Bicycle theft ring So Cal

[sah]

Thieves used FB and Craiglist to steal bikes!


http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-expensive-bikes-20120509,0,7387371,full.story

[Jiffer]

Wow. Thanks for posting that. I'm in So Cal. Sounds like a good idea to meet prospective buyers of bikes or bike parts in a location other than your house . . . unless you know them.

There have been bikes stolen from the parking lot and/or off cars when our cycling club has met on Saturday mornings for a group ride.

My husband has taught me to always be careful about my bike, to never leave it unattended, like out in the driveway while I run in to get something. We keep them in bike cabinets, so they aren't so obvious and exposed from the street when the garage door is open.

Funny thing, when our house was broken into they took all the electronics they could carry, jewelry, other misc. stuff and my car that was parked in the garage, but left the three high end bikes as well as a high end guitar and keyboard. The policeman said it's probably because they have serial numbers and are easier to trace. (My car was found torched a couple of days later. It was just a means to carry things. Poor baby!)

[Koronin]

Wow. When we sold hubby's bike, he met the prospective buyer at our local bike shop actually.

[ACG]

I saw this too. I've had friends who had bikes stolen off bike racks attached to their cars. I purposely put my baby in my car.

[Maye]

Thanks for posting this. Even though I don't live in this area, this can happen anywhere.

This is kind of unrelated (well sort of) but, two weeks ago I was doing a garage sale to see if we could get rid of some baby gear and dvd's and other stuff. My bike (Trek, not the high-end ones) was in the bike rack on the garage, in the back actually, in the same place I always put her next to our watercraft. Well, at least 4 people stopped asking about the bike and if it was for sale. They spotted it from the street, easy. After the last person stopped, I put the bike inside the house to avoid confusion. My point is, road bikes are very attractive and I bet there's a big black market somewhere for bikes.