Another SF Stolen Bike Thread. Steelman/Serotta/Speedvagen

[crankles]

A friends Garage got hit. Gone are 3 steelmans, a Fierte and a not as yet ridden SV road. OUCH. Keep an eye out. Hitting all the usual channels as well ( SFPD, Fleamarkets, Plattyjo, craigslist...etc. ).
I'll post more details as they become available.

p.s how can I request this be made a sticky?

Cheers

[chomeo]

wow. i saw the SV post on fb. that sucks! i hope they catch him.

[jtakeda]

Oakland has now been warned.

That's two high end bike thefts out of Oakland garages in a matter of a couple months. Someone is targeting these high end rigs and has found a way to unload them quick.

I've got my eyes peeled.

[Rubeboy]

Was this in Oakland or in SF?

[jtakeda]

I guess I assumed Oakland because OPs location.

[blessthismess]

Yikes! A lot of nice bikes. I'll keep an eye out.

[DRZRM]

Yeesh, smart (or at least smarter) robbers, I wonder if they are selling them in a distant market as well? May be time to consider a serious locking system in the garage...or getting all the bikes within the alarmed part of the house. I keep wondering if it is linked to Strava settings or CL sales. I suppose they could be just driving around neighborhoods peering in windows or following people home from rides, but I suspect there is some other trick to this. Two Speedvagens, I wonder how many of those there are in the bay area.

[Louis]

Is it my imagination, or does the Bay area get more than it's share of high-end bike theft?

[MattTuck]

Originally Posted by Louis

Is it my imagination, or does the Bay area get more than it's share of high-end bike theft?

It does seem endemic in the Bay area... maybe other things explain that though, better weather so more people are biking, concentration of wealth, well developed system to fence stolen bikes, greater media and police attention of the problem?

Hard to make a statement without a comprehensive review of the stats.

[aoe]

This sucks....so 5 bikes? If this did occur in Oakland, pm me and I can put your friend into contact with the OPD officer that's been making some headway.

[slidey]

So do I.

I feel that social media has a lot to do with this - Facebook/Foursquare/Strava is sufficient to get an accurate estimate of the stable/location/commute habits/vacations.

Originally Posted by DRZRM

I keep wondering if it is linked to Strava settings or CL sales.

Good luck to the OP's friend.

[thegunner]

jeez, this is a freakin' shame - all of those are downright gorgeous.

[yummygooey]

oof.

[denapista]

Stealing bikes is big business in the bay area. The fiends and junkies know they're quick sales for quick dollars. Even if a friend has to buy the bike back, it's still a risk of profit for a fiend. They have amazingly crafty tools to steal bikes in the bay area. I've been hearing more and more about garages and house thefts. That's just insane to me. My friend has his Speedvagen surprisingly lost when flying from LAX a few months ago. His SV was laced with EPS and a similar overt scheme as the one posted above. I just find it hard for that style of bike to be resold on the open market. I feel bummed for the guy above. Hopefully his bikes are recovered sooner than later. For someone to case your place where you live and possibly follow you home, is nuts!

[beeatnik]

Originally Posted by denapista

Stealing bikes is big business in the bay area. The fiends and junkies know they're quick sales for quick dollars. Even if a friend has to buy the bike back, it's still a risk of profit for a fiend....For someone to case your place where you live and possibly follow you home, is nuts!

The investment in time for either an organized theft ring or a junkie is too high. These custom bikes can never grab anywhere near their value in the black market. That's just the economics of bike theft. And the Strava/Stalking theory is also not compelling. I live within a half mile of denapista and in 3 years I've seen the guy on the road once (recognized his white Speedvagen) and that was last week when the saturday group ride swept him up on the largest street in the area. Junkies and pro thieves dont have the time to be trying to figure a potential mark's riding schedule. These Oaktown thieves seem to be lucking into boutique bikes but I bet they would be happier finding Giants and Fuji's with 808s.