# Kuota Kharma 09 and a Trek 1.5 WSD Stolen!



## Kuota M (20 Aug 2009)

7 week old Kuota Kharma Ultra 09 was stolen from the bike racks at Kew Gardens between 12 noon and 3:35pm on Sunday 16th August 2009 

The Kuota is an XL framed bike with black bar tape, fulcrum 5 wheels, Fizik white saddle with red stripe and continental 4000s tyres. 


The thieves also stole my lady's 2009 model, 52cm Trek 1.5 wsd, blue and white road bike with white Specialized BG Toupe saddles and grey Bontrager Race-Lite tyres. 


The police know and I hope whoever tries to ride these bikes has something bad happen to them if they do. 

I am sorry for sounding as I do, but the thieves have stolen a part of our happiness. 

M


----------



## Kuota M (20 Aug 2009)

I saw this advert on Gumtree this evening after posting my stolen bikes advert. 
I have tried on several occasions to contact "William" and "Jennifer" to no avail as the given number says calls are not being connected at this moment. 
Let me tell you: I bought my bike 7 weeks ago for £1900 BEFORE adding a Fizik Arione saddle, Conti 4000S tyres and Look Keo Red pedals to it. 
There are only TWO authorised Kuota LBS's in London 
There is NO WAY ON EARTH anyone would sell this bike after 3 months let alone drop the price by £1200 on it. 
I have alerted Gumtree see the ad below. 
----------------------------------------------- 
Kuota Kharma 2009 (full carbon) (£700) 
Date posted: Thursday 20th August | Ad viewed: 124 times 
Location: Brick Lane 

Hi i am selling my Kuota Kharma bike in excellent condition. I purchased the bike around 3 months ago and have now decided to sell because i think someone can get much more meaningful use out of it then me, The size is Large and the frame made from Carbon fibre which makes it very very light and very Fast, it also comes with the 2009 Shimano Ultegra full groupset. The bike is in Perfect working order with no problems or marks, First to see will buy. For any further questions please contact William or jennifer on 07508259781 
----------------------------------------------- 
I WILL SEE YOU, I WILL FIND YOU, YOU THIEF.


----------



## ianrauk (20 Aug 2009)

I sincerely hope you get your bikes back I really do & hope some harm befalls the tealeaf bastard, but goddam it man, why the did you leave near £2000 of bike out of your sight?

Have you alerted the police about the advert?


----------



## Kuota M (20 Aug 2009)

Thanks Ian,
It was the first (and last) time I ever leave my bike unattended. 
It was left in the bike rack at Kew Gardens in front of the ticket office and directly under the security cameras.
This is a bitter lesson to learn.
It is a distinctive bike and I will see it as I travel across London and the South East.


----------



## ianrauk (20 Aug 2009)

I know exactly how you feel mate. I had a new bike stolen after only 5 days from the train station, got it on cctv too.. brazen as you like the thief was. Nowhere near as nice as your Kuota but horrible feeling nevertheless.
So a good tip, for times you are going out and leaving your bike locked up, take an old less valuable bike. A bitter lesson learned indeed.

Hopefully the police track down William and Jennifer sooner rather then later and you get your bike back.

What colour is the bike? help if a few forumites can keep an eye out. Picture would be good too.

ps welcome to the forum.


----------



## MacB (20 Aug 2009)

well done on having the details for the police, relly hope the scumbag gets caught. 

I know what Ian means but I'm getting heartily sick of this 'don't leave your bike response'. When I had one stolen at a station I consulted with BTP on how to proceed in future. They recommended never leaving a bike at a station......gee thanks guys. Catching bike thieves shouldn't be too tricky.

But my biggest bugbear is the marketplace, if none of us ever buy hooky stuff then the market vanishes. I wonder how many regular cyclists think nothing of buying, no questions asked, from Brick Lane, Gumtree, etc.


----------



## ianrauk (20 Aug 2009)

Hi Maccy,
I know exactly what you mean, but these days you just can't leave a valuable bike like that out of your sight for a second, a fact of life. As I said ealiuer I left a brand new bike (5 day old Subway 2) at Orpington Station which was subsequently nicked, it was all on CCTV, they said they knew who it was but I heard nothing back even after repeated calls to the police. I learnt a lesson that day. Never again will I leave any of my nice bikes out of my sight for any length of time. And if I do have to, ie at the train station or shops then it will be my crappy old hack bike. OK you may have a very nice bike that is a fantastic ride and you want to enjoy. But leaving locked up for a while.. not a chance. At least the OP had the very good sense to write down the serial number, how many people actually do that I wonder?


----------



## MacB (20 Aug 2009)

yep, I keep meaning to write down serial No's and also get the free markings the local police put on for you. Like you I haven't left either of my better bikes out of my sight and they aren't anything like as fancy as the OP's.

I know it's just reality it just bugs me that the main onus seems to be on us. Don't leave it, bigger better locks, sold secure ratings(though testing doesn't use the tools thieves do), make it look cheap, get insurance and so on. I think it was Coruskate posted up about targetting thefts from the other end. Target shops/traders that buy them and their customers, confiscate thebikes after the transaction is complete. Trader loses money to evidence and customer ends up with ni bike and out of pocket.


----------



## Kuota M (20 Aug 2009)

Photographs of our stolen bikes have been added.
a tip to all is if you cant be bothered to write down your serial number, take a picture of it and write it down when you can.
Seeing your replies have helped me and my lady to not feel so alone in this so thank you all.


----------



## MacB (20 Aug 2009)

sorry Mark, but that is one fine looking bike and, you're right, very distinctive, good luck.


----------



## ianrauk (21 Aug 2009)

A very distictive bike Mark.
Keep us updated with any news.


----------



## fossyant (22 Aug 2009)

What locks did you use?


----------



## Kuota M (24 Aug 2009)

It was an Abus silver rated D-lock.
If there are any suggestions for good D locks, I would welcome them however, I don't think I will lock my bike outside anywhere again. I will get something good for my garage though. 

I am also looking into tracking devices. I guess anything that will give me some peace of mind.


----------



## e-rider (24 Aug 2009)

That ad on gumtree sounds very much like your bike. I'd try and track them down yourself and don't wait for the police to do absolutely nothing.


----------



## e-rider (24 Aug 2009)

were the bikes insured? If you have house insurance this sometimes covers bikes away from the house. Worth checking.


----------



## e-rider (24 Aug 2009)

I know it's been said but leaving a £2000 bike anywhere for any length of time is crazy, especially in London. I've had several attempts to break the lock on my £180 commuter when I leave in in Norwich city centre. The world appears to be full of bicycle theiving scumbags unfortunately - probably because the law practically encourages it. A serial offender might at best get a few hours community service but will most likely walk away with a £50 fine!


----------



## Kuota M (25 Aug 2009)

We have insurance so replacements are on their way. I will not be locking my bike anywhere again. That was the first and last time.

p.s. the ad is still on gumtree and they've dropped the price. I did send an email to them but they've since taken off their hidden email address. I guess it is a matter of turning up and wandering around Brick Lane.

http://www.gumtree.com/london/07/44187207.html


----------



## e-rider (25 Aug 2009)

If you have insurance then I wouldn't even bother looking for it as you might end up getting beaten up or even killed by these scumbags.

My advice on tracking the bike down yourself was only if you had no insurance and were desperate to get it back, but just claim for new bikes and learn from the experience.


----------



## e-rider (25 Aug 2009)

Just looked at the ad, I'm not a betting man but I would put my money on that being your bike from what you've told us!

Have you called the number? You could arrange a viewing and then beat the shoot out of them (and get your bike back). You'd probably end up in jail though, and I'm not keen on violence (except when it comes to bike thieves)


----------



## Kuota M (25 Aug 2009)

The number doesn't work and they've taken the email off of the advert. 
Being that I am not small and can handle myself well, I would relish the chance to meet and view the bike. But these people don't return calls or emails. 

From reading the experience of others on stolen bike forums, people who have followed up on Gumtree ads, even if the they sight their bikes and call the police it can be very difficult to get the bike back. (one guy did http://www.cyclechat.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=37562 and kudos to him for lifting our spirits on this depressing forum) 

There are only two authorised Kuota bike sellers in London. I bought my bike from one and went to the other over the weekend (who were disappointing in their attitude when I tried to register my frame serial number with them). I thought that if someone is stupid enough to take the bike in for a service, I could get the IBS to notify the police. The shop I purchased it from are hot on this I am glad to report.

I think the best way is to make sure one's bike is insured, period. With photographs of the bike with the final kit and the frame serial number you will know you have the basics in place to ride it. I also have personal indemnity in case of some idiot in a motor vehicle or a novice rider not respecting my space or the rules and etiquette of the road.

I also have a philosophy that it is just a material item which can be replaced. My lady and I look to the future and getting our shiny new bikes by this bank holiday weekend so we can ride off into the sun. Ahh.


----------



## MacB (25 Aug 2009)

I like the idea of having bike shops check a stolen bike registry against any bikes they work on.


----------



## SavageHoutkop (25 Aug 2009)

Erm... location is down as 'brick lane' so perhaps they are operating out of there and expect you to pop down and have a look if you are interested rather than doing the deal over the phone/net?


----------



## Kuota M (25 Aug 2009)

MacB said:


> I like the idea of having bike shops check a stolen bike registry against any bikes they work on.



Yeah, me too. If you buy a stolen watch, like a Rolex for example and try to get it serviced, the servicer will not return the watch to you and notify the police.

I would pay small a one-off fee for this service if all the major bikes shops signed up for it.


----------



## Kuota M (25 Aug 2009)

SavageHoutkop said:


> Erm... location is down as 'brick lane' so perhaps they are operating out of there and expect you to pop down and have a look if you are interested rather than doing the deal over the phone/net?



I have notified GumTree that they are being used to market (potentially a high amount of) stolen goods. It seems like the police aren't interested unless you investigate it yourself, find the bike and then call them.


----------



## e-rider (25 Aug 2009)

You're expecting to get replacement bikes by the bank holiday weekend! When my bike was stolen a few years back it took 8 months to get the £800 for a replacement.


----------



## ianrauk (25 Aug 2009)

And what was Gumtrees response?



principalm said:


> I have notified GumTree that they are being used to market (potentially a high amount of) stolen goods. It seems like the police aren't interested unless you investigate it yourself, find the bike and then call them.


----------



## Kuota M (26 Aug 2009)

ianrauk said:


> And what was Gumtrees response?



all quiet from gumtree - have emailed them twice and included my telephone number but it's all quiet on the western front...


----------



## Kuota M (26 Aug 2009)

tundragumski said:


> You're expecting to get replacement bikes by the bank holiday weekend! When my bike was stolen a few years back it took 8 months to get the £800 for a replacement.



thankfully my insurers paid out in under 24 hours.


----------



## gabriel959 (27 Aug 2009)

That is great - shame for your premium that will go up quite a lot next year


----------



## ttcycle (28 Aug 2009)

Kuota M - 

Have had the very same experience as you- in fact did the whole detective leg work, contacted the fuzz and they did sweet FA - in fact the CID officer hung up on me several times and told me 'It's not murder', whist I was in the police station waiting and watching them divert every person coming in my bike got sold. I posted on this forum about my stolen bike. Sounds like the sellers on Gumtree are wary.

Hope you both get your replacements this weekend.

Though I am very suprised to hear that you only got a silver rated lock?
People laugh at my overlocking of my bike now but it's a good way to protect a high value bike as sometimes it's just not possible to not leave a bike out - in fact my work due to security reasons don't allow bikes within the site.

if you want to know how fragile d locks are -google picking or breaking kryptonite d locks.


----------



## Kuota M (30 Aug 2009)

Thanks TTCyle.
We got one bike delivered this weekend, waiting for the other. 

I read about your stolen Ruby Elite too. That sucks big time.

At the moment I don't have a lock I can use on the bike and I will need to look for one for future. After performing that Google search you recommended, well, now I just don't know. 

I was told to carry two different styles of lock with me so I may do some hunting but I can tell you that they will hardly be used as I do not plan to leave my bike anywhere open. Which locks would you recommend?


----------



## ttcycle (30 Aug 2009)

Well I lock my bike up now with a Abus Granite X-Plus and a Kryptonite New York, a seatsaver (more for the passing opportunists) AND a covered very thick alarmed cable lock that a friend gave me which he got for New York...a lot of heavy duty and heavy weight locks which cost a fair bit in themselves but worth it for a bit of piece of mind...it is worth having two different types of lock as to open them needs different tools - the kryptonite and the Abus will be breakable by Anglegrinder but those machines are noisy and used by a very few. I think both locks are reviewed in cycling Plus? I can't remember which mag it was. Good luck with getting the other bike replaced.


----------



## ed_o_brain (19 Sep 2009)

My carbon fibre bike (not as flash as the aforementioned in this thread) is forbidden from being used for anything other than leisure rides when I can keep it in full view all of the time.

I've already lost too many bikes. I HATE thieves.


----------

