So I had a bike stolen out of my garage this past April. I filed a police report at the time, but nothing else came of it until now. This morning I noticed it for sale on Ebay and Craigslist. The seller has changed out a couple of components, but I am 100% certain that it is mine, because of various aspects of the build that are unique and still present. However these nuances are lost on non-bike people. I do have dozens of pictures of me on the bike.
I have contacted the police. Their response is basically that unless I have a serial number, they can’t do anything except talk to the guy. According to the officer I spoke with, they cannot take possession of the bike. I do not have the serial number. The serial number on this frame was a sticker anyway, so the thief would have removed it immediately (presumably).
At the instruction of the police officer, I have made contact with the seller and now have his address.
I can go look at the bike, but I already know it is mine. I am not going to buy it back. It seems like if I take the officer at his word, I really have no recourse to getting my bike back. If the seller is the thief, and I show up with an officer, the thief will deny it, and that will be that. If the seller is not the thief, he will say as much, and that will be that. With the information given to me by the officer, I can’t see any way the police would act to return the bike to my possession.
My question is, what would you do? I would be especially interested in a response from police or legal minded folks.
Just throwing out an idea…Buy it back and the take him to small claims court to recover money assuming you would have a way to prove it was your bike. Or go and take pics of bike (come up with an excuse to) and other info to be able to identify the bike and then immediately sue for injunctive relief (and ask court for temporary restraining order to prevent him from selling the bike) to get bike back without ever paying him for it. You will have his name and adddress
One thought is that the seller might not be the thief, but found a killer deal on a bike he thought he could flip. Just throwing this out there before you assume the mentality or response from the seller…
I found my old Cannondale for sale on Craigslist almost a year after it was stolen. I agree…You just know it’s your’s. I contacted the police and they told me to sit tight…later that day they called and said they recovered it during a “buy/bust”. the seller said he bought it from someone at a circle k about a year ago. Seller described a known gang member from the area as the og. seller and agreed to testify against him. I got my bike back and heard nothing of it since:) Option two was to ride away…
Well, I feel there is evidence aplenty that proves beyond a reasonable doubt that it is my bike, however when I start explaining the complexities of why to a normal person, their eyes glaze over. So I’m not sure how far that would get me with a judge. Plus when you throw in that some of the components have been switched out, my footing feels less secure.
Update - I have been in contact with the bike shop where I purchased the frame. They have indicated they’re going to look into their records and may be able to pull the serial number. The officer has stated that if I have the serial number, and the serial number on the bike matches it, he will take possession of the bike. Now I just have to hope that 1) The shop can come through for me, and 2) the serial number is still on the frame. #2 seems unlikely, but one step at a time.
I am shocked the bike shop even would keep records from an internet frame sale from 2014.
I personally if selling a not so cheap bike would ask for collateral before allowing a test ride. Car keys (if the person drove up) or a driver’s license (so I know who it is). But then again I’m no bike thief either.
But, good luck BSUdude and hope things end well for you. Subscribed as I’d like to know the outcome. Be safe though.
Same thing happened to me in Nov, bike found on craigslist in March. Good mountain bike was stripped of Enve post/bars, nice fork and pedals, though I knew that bike better than the back of my hand and could name ~fifteen features/parts that you couldn’t see without disassembling. Up we were driving to recover the bike, we didn’t have the serial number. His (off the books) advice was to do one of two things 1) Test ride far far away or 2) Explain to the person that the bike is yours, tell him the features you know (but cannot be seen from pics/without disassembling), that he is in possession of stolen property, and that you are giving him an opportunity to give the bike back without pressing charges. Unfortunately, he also said that there is nothing official that can be done without the serial.
Luckily, we found the serial number fifteen minutes before meeting the police, but I learned a lesson in writing the number down and keeping it in a safe location.
So if this isn’t a lesson to everyone to snap a picture of your bikes serial number, I don’t know what is.
First thing I’ve done with every bike I own. Upload image to photo hosting somewhere so you can’t lose it.
Without having the serial number he is correct , it’s almost impossible legally to prove that the bike is yours. Now if it has something unique on it or is a unique bike and you have pictures on your phone , with you in races, that would be enough to convince me me (yes . I’m a cop). He was correct in telling you that though.
I highly recommend bikeindex.org for that kind of thing. You can store you serials, bike pics and more. And it is a cinch to share it with the law enforcement.
So if this isn’t a lesson to everyone to snap a picture of your bikes serial number, I don’t know what is.
First thing I’ve done with every bike I own. Upload image to photo hosting somewhere so you can’t lose it.I have a copy of my serial number but it’s just a small, metallic sticker that can easily be removed like the OP feared. Do manufacturers etch the serial number into the frame somewhere perhaps? If not, I suppose etching the number into a carbon frame yourself would be a bad idea? Curious how one could imprint a permanent serial number on a bike…
I’ve been too lazy to do this as of late but I have considered epoxying a Tile somehwere it is impossible to see or remove easily. I’ll do this next tile I recable the bike.
I’ve been too lazy to do this as of late but I have considered epoxying a Tile somehwere it is impossible to see or remove easily. I’ll do this next tile I recable the bike.
But is a Tile good enough for the police or do they need something like a serial number. Seems anyone could place a tile anywhere on anyone’s bikes and claim it is their bike.
You spoke with a police offer correct? Go with the police officer if they will do it. That will probably scare them. The other possible option is that they bought the bike from the person who stole it.
A few questions:
did you register your bike with the National Bike Registry? It is a good idea for us to always do this.
do you have any pictures of the bike that are identifiable, particularly of the serial number (usually on the bottom of the BB)?
do you have a receipt for the purchase of the bike?
any of the above 3 things (even #2 if not of the serial number) can strongly help your case. What you can’t have is their word against yours. You need evidence.