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Bicycle Thievery M.O.
updated: Feb 01, 2013, 7:22 PM

By Edhat Subscriber

Edhatters take notice: There has been an increase in bikes stolen in Santa Barbara: thief rides a beater or cruiser bike (in my case it was a rockhopper) to the target home, leaves it and rides off with a better bike. Usually happens 7:30 in the morning and thief has no qualms about going right into your garage. Keep your eyes open and let's stop this!!!

Comments in order of when they were received | (reverse order)

COMMENT 370097	2013-02-01 08:00 PM
Ever notice people and bikes that don't match on the streets in town? Overweight laborer on a 3k road bike? Homeless with all possessions on a very expensive full suspension mountain bike? Things that make you go hmmmmm.
COMMENT 370099	2013-02-01 08:06 PM
Or the little tiny laborer that looks like he's two feet to short to be riding said bicycle.
COMMENT 370106	2013-02-01 08:18 PM
and can't quite get his work boots in the toe clips? Iv'e seen that guy.
COMMENT 370122P	2013-02-01 09:33 PM
Always create a police report with your bikes serial number. My boyfriend and I found his stolen bike locked up outside of a business. We called the police and they came out, questioned the person that was currently in possession of it and gave it back to us!
NATURE BOY	2013-02-01 09:43 PM
I love the bikes where EVERYTHING has been repainted -- including handlebars, rims, the chain, the tires...
COMMENT 370126P	2013-02-01 09:49 PM
099 & 106 You're heckling the laborer? A person who works for a living? You're also implying he stole his bike? NO! Bad posters!
COMMENT 370130P	2013-02-01 10:27 PM
Out-of-towner here for SBIFF had a bike stolen from a Cabrillo hotel a couple of days ago. Thief cut a cable lock. The guy bought a U-lock, and the hotel chipped in to buy him a new bike. Good show for them.
COMMENT 370132P	2013-02-01 11:42 PM
I recently trailed a guy walking two expensive racing bikes down the road in my neighborhood. I called the police and gave precise descriptions of guy and bike. For ten minutes I followed the guy, and the police never came. I understand they were probably on higher priority calls, but it is sad how easy it is for people to grab bikes and take them to LA to sell. We really are not safe. We used to be in Santa Barbara, I remember it. No more.
COMMENT 370138P	2013-02-02 01:41 AM
He's a thief, a bad person, and I agree with what's been said. I'm sorry for your loss. I hope the the scum is found and prosecuted -- HA! I DO hope you get your bike back. How did the thief got into your garage?
YPYETR	2013-02-02 02:08 AM
Too Funny! The exact same thing happened to me in 1996. Theif parked his bent, multi-color spray painted piece of crap in my garage, and came upstairs to steal my $2500 racer. Cut the lock and walked it out over 1" aggregate, right out from under my bed room window. Ballsy! Happened across from the lower fields of SBHS on Canon Perdido.
FLICKA	2013-02-02 07:18 AM
Never figured out why people think they deserve things they didn't pay for. Horrible to hear they come into your garage, onto your property, to take bikes. Hope their Karma catches up to them. My daughter tells me not to bother taking a lock for my bike because no one would want it; 25 yr old rust heap. I lock it anyway as I really like it.
COMMENT 370163	2013-02-02 07:29 AM
There used to be a bike theif ring in Carp in the 90's. Just steal the bike that belongs to the guy having a drink at the bar. Also taken right out of your yard.
COMMENT 370173	2013-02-02 07:49 AM
How great would it be to have a low jack system for bikes? Just the knowledge such a system existed along with a few successful arrests would cause bike thefts to go way down.
COMMENT 370182	2013-02-02 08:38 AM
put a small gps on the bike
COMMENT 370188	2013-02-02 08:53 AM
Just for edification...there`s a "homeless" person on a new Kona dew with black "Rack-time" bags which, my wife & I bought him for X-mas. The other descriptions of obviously mis-matched riders & bikes does`nt go un-noticed by those of us who know better.
SECCO	2013-02-02 09:10 AM
In 1970 there was a huge wave of bike thefts on UCSB campus, and my beautiful white Peugeot 10-speed was stolen, even though it was locked securely to the rack outside my dorm. It turned out that the mastermind of the ring was one of the dorm residents, "Fast Eddie," a Woody Allen lookalike who was older and had transferred in. Since he was 21 he was the guy who got the younger dormies beer and other essentials. Eventually Eddie got nabbed, but rather than being shipped off to jail he remained and worked as an advisor to campus police on bike theft prevention! I wonder what became of Eddie...by now probably either in prison, or in Congress.
COMMENT 370210	2013-02-02 10:22 AM
If by chance you actually find your stolen bike locked up outside a business -- just take your own bike lock and cable and lock it up! Prevents the thief from riding away on it and it gives the police plenty of time to arrive.
COMMENT 370219	2013-02-02 10:36 AM
Just yesterday my Specialized ($1,400) was stolen right out of my garage. I was at home (Upper East neighborhood) at the time and heard nothing. Keep your garage doors closed and your bikes OUT OF SIGHT!
COMMENT 370237P	2013-02-02 12:16 PM
My friend had there $10,000. bike stolen from there home. I also had a bike stolen from Riteaid aid within minutes. I noticed at Albertson's I saw all the locks still bolted on the bike rake but no bikes around I wondered if all the bikes had been stolen.
COMMENT 370256	2013-02-02 01:02 PM
Of course the police don't come when you witness a crime. They are busy running checkpoints and earning overtime.
ROGER DODGER	2013-02-02 02:37 PM
Hey Julian Hows it going? Just to stay on topic I heard of a bicycle theft awhile back over on Chapala taken out of a back yard on a Sunday morning. The suspect was an hispanic female with shoulder length black hair. The bike was black and had a basket. Alot of times after bikes are taken they can be found near the Labor line on Yanolli..I just heard a bike was taken from somewheres a few moments ago.
COMMENT 370291	2013-02-02 03:23 PM
Take your business card or cross one out and write your name, address, and CA Driver's License # on the back of it, laminate it (clear packing tape works in a jiff), and then stick it in the handlebars and seat tube. Sometimes it's found (hopefully by the bike shop servicing the bike, or by the cops) and sometimes when you find your bike, you can use the card to help prove to the cops that it's yours.
COMMENT 370343	2013-02-02 06:02 PM
The frame of a bike usually has a serial number - Usually found by the saddle post. Make a note of it. Put a card with your details - Name Address and phone number. Plus of course, to seal the deal, your Driving Licence Number and the serial number of the bike. The hard part is recovering the bike.
COMMENT 370356	2013-02-02 06:42 PM
I think I know the poster. Yes we had 2 stolen bikes in Dec. in the Upper Westside area by that method. We need to watch for bike gangs who steal them and sale them in other cities. Chief Sanchez thinks that the governor's realignment program and early release from overcrowding has contributed to the Dec. theft statistics. Theft is so sad.
COMMENT 370393P	2013-02-02 10:34 PM
My 34 year old son came over for dinner in January and his bike was stolen from our condo driveway next to my patio wall on the upper eastside. He was only here for two hours.
COMMENT 370405P	2013-02-03 02:24 AM
Anyone who doesn't u-bolt his/her bike when not riding it, is a dopey-dora. It's like putting a sign on it that reads "Free Bike."
COMMENT 370500	2013-02-03 02:15 PM
There's a guy who hangs out on the bridge by glen oaks drive in montecito. He takes the bus to the stop nearby. I take that bus too. He used to have a red bike. What happened to it? Does anyone know what or who I'm talking about? The man is schizophrenic.
COMMENT 370657	2013-02-04 10:53 AM
My decades old univega 10 speed got stolen out of the back yard. I bought a brand new bike and then found a bike sitting against the summerland posting board. It had missing parts and flat tires. Obviously a free bike, I told a fellow nearby about fixing it up for his kid or something. He didn't want it so I threw it into my car. A sheriff in his personal car noticed but did not think twice about it. My friend fixed it up and I gave my new bike to my new son in law, who had his bike stolen on the mesa. It was the same exact model!
COMMENT 370730	2013-02-04 02:57 PM
Piece of rubber under the kickstand, and a wire to a UL approved cattle fence charger. Oh...don't forget salt and water on ground around bike.

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