Typically, thieves will do one of two things with stolen bikes. Some will disassemble your bike, move the parts to a different part of the country - or even overseas - and sell the components to unsuspecting buyers, usually throwing the frame away to avoid being caught out by the serial number.
Re: What generally happens to stolen bikes? Some end up in cash converters/pawn shops, some on Gumtree, some get stripped and sold as components with the frame getting chucked in a dumpster or a vacant lot.
Understanding which bikes are most often targeted by thieves can help riders make informed decisions about their bike security and minimize the risk of theft. High-end road bikes are often the most popular target for thieves due to their high value and lightweight design.
Bolt cutters are one of the most popular tools that thieves use to steal bikes. They can be bought from any hardware shop and will make light work of any cable lock or cheap D locks. Bolt cutters vary in size, the biggest being 42″ and the smallest is only 6″.
ONLY 2.4% of stolen bikes can be recovered. That's why you need to learn some effective bike theft prevention tips to protect your bicycles from thieves. There are 9 bike theft prevention tips you can try to secure your bike from thieves.
It's so easy to get away with it
One major contributing factor to the increase in bike theft is that it's just so easy for criminals to get away with it. A bicycle's very nature makes it an easy target for theft: they are lightweight and simple to disassemble, making them easy to transport.
Check ebay, Gumtree, craigslist. Check out the listings on ebay, Gumtree and craigslist. Thieves will often try to sell stolen bikes through these sites.
Indeed, research by 529 Garage suggests that the number of bike stolen (rather than just reported stolen), in the US in 2019 could be closer to 2 million. Which is equivalent to one bike every 30 seconds! The cities with the highest bike crime in the US include (somewhat predictably), New York and San Francisco!
Less desirable bikes are less quick to be bought and therefore less likely to be stolen. A bad colour brown or bright pink or luminous green and purple bike might be deterrents!
Cutting: Thieves use tin snips, bolt cutters, hacksaws, and angle grinders to cut their way through locks and chains.
A lot of people think bike or motorcycle thieves pick locks. But that only works for simpler locks — the kind you can pick with a pen. In most cases, it's faster and easier to cut directly through the surrounding mechanism while avoiding the actual lock.
What do bike thieves do with stolen bikes? Bike thieves have the equipment to cut locks and intend to resell stolen bikes at a price close to their “fair market value.” Criminals like typically steal bikes from the streets and sell them on online markets to get the most money.
The unfortunate reality is that stealing a motorcycle is relatively easy, and bikes are stolen every day. A car thief will have to deal with windows, alarms, and locks before accessing your car. A motorcycle thief, on the other hand, can simply hotwire the motorcycle and wheel it away.
Make a claim for bike theft on your insurance
Once you have filed a police report for your stolen bike, you should be able to make a claim on your bike insurance if you have any.
Wheels, saddles, and accessories are the most commonly snagged items, but ultimately no part of your bicycle is safe, not even your cockpit.
"Every year, the bikes of tens of thousands of Amsterdam residents are stolen,” says Melanie van der Horst, the alderman for traffic and transport, and the deputy mayor of Amsterdam “They must buy a new bike, while their bike is sold again somewhere else in the city.
Examine the bike thoroughly to check its condition. Also look to see if it has been security marked. You can check the frame number or BikeRegister ID by using our FREE BikeChecker facility on the BikeRegister database to make sure that the bike is not listed as stolen.
It isn't common, but bike racks do get stolen, especially if they are easy to steal and will bring in some quick cash. If you have a bike rack, you need to consider locking it to your car to protect it as well as your bikes.
The front wheel is a very standard item, easily resold. The back wheel has all the expensive parts on it. They are stolen sometimes because people lock the bike frame but NOT the wheels, as that takes more time. Wheels usually come off fast, they have something called a 'quick release', on any bike worth thieving.
Simple in construction and profoundly rich in human insight, Bicycle Thieves embodies the greatest strengths of the Italian neorealist movement: emotional clarity, social rectitude, and brutal honesty.