[Closed] Ammanford KTM MTB Theft today

John- I'll look out for it I'm in Garnant) and post this thread on the Mynydd Do MTB FB page for you. Hope you get it back soon.

siwt mae ambrose.. hey yes you are close. cheers.

i can't believe it happened., and it was quiet in town.
he headed back up to the square direction, but it's unkown if he went left at the square or went left at the square and crossed the road by the square pub and cut across the park.. or went straight up college st, or right and headed up high st.

not many ktm's around which should narrow things down a bit.

he is on cctv but the police can't get access to the tape until monday as the cctv belongs to a 3rd party company, something to do with the post office

Bad news. When you get it back come and join us on a Weds PM ride. There's a trail on Mynydd Betws I'm keen to ride- if I could only find it!

Fair amount of chavs around there I'd say.

ambrose the only mynydd y betws trail i can think of it the windfarm access roads. but i doubt if they let anybody on there.
then again there is a track where people go for a walk, that's around the baran chapel

i can't go far anyway or anything strenuous because i use my bike for getting to the shop and town because it's more or less my mobility bike, osteo arthritis and all that. without it i am stuffed big time

michael, even though it's a small town, there aren't really many bike riders. in the daytime regulars, it's more or less you can count them on two hands if that. then again there might be someone riding a bike right now when i'm sitting at home so i don't see.

probably there are more bikes sitting at peoples homes so you don't really see them as such

Will keep an eye if it comes lampeter /aber direction,but more likely some chav who will sell on .
Call to local cash converters etc might be wise idea.

paul.

I'm in gorslas, i'll keep a look out.

I've posted on the MTBPigs website. We've got plenty of riders in Swansea and surrounding area.

John, it could be worth you calling The Hub in St Helen's Rd, Swansea to ask them to keep an eye out. They occasionally get people taking stolen bikes in to try and sell them.

yea the hub aren't open on sundays. there's a place in station road in llanelli but i can't remember their name. some place where they sell all sorts. Not sure if there's anything in carmarthen similar.

why have i got a feeling i'm going to be checking ebay, newspaper ads etc everyday for the next couple of months.
I'm not banking much on the cctv, if i don't recognise him and could be someone who's moved here, i doubt if the police will...but you never know.

According to his actions, it looks like if he has done this kind of thing before, and knew what he was doing... if they catch him, maybe he could be linked to other thefts.

No sign of the police today, they said yesterday they'll see me tomorrow which is today. I'd like to suggest something, whether they will do it or not is another matter.
If this guy is basically walking the streets, how did he get here. either walked, had a lift, bus. Maybe he had went into a shop like argos, but he didn't have anything in his hands. Lloyds bank have a cctv and maybe he called at a cashpoint earlier. and that would give a name and address. Or if he had been in a pub, most of them have cameras now. so there's always a way of tracing someone a bit

the bottom end of quay street has a chunky steel tower with a camera heading up, but that's never been on as far as i know for years. Plus the one heading down quay st which sometimes is on.. laughable that, but soon as you pass the square that's it.

If he came by car, hardly likely to put it in a back seat. Maybe he stashed it somewhere and rang a mate with a van. Unless the mate was already in the town parked.. doing that doesn't make too much sense as there is no telling if anyone at all is riding... one thing, i'm set in routine but i was in the post office earlier than usual. ithe post office closes at 12 but the shop part is open til 7, and i normally go for a quick chat and say hello and i can see the bike from where we're chatting. well, the front half.

Hmm i was at iceland in quay st not lom before, popped in quick for milk. then went to lidl for ten mins then came back.

coming to think of it, i did notice something a bit strange on thursday afternoon. or was it friday? normally i go to the butchers on wednesday but because i missed them, i went on thursday.
Someone asked me how's the bike going? i briefly glanced at him as i didn't have a clue who he was and wondered why he was asking.
or that could have been on friday when i went to the cashpoint. some shortish man, dark hair, maybe a bit of beard around 45 year old, but wasn''t the guy who took it.. maybe it's unconnected.

I'll have to have a think and try to remember if anyone else paid any compliments over the last few months. can't think of any, usually youngsters are admiring. i know one chap who offered 20 quid for it and i said you are joking, then upped it to fifty

the amount of stuff appearing on ebay is an eye opener, every hour there's a pile of new stuff appearing.

as my handlebars are mkateen, you can't even buy them in this country.. then again, i did a search a few months ago out of curiosity if mine ever got bent, i wouldn't even be able to buy them from europe.
From all the google searches i did, not once could i find kateen handlebars.. try it

someone would be mad to advertise it on ebay as a ktm.
creating alerts may sound a good idea, but there are a lot of permutations.

ktm chicago, white ktm, white ktm chicago. white mountain bike, white MTB. KTM MTB..

or just plain mountian bike. or mens bike. or mens bicycle grrrr.

if someone advertises a spare as kateen, then again how could i prove it's mine. but it would be suspicious as i said, you just can't buy them. no doubt another pile of stuff has arrived on ebay by the time i scrolled down

well, i'm disappointed in ebay. i mentioned a few years ago to keep ALL bikes as male bikes and female bikesand subcategorise them from there, as one single search should bring them all under one list. there are too many permutations and they don't do much to help beat them. and only allow a listing to be called bike when listing.

you got mens bicycles, mens bikes, mens mountain bikes,

mountain bike and mountain bikes should show up in the same search but i wouldn't put it past them.

but it drags on when used bicycles are also in the pile.

and i still cannot understand since the 1970s onwards, why on earth haven't they ever issued a frame certificate system only allowing a bike to be sold on on condition that the certificate is supplied.

It's simple. Name and address linked to the 1st buyer from new and passs it down the line.

no frame cretificate, no sale... simple system. and some sort of maintainace log. if someone changes the wheel, log it down.
No difference between a motorbike or a car really... no log book, i don't buy

what i'm afraid of here is, if they do catch the person who stole it (it may well be linked to other thefts, you never know), is what if it is damaged or something
Would i be stuck in a situation where i have to prove that a mark or whatever wasn't there before he took it? what if he's ridden it rough and buggered up the gears. I know most nooks and crannies of my bike or would it be a case of my word against his.

at the end of the day, the bike is irreplaceable. you just cannot buy another like for like especially a 2009, unless by some quirk someone somewhere also has one for sale as they seem to be rare and the police are never interested in that kind of thing. just cold hard cash value is all they want to know.
Technically there could be one in a box somehwere floating about in the world in some warehouse, or some tiny bike shop in south africa.

I use my bike to get around because of a medical problem, and now some male has taken it, i can't get to the town which is only 15 mins walk, the reason i got the bike in the first place is to alleviate the medical problem.. it was a life saver. and without it now, i am stuffed big time. i can't walk without suffering uncomfort and pain, unless i grit my teeth and bare it.

I even asked the police if they manage to catch him, would there be an additional charge of hate crime or something, or crime against disability. The police asked me if the thief knew i had a medical problem? I said how would i know? It seems by what they told me is that a person cannot be charged with hate crime unless the person knows that the other person has a disability and intentionally uses it against the person.

personally i don't like telling people my problem as it is my problem, and embarrassed in sharing personal information. maybe the person who took it had been watching the street and saw me limping when i was pushing the bike on the pedestrianised street or just about anywhere else. From the police point of view i guess is they have to prove he was watching me. And the only way to find that out is by catching him and asking, and the likelyhood he would deny watching even if he was.

having a car stolen is bad enough, some people don't like having it back because they know someone else has been in it and intrusion. I guess it's the same with a motorbike, or a cycle.

The police said on saturday they will visit me tomorrow (which was yesterday) and never did. The cctv images are clear and the only person who can access the machine is the post office technician. how long that will take is unknown. It could be today, tomorrow...next week.
They said that they would circulate the pictures. From what i can see, they may circulate the pictures to other police stations and one or two maybe off on leave or sick and they won't see them them at all.

Jeez it would be much quicker to put the image on a police website or police facebook page in case a member of the public recognises him, and facebookers pass on info much more quickly than the police ever would.. probably they wouldn't like that sort of thing just incase it upsets the thief or rile up the public.
It seems a bit harsh but what can you do in exceptional circumstances.

I thought the police were saying a couple of years ago that they are going to be taking bike thefts more seriously.

I hope you get it back - sounds like there's a better chance than normal if there is cctv footage.

Just in case you're searching on ebay, I think the KTM own brand components are marked "kateem" rather than "kateen" (I have a kateem seatpost on my road bike, thanks to LBS who where KTM dealers)

Sounds like an opportunist to me which means if his mug was caught on CCTV then the Rozzers might be able to find him.

Unfortunately a bike can be moved on pretty swiftly (for a fair bit less than its legit value) with very few questions being asked...

yes, it's kateem .. i must have pressed the n next to the m.
yea, kateem seatpost and handlebar.. where can you buy them as a replacement though? i know i did a search over year ago out of curiousity and came up blank. even the ktm handlebar grips i won't be able to buy as a seperate if i ever needed to replace them through wear

yes, it's kateem .. i must have pressed the n next to the m.
yea, kateem seatpost and handlebar.. where can you buy them as a replacement though? i know i did a search over year ago out of curiousity and came up blank. even the ktm handlebar grips i won't be able to buy as a seperate if i ever needed to replace them through wear

I'm pretty sure that you can't buy kateem stuff, unless it pops up on ebay or so on.

But on the bright side it seems to be fairly low-end stuff (strong but heavy), so pretty much any replacement would be an upgrade!

that's what i thought. they must be making them as one offs.
i remember now why i looked it up, we were having a chat and i thought what if it crashed the bike and the handlebar went. so i started looking and came up with nothing

as for opportunist, i'm not sure on that one... if there was a gang around, the first thing they would do is survey the area and check out the cameras.

what is bugging me is the way the man rode off. either he was dim or didn't know the other cctv was there a bit furher up. if anything, he didn't bomb out of the street..but why did he go straight to the end.
If he turned left after the postoffice, he would have avoided the cctv and gone down the backlane into a small carpark and the area behind the shops. then again, it is common knowledge that the main town ccctv sometimes is operated.. either he knew this or chanced it.
or as i said, didn't know they were there. can hardly miss the soddin thing, tall tower with cameras on it

as for opportunist, i'm not sure on that one... if there was a gang around, the first thing they would do is survey the area and check out the cameras.

Surely that's not opportunist.

Opportunist = man wanders up thinks 'hmmm, bike' and pedals off, with nary a care in the world about CCTV.

Hope it turns up, I really wouldn't worry too much about the lack of Kateem stuff, OEM finishing kit is rarely available after market, but it's rarely any good, so no great loss!

in the early 90s or late 80s, i often wondered why people were walking around with a front wheel in their hands. i used to think they've vandalised someones bike when in fact they were taking the front wheel off to deter a thief.. i used to think that was weird, but what was the country coming to. you never heard of much bike thefts much.
i used to think who the hell would want to steal a wheel, but it takes allsorts.

why do people steal a bike? there can't be many reasons. either they want it for themselves, want it for parts, steal it to use as a part exchange, sell it on, or to spite someone.

alarming as it sounds, maybe agovernment in the past didn't want to start a better protection scheme because a bike theft is beneficial for them. when someone buys a new bike, they pay tax on it.. when a bike gets stolen and someone buys a new bike to replace, they pay tax again and that benefits a government. maybe that tax is used to pay the police.

all they had to do in the past, even if it meant a couple of pounds added onto the bike cost, all the manufacturer had to do was issue a certificate with the frame number on it. and if anybody tries to sell a bike with no certificate, the buyer doesn't buy. some sort of v5 system. or something like a swipe card. something with a hologram on it that confirms the serial number. that would be a real detterent surely.. the only drawback with this is if someone forges a certificate. but it won't make sense for someone to forge a hologram just for the sake of one bike. it may not prevent the theft but at least they can't sell it on as a whole... which goes back to the parts. the only purpose for a theft under a v5 system would be solely for parts. if a thief robs someone's certificate, that could be a problem, but if a change of ownership is also linked to the certificate in exactly the same way as a v5, there shouldn't be a problem.

so, who's got the b@lls to impliment it?

a drawback is, how on earth will it be possible to prove an existing bike that needs to be registered actually belongs to the rider. One thing for sure is, only a receipt is the evidence that a bike belongs to that person. it's the same with a car, a v5 is not proof of ownership, it just says you are the keeper.
It will be no good if a stolen bike slips through the system when registering for a certificate.

They should have done this years ago, and people would have thought twice if a police officer approaches a rider and asks have you got your certificate on you sir? if you haven't, produce it at your local police station within five days.. probably the police will end up complaining that would take up too much of their time and cost the government money.

i hope you get your bike back; but

some sort of v5 system

no.unenforceble and adds to new/ second hand & tax cost.

wouldn't work anyway; components are worth too much. like the bikes in the farnbough area theives sell components and ditch the frames

http://www.nhampshirectc.org.uk/pages/Stolenbikes.html

that's true as well. if someone is opportunistic and doesn't give a flying one if he gets caught on camera. i'd call that a psychotic opportunist then. or just didn't think about the consequence of been filmed... then again, he may have thought about the camera and thought haha the police won't catch me cos they haven't a clue where i'm from.

if the fine system is pants, why don't they do owt about that too? if this guy is working and thinks nothing of being fined £100, that's a quarter of my wage, i can afford to rob people and pay a fine, fine them £500... then again, civil liberties will come in and say oh you fined my client £500 but the bike was only worth £300 or whatever.

I know what it's like being pulled over when i was on a motorbike. pain in the backside when on the way to work.. i remember being issued a take your docs to the police station within 5 days thing back in the 80s.. five or ten mins later, a different police car comes and asks me if i got any documents on me. i said no so he issued me a ticket to take my licence and insurance to the police station within 5 day.. i said to him you've got to be kidding me.. i told him and showed him the other ticket, and he said that doesn't matter. serious?

i suppose the point is, would cyclist become a target in the same manner as motorcyclist are and were? it would be a nuisance being stopped every five minutes, even though the intentions are good

how much would it add onto a new or used sale? i would have thought it would cost much to implement.. all that would need to be done is put it on the first sale from new.

otherwise the only other option when selling is provide the receipt.
then again if the frame number isn't on the receipt they are stuffed.
the only other thing would be the store provides a printed out certificate then.

if you buy a mobile phone from carphone warehouse, they print out the imei number on the receipt. that would be evidence that the phone is not stolen if i sold it. if a phone shop can print that info out, surely a bike shop can do it as well? but all the smaller bike shops that don't use a computer system can't do the print out.

the only people who can do it is the manufacturer then, and the dealer stamps it. unless someone puts in the wrong certificate in the box by mistake and end up in a hell of a mess.

it won't be possible to do much on the spares side. if the police raided someones house and found a stash of cassettes, would they be able to trace that back to the manufacturer then and be able to tell what bike it was fitted to? if there was a component number on the sprocket during the sprocket manufacture, then that gets sent to the bike assembler. the factory scans the barcode and links it to the job number. i can't remember seeing any sort of product number on the handlebar and even if it did, it would need a batch number to link it into the job number. then again, how could it work when something needs replacing? the job number would need updating.

stamping a batch number on the seatpost will have room as it sits inside the tube. wheel rims would be the same. what happens when you change the wheels. if there is nothing stamped, they're stuffed.

don't they have a product number and a batch number on a replacement set? the buyer can always write down the batch number before fitting. but with a new bike, it'll be a job to get the batch number anyway without taking things apart.

so, if someone steals a bike and strips it, and the police turn up not knowing what part is which, how the heck can it be proved that one in a pile of shifters that are all the same model that they found 'may' belong to you.

if the manufacturer does have some form of list of batch numbers even on some components, surely the common sense approach would be to supply that after assembly to the customer, even if that's clutching at straws.. 🙁

You truly are over thinking this. None of that is even remotely plausible! If nothing else do you honestly think the police are going to track cassettes back to their individual owners?! Who's responsibility is it to catalogue all the parts too? What happens if I change my cassette, do I have to register it? What about brake pads?

otherwise, the only logical thing i can think of is just like any other manufacturer does, supply a guarentee card, fil it in, send the part you need to back to the manufacturer, retain the portion you need, and use that as proof when selling, preferably with receipt attached

Seriously!? That's insane. No one buying a bike wants a stack of paper for every part of the bike. What if you break a spoke, do you have to register that?

Just will not work. Move on.

There are some very nice carbon frames which may not have been reported to Farnborough Police or may have been reported to another police force as we are close to the border with Surrey Police and Thames Valley Police.

that sounds a bit suspicious of one of the police forces not working fully with hampshire. or if not that, other forces are not working with others. that could well be a bike stolen from oxford shire and if that's the case, they aren't working with their neighbours tames valley.. or some bikes are from mersyeside, or greater manchester... or even dyfed-powys hmmmm

WTF

i hope the guy gets the bike back but i can not believe i just read all that... it really is time for bed....

if my bike was stripped and the police found the frame, i'm not sure if i'd want it back tbh - not like that. the original parts are almost impossible to aquire - all or nothing - as a frame on it's own is meaningless to me... but saying that, some people like to buy a frame only and build it up themselves.

if they find the frame on it's own, what happens then? am i in a postion to reject it or am i forced to take it as it is?

then again, if he has scratched it or any other damage, am i in a postion to say look, he's caused damage, it's not going to be possible to respray because you cannot obtain the trims, or if he's ****ed up the forks. can the police say to me they found the bike but it's damaged and force me to accept it back? or would it be a case of taking him to court, fine him... can a judge order the thief to pay the current value of the bike as a whole on top of a fine?

unless someone can come up with a system that will frustrate a thief and prevent a sale, putting it bluntly, it will just carry on forever if nobody has got the b@lls to do it.

even though a motorcycle is inder the v5 system, a thief cannot sell that on without it. but the unfortunate byproduct is stripping it down for parts - jsut the same as a bike.

a car is under v5 and impossible to sell it on without v5. if someone stole a car, the by product is parts again.

But i do not see a problem at all with the manufacturers issuing a 'passport' with the frame number stamped on, and you can only sell it on if this is passed onto the buyer. as long as this can be done, everybody would be a bit more happier and maybe a bit reassured and public confidence is restored.

what would happen after? unfortunately the parts will be the only option for them.

as for police spot checks, i would suggest issuing a card supplied by the manufacturer alongside the passport that can be carried along with them in a pocket. and they could well have done this years ago

make it hard for the thiefs..

John, what type of lock were you using?

unless someone can come up with a system that will frustrate a thief and prevent a sale, putting it bluntly, it will just carry on forever if nobody has got the b@lls to do it.

even though a motorcycle is inder the v5 system, a thief cannot sell that on without it. but the unfortunate byproduct is stripping it down for parts - jsut the same as a bike.

I'm not sure if you're naive or just a little short-sighted... Cars have v5s and registration documents. Cars get stolen, lots.

'passports' for bikes is a truly mental suggestion, do Toys'r'Us have to supply them with all of their bikes? What happens if you lose yours? Who replaces it? Is it worldwide or UK only? What happens if you buy the bike abroad?

It just wouldn't work.

Yes it's a shame your bike's been nicked, learn from it, buy a better lock, or don't leave it in such obvious places. Get some insurance, but not implementing a bicycle 'ID' scheme is nothing to do with balls, it's to do with being sane!

update: this is a bit contradictory. the police officer dealing with the theft in ammanford said that the cctv stills have been sent out to dyfed-powys police, and southwales police which covers swansea-merthyr-chepstow.
last night i rang to mention something and the officer is off for a week.. so much for progress and updates. how can i get an update if the officer is away?
anyway, the sergeant i spoke to last night said the cctv still maybe sent out to other stations. i pointed something out, what if you sent out the stills and somebody is on leave and won't see them at all? and it could well be the person who was off on leave may well know who it is. no reply

i suggested for them to save time and effort, why don't you just put up the photo of the bike thief in the police website, and issue the picture to the press so they can issue an appeal that way? or are they afraid that the public are doing something more than they are? no reply.

the police attempted to discourage me from doing an appeal. they said they are not going to issue cctv images to the media everytime a bike theft takes place. i said i digress from this because just how many cctv images actually capture a bike theft? a lot of newspaper websites publish a photo issued by that police force, what do the police here have to hide? why are they reluctant to publish? then again, i was told by the reporter that southwales police do issue photos to the media but dyfed-powys don't... strange

i was told that ammanford is a relatively crime free area (whatever that is supposed to mean) or are they more concerned about their image, and they don't want to cause a fuss?
A reporter mentioned this morning that if it is crime free then they have more time to investigate, and she was right.

so, which way did the thief go at the town square? either turn right, left or straight on as there is cctv there too, which may not have been manned. also there is cctv at the bottom of quay street which was installed around 2005. can't miss it, a solid steel tower. wonder if that ever has been switched on. plus the new cctv at the new bus station. obvious the thief had to arrive at the town somehow. maybe he used the cashpoint. now that would give a clue who he is....bank account number, a name even. anything at all that could suggest movements prior to the theft and after.

the other policeofficer says they are not local. i thought what do you mean they? how many more are there. i thought it was just the one, but apparently it was said that a younger male was peering into the postoffice as a lookout. so, if the police cannot be arsed to look at the town square cctv to see which way he went, that gives the inpression overall they have downgraded bike theft.

why? if it was someone local, they know which way to go. so if the police are saying they are not local, how do they know which way to go? if they went straight at the square, they knew where they were going. i don't think he turned right because i went round the back of the postoffice and emerged back in high st and he would have passed me.

i suggested to the police what if it's a guy with a van? and the police say to me no it wasn't a man in a van. well, they are hardly likely to stash a bike in ford focus are they.. so, if they had no van and there were two of them, where would they go.

an email was sent from ktm to me this morning as well, he said that i was the only person to buy a white ktm chicago 19 inch in 2009. and that my bike was more than rare... that sums it up.

as far as i'm concerned, my bike was the only one in wales.

since thieves use boltcutters to get through a lock whether it's a thin lock or a 16mm one, they still get through it or simply carry a bike away. lock the back wheel and front wheel to the frame, they'll still carry it away

at the end of the day, bike thefts will continue whether a bike is locked, snatched whilst tying their shoelace, locked in a garage on mounted frames which get hacked off.

one thing that can be done is make it impossible to sell it on. and if that means an extra tenner on the price of a bike, so be it.. peace of mind.

yes it will have to be worldwide.. if you want to stop the rot.

people should be free to do what they want with no fear of theft. people are actually allowed to walk down the high streets of britain freely pushing their bike, and if they like to pop in the butchers and leave their bike outside, they are entitled to do this and rightly so without fear of crime.

otherwise thieves are eroding civil liberties, and everybody will end up being a prisoner to theft.

actually, like i was saying initially, my bike is my mobilty method due to an illness. so parking it 200 metres away or whatever and experiencing discomfort and pain to walk to the shop from there aggravates the injury.

I don't know why you don't get onto the blower to the BBC, and get a front page article on their website, plus a story on the 10 o'clock news!

It was a bike FFS, clearly your pride and joy, but the police won't give a damn for a bike worth 10 times as much, give it up!

an email was sent from ktm to me this morning as well, he said that i was the only person to buy a white ktm chicago 19 inch in 2009. and that my bike was more than rare... that sums it up.

I doubt that sincerely, the only one sold? No.

people should be free to do what they want with no fear of theft. people are actually allowed to walk down the high streets of britain freely pushing their bike, and if they like to pop in the butchers and leave their bike outside, they are entitled to do this and rightly so without fear of crime.

Yes, in some halcyon world you're right, but not in reality, and there's a lot more stopping that than a paper trail attached to each bike!

How many cars get left running with the keys in the ignition while the owner shops?

if someone buys a bike abroad which doesn't participate in a scheme, there is nothing stopping that person from buying and importing. you still can go to the police and report it if it gets stolen but you won't get the same protection under a passport scheme.
which could be problematic if a buyer can't tell the difference between an overseas bike and official imported bike.
maybe it would be a bit messy if a seller says they have got an actual american giant purchased in the usa when actually it was bought in gb and they're just saying that to fool the buyer.

a system can implemented when they put their minds to it. if a bike gets scrapped and worn out, just send the passport in with it.

either they do something about it or they don't. if they don't, it'll just go on forever. and it's pointless politicians saying there's nothing that can't be done, of course something can be done.
It's just a case of getting on with it.

you look at what specialized are doing, they produce easily a shedful of stuff when buying one of their bikes. paperwork, manuals and what not.

a bit of paperwork won't be skin off my nose if i sold it on.
a receipt isn't good enough, providing the ink on the receipt remains intact and not faded away. But just becasue someone has a receipt, it does not mean it is the actual receipt of the bike they are selling, a receipt could have been just about anything.

what is to stop a thief using a receipt for a bike they actually bought a few years ago and using that as cover for a bike they have stolen? unless the actual bike make and model is printed on the receipt as well as the frame number, that is foolproof, and that is your evidence that you are the owner.... however insane it sounds 🙂

if you want to beat the thieves, play them at their own game and make things impossible for them.
so, if it becomes virtually impossible for a thief to sell on, what other options do they have? tracing a bike while they are riding around on it months after it's been stolen. if a bike reported stolen in march, there could be a strong chance that it will lay low for a godd few months until it resurfaces again.. and by the time that comes, the police would have forgotten all about the theft and description in the first place.

How is it possible for someone to tell if a bike being ridden around plymouth when it was stolen from portsmouth or vice-versa? how can the police tell? that is up to them to determine it.

i wish there was an easy answer, but doing nothing is not going to solve the problem that was caused years ago.

if anyone does have a solution, pray tell.
the only people who are afraid if change is the bike thief.. and if fellow cyclists start trivialising bike theft, no wonder why the police treat bikes as toys

that still happens, people leaving their car running while nipping into the papershop and risk someone drives away with it... but that still is a theft.

if people breaks into peoples houses to steal a bike, it gets a bit sad when people have to lock up their own bike inside their own house.

if any bike that gets stamped by any manufacturer, they will have to provide the passport. that is the theory it's so simple

as for toys r us, if they make childrens bikes without a frame number, that is not traceable anyway - even though it is a pain if they get taken.

if someone in a local neighbourhood is taking childs bikes, usually they can be traced back. but if they conceal them and sell them 50 miles away in a car boot sale, how do they get traced unless surveilled. nobody will know from where they will end up, either another 20 miles down the road, and what happens if they sell it on.

just out of interest - why do you post, then post again, and again without any other interaction from forum users?

i understand that you are fed up that someone has stolen your bike, the value is irrelevant but surely if it is that important it will be insured? Use it as an excuse to move on and embrace big wheels

just out of interest - why do you post, then post again, and again without any other interaction from forum users?

My family are from Garnant/Ammanford/Betws. This is basically what its like trying to talk to them. They just keep going and don't listen to what you're saying.

I think it's something in the water.

njee, have you got any suggestions to prevent bike thieves from selling them on? or anything else.

watch this.. it's a number of mock thefts but.....

http://www.itv.com/news/westcountry/update/2012-11-01/public-ignores-bike-theft/

Get a better lock

Do I have any suggestions for reducing bike theft?

Since bikes are valuable, desirable and easy to steal I think it's virtually impossible to avoid. Sad, but hey ho. You can make it difficult for them, and you can protect yourself with insurance and what not.

The fact the cops aren't interested and the penalties even if caught are very lax does little to dissuade ne'er-do-wells.

It's a shame, but I think you're horrifically naive to think that some sort of bike registration/passport scheme would work, even if it were able to be implemented. Even if it was, you're entirely reliant on everyone being of perfectly moral and not buying a bike without the full paper trail. People don't buy £5000 bikes for £50 off some bloke at Brick Lane Market because they think it's a good deal, people know bikes are nicked, they're not idiots, but they're greedy. You can say the same for cars/DVDs etc etc, it makes no odds.

But don't let me stop you, your weird and misguided rantings are highly entertaining!

rob jackson - Member

Get a better lock

It's pretty obvious that the bike was left standing in the street without a lock.

You live in a police area with the lowest level of crime in the UK and the highest detection rate, so your investigation is likely to be given the attention it deserves. What you need to realise is that there is very little the police can actually do to locate your bike other than circulate observations for your bike and the suspect. Whether or not they circulate images to the press is a decision for them, not you, and they will have their reasons. There is nothing to stop you putting a photo of your stolen bike in the local rag yourself, although even in a town as sleepy as Ammanford I doubt it would be newsworthy.

Opportunistic thieves exist everywhere unfortunately so accept that you will probably never see it again, take it as a learning experience and next time use a lock.

i don't see why dyfed-powys police are reluctant to issue the cctv photo of the thief. the media have been trying to get in touch with their press office all week.

and here is another suprise. i asked yesterday who exactly gets to see the cctv photos? the reply was everyone. ok, half an hour later when i'm in a shop, i saw an officer and i asked if he has seen the footage? and he said no.

it is obvious not everyone sees the footage, and that could mean that if the rest of them haven't a clue who the thief is, who is to tell that the person who doesn't see the footage doesn't know the culprit? maybe the person who hasn't seen the photos may actually know the person.
If this is the case nationally, and from what i gather if someone does see the cctv pics say today for example, the person who saw them would forget about it by next week.

If they released the pics to the press at immediately, there would be a stronger chance of someone in the public knowing who he is than the police, and would have saved time and more efficient

the police agree with me with what i'm saying about bike registration.
All they need is an instant recognisabilty. It's no good saying a black specialized hardrock size L has been taken if there are so many of them around.
They haven't got all day tipping bikes upside down to read the frame number, so something will have to be put onto the frame.
A number plate could work but all the thief will do is put false plates on. But if the bike also has a sticker the police can scan as well to double check, the owner has to register with bikeregistration.org

But the problem with a sticker is it's not prefect. The quickest thing a thief will do is cover up the sticker with another. So unless the officer reckons the original sticker has been tampered with in any way, that rouses suspicion. So if a thief has put any old sticker over the pulsetag, they are stuffed. But a thief wouldn't ant to put a sticker over a pulsetag, they are going to take it off and cover up the remains.

Another system that is possible is that the frame number is also sprayed on during manufacturing. Or somehow etched into the bike model trim. I wouldn't have a problem with this.
Readily identifiable reference is what is needed.

Or the last roll of the dice is, scrap the frame number system and start all over again.
The simplest and most efficient thing would be is for the manufacturer to issue a yearly production number system.. Say for example, 2015 and specialized. the frist bike made gets 20150001, the second bike is 20150002 and so on. Actually it doesn't have to be in sequence of production, as long as that bike has been allocated a number to the job number, that's be enough.

when 2016 comes, start it all over again using the year number.
I would be very happy to pay an extra £20 on a bike price.
If a thief scrapes off the bike number and replaces it with his own, that would just be the same as a false number plate and what can you do with that? Unless the new false number doesn't quite match up with the rest.

Even if there was a bike number plate system, what would make the police officer suspect that the particular bike is stolen. That would be the same whatever number is on the bike.

If a bile was reported 2 years ago stolen in plymouth, and it eventually turns up in scarborough, what would arouse a police officer to make some form of suspicion if everything looks cosher? especially if he is on duty near a bike park. Does he or she assume all the bikes are stolen.. So the officer has to have a reasonable ground to be alerted in the first place.
Unless an officer has a very good memory and totally dedicated to bike theft, they will have a job on their hands to sort it out... and it is going to get worse.

Even if there is a number visible to the officer on the frame in full view, what can the officer do. The only thing he or she can do is ask the rider if the bike is yours and they take their word for it if the rider says yes. If the rider is on it that is. It could be parked.
Either they can do a pnc check, or what the police can do is scan the biketag. and that means forking out more money for the cyclist.

Like i said, i will be happy enough to pay £20 for the manufacturer to label the identifiation number onto the frame, or maybe it costs less.
So, after that another label is required for the police to scan if when they have the reader that is linked to bikeregister.org
So you need a two way system, as the bikeregister fee is for life, so you be paying up to £55 on top altogether to impliment a system.

The problem i can see with bike tagging is that it only is beneficial to the police. If i'm a buyer, i can't tell if a bike with a tag on it is stolen or not because i do not have the machine to scan it.
I maybe be able to check online and scroll through their database and that seems to be the only way to tell.

In austria, they have a system called nummer sichen. the owner subscribes to the service provider and fits the tag. If it is found, the finder or buyer scans the tag with a smartphone and the owner is alerted by text. But doesn't that mean the buyer or finder has to be subscribed as well for it to work? the owner is alerted as i was saying but it doesn't suggest the police are alerted as well.

Then again, it's the same thing, a bike thief will take off the tag and replace it with something else.

Tagging a bike only works if the thief has not interfered with the tag.
If it has, that arouses suspicion so the officer has to be eagle eyed to spot it.

If the bike id on the frame has been tampered with, that arouses suspicion straight away.

Add a gps system on the bike. Probably by now the bike thief will have sussed out what is what, and if it is inside the lights, they will take the light off and throw it away. and there is only a limited amount of time to act if a bike with gps inside the rear light.

If someone has a bike stolen in town, they have to go home and log in on a computer, depending how far they live. If someone is in another area, they are basically stuffed.

if the gps is inside the headset, that gives a chance to act. but if someone is half an hour away from a computer, by the time they log in, the bike would have been stripped and the gps thrown away.

But if the gps is linked to bikeregister.org and the police are notified immediately by the service provider that it has been reported stolen, that is the only chance. The drawback on this is, maybe the owner returns to where the bike was half an hour or an hour after it's been stolen. or sometimes a few hours if i university or work, or parked at a railway station bikerack and gone to town for the day.

You're delusional.

You asked a copper you came across if he'd seen the footage of your bike being nicked and were surprised he hadn't?! Seriously!?

Another system that is possible is that the frame number is also sprayed on during manufacturing.

Frame numbers are usually embossed, or on carbon frames they're under the clear coat or riveted on. How much tougher do you want to get?

So you want GPS trackers and fully traceable owner histories on every single bike, and by your admission this would cost about £55 per bike!? The cost of a really decent lock, and if you had 3-4 bikes most likely the cost of the insurance to replace them should something happen.

You clearly don't actually read any of the responses posted, just disappear off into your slightly crazy world where crime doesn't exist! I pity you slightly because you appear to think bike theft is the height of police priorities, and that the sole barrier to stolen bikes being sold on is the buyers not realising they're stolen.

If you look at the time you've spent writing your deranged ramblings and instead worked, you'd have earned more than enough to buy a bike far better than your KTM!

Still, it's entertaining to read!

njee20, back off the op, your right, but I think its best to not fuel the fire in this case. For sanity's sake.

john my mates 6k 3week old downhill bike got stolen 3 weeks ago. police did not even come and see him. dident come to look at cctv just took description of the bike and that was that........ bearing that in mind the police sound to have done loads to help you. get a grip pal you need to let go......you can pick better bikes up than what you had very cheaply anyway

John, you've got this issue all out of proportion. Several people have taken the time to explain that any central registry of bikes, number plate system, tagging system are all non-starters.

You are understandably upset and annoyed at the theft of your bike, everyone who owns a bike can empathise with that. It sounds like you have some coping issues though; you seem to be ruminating it over and over in your head and that simply isn't healthy. You aren't the first person to experience bike theft and you won't be the last. Just accept that it has happened, you have tried (above and beyond) to get the bike back with no success and that it's time to get a new bike. It sounds very much like this issue has taken all of your energies that you could be using in a healthier and more productive way.

If you do visit the police again, ask them if they can offer you 'victim support'.

Its rubbish you've had your bike nicked. Been there, done that. Its a bloody nightmare. But you need to leave it and move on, or you'll go mad. Its all getting a bit...

What about the Credence? 😀

RFID chip in the down tube is all thats needed with owners details - can be reprogrammed when sold

Chip in the downtube - that's the old datatag system that I have on my bikes - and they get a sticker, only £20 for the whole setup. Does everything that JohnSW is after but not that effective at preventing bike theft. That's what a lock is for.

I would make an appoitment to see the Chief Constable of South Wales police . Take that nice [s]Philip Schofeild[/s] David Cameron with you.
Make sure all the police in Wales are there so they can go through the CCTV for Wales frame by frame.

When they all say 'No , never seen them before, sorry ' Please dont come on here bleating on about your bike getting nicked and the police being useless .

Stuff hapens , learn from it and move on.

there isn't going to be a new bike because there is no money.
the purpose of the bike was to assist and alleviate a persistant foot injury from 2006. in 2009 i bought the bike because it was getting worse when i walk so i had to do something. plus the osteoarthritis in the spine.

in a way, the bike was a 'lifeline' and was taking some of the pressure off the foot..soon as the foot hits the pavement, the pressure is immense even with insoles. now the bike has gone, walking to the town is worsening and going back to square one, travelling up the leg and affecting the spine.

buses are not an option because of infrequent services, think the last one to the town is 2.15pm and my regular order doesn't get done until close to 4pm anyway on a wednesday so while i'm waiting, i get my milk from the store nearby and get off home.. i can't do that with the returning bus as that leaves at 5.45. and walking around the town to while a way a hour or so is not an option because it puts pressure on the foot. daft as it seems, by the time i walk to the bus station as well i'm halfway home anyway. so by the time i get home, the foot and leg is ****ed and usually takes over a couple of hours to get the swell down a bit. most times it carries on til the next day and so on.

a taxi 3 times a week is completely out of the question.

i doubt if he'll get charged with a disability crime on top because a person can only be charged if he knew i had a disability.

the only option is for the police to get the guy, either it's still in his possession intact or he gets fined pays and pays for the loss

Insurance?

It's all a bit stable door and that, but surely a lock is common sense for something so vital?!

Move on already 🙄

+1 house insurance claim. If that's not possible and you want to build up a replacement bike, I'll donate you a set of wheels gratis- qr 26" disc specific, complete with tyres. My email is in profile.

I have a couple of bits I can give you, bars, grips, front mech etc to get you going

http://www.thisissouthwales.co.uk/Police-catch-crimes/story-17318106-detail/story.html

ALL crimes in Ammanford were solved by police last month.

At a town council meeting last week, Ammanford police officer, PC Kevin Jones, told councillors that the town had a 100 per cent crime detection rate during October.

All of the 26 crimes carried out in the Ammanford area, including four assaults, five drug offences and seven thefts, were discovered by police.

PC Jones said: "It shows that the boys and girls are working hard to try to keep Ammanford safe. A total of 26 crimes for a town the size of Ammanford is not too bad and a 100 per cent detection rate is great."

erm, is that true? The council meeting was last tuesday, november the 6th.. how can ammanford crime detection rate be 100%? the bike theft occured oct 27th
what else has been witheld from the council and the press?

Maybe bike thefts aren't actually a criminal offence in Ammanford if committed on a Saturday by middle aged gents who are quite tall with medium to large build and with receding hair.

bike insurance? - according to the companies, someone can only make a claim if a bike was locked to a permanent and unremovable fixture.

so if someone goes up the newsagents to fetch a paper, locks the bike and leans it against the window, they cannot claim for the theft. how many bike racks or anything do you see outside your local newsagents or butchers or just about anywhere else.

so much for the companies advising cyclists to park the bike within sight if there is nothing there to attach the bike to.
and even if there was a lampost, the council could fine you for obstructing the pavement.

lock the bike on a council bike rack which are often out of sight and they'll cut the lock

Look - John - just advertise in the classifieds for a cheap/free bike or parts and get yourself sorted. Leave this thread to die the agonising death it deserves!

hows it going john? any joy with a new bike yet?

Please don't feed the trolls

[img] [/img]
bike thief's photo

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/crime/caught-on-camera/2012/12/01/caught-on-camera-december-91466-32341287/14/

phil mitchell off EastEnders?

I know that guy.

I think...

or not

Jason Statham stole your bike?

i wouldn't have imagined in my worst dreams how much trouble is caused by a theft. different people react in different ways, some forget about it and carry on as normal and use the insurance to pay out. trouble with insurance is a bike theif gets a free bike.

some people do what they can, some report it to the police., most don't bother and we all know the reasons why.
some have the thief captured on cctv, many don't have the luxury of that..

what i find is that the southwales guardian and carmarthen journal couldn't even be bothered to print it after i emailed them. this is what i don't get, why did the police delay the release of the cctv. there was a quad bike theft a few days after at an isolated farm at night a couple of miles away, no cctv and they took up that story.. have a thief on cctv in broad daylight and they do nowt.

could swear they don't want to catch this bike thief, and the only way to find out if he has done anything else is by catching him, and by no doubt even if he has, he would have got shot of

Wow. You realise police have a lot better things to do than spend their time investigating petty theft? Assault, rape, gbh, drugs, trafficking....

And the press print things that are in the public interest, things that either generate website hits or paper sales. A bicycle theft to most people is not interesting, even if worth £4k, unless you're famous. A quad bike theft is a bit more interesting. Simple as.

I've had three high end bikes nicked, my mate had £30k worth of bikes nicked. We just accepted it, sorted out insurance and moved on.

There really is no point dwelling on it, you're very unlikely to get anywhere. Its only possessions after all, no one got hurt, its a desperate act by someone who obviously doesn't lead a very nice life.

I'd like them to be caught and punished, but for a £400 theft there really isn't going to be that much recourse.

The first bike I had stolen had a set of wheels that I built myself, the first pair I'd built. I spent a long time sourcing the hubs from abroad, and they had some sentimental value to me. But.... Its only a possession. I bought a new bike, of better spec, and pocketed some of the left over cash.

Turning a theft into something that looks like its taking over your life is really punishing yourself. I hope you can let it go.