Interview with a bike thief

[anonymous-user]

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.

[anonymous-user]

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 bked 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?

[anonymous-user]

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 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?