N Minus X: how many cycles have you had stolen?

[francovendee]

My beloved Raleigh Sports stolen in 1961.
Best bike I've owned, I could ride all day and not get tired.
I'm sure it's nothing to be with being a teenager.

[PH]

One stolen. Also one kicked to death, possibly as a result of a failed theft or maybe just an act of mindless vandalism, I'd rather they'd stolen it. Coincidentally they were both the cheapest bikes I've ever owned.
My bike use includes leaving them out of sight on most if not all trips, sometimes several times a day. All my current bikes are of a value that replacement would make a significant dent in my income, so they're insured. That doesn't make me careless, but I don't fret about it either, they're bikes, theft is a risk, my only attachment to them is financial.

[mercalia]

One stolen. Also one kicked to death, possibly as a result of a failed theft or maybe just an act of mindless vandalism, I'd rather they'd stolen it. Coincidentally they were both the cheapest bikes I've ever owned.
My bike use includes leaving them out of sight on most if not all trips, sometimes several times a day. All my current bikes are of a value that replacement would make a significant dent in my income, so they're insured. That doesn't make me careless, but I don't fret about it either, they're bikes, theft is a risk, my only attachment to them is financial.

ah I forgot to mention similarly. A failed attempt to steal led the thief ramming a Sainsburys trolly into the frame thus destoying it. was my Dawes Horizon

[Vorpal]

When I was a teenager, I had my bike stolen from in front of our house. I'd just popped in for a cup of water, and my mum ran out screaming at someone riding away on my bike, then came back in & told me off for not putting it away. The one that replaced it (I paid for) was stolen from my student housing at uni. I had it locked with a decent lock inside a private storage area in the cellar of the student housing, & it still got stolen. The replacement for that was one I built up from skip bikes, and that was stolen by someone who broke into the garage. I have, ever since then been absolutely paranoid about it, and I haven't had any bikes stolen in ~30 years.

Mini V's bike was stolen a couple of years ago. It was locked up at the time & insurance replaced it, but she was understandably upset.

[NUKe]

had my garage cleared of bikes twice fortunately the second time they only got the pub bike, as the replacement stuff from the first time was in the house. 3rd time caught them climbing over the fence, they didn't come again. Have since beefed up security on the doors and the bikes live in the home office attached to the house.

[Ugly]

Two stolen, one recovered by the police, mostly intact and un damaged. The other was stolen from my workplace in Soho, I was walking to the station and there it was outside a shop. By the time I crossed the road the thief, or receiver, came out of the shop and was somewhat shaken when when 12 1/2 stone of very angry cyclist punched him to the floor and extracted natural justice with his work boots! The amazing thing was that people just walked around us.

[Boring_Username]

We had a break in to the shed a few years ago, they stole my son's mountain bike, and left my bike alone!

[Ellieb]

Put the bike in the garage. Forgot to close the door. Went back to close it 90seconds later. The bike had gone. Retrieved it 3 months later from the possession of a couple of 16 year olds who left it outside a shop. I went into the shop to reason with them when the shopkeeper said "Errrr.. we have recorded CCTV" so I decided not to reason with them.

[LollyKat]

Years ago my bike was stolen in town - it was locked but not very securely as I'd forgotten to take the second, hefty chain. I'd only had it a couple of years and our household insurance gave me the new cash value. As I had found it really stiff and uncomfortable I was quite pleased. Some years later I nearly lost the replacement. The stand where I'd intended to lock it already had another bike there so I had to go elsewhere. When I passed the stand a couple of hours later the bike was gone, with the remains of its massive chain lying on the ground.

Thieves once broke into our shed and took my then 10-year-old son's bike and my Bob Yak trailer. The insurance paid up full value and we did quite well, because we could get our son a bigger bike, and I was planning to sell the trailer as I couldn't get on with it. My husband build a new, reinforced shed with a jemmy-proof door and Chub lock, but he hadn't anticipated a thief levering off the roof and getting my son's bike that way. Reporting the theft was embarrassing but the insurers were very good about it - although by now they only offered a replacement bike rather than cash, they were happy to get the next size up for our growing lad.

The thief had left a clear thumb print on the skylight and was nabbed by the police, and as a serial offender he ended up in gaol. My husband added some bars under the roof to prevent another entry and they have also proved very useful as extra drying racks. He was always able to keep his bike securely inside at his work, while I worked in different places at different times with no obvious pattern, and it's now more than twenty years since that last theft.

[PH]

When I was a teenager, I had my bike stolen from in front of our house.

Someone I worked with had to go through his terraced house to unlock the passageway door to wheel his bike, a decent MTB, into the back yard. Less than a minute, opened the passageway door one day to see a youth riding off on his and a wreck of a BMX dumped on the pavement. Whether the thief was just opportunistic or had observed his routine we'll never know. Either way the idea that some people have that it couldn't happen to them is a blissful ignorance.

[Syd]

None stolen, or indeed any bits, and that includes those, as a kid, I hoped would be in the further hope by tight bar steward parents* would buy me another.

* in my entire childhood my parents only ever bought me one bike. The remainder were given to me by sympathisers.

[Cyril Haearn]

What, free cycles? How many?

[Debs]

I've been very lucky, never had a bike stolen.

The closest i had to losing my pride and joy bike was in 1983; cycling home though town i unexpectedly met a newish friend, we'd recently moved to that town and both joined the same cycling club. He invited me to see his new digs, a bedsit up on the 3rd floor of terraced house. When we got to the house, i left my bike in the ground floor hallway, the front door was locked for householders only, didn't have my usual hefty lock & chain with me but thinking it would be okay, only staying a few minutes...
Within ten minutes we came back down the stairs to find my bike gone. My friend said it was probably the landlord putting it outside; slightly panicking i went out the front door [ like the scalded cat ] to look around front garden - no sign of it, i ran down the path though gate to pavement, by busy road, and there it was leaning again the wall with people walking past, anyone could of easily wrote away on it. A six month old custom built 531c with excellent group set components that cost me over £800, ( or in todays money a £2.5k bike. )

[Cyril Haearn]

Please amend the poll: I had a wheel stolen only so I had to walk home
'Half/part of a cycle stolen?'
Bet that is common enough

And once someone who I knew who, deflated my tyres, for fun

I knew a man who, after a office Christmas party rode home and only on getting there did he find that a colleague had filled his panniers with bricks.

That of course is the opposite of stealing, a kindly donation of some useful stuff

[francovendee]

I'm just wondering if after having your bike stolen it makes you extra attentive to securing your bike? If it so does this last?
It's nearly 60 years since I had my bike stolen and I still never leave my bike unlocked.