# Things you've had stolen from a bike



## Pale Rider (25 Jan 2018)

A polite note was left on my bike while parked outside Sainsbury's from a 'fellow cyclist' warning me that he/she had had lights and a basket stolen while parked in the same place.

Unpleasant theft, particularly the lights, because that could lead to the cyclist riding home unlit.

But the note got me thinking about things stolen from bicycles.

I've never been a victim, but I did see a cyclist in London walking his bike without a front wheel, which he told me had been nicked.

What have you had stolen from your bike?


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## Drago (25 Jan 2018)

Luckily, nothing.


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## BSOh (25 Jan 2018)

My savings

Edit: sorry read that as 'by' a bike


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## MiK1138 (25 Jan 2018)

Wish someone would steal my FWE light from my bike its fekin useless in the rain. but like @Drago i have had nothing stolen from my bike, had a whole bike stolen + accessories right enough


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## welsh dragon (25 Jan 2018)

I have never had anything stolen either, not from my bike anyway.


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## mjr (25 Jan 2018)

Pale Rider said:


> A polite note was left on my bike while parked outside Sainsbury's from a 'fellow cyclist' warning me that he/she had had lights and a basket stolen while parked in the same place.


Could they be trying to scare you into using another parking place where they can steal bikes in solitude more easily?

I don't remember having anything stolen from my bikes yet, but I don't leave much on them that's not bolted on.


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## Nigel-YZ1 (25 Jan 2018)

Nothing recently, but years ago had a light nicked and someone thought it fun to take the frame pump off and smash it on a railing.


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## mustang1 (25 Jan 2018)

Lights while parked in secure place.


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## Smokin Joe (25 Jan 2018)

Lights and a pump, many years back when I was at college in Tower Hamlets. Made worse because it had started snowing heavily before I left and gave me an interesting part ride, part push, journey home to Forest Gate.


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## Pale Rider (25 Jan 2018)

mjr said:


> Could they be trying to scare you into using another parking place where they can steal bikes in solitude more easily?
> 
> I don't remember having anything stolen from my bikes yet, but I don't leave much on them that's not bolted on.



My bike had a trunk bag and clip on lights - all easily removable - so that's what caused the note.

I needed the trunk bag for the shopping, but it did cross my mind to remove the lights before setting out.

Back - almost - on topic I saw a woman in Glasshouse Street, central London, years ago struggling to start her parked 125cc motorbike.

Turned out someone had nicked the kickstarter, so I jump started it for her.


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## Bodhbh (25 Jan 2018)

Had a frame pump pinched from the bike in a hostel lock-up. It was a £35 quid Top Peak Mountain Morph with a pressure gauge, so I wasn't amused. Him/her/them also pinched the frame bracket for the pump and a couple of luggage straps wrapped round the frame. I guess they figured it was all better off attached to their frame instead of mine.

Had a couple of water bottles pinched while it was locked outside a pub too. Either very sad person or kids arsing about.


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## vickster (25 Jan 2018)

Nothing, other than a whole bike and everything that was on it 

I always remove lights, Garmin, rack bag etc even if leaving briefly. I do sometimes leave a bottle attached, never lost one yet. Light and Garmin mounts stay on...losing the former would be a pita, the latter an annoyance


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## Tangoup51 (25 Jan 2018)

Nothing at all. I tend to put all my valuables on a waterbottle, and then its just a case of the front and rear light.
And the garmin..
And the phone.
And then the pump

... then my backup front light.

Interestingly though, I locked up my bike in Leicester and noticed this bike on the other side of the rack, had all his stem bolts packed with what looked like 6mm plastic bb gun bearings hammered in the head. Clever. Would suck to get a mechanical though.


oh and backup rear light.


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## Pale Rider (25 Jan 2018)

My sister in law had her helmet nicked from her bike while it was parked in a supposedly locked garage at a bed and breakfast.

She was doing the C2C, and in theory no one else had been in the garage other than other cyclists.

There's a chance someone picked up her helmet by mistake, although I don't recall her saying there were any other helmets left lying around.


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## snorri (25 Jan 2018)

I met a fellow cycle tourer pushing his seatless bike in a city somewhere in England who claimed his seat had been stolen.


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## Tangoup51 (25 Jan 2018)

snorri said:


> I met a fellow cycle tourer pushing his seatless bike in a city somewhere in England who claimed his seat had been stolen.



I knew a bloke who had the same thing happen to him. 

Luckily it was on his bmx


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## Biff600 (25 Jan 2018)

When I was a lad, I had a 'rattler' that used to get me about on, I locked it up outside the cinema for Saturday morning pictures and when I came out some toerag had taken all the good air out of the tyre and left me with the rubbish flat air !!!


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## Tangoup51 (25 Jan 2018)

Biff600 said:


> When I was a lad, I had a 'rattler' that used to get me about on, I locked it up outside the cinema for Saturday morning pictures and when I came out some toerag had taken all the good air out of the tyre and left me with the rubbish flat air !!!



Blimey. Good air is hard to come about these days.


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## Rooster1 (25 Jan 2018)

Some say my bike is made from stolen parts. Poppycock I say.


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## Arjimlad (25 Jan 2018)

Not happened to me personally, but I think some thieves will pinch an unsecured front wheel to attach to a bike which has been shoddily locked up by its front wheel.


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## Thorn Sherpa (25 Jan 2018)

I only leave my bike unattended at work in the bike shed locked up, I wouldn't leave it in a public area too risky imo. I know some people dont have a choice so like others have said taking off lights and other easily removed items will help


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## Domus (25 Jan 2018)

Small Rohan pack bag containing my waterproof jacket from my rack outside Costa.


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## Hugh Manatee (25 Jan 2018)

At university, some git had my saddle and seatpost along with, wait for it.....

The brake blocks. The saddle theft I noticed straight away. The blocks took a little while longer!


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## Welsh wheels (25 Jan 2018)

Pale Rider said:


> A polite note was left on my bike while parked outside Sainsbury's from a 'fellow cyclist' warning me that he/she had had lights and a basket stolen while parked in the same place.
> 
> Unpleasant theft, particularly the lights, because that could lead to the cyclist riding home unlit.
> 
> ...


I had a saddlebag full of stuff including my favourite multitool stolen once. They also took the back light but bizarrely left the front light.


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## Welsh wheels (25 Jan 2018)

Hugh Manatee said:


> At university, some git had my saddle and seatpost along with, wait for it.....
> 
> The brake blocks. The saddle theft I noticed straight away. The blocks took a little while longer!


You must have been doing a lot of out of the saddle work on the way home!


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## MontyVeda (25 Jan 2018)

Pump and a front wheel... wasn't too fussed about the pump but was livid to exit a pub to find my unicycle


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## User16390 (25 Jan 2018)

I had a Giant mountain bike nicked out of the back garden of my previous residence, I had a d lock through the frame and back wheel, still didn't stop the scrotes nicking it and a front wheel nicked of an old mountain bike outside Tesco's Five Ways in Birmingham, I found out later that this was a popular site for bike theft


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## SkipdiverJohn (25 Jan 2018)

It would be interesting to see whether the incidents of thefts of parts of the bike itself involved decent, tidy looking bikes, or scruffy-looking old pub hacks. I'm firmly of the opinion that it simply isn't worth riding anything that doesn't look like a scrapper if you are going to leave it parked unattended out of your line of vision.


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## annedonnelly (25 Jan 2018)

Front lights. And given where it was I expect they were simply taken off and then chucked away a bit further on. No doubt someone would think that sort of thing funny.

I've always removed the front lights since. I don't think the rear ones are quite so vulnerable and they're a bit more difficult to clip off.


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## HLaB (25 Jan 2018)

I've never left anything on a bike. A mate of mine used to take his seat post with him too, he got back one day to find some feic'r had nicked his clamp


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## Ming the Merciless (25 Jan 2018)

Someone stole the power from my bike today. Struggled up the regular hill as a result.


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## Dave 123 (25 Jan 2018)

A friend of mine was (stupidly) riding through Cambridge with her handbag in the front basket. She was done by a scrote on a moped. It shook her up for a good while.


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## classic33 (25 Jan 2018)

Valve cores & caps.


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## NorthernDave (25 Jan 2018)

A mate had his lights taken from his bike at work.
However, the person who'd taken them clearly wasn't too bright (unlike the lights ) and turned up at work the following day with the missing and very distinctive lights on his bike. An interesting conversation was had, apparently....


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## mjr (25 Jan 2018)

Domus said:


> Small Rohan pack bag containing my waterproof jacket from my rack outside Costa.


Was it a Rohan jacket or was the thief disappointed?


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## Domus (25 Jan 2018)

mjr said:


> Was it a Rohan jacket or was the thief disappointed?



Endura lightweight


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## mick1836 (25 Jan 2018)

Whenever I stop for a coffee break even if I'm only sat a few feet from my bike I always fit either a cable lock if on my MTB or if on my carbon fiber road bike one of these locks


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## Brandane (25 Jan 2018)

HALF of a front mudguard from my MTB when locked up in Edinburgh. It was one of those with a cam which tightens inside the steerer tube, and the thief had seemingly tried to lever the whole thing out. The clamp snapped at the bit attached to the front half. They took the front section anyway and left me with the rear part .


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## Salty seadog (25 Jan 2018)

Had a whole drop bar bike nicked when I was about 17, then a few years later someone helped themself to my bull bar ends while it was locked up outside my mates house. 

This could have been tragic though, my full carbon Whyte Montpellier as I (fortunatly) found it after after a 90 minute breakfast stop a couple of hundred yards away.


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## RichK (26 Jan 2018)

A waterproof saddle cover that I used to leave on my commuter when it was wet during the day.


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## Low Gear Guy (26 Jan 2018)

As a teenager, a scrote stole my jacket off the pannier rack whilst his mate distracted me


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## palinurus (26 Jan 2018)

Never had a bike or anything attached to one stolen.

Someone attempted to steal my Surly Pacer outside B&Q, but I only noticed a few days later when I noticed damage to the cable.


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## palinurus (26 Jan 2018)

Someone walked off with the cheapo track pump I used to store at work.


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## iandg (26 Jan 2018)

A tatty lycra seat cover from outside Sandwell Hospital. I worked there in the 90s. Locked the bike up and took everything that was removable into the lab with me. Never thought anyone would want a fluo green zebra striped saddle cover that was worn, scuffed and tattered.


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## jongooligan (26 Jan 2018)

One strut from the front crudguard roadracer. PITA as I had to take the rest of it off and stuff it in my back pocket.


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## gaijintendo (26 Jan 2018)

Not the question but I have had sabotage on occasion.
I left my bike parked up at a hotel in Koriyama, and someone stuck chewing gum on my brake block. The genius got it to the consistency that it striated upon braking.


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## Chris S (26 Jan 2018)

Somebody tried to steal a Poundland light of my bike - I came back and found it flashing.
Fortunately I'd stuck it to the bracket with No Nails because it had broke.


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## RoubaixCube (26 Jan 2018)

A friend of mine has had quite a few things stolen off his bike... Ones hes quite vocal about were his light mounts (not the actual light itself - just the mounts) and only one of his old worn bar grips.

Ive no idea why someone would steal tatty old bar grips but its even more confusing when this sod took only one of them.

I personally had never had anything stolen off my bike as I've been careful to lock it somewhere secure or busy enough to deter potential thieves


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## confusedcyclist (26 Jan 2018)

Personally I've had nothing stolen, despite a spate of whole-bike thefts from our shed at work. Guess these particular thieves are more interested in easy targets they can ride away than just selling on insecured wheels or accessories. Anything of value leaves the bike with me or is locked to an immovable object, except a mini pump, a £130 (new) pricey dynamo lighting system and a £10 cateye rack mounted light that's got a horrible crack in it. The dynamo lights are bolted on though, but anyone with a 10mm spanner or hex key could be off with em if they wanted, but I'm assuming common thieves don't know expensive lighting systems when they see them and I've yet to have any troubles. If I were to lose them, I'd perhaps think twice about spending so much again.


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## Deafie (26 Jan 2018)

13 bikes-got 4 back and the thief of the first one went to jail for many months, Dahon seat post which was stuck in the frame as I hadn't got round to freeing it and it was removed with such violence that the seat tube was destroyed, damn shame coz it was my favourite city bike ever. Saddle and seatpost off my RSW 16 from out of my building which I got back and the thief was caught and prosecuted. Beautiful Brooks conquest saddle which had a heavy cable through the rails so I assume the thief unbolted the springs, I usually disguised it with a plastic bag but someone nicked that the day before and I was a bit lazy about replacing it. Handlebars, levers etc' carefully removed from my Spesh and handle bars, levers etc' violently torn off my Trek and then used to smash the frame. Brakes, brake blocks, bottle cage, 3 bells, pump and a few days ago 1 handlebar grip


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## Helenbells (26 Jan 2018)

Not sure if this counts.
Iron railings and six other bikes in '60's.
In one go.
Seven bikes all chained to railings as had done for six months.
Returned after work. No bikes. No railings. No wall.
I thought the Police would laugh at me when I went to report it.
No. I was the fourth to report the theft.


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## roadrash (26 Jan 2018)

Deafie said:


> 13 bikes-got 4 back and the thief of the first one went to jail for many months, Dahon seat post which was stuck in the frame as I hadn't got round to freeing it and it was removed with such violence that the seat tube was destroyed, damn shame coz it was my favourite city bike ever. Saddle and seatpost off my RSW 16 from out of my building which I got back and the thief was caught and prosecuted. Beautiful Brooks conquest saddle which had a heavy cable through the rails so I assume the thief unbolted the springs, I usually disguised it with a plastic bag but someone nicked that the day before and I was a bit lazy about replacing it. Handlebars, levers etc' carefully removed from my Spesh and handle bars, levers etc' violently torn off my Trek and then used to smash the frame. Brakes, brake blocks, bottle cage, 3 bells, pump and a few days ago 1 handlebar grip



BLOODY HELL WHERE DO YOU LIVE


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## MichaelW2 (26 Jan 2018)

One very manky looking old water bottle cut and taped with gaffer tape filled with a lead acid battery with a lead dangling out. What in the name of Thor does any thief want with an obviously home made bottle battery? The most expensive part was the charger at home.
I think thieves consider stealability first and only consider value when they are standing at the counter of cash converters.


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## MichaelW2 (26 Jan 2018)

Hugh Manatee said:


> At university, some git had my saddle and seatpost along with, wait for it.....
> 
> The brake blocks. The saddle theft I noticed straight away. The blocks took a little while longer!


I had my rear derailleur snaffled. It was a lovely old 1970s Shimano 600 with the crane logo. The chain was not broken!


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## Deafie (26 Jan 2018)

roadrash said:


> BLOODY HELL WHERE DO YOU LIVE


NYC


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## Crankarm (26 Jan 2018)

Many years ago I was touring along North Devon coast. I had stopped for lunch with a view out over the sea. I spread my stuff out on a patch of grass, plastic plate, mug of soup, ham, tomatoes, crust of bread, crisps, yoghurt, banana and an apple, bag of nuts. When I came to pack up I realised I hadn't eaten my crips but they were nowhere to be seen. I looked in vain through both panniers. Then I saw a magpie sitting in a tree with them. The thieving git! When I had finished lunch and packed up, I turned my bike toward the waiting steep hill, but it wasn't just my crisps that had been stolen but also my legs. I immediately got off and had push my bike up the hill as it made it's way skywards.


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## Smokin Joe (27 Jan 2018)

mick1836 said:


> Whenever I stop for a coffee break even if I'm only sat a few feet from my bike I always fit either a cable lock if on my MTB or if on my carbon fiber road bike one of these locks
> View attachment 393222


I've yet to come across a combination lock I couldn't open within 30 seconds.


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## Drago (27 Jan 2018)

Smokin Joe said:


> I've yet to come across a combination lock I couldn't open within 30 seconds.



good money to be made as a safecracker!


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## Paulus (27 Jan 2018)

I had my lights taken from the bike, but they left the brackets behind, they were 1980's Ever Ready Nightriders so quite large. Also another time I have had my puncture repair kit, but not the pump taken from my panniers, but they left the panniers which were made by Carradice.


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## Tom B (28 Jan 2018)

Front wheel stolen from my bike outside the library, many years ago when I was about 14.

My older, much larger than his age would suggest cousin had a word or two with the local youths and my wheel was left with the librarian and nobody got hurt.


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## captain nemo1701 (29 Jan 2018)

My bike was once locked up with two locks in central Bristol. Came back to find out that some twat had nicked my saddle. Had to ride home standing up.


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## keithmac (29 Jan 2018)

Pale Rider said:


> My bike had a trunk bag and clip on lights - all easily removable - so that's what caused the note.
> 
> I needed the trunk bag for the shopping, but it did cross my mind to remove the lights before setting out.
> 
> ...



We had a customer last year, parked her nearly new moped in town and when she came back realised some scrote had stolen the transmission case!.

Have had 4 bikes back for poor tickover, all the same model and all had their idle screws pinched..


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## Oldbloke (30 Jan 2018)

Some scrote nicked the saddle off my folder when parked in the bike shed at Colchester station in the '70s.

Made for a hurried ride home that night


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## Levo-Lon (30 Jan 2018)

My heap of junk bike for school that no one wanted was fine, they stole my frigging combination lock!!


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## postman (3 Oct 2019)

Nothing stolen,but some schoolkids let the air out of my mates rear tyre while we were in a cafe.Once and only once some cycling scrote i knew who it had been tried to take off my Brooks saddle,it was all wobbly when i left the cafe.And i had seen his mate standing next to my bike kidding to be sheltering from the rain,he was hiding his mate,that's what i realized after.Scum.


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## Gixxerman (3 Oct 2019)

Nothing personally, but a work mate had his saddle knicked whilst it was was locked up outside Halfords Tritton Road, Lincoln. They must have been tooled up too as it wasn't even a quick release. It wasn't even that good a saddle. Odd.


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## mjr (3 Oct 2019)

Gixxerman said:


> Nothing personally, but a work mate had his saddle knicked whilst it was was looked up outside Halfords Tritton Road, Lincoln. They must have been tooled up too as it wasn't even a quick release. It wasn't even that good a saddle. Odd.


Might have been a saddle-sniffer.


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## southcoast (3 Oct 2019)

Had a padlock stolen, but they left they bike!


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## Zimbob (4 Oct 2019)

I've been lucky, never had anything pinched from any of my bikes, but when I was wee our garage got broken into. My brother had an upright 'Jeep' bicycle, I had a 'Commando' and even as a 6 year old I used to laugh at his deeply uncool bike.... The thieves obviously felt the same, as they pinched his frame-pump and left the bike


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## Alex H (4 Oct 2019)

Left my bike outside Milton Keynes railway station, while I went to work. Got back to find the axle for the front wheel missing. Managed to very carefully slowly ride the 4 miles home, trying to avoid kerbs, potholes and associated drops / jumps. (and I didn't fall off!)


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## numbnuts (4 Oct 2019)

Flag off my trike like this


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## mjr (4 Oct 2019)

Alex H said:


> Left my bike outside Milton Keynes railway station, while I went to work. Got back to find the axle for the front wheel missing. Managed to very carefully slowly ride the 4 miles home, trying to avoid kerbs, potholes and associated drops / jumps. (and I didn't fall off!)


The axle or the skewer? Or did you wheelie the whole way?


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## palinurus (4 Oct 2019)

Nothing that I can remember but sometimes people put rubbish in the front carrier of my Elephant Bike.


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## Chris S (4 Oct 2019)

Somebody stole my combination-lock and cable but left the bike!


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## roubaixtuesday (4 Oct 2019)

Once had a pair of pedals nicked. 

It's a very odd feeling, getting on your bike, try to pedal, realise there's something wrong (has my chain come off??) then the penny drops.


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## slow scot (4 Oct 2019)

More from my "person" rather than "the bike", but my ability to climb hills!


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