Bike Stolen in York Today
Discussion
Hi there,
Today between 3 and 6pm at King's Staith in York, some thieves stole a Whyte PRST-1 and a PRST-4, belonging to me and my wife.
We had cycled 17 miles to go to York for a late lunch, and discovered the theft at 6 when we were going to start cycling back home.
Unfortunately, we had to get a train and a taxi back home.
If anyone sees or hears anything about these being put up for sale in the York area in the next few days, I would appreciate a PM.
These bikes are very distinctive, and might prove tough to sell on without attracting some attention.
Just found out that our home insurance only covers £500 for bicycles too, so looking at a big loss.
They were both chained up very securely, and are security marked with our postcode.
The PRST-4 has some Easytrack.com and Ducatisti.co.uk stickers on the frame and swinging arm.
Today between 3 and 6pm at King's Staith in York, some thieves stole a Whyte PRST-1 and a PRST-4, belonging to me and my wife.
We had cycled 17 miles to go to York for a late lunch, and discovered the theft at 6 when we were going to start cycling back home.
Unfortunately, we had to get a train and a taxi back home.
If anyone sees or hears anything about these being put up for sale in the York area in the next few days, I would appreciate a PM.
These bikes are very distinctive, and might prove tough to sell on without attracting some attention.
Just found out that our home insurance only covers £500 for bicycles too, so looking at a big loss.
They were both chained up very securely, and are security marked with our postcode.
The PRST-4 has some Easytrack.com and Ducatisti.co.uk stickers on the frame and swinging arm.
After a brief discussion with my home insurance company, it turns out that our bicycles aren't covered AT ALL!
So, all you kids out there, make sure that your insurance is up to snuff.
Bah.
{edit} Just by way of explanation, the insurance company claims that bicycles are only covered if they are stolen from my house, not in my shed for example... Bah.
So, all you kids out there, make sure that your insurance is up to snuff.
Bah.
{edit} Just by way of explanation, the insurance company claims that bicycles are only covered if they are stolen from my house, not in my shed for example... Bah.
Edited by Chewykneeslider on Monday 20th April 16:13
@ Watsonator
You have a PM. That's great that someone saw something.
I am off to York later on today to ask around in bikeshops etc to see if they have been offered anything recently.
In answer to another question, the lock I used was a 5 lever mid price job, which connects together with a multi strand high tensile cable. It's the sort of thing which would be difficult to get through with bolt croppers, or a saw. I have another lock of the same type on another bike, and as I don't feel like relying on it for security of any sort, I might have a go with the contents of my garage to see how long it might take me to get through.
Had a bit of a terse discussion with my insurers (Allianz) today, and they aren't going to cough up anything, at all. I thought that we had cover, but not for this. BAH!
You have a PM. That's great that someone saw something.
I am off to York later on today to ask around in bikeshops etc to see if they have been offered anything recently.
In answer to another question, the lock I used was a 5 lever mid price job, which connects together with a multi strand high tensile cable. It's the sort of thing which would be difficult to get through with bolt croppers, or a saw. I have another lock of the same type on another bike, and as I don't feel like relying on it for security of any sort, I might have a go with the contents of my garage to see how long it might take me to get through.
Had a bit of a terse discussion with my insurers (Allianz) today, and they aren't going to cough up anything, at all. I thought that we had cover, but not for this. BAH!
Hi Guys,
I spotted that ad a few days ago, but didn't do anything, because it was clearly not my bike. The one in the pic has the silver built up fork system, where my PRST-4 has a black tubular fork, and the stolen PRST-1 had a slightly different look to it.
I would know my bike when I see it however, same goes for the one that belongs (ed? Grr!) to my wife.
Interesting though... I sort of recognised the pic, are you a poster on Retrobike?
Did I buy a pair of shocks from you about 18 months ago?
I spotted that ad a few days ago, but didn't do anything, because it was clearly not my bike. The one in the pic has the silver built up fork system, where my PRST-4 has a black tubular fork, and the stolen PRST-1 had a slightly different look to it.
I would know my bike when I see it however, same goes for the one that belongs (ed? Grr!) to my wife.
Interesting though... I sort of recognised the pic, are you a poster on Retrobike?
Did I buy a pair of shocks from you about 18 months ago?
- *Update***
A wonderful thing has happened.
I have been perusing Ebay for over a year, with alerts set up so that whenever a Whyte is listed, I get a nudge. The weekend before last, I was alerted to this listing:-
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/121980406313?_trksid=p20...
It was my bike! The PRST-4 that was lost in April last year to thieves, and documented on this very thread. Aparently un-molested, it even had the stickers on it that I put there, and the frame number hadn't been tampered with.
It had also appeared on Gumtree at the same time. It was located in Middlesborough, where the cops who interviewed me at the time thought that it had gone. They were investigating the thefts of a large number of bicycles from York in the same period, and the British Transport Police had evidence to suggest that the thieves were using the trains to travel between the North East and York.
I contacted the guy from the BTP who had interviewed me a year ago, and they got right on to the 'seller' the next day, went round to the house, and got my bike back for me. I am hugely grateful to the guys who did that for me, and proves that cynicism can be unfounded at times like this.
Apparently, the sellers had bought my bike in August last year from a car boot sale in Middlesborough for £40... The other bike which was my wife's PRST-1 is still at large somewhere, but the sellers of my bike told the police that the guy they bought it from at the car boot sale had one that matched the PRST-1 description in their van.
Things are especially sweet, because my insurance wouldn't pay up over the thefts, so getting one bike back was unbelievable after so long, when I had given up hope.
In the meantime, I had bought a second hand Whyte JW-4, and had been running around on that, but it just wasn't the same as my 'proper' bike.
So, lessons learned are that you should always personalize something, so that if it gets stolen, then there are always ways to prove that it was yours, and put a very good lock on it when you leave it anywhere. Those cable jobs just aren't up to it.
Cheers for all the good thoughts about my situation turning out in the end.
Obviously security is one of my major thoughts now, and when my wife bought a new bike through her cycle to work scheme, she bought a couple of new locks to go with it. The locks are a heavy duty U lock, and a Abus scissor type lock.
It just feels really wrong that you spend all your cash on a nice lightweight bike, and then have to weigh the thing down with 5kg of boat anchor. Bah.
Obviously security is one of my major thoughts now, and when my wife bought a new bike through her cycle to work scheme, she bought a couple of new locks to go with it. The locks are a heavy duty U lock, and a Abus scissor type lock.
It just feels really wrong that you spend all your cash on a nice lightweight bike, and then have to weigh the thing down with 5kg of boat anchor. Bah.
Gassing Station | Pedal Powered | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff