range kryptonite lock and they still got it!
No cctv either apparently .
He now just uses an old mountain bike my dad had in the garage .
Sad that you can’t have anything nice these days

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Totally agree - very sad.
I told him at least it was ”only” his bike. Not his phone which has personal data etc or he wasnt mugged/knocked down. But its sad that you should have to think like that...

[Tetrarch]

I had my road bike stolen from outside work in broad daylight in the centre of London, despite a D-Lock

My insurance company also wiggled out of paying a penny

I got a very good deal in Orlando on a new one, but that will only get locked underground with cctv and my brand-new Abus lock that is super secure

Unfortunately, there is nothing you can do to outwit a determined bike thief

Regards

Gary

[storm]

Have you checked if your local police station offer free bike security marking/stamping/smart water. They apply the marks & a sticker stating they have marked it, might deter.

[Melbatb]

How very annoying and frustrating :angry

My colleague had his bike nicked from outside our office. He now takes the saddle off - he says if they do nick it it won’t be a comfortable ride.

[parisdisneyfan]

Sorry to hear this and can understand how your ds is feeling. My ds had his stolen just before Christmas, again locked up with a lock that gives you insurance. Unfortunately they took the lock too so couldn't claim

I just can't understand why people do this, there is no second hand market for bikes, always loads on gumtree or even at the tip. His wasn't anything special but it had been a birthday present a few years ago and he was upset because of that.

My ds decided not to take dh old bike back upt to uni with him, couldn't face another one going!

[Bellasmummy]

We have abus folding locks for our bikes but still don’t feel confident to leave them anywhere. Even in the shed we lock the bikes securely to the ground and each other to deter thieves.

I’m off the centre parcs soon and will be taking dds and my own bike, will be bringing them inside at night and the rest of the time will be using 2 abus locks and 2 additional heavy duty chain locks. Dh said I should locks both frames and wheels to the stand and lock each bike together as it makes it harder for thieves and might make them choose other bikes.

Really sad that you have to go to those kind of lengths to protect your property though.

[fileyboy]

Our local police do marking events every month. Also you may want to think of a tracking device that will alert you if the bike is moved and also let you know where it is if stolen. back2you/product/guardia...light-tracker/

You can then alert police to recover it and hopefully catch the thieves.

[Moorlandman]

Originally Posted by parisdisneyfan

I just can't understand why people do this, there is no second hand market for bikes, always loads on gumtree or even at the tip.

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Bikes are usually stolen to order ( top end bikes) or stolen to pay for drugs. It easy to sell a bike for £10 which will pay for their daily fix