every bike has a digit stamped on its frame, frequently on the bottom between the pedals. if you've got it written down someplace and quote it on a crime report when you get it stolen, you'd have a pretty credible case opposed to some scally. the cops distrbute cards that you stick a photo of your bike (your actual bike, not a photo from the catalogue!) and write down your frame figure etc, then keep it someplace safe.

of course, then you have to get a look at the frame number of the bike you think is yours - and that isn't too straightforward when someone's on it.

A friend of mine, angry after both her and her boyfriends bikes had been stolen outside of Spitalfields market one Sunday is thinking of setting up a similar thing.

It is a second idea after we persuaded her out of the vigilante style

"leave an expensive bike locked up with a shite lock and then wait around the corner (with 30 mates) for some theiving oiks to come and try stealing it" :friendly:

I don't know whether it was common sense or (now) lack of expensive bike to lock up that changed her mind? :rolleyes:

Post something up if you do get it sorted I am sure i could russle up a few angry anti-bike theif wheelers.

Yeah but who wants a shite 70$ bike when you can get a stolen one worth 500 for the same price? Of course its about greed, of course its about receiving the power trip of having a kick ass bike, but what makes it even superior is you got it for fuck all money. Im definite there is no way to proove this, but i'd put my cash on the fact that those with a lesser amount of money are more apt to ride stolen bikes. Not only for the reason that its a form of material escapism but furthermore the psychological liberation.

But i wouldnt think anything else, greedy is what we are intended to be - look at the adverts all over the place telling is to purchase more of this shit and obtain more of that crap.

I dont question that bike shops dont make that much money, but wherever along the line, somebody is!

Yeah i think its a meaningful thing to take on people selling stolen bikes, except i think you have to associate it to the larger picture and appreciate where plus why people would buy a stolen bike first.

Simply riding in there and telling somebody they are cunt for doing what essentialy they are being made to do (no of course no one has to do anything however real life aint that simple) by a seriers of systems, isnt gunna work.

I think if somebody put series endeavor into raising awareness round the subject, repeated leafletting, flypostering, symbolic action like CM etc. they could make a genuinely good difference.

But i think it would be very straightforward to make it all go wrong as well, markedly using the divide and rule tactics enforced by institutions like the state.

Yeah i saw it went out on the list just now, hopefully a number of ppl will respond, even tho theres heaps of ppl on that list they arent very good at getting their message across ;)

Getting a fair few replies on the CM list now. Going to take stock.

I identify CM has no 'leadership' and I definitely don't want to be seen as some sort of figurehead for a Brick Lane mass. It was just an idea that I thought I would put forward.

I may advocate a date before long (perhaps in a months time?) so that we can confidently work towards something.

My main apprehension though is numbers. Great to say, yeah, count me in. Very different on the day when 10 folks turn up. We want numbers for this to work.

i have to say it's a bad idea.

at slightest atm you know where to go and look for your bkie proviso it's nicked. except following your rah rah fuck em display has then moved them on, to a discrete or less visable area what you gonna do then?

see moving them on does fuck all good it's not like the crims are gonna feel fuck we'd better stop nicking bikes or CM will campaign at us, cos i can guarantee you they won't give a tootle and in the best traditions of these things will prolly try and assert some sort of dominence of the situation.

the uncertainty in truth is what do you do after you have moved them on? do this for on week then they will be back the next bold as brass might even have a few additional bikes for sale. do it for two weeks and they'll start to get fucked off or merely ignore you, do it for 3 weeks and it's likely that they will all of a sudden aquire large dogs or tendencies to strike out...what they won't do is stop nicking bikes. they want the cash, cleary they wouldn't be doing it other wise this is not after all orgainsied crime (in most cases it seems bloody disorganised if you ask me) so what do you do to tackle the root of the problem?

cause shifting it else where like say bethnal green high street ain't gonna do it either...you'll still have your bikes nicked you merely won't know where to goto look for em...

the regrettable thing is that the crims have exposed an easy way of breaking locks that no matter how much you pay out on the lock is infallible.

Buy a shit looking bike, mines never been even touched since I bought it 4 years ago.

No, I think its just authentic greed. I have doubts if any of those motherfuckers down there are sitting round feeling good about selling 'material escapism'.

And I don't like your assertion that poorer people are more prone to ride stolen bikes - more to the point being midly insulting its untrue; there wouldn't be a marketplace for low priced new bikes then for the reason that if cash was tight you would just go visit your forthcoming local bike thieving syndiacte. Halfords would stick to selling bass bins for novas. Besides, you can obtain a £59.95 bike on the drip - and people do believe it or not.

I've in fact been down to brick lane and sold my (legitimate) GT. I got to see close up how the entire game works and what sort of people are buying and selling. There are the local kids that sell the bikes (have money), the vendors themselves who obtain the bikes of the thieves (don't tend to make much, maybe £5 -£25 per bike) and the punters. The punters to a man all looked to me like they could pay for to buy from a shop. I kept telling the bloke who bought my GT that I'd bought this bike from new plus it was legitimate - he told me of course, he'd in no way purchase a stolen bike. I wasn't convinced. His parting shot was that he wanted the GT to be his knockabout bike while he saved his Giant OCR ONCE duplication for best (£1600 of roadbike).

psychological liberation my arse.

Is the Critical Mass link working? I can't get to it?

Why are people permitted to trade bikes without the reciept? conceivably it might be worth getting an MP to sponsor a law change? As much as I know, when you buy a bike you have to offer your name and address, so it ought to be easy to get this in case you've lost it.

I think we'll have to agree to disagree on that one :friendly: Yeah i do see where you are coming from, i just imagine there is more to it than that. (And yeah i did express myself pretty terribly in my lost past