have you ever wondered if the bike rider has stolen the bike?

[redrhodie]

a good pawn shop will run the serial number

Sorry for the hijack, smilingcat, but a quick question to chris about running serial # of bikes. Is there a national police databank of stolen bike serial #s?

[Ana]

I like to take little impromptu joy rides sometimes when I'm moving my bike or if I'm around it... I pedal in my shoes (or sandals) on the flat sides of my SPD-Ls. Admittedly, I do this rarely (and only for 5 minutes or so) but I like how it makes my heart swell

[kenyonchris]

Sorry for the hijack, smilingcat, but a quick question to chris about running serial # of bikes. Is there a national police databank of stolen bike serial #s?

There is a crimes database of serial numbers of stolen things....bikes included. If your bike is stolen and you have the serial number and it is included in the theft report, it will be crossmatched in the database. If it is recovered (ditched or seized), or entered by a reputable pawn shop, or a detective runs across a suspicious looking item in a pawn shop, or an attentive police officer has reasonable suspicion that a bike may be stolen, they can cross reference it and check.
Sadly very, very few people have the serial numbers of their stuff. Therefore, not much of it is recovered.

[Tuckervill]

There is a crimes database of serial numbers of stolen things....bikes included. If your bike is stolen and you have the serial number and it is included in the theft report, it will be crossmatched in the database. If it is recovered (ditched or seized), or entered by a reputable pawn shop, or a detective runs across a suspicious looking item in a pawn shop, or an attentive police officer has reasonable suspicion that a bike may be stolen, they can cross reference it and check.
Sadly very, very few people have the serial numbers of their stuff. Therefore, not much of it is recovered.

I'll bet with my experience of state government that this program is voluntary and it costs "someone" money to join it and if you live in a poorer state that your state does not participate and your stolen stuff is not on that registry.

Karen

[out_spokin']

I’m a bit sad reading this thread, particularly the link to the Bicycling article and implication therein. I thought the article was a great and sympathetic portrait of hardworking and hard BIKING day laborers – by taking just the small part where a few guys buy stolen bikes it seems to me that there’s an unfortunate equation being made, and overlooking the main thrust of the article. Which to me is summed up in the article by "What's surprising is how committed these riders are to the activity of cycling--even more, it's hard to admit, than those of us who love the sport."

In the article, and in my experience, the vast majority of bike-riding day laborers, and other lower-income folks, wouldn’t dare put their livelihoods and families at risk by stealing bikes. And pretty much none would have an interest in the kind of bikes the OP describes. Why would someone who puts more miles in a week on a bike than some of us do in a month or even a season, and in the worst conditions (and who have a fierce incentive to not have their only transportation stolen) mess around with carbon fiber and low –spoke-count wheels? Yes, they may want and save for an upgrade from Wally World bikes, but you can bet they’d go for a basic decent mountain bike over anything like the “mismatched” road bikes mentioned here.

We had a rash of high end bikes stolen locally, too. Ones that were locked up and/or garaged, and clearly targeted for their value. Turns out a well-organized theft ring, likely meth related, was broken up because someone not only reported their bike was missing, but had their serial # and gave it to police. So like the others say above, make sure you have that info in a useful place, keep your bikes close, and don’t buy suspicious-sounding stuff off craigslist, ebay, etc…but maybe we can check our assumptions, eh?

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I’m a bit sad reading this thread, particularly the link to the Bicycling article and implication therein. I thought the article was a great and sympathetic portrait of hardworking and hard BIKING day laborers – by taking just the small part where a few guys buy stolen bikes it seems to me that there’s an unfortunate equation being made, and overlooking the main thrust of the article. Which to me is summed up in the article by "What's surprising is how committed these riders are to the activity of cycling--even more, it's hard to admit, than those of us who love the sport."

In the article, and in my experience, the vast majority of bike-riding day laborers, and other lower-income folks, wouldn’t dare put their livelihoods and families at risk by stealing bikes. And pretty much none would have an interest in the kind of bikes the OP describes. Why would someone who puts more miles in a week on a bike than some of us do in a month or even a season, and in the worst conditions (and who have a fierce incentive to not have their only transportation stolen) mess around with carbon fiber and low –spoke-count wheels? Yes, they may want and save for an upgrade from Wally World bikes, but you can bet they’d go for a basic decent mountain bike over anything like the “mismatched” road bikes mentioned here.

We had a rash of high end bikes stolen locally, too. Ones that were locked up and/or garaged, and clearly targeted for their value. Turns out a well-organized theft ring, likely meth related, was broken up because someone not only reported their bike was missing, but had their serial # and gave it to police. So like the others say above, make sure you have that info in a useful place, keep your bikes close, and don’t buy suspicious-sounding stuff off craigslist, ebay, etc…but maybe we can check our assumptions, eh?

+++++1 Good post.

[papaver]

Last night I was painting in the house with my scruffy paintcovered clothes on... but i ran out of masking tape, so I took my racing bike and drove of to the nearest store. Then I thought of this thread and I couldn't stop laughing.

[Crankin]

I haven't seen any mismatched riders and bikes, but we do see a few "invisible" cyclists around here.
You guys are scaring me. I don't know anyone who has had their bike stolen. I do lock my Jamis outside stores or on a rack when doing errands, but I never leave my Kuota anywhere. It comes with me or someone watches it.
Heck, half the people in my neighborhood don't even lock their doors. And we live within 2 miles of a medium security prison...