Someone Stole My Sons Bike

[JR Indy]

My son came inside tonight and told me someone had stolen his bike. The cable had been cut that had it locked up under the carport. It was a nice Specialized Stumpjumper that was my Christmas gift to him two years ago. We ride about every other weekend, so he is pretty upset about it. Oh well, I will give the police a call in the morning and hope it turns up though I assume this is very unlikely. Looks like I'll be shopping for a new bike soon.

What makes people do these kind of things? I would never even dream of stealing anything from someone.

[pwd72s]

Meth scum, probably...

[sc_rufctr]

Originally Posted by JR Indy

....

What makes people do these kind of things? I would never even dream of stealing anything from someone.

It's easier to steal something than go out and earn the money to buy it...
It's easier to abuse a child than raise him or her properly...
It's easier to take drugs instead of facing up to life's responsibilities...

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I feel your frustration. Having something stolen is like being violated IMO.

What can you do? Chat to your son and assure him things will be OK.
One day he may have a similar issue with his own son so the example you set now is important.

I have a good spare bike in my garage that I'd give you for fee but the postage to the US would be more than the bike is worth.
I hope it turns out OK.

[WolfeMacleod]

Someone stole my bike when I was a kid, from nside our house... it was in the basement. I was about 9 or 10. It was the only gift I remember ever receiving from my biological father, who I'd only met a couple times my entire life.

It was black with red 5-spoked nylon wheels..."Mongoose" I think.

[DanielDudley]

Like mice, they come back to where the pickings are easy.

Make things more secure.

[pksystems]

Wierd... my neighbours kid leaves his bike in the front yard, unlocked. I'm amazed it hasn't been stolen yet

[jyl]

Watch craigslist. You might see it again.

[Tobra]

what John said. Go buy it back and call the cops to go get the thief.

[Noah930]

Originally Posted by jyl

Watch craigslist. You might see it again.

Or local pawn shops.

[AFC-911]

At least no one tried to jump him for the bike...Learned how to defend myself when I rode my bike through my elementary & middle school years.

[Laneco]

That happens more often than people realize AFC-911...

A couple of years ago Tinker Juarez (pro MTB rider - olympian, etc) was on a training ride on his road bike. It was taken from him at gunpoint.

Craigslist and pawnshops are most likely locations to find this bike. But also look for Ebay ads for all or parts of that bike. Obviously it was taken by a local, so do your searches by "nearest". We had quite a few bikes here in the valley a few years ago that were parted out and sold on ebay. The guy got caught when someone recognized their parts. The fellow had gotten greedy and put all the parts up at the same time. DOH!

angela

[Mrmerlin]

get a Kryptonite lock and make sure the part your locking the bike to is stronger than the lock, cables are easily cut the K lock not so much.
Sorry for your loss, you might also try covering the bike if its to be left outside ,
if you dont see it then it may not be stolen.

[crustychief]

I used to go to the local swap meet to buy my kids bikes back, then I would send the sheriff to the booth. Lakeside Ca. meth infested place.

[stomachmonkey]

Had a bike stolen as a kid, was maybe 8. That Orange Chopper. Got it for Xmas one year. There was something at the local Woolworths that I wanted to buy and was too impatient to wait for my mom to get home to drive me there so I rode my bike. Was about 5 miles. I did not have a lock so when I got there I leaned it against another locked bike. I knew what I wanted and where in the store it was so I figured in and out in a couple of minutes.

Get out and the bike is gone. Lots of crying. Security called my mom who came and got me and drove me home.

Sitting in the driveway was my Uncle and my bike. He was on his way to the house and spotted me. He followed me to see what I was up to and saw me leave the bike unlocked and decided to teach me a lesson.

Nearly 40 years later I have not forgotten it.

[vash]

tinker juarez!! wow a blast from the past! he isnt still competing is he?

remember missy?

sorry for the lost bike. i have never had one taken, luckily.

[JR Indy]

Originally Posted by jyl

Watch craigslist. You might see it again.

I looked at craigslist this morning, it's not on there yet. It would be interesting to find it there and deciding just how to handle the thiefs.

It's very sad that the bike even has to be locked up.

[aigel]

If you have apartments close by, go check the bikes in the racks there. Not unlikely you'll find it.

George

[Scott R]

Originally Posted by Mrmerlin

get a Kryptonite lock and make sure the part your locking the bike to is stronger than the lock, cables are easily cut the K lock not so much.
Sorry for your loss, you might also try covering the bike if its to be left outside ,
if you dont see it then it may not be stolen.

We bought a few repo motorcycles in December and they had Kryptonite locks on them. I used a cordless grinder with a diamond carbide blade and was through it in about 60 seconds. Not sure what holds up to the motivated thief these days.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Sorry to hear - when I lived in L.B. I had a nice Pinarello steel frame road bike (that I'd transplanted about $1200 in new modern components onto) jacked out of my garage - and the thieves fked up the paint on the hood of my 911 getting it out of there (probably dragged it across on the way out from the look of it). The cops did come out and take a report and were very up front:

Officer: "So what do you expect will happen"
Me: "Likely nothing unless it happens to end up in police evidence or impound for whatever reason, or I happen to see it on Craigslist or a yard sale - mostly this is just for documentation purposes"
Officer: "You're right - honestly there's nothing we can really do unless we happen to luck into it"
Me: "Understood, thanks for coming out and have a great night".

That was it. Handed him the photos & serial # and that was that.

Some fkin tweaker or meth head probably rode it off and pawned it for a hundred bucks not knowing what they had (bunch of Dura Ace stuff, new 10-speed Ultegra pieces, etc.)

Damn I loved that bike. My "new" FP2 is good, but there's something about a steel bike...

People suck. I'm glad I live an an area with a lot fewer of them now - and with much less restrictive gun laws and home defense laws.

[A930Rocket]

I had my six month Schwinn Stingray I got for Christmas stolen when I was about 10-11 years old. We lived on an acre lot in it was in the front yard one night. Stupid of me.

I worked like a dog at my newspaper route to save up enough money to buy a new one.

I learned my lesson and still have it 40 years later...