Tuesday 23 November 2010

Alastair's Dark Blue Felt Z80

Alastair writes;

"Reporting my bike that was stolen tonight, 23rd November at 9pm.
Location - outside Heath Sports and Social Centre [ Heath Hospital], bike resting against bike stand.
I unlocked my bike then realised I'd left my helmet inside, left bike unlocked for 2 minutes and when I returned it was gone.
Description of bike - Felt Z80 road bike, 105 spec, dark blue, one blue tyre and one red tyre. Reasonably good condition.
Other info - A white mongoose bmx with model name 'Subject' was left at the scene. This bmx is now in safe keeping inside the sports and social centre incase it belongs to the thief - possibly finger prints could be taken."


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Paulo's Black Charge Duster

Paulo writes;
"I couldn’t believe it when my insurance replacement for my stolen Cube [ featured here ] was also stolen, from the same place!

Charge Duster 2010 Medium hardly used but covered in mud.
It has a leather chain guard and superstar components BB’s in red only 9 gears XT cranks and formula brakes. I’ve changed the ODI grips it only has some cheap ones and riser also with a bright red Brontrager bottle cage. The saddle is a Specialized BG from years past and the seat post is another oldy from an Orange Evo2 I used to have.

Apparently thieves were seen going into Bute Park with Kryptonite lock still attached, someone dialed 999 but police didn’t want to know."



Aleksander's Brown Rudge Ulster Tourist

Aleksander writes;

"I would like to report my stolen bike.
It was stolen on Sunday 21/11/2010 from Cardiff University car park between Cathays train station and Sengennydd Road. The theft took place between 9:30 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. The bike was locked with a cheap combination lock to the only bike rack in the middle of the car park, next to a lone lamp post.
The bike is Rudge Ulster Tourist, a rather old English 3-speed bike. The frame is brown, the mudguards are metallic orange. It had black boxy pannier bags on both side of the rear rack. There was a blue-white helmet with a yellow fabric rain cover in one of the panniers.
I reported the theft to the police and also have the bike on immobilise.com. I will be grateful if you can post this on the blog, thanks"



Saturday 20 November 2010

Kevin's Burgundy Kona Dawg Supreme & White Giant Terrago

Kevin writes;

"I had 2 bikes stolen from my locked garage in the Thornhill area last Friday [12th].
Lesson learned - up and over garage doors are not secure at all, even when locked and appear to be easily accessed with very little damage. Also appears to be targeted theft as nothing else was taken.

The bikes were:

Kona Dawg Supreme - 2008.
Metallic burgundy, black DMR pedals, front crud catcher. It's a full suspension bike and is very noticeable and clearly desirable. Hydraulic disc brakes. Fox Float forks and Fox rear suspension. Handle bars. stem, seat post etc all black ' Race Face.' 18" frame. Mavic wheels & Maxxis Ignitor tyres.


stock photo


A Womens Silver/White Giant Terrago.
Frame size is 'S'. Crud catcher - front - grey, lights (probably removed now!) Hydraulic disc brakes."

Thursday 18 November 2010

Pete's Polished Specialized SX & Polished Intense m6

After a month of no reports, I've received a message regarding a theft in Treharris


Pete writes;
"Both my bikes were stolen last night [16th] from Treharris. They cut the mains to the security light chopped through ,the lock on the shed and the oxford hardcore lock that locked the chain the bike to the floor anchors. They didn't touch anything else in the shed. So they knew what they were after.

1st up
Specialized sx 2004 polished raw
red Pike forks.
x-lite steve peat stem, sunline bars
x-9 shifters and mech
single ring hone cranks and e-13 srs.
hope pro II hubs 20mm front 10mm rear. on tubeless en321 rims. and maxxis advantage tyres
shimano deore disc's with hope floating rotors 185mm front 165mm rear.
sdg bel air saddle and i beam post


2nd
Intense m6 medium team only issue polished raw.
new dhx rc4 shock and ti spring
new fox 40 forks
syrcos stem and funn fat boy bars
hope bulb on ex721 rim front goldtec draco 150mm on ex721 rear.
sram x-0 shifters and mech.
one of a kind brakes slx levers goodridge hoses saint caliper with hope 205mm floating rotors.
saint cranks and e-13 chain device.
sdg i fly seat new and i beam carbon post.
Seat/seatpost, forks & shock differ from pic". . . . .

Tuesday 19 October 2010

Amelia’s Red Safeway Town Bike

Amelia writes;

“I have just found your website, my bike was stolen over the weekend from out side my house on Cathedral Road. It was secured with a Kryptonite lock which had been cut.
It is a very old bike a ‘Safeway’ see attached picture but I love it and it is my life force.”

Tuesday 12 October 2010

Liam’s Black & Yellow Giant Defy [Later Recovered]

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Julian [Liam's mate] writes [around 6pm 12th of October];

“Stolen Giant less than an hour ago outside Colchester Avenue Sainsbury’s.
A yellow, black, and white Giant Defy racing bike, medium frame size, no real distinctive features to set it aside from similar models as everything was standard from new, except for its black Shimano spd road pedals.
Hope someone can help”

Monday 11 October 2010

Tips on recovering a stolen bike

Once you’re positive that your bicycle has been stolen [sure your mate’s aren’t playing a prank ? sure you didn’t move it while under the influence ?!], look around for any clues and get the facts sorted in your head. Depending on the situation, look for signs of a forced entry / lock remains / related crimes.

Spread the Word :
  • Contact the police, call 101 unless it’s an emergency. They might well show a lack of interest and may not investigate much, but you’ll need their help if to recover the bike if found by other means, as well as the crime number for any insurance claims.
  • Did your lock provider offer any after sale service ?
  • Report your bike as stolen online, Immobilise, bikerevolution, stolenbikecardiff, Cardiff Gumtree as well as local / cycling forums.
  • Post a flyer at the location it was stolen to try and get any witnesses to come forward.
  • Post details on your social networking pages such as Twitter and Facebook.
Look for your bike : Both on the ground and online. Check local second hand bike outlets such as the following;
  • Pawn Shops [e.g. Cash Generator] or search for ‘Pawnbrokers’ in Yell.com 
  • Local Bike Shops that stock second hand bikes [use Yell.com]
  • Markets / Car Boot Sales [e.g. Splott Market, Bessemer Road Market, Sully Market]
  • Gumtree & eBay – set up a Google Alert

good luck,
dafydd.


Thursday 7 October 2010

Paulo's Black Cube Ltd

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Paul Writes;
“Here are the details of the Cube that was stolen, from Greyfriars House, Greyfriars Road at 14:04 on Friday 20th August. Also not mentioned,  the rear brake had a goodridge brake hose with a yellow tag which was neatly placed in the hose guide nearest the head of the bike.

Police are placing image of thieves on crimestoppers apparently.”

Cube Ltd Anodised Black 2009

Frame: Alu Superlite AMF 7005 Double Butted, RFR‐Geometry (small number of chips to bodywork on chain stay (below chain towards rear mech) with carbon fibre chain protection loosely fitted)
Fork: Rockshox Reba Team Air U‐Turn Fork black – possibly (little chip to paintwork below crown (where it joins the frame) on rear left, recently fitted so red (I think) grease still clean within head)
Headset: Hope semi‐Integrated black – brand new (with faded USE headloc and spacer in red + Hope chrome spacer below stem)
Stem: Easton EA50 black with silver logo ‐ fading
Handlebars: Easton EA50 flat black ‐ fading
Grips: diamond shaped black
Brakes: Formula B4 hydr. Discbrake (160 rear /180mm front) the calipers are distinctively gold in colour and the Formula logo has faded
Chainset: Shimano Deore XT 32, 175mm silver, 2005 Integrated XTR BB black
Cog: Superstar 16T grey
Chain: grey
Rims: Mavic XC717 disc black
Tyres: Panaracer Trail Blaster 1.95
Hubs: Hope XC Black rear & front
Pedals: Shimano M770 XT Clipless SPD newish
Saddle: Charge spoon cromo ‐ black
Seat Post: Easton EA70 – black logo barely visible
Seatclamp: Hope QR Seat Clamp ‐ black
Bottle Cages: Tacx & Specialized Rib cage both black
Rear Crud catcher
Post Moderne Micro Bar Ends


CCTV image of thief

Tuesday 5 October 2010

Tips on preventing bike crime

Making a record of a bike’s details should take less than 10 minutes. . . . .

 Keep a record of the details of your bike – Make, Model, Frame Number, Size, as well as details about its components. Take some photographs of your bike, making sure that any customisations that have been added are clear. Keep these details and images in a safe and easily searchable place such as on a back up disk for your computer, or in an email account.

Next, register with immobilise.com – the ‘National Property Register’ which Police use when reuniting recovered items.

Advice on securing your bike

At the time of writing, half of the bicycles mentioned on the blog have been stolen from break-ins at home, from back gardens, garages or ‘secure’ storage at apartment complexes, so it’s just as important to follow precautions here as you would out and about.
The aim is to make your bike less appealing as well as difficult to steal. You can do this by;

  • Locking your bike [e.g. a D lock through the back wheel and frame ] even when the house / in storage will mean an opportunist thief won’t be able to ride it away / use it as a quick getaway. If available, lock your bike to a immovable object.
  • If storing in a shed / garage / apartment complex storage, take the front wheel indoors.
When leaving the bike unattended when out and about
  • There are two main types of locks available, a chain / cable lock, or a D / U lock. A thief only needs to carry one tool to break a lock, the type of tool depends on the type of lock. One way to make it harder for the thieves is to use both types. I would personally recommend this, even if one of the locks is a cheap / isn’t that strong, it will discourage thieves who haven’t got both tools.
  • Lock your bicycle to an immovable object that allows the least amount of movement once locked. A metal barrier is better than a lamp post, a Sheffield type bike rack is better than curly one. These will stop the thief moving your bike around to get better access to your lock. They’ll also protect your bike from being such an easy target to vandalism. A well lit area covered by CCTV will deter some thieves.
  • When locking, try to avoid gaps where tools could be inserted within the lock, avoid leaving the lock to rest on the lock on the floor where it could be hit and broke. 
  • Quick release wheels and saddles have their obvious disadvantage – lock these as well as your frame.
  • If you return to your secured bike, but it’s developed a flat tyre since you left it, don’t leave it there overnight ! I’ve heard that thieves deflate tyres in the hope that bikes get left overnight so they can work on the locks undisturbed. Especially true with the combination type locks.

Monday 4 October 2010

Report a Stolen Bicycle

If you’ve recently been a victim of bike crime in the Cardiff area, email me so I can post the details on the blog. Details should include;
  • Details of the theft – Location, Date, Aprox Time, what was it secured to / was it in storage ? Type of lock.
  • Details of the bike – Make, Model, Colour, Spec, Customisations / parts added ie stickers, Damage.
  • Photographs of your bike or a stock photo.
  • Any additional details / comments.
 
Details will placed on the blog, the map and the calendar.

thanks.dafydd
 

Tuesday 28 September 2010

Jon’s Black 2009 Felt Z35 and Black & Red 2007 Gary Fisher Tassajara


Jon says his garage in the Victoria Park area was broken into between 1 – 6am on the first of September

Bike Specs :
2009 Felt Z35
Black carbon 58cm frame
Frame Number : WUD61000219D
Mainly Shimano 105 groupset, except for the following parts fitted recently which may make the bike more recognisable:
Ultegra front mech, Ultegra chain, Ultegra cassette (12-27), Dura Ace 7850 Carbon Laminate Wheels with 23mm Continental GP4000S tyres. Also stem mounted Cateye V2C computer with cadence sensor fitted to left hand chainstay and two carbon fibre bottle cages. Note that the above photo has original wheels not the DA’s. Sorry this is the best photo I have of the trusty steed.
2007 Gary Fisher Tassajara Disc Hardtail
 Black and red 19” frame. Frame number : 338SI0101B
I replaced the Bontrager off road tyres with Continental travel contact semi slicks for my commute to work. Bike was fitted with two alloy bottle cages and a HAMAX bracket on the seat tube to hold a child seat.

David’s White Specialized Hardrock Disk 2010

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David Writes;
“I unfortunately had a bike stolen on Sunday the 19th of September @ 21:51 PM. I can be so sure of the time as there was CCTV footage showing the hooded guy riding off with it. The bike was stolen from the Watermark building down Cardiff Bay (CF11 0JU) from a locked garage where 2 people broke into. It was about 3 months old. It was a White Specialized Hardrock Disk 2010.”

Monday 27 September 2010

Ryan’s Black Specialized Hard Rock Pro

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Ryan writes;
“Specialized Hard Rock Pro Stolen from outside Ernest Willows, City Road Wetherspoon around 19:20, 14th of September.       
Black Pannier with scuff on rear left side, Iron Cross Dust caps, silver handle bar ends, cleat (clip) pedals, bottle holder, white brakes. Unique looking bike.”

Grant’s Red Carrera Vulcan

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Grant writes;
"Hi, just seen your ad. My daughter's bike was stolen overnight on the 5th / 6th September in the Cyncoed area. Red Carrera Vulcan 18" frame, 08 model. Taken from garage with aluminium door which was "tin opened" in what is I suppose a fairly professional manner. Police tell me this might be a hallmark method of breaking in but needless to say, no word of an arrest. No piccies unfortunately but anyone who knows this type of bike will recognise it as having a very striking red colour. It did have a rear mudguard, bottle holder, light holder and a ‘Centre Parks’ black lock tied around the frame. It was sold as a man's bike but we had a ladies saddle put on it."

Saturday 25 September 2010

Howard's Brown Raleigh Twenty Amber


Howard writes;
"This is my rally 20 amber. It was stolen about 4 weeks ago now outside my house in grangetown. Looking to get it back or at least another like it."

Thursday 23 September 2010

Louis’s Black Giant Brass

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Louis writes;
“Your site has arrived in good timing, my bike was stolen last Thursday (the 16th of September) sometime between 11.30am and 4.30pm and was my only way of getting around cheaply as a student. Plus the bike itself wasnt cheap. The bike was stolen on Custom House Street, behind the Marriot hotel right next to the statue of ‘two hands grasping a rope’.”

Paul’s Kermit Green Orange Five Pro


Paul writes;
“The bike was stolen from Pontprennau, Cardiff early hours on Monday, 13th of September. 
Frame No: 10-73287MRC

Size – 20”
Make - Orange
Model – Five (Pro with Thompson upgrade)
Colour - 'Kermit' Green.
Spec:
Fox float RL front
Fox RP23 rear
Hope Tech M4 brakes
Monkey Euston carbon bar

I added the Kermit decal to both rear swing arms with the tag – It’s not easy being Green! It has a black neoprene mud guard on the front fork & an Aura chain stay guard on the rear.”




Later, he adds "It was stolen from my garage. They cut a hole in the door with a can opener and bypassed my locks."



Will’s Blue & Yellow Saracen Vice

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Will writes;
“Mine was lifted from my apartment building bike rack off Lewis Road about two weeks ago.

It was a blue and yellow Saracen Vice Y-frame bike with a fair bit of rust, new chain and loose gasket on the forks.
Stupid thief may have left his name and address behind which has been passed to the police.

Elen’s Black Ladies Carrera Subway

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Elen writes;
“My bike was stolen between the 31st Aug pm and the 3rd Septmeber am. It was stolen from a secure bike shed at Prospect Place in Cardiff Bay.
It was a brand new black Carrera Sub 16" ladies frame bike (from Halfords). The only distinctive features were a back wheel mud-guard which was taped to the back of the bike. I also had a "traking" sticker on it, which locates my bike to my address. However, I assume they have removed the sticker by now!”

Elliw's Pink Raleigh Chopper Mk3 . . . . . later Reunited !



This blog, like a lot of good ideas, is a result of a drunken pub conversation with an acquaintance back in August. She explained that her pride and joy – a bright pink Raleigh Chopper – was recently stolen from Cardiff city centre.
Casually searching for something to replace my stolen road bike, I was a bit of surprised when I saw a bright pink Chopper on Gumtree the following weekend. A couple of emails later, and with the help of the Police, this bike was recovered & reunited with its owner [ Ahhh, happy ending ! ] . The Llanrumney police found a back garden full of bikes, but were still unable to prosecute Henry [ not so happy ending ]. He’s still trading on Gumtree.
It would be great if this blog resulted in more stolen bikes being reunited with their owners.

Tuesday 21 September 2010

First Post / Test / Stolen Carrera Valour Sept2009




First post of this blog is dedicated to my Carrera Valour road bike. Stolen a year ago on some sunny Saturday while I was enjoying some live music at Buffalo Bar. It was locked, along with my mates Giant Terrago to the cycle stands at the Windsor Place / Queen Street junction. Must have been their lucky day – two bikes, one lock ! [ Onguard Doberman 185cm Cable Lock £15-20ish ]
We couldn’t remember if there were other bikes about before, nor could we quite remember noticing a dodgy transit van parked up the street, but there wasn’t anything left, not even the lock ! Reported the crime immediately, and waited to until the CCTV operator confirmed that he was looking the other way.
Off the shelf road bike, no real unique parts. Large Frame. Crappy plastic pedals [ not the standard SPD ones ] Yellow valve caps & Yellow Livestrong band on the stem.      
Anyways, no real hope in finding this by now, but do get in touch if you’d like me to post about your stolen bike.