Interview with a bike thief
Discussion
http://www.welovecycling.com/wide/2016/05/18/forme...
The simple answer is not to buy obviously stolen bikes but people like a "bargain" and are happy to turn a blind eye.
The simple answer is not to buy obviously stolen bikes but people like a "bargain" and are happy to turn a blind eye.
SixPotBelly said:
Reading that interview the thief seems to equate "times being hard" with not being able to have "designer clothes on your back, expensive trainers, or loads of money". I have no sympathy.
Whilst not condoning the thieves actions in anyway, it does read like they started stealing bikes to make ends meet and then got addicted to the money.If they got 400 to 500 per bike, and 10 bikes per weekend... would be around 2k, tax-free, a week. I imagine it would be very hard to give that up once you've tasted it and have long since abandoned the morality surrounding it's origins. A good, 30k, job in the UK gets what 600 pre tax?
The questionable bit for me is the weeping and ashamed family - where on earth did you think a Fork-Lift driver would have that sort of earning potential?
So what are those gold coloured cylinder things with red ends that there are many pictures of?
As for buying second hand (which I do), those with any conscience should take care, look at seller, do they know anything about the bike? see original receipt, use common sense etc. I looked at second hand Bromptons for a while, but new ones weren't much more expensive and I knew I wouldn't have a nicked one, so that's the way I went.
My pub/sainburys bike is an old battered looking gas pipe 10 spd racer. It rides well yet owes me nothing and its top value even on ebay is only about £60. I am fairly confident it'll be there when I come back, confirmed by this chap.
As for buying second hand (which I do), those with any conscience should take care, look at seller, do they know anything about the bike? see original receipt, use common sense etc. I looked at second hand Bromptons for a while, but new ones weren't much more expensive and I knew I wouldn't have a nicked one, so that's the way I went.
My pub/sainburys bike is an old battered looking gas pipe 10 spd racer. It rides well yet owes me nothing and its top value even on ebay is only about £60. I am fairly confident it'll be there when I come back, confirmed by this chap.
Magic919 said:
pseudonym said:
Make your mind up pal. I smell bulls
t article.
Those cylindrical key locks are quick and easy to pick. A D lock with some other kind of key is fine. t article. It's worth remembering that many locks and security devices are designed to delay any potential thief long enough to be caught or disturbed, any lock, chain or cable can be forcibly removed given appropriate tools and time.
American iv said:
Whilst not condoning the thieves actions in anyway, it does read like they started stealing bikes to make ends meet and then got addicted to the money.
If they got 400 to 500 per bike, and 10 bikes per weekend... would be around 2k, tax-free, a week. I imagine it would be very hard to give that up once you've tasted it and have long since abandoned the morality surrounding it's origins. A good, 30k, job in the UK gets what 600 pre tax?
The questionable bit for me is the weeping and ashamed family - where on earth did you think a Fork-Lift driver would have that sort of earning potential?
I was sceptical about the amounts he quoted. High end bikes like "Carrera" aren't high end - it read like a random list of bike brands rather than someone who knew what he was talking about. Could you spend anywhere near £1,000 on a Carrera? Would they really sell for £500 second hand?If they got 400 to 500 per bike, and 10 bikes per weekend... would be around 2k, tax-free, a week. I imagine it would be very hard to give that up once you've tasted it and have long since abandoned the morality surrounding it's origins. A good, 30k, job in the UK gets what 600 pre tax?
The questionable bit for me is the weeping and ashamed family - where on earth did you think a Fork-Lift driver would have that sort of earning potential?
Zigster said:
I was sceptical about the amounts he quoted. High end bikes like "Carrera" aren't high end - it read like a random list of bike brands rather than someone who knew what he was talking about. Could you spend anywhere near £1,000 on a Carrera? Would they really sell for £500 second hand?
A Carrera is a high end bike to 99% of the public, if it's newish and shiny then it must be high end to the uninitiated bloke down the pub looking to buy a bike without a receipt.A bike thief would rarely come across a proper high end bike, nobody would be silly enough to leave a nice Cervelo, Bianchi etc locked up in public.
One of my lads at work cycled in on a decent looking Merida hardtail, I Googled it and it was in the region of £800, he paid £250 for it off a bloke he vaguely knows.
He's a decent kid, I b
ked him for bringing stolen goods to work, asked him how would he feel if somebody stole his car etc, he just kind of shrugged 'but it was too cheap to resist'.It's a bit like stolen radio's in the 80/90's, everybody was after them, I knew a scouser who would go out and rob them to order, he couldn't nick them quick enough to satisfy demand.
Now I'm older I wouldn't dream of buying a stolen bike, power tool, in fact anything like that at all, I suppose the difference is now I have a conscience and I can afford to buy most things I desire anyway?
CoinSl0t said:
Zigster said:
I was sceptical about the amounts he quoted. High end bikes like "Carrera" aren't high end - it read like a random list of bike brands rather than someone who knew what he was talking about. Could you spend anywhere near £1,000 on a Carrera? Would they really sell for £500 second hand?
A Carrera is a high end bike to 99% of the public, if it's newish and shiny then it must be high end to the uninitiated bloke down the pub looking to buy a bike without a receipt.A bike thief would rarely come across a proper high end bike, nobody would be silly enough to leave a nice Cervelo, Bianchi etc locked up in public.
One of my lads at work cycled in on a decent looking Merida hardtail, I Googled it and it was in the region of £800, he paid £250 for it off a bloke he vaguely knows.
He's a decent kid, I b
ked him for bringing stolen goods to work, asked him how would he feel if somebody stole his car etc, he just kind of shrugged 'but it was too cheap to resist'.It's a bit like stolen radio's in the 80/90's, everybody was after them, I knew a scouser who would go out and rob them to order, he couldn't nick them quick enough to satisfy demand.
Now I'm older I wouldn't dream of buying a stolen bike, power tool, in fact anything like that at all, I suppose the difference is now I have a conscience and I can afford to buy most things I desire anyway?
CoinSl0t said:
A Carrera is a high end bike to 99% of the public, if it's newish and shiny then it must be high end to the uninitiated bloke down the pub looking to buy a bike without a receipt.
A bike thief would rarely come across a proper high end bike, nobody would be silly enough to leave a nice Cervelo, Bianchi etc locked up in public.
Even if the bike thief and his buyers think it's high-end, it's still not £500 (as a stolen second-hand bike) high-end.A bike thief would rarely come across a proper high end bike, nobody would be silly enough to leave a nice Cervelo, Bianchi etc locked up in public.
I can't see someone down the pub handing over £500 without first getting out their phone, googling Carrera bikes and realising it wouldn't be £500 new so certainly wouldn't be £500 with all the potential hassles of stolen second-hand bike.
I'm not saying the article is 100% BS, but I think some of it is exaggerated to make a better story.
Zigster said:
Even if the bike thief and his buyers think it's high-end, it's still not £500 (as a stolen second-hand bike) high-end.
I can't see someone down the pub handing over £500 without first getting out their phone, googling Carrera bikes and realising it wouldn't be £500 new so certainly wouldn't be £500 with all the potential hassles of stolen second-hand bike.
I'm not saying the article is 100% BS, but I think some of it is exaggerated to make a better story.
Oh I agree, the thief would know the difference between real high end and a Boardman (I'm not dissing Boardman), I just don't think the thieves came across that many high end bikes at all which makes me think the article has a whiff of exaggeration about it.I can't see someone down the pub handing over £500 without first getting out their phone, googling Carrera bikes and realising it wouldn't be £500 new so certainly wouldn't be £500 with all the potential hassles of stolen second-hand bike.
I'm not saying the article is 100% BS, but I think some of it is exaggerated to make a better story.
I don't honestly think I've ever seen a bike locked up in public that retails for more than £250, I suppose these guys could well have been breaking into office bike stores etc and hitting the jackpot occasionally?
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