I’ve had around 8 bikes stolen over the last two years in two batches of four. A punch in the guts it was on both occasions. The first theft left me without my £6k Knolly Delirium T amongst other bikes and I’m still gutted none of my bikes have turned up, despite how boutique and rare some of them were.
Although it doesn’t help me, it does bring a sense of reassurance to see examples of police forces taking bike theft seriously. Like Hampshire Police just recently uncovering a haul of 60 or so framesets as MBR magazine reports in the latest March 2012 issue.
PC Richard Smith had investigated a spate of thefts back in 2010. He had suspects, but it wasn’t until a bike was stolen in Aldershot, and a fingerprint found, that his hunch was substantiated. The owner of the bike had spotted his Fox Talas forks on eBay and notified the police. His identification of the forks enabled PC Smith to obtain warrants through the courts, which led to finding five people linked to the eBay account. Three of those are appearing in court this February charged with conspiracy to steal and are expected to recieve a costodial sentance each. The account saw £240,000 pass through it which is strong evidence.
If you’ve had your bike stolen within 30 or so miles of Farnborough and is worth anything £500 plus, check these details out at the following link where you will subsequently find a link to an image gallery. http://www.nhampshirectc.org.uk/pages/Stolenbikes.html
There are some nice framesets in there. No complete bikes, but some look like complete bikes less wheels, so take a look just encase you recognise one of these bikes
