Recently I have been seeing more reports of mountain bike thefts, robberies and trail muggings on UK MTB forums – whilst it seems VERY rare, it does appear to be a concerning and increasing problem that could affect us all if left unchecked.
In this video I explain my thoughts as to why I think this is happening, why mountain bikers are being targeted and what we could do to reduce the risk when riding. I also discuss what we could do to make it less incentivising for MTBs to be targeted in the first place.
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As someone who spends a lot of time riding UK trails and someone who buys and sells second hand bikes, I think this topic we need to be discussing more openly as a community.
Have you experienced anything like this first hand, or know someone else who has? Do you have any ideas about what things we could do as a community to make this issue less prevalent? Let me know in the comments below.
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33 Comments
Your country needs a significant overhaul and progressives need to be voted out.
Aim High Vote Lowe
Having to get an e-bike so you can keep up with your friend on his e-bike is so backwards.
The bike industry could surely implement the technology whereby you can sync the bike to a mobile app which would effectively brick the bike once your device is out of bluetooth range? .. if it got accidentally bricked by the owner, no unlock without proof of ownership
Ya'll keep voting in globalists that want to replace you. This is what you get.
Cant have nothing nice anymore!!!!!
I bought a gps tracker when I got my e-bike. But I live in the US. The police really seem to like being able to track suspects and arrest them when they least expect it here. Minimum charge possession of stolen goods and whatever else they find, open warrants, unpaid tickets.
Maybe sites like eBay make uploading serial number (cross checked to national database) as mandatory. It will make it more difficult to sell stolen bikes on eBay. Not the only solution but better than nothing.
I sat next to a Serb on a plane who saw my bike mag and started boasting about his mate in Novi Sad who sells bikes stolen in the UK.
yes thats what i worry about with my e,bike but thats why i have put a tracker in the frame and a data tag aswell its allso got a allarm and a panic allarm which goes off with a 110 db siron which won,t go off untill i turn it off so whoever robs it they will have to put up with that going off were ever they go and everyone will know and hear a 110db goin off and its under the seat and to get at it you have to undo 6 bolts to get at it
Adressing thé basic issue! In thé UK & thé EU, Defending myself and my property is An criminal act! Even i don't use pepperspray a rock or stick, but bare hands! I would minimal face a criminal record
If i call thé agressor out on facebook ( full name,profession and city) because thé police did nothing!
I go to Jail in thé Netherlands, not thé pervert grabbing my P and more!
Because we're lawobeying citizens, criminals always wins!
We crap our pants for Being a month behind bars, criminals are ready to kill and got killed!
Im not, so i eat thé mud, before it's start!
Would you Rob me, if i had a 10mm Glock, 357 S&W bodyguard, probably trained, ready to killed or be killed!?
Great point about cutting the legs off the stolen bike market! I would also add that bike insurance is a very affordable peace of mind guarantee (~£30-40 a year)
Carry a kosh with you. Or “gentleman’s walking device’ as eBay calls them 😂
Because the the government and the police couldn't care less and more interested going after people that haven't done anything wrong. The police are that stupid they would most probably blame the cyclist
You also need to be carful you are not followed home to then have your bike nicked later whilst you are sleeping in your bed. Obviously on social media don't post pictures of your bike and make sure your apps don't give away your home location. Tags seem of little value as the police are reluctant to follow up. Insure it, hand it over and just hope they don't take your phone at the same time.
My sons friend had his robbed at knife point they knew the lads too, the bike was tagged went to the police to show the location and the people who threatened him with the knife, police said there is nothing we can do, it’s shocking, what is this country coming to? Stay safe out there fellow bikers 🚴♂️
Need to team up 3 or 4 group for strength in numbers
Aren't machetes illegal in the UK I thought you needed to be certain religion to have the ability to stab at innocent
Honestly your cousins from across the pond don't have this issue the difference is a lot of us carry their crooks kind of know better especially mountain bikers and hikers we always have a gun mountain lions Don't listen to the no no square warning
vote restore, not reform and put an end to this mess
the main problem for moutain biking where i live is there are 1000s of kids on full sus bikes but the top tube is around shoulder height and we have zero moutains, we barley have a hill, so tiny kids on huge bikes wheelie through town centeres like its the best trick a bike can do, then they get bored and terror old people, then they steal bikes for there other tiny mates to use to terror old people.
Insure your bikes and yourselves. Its not as expensive as you think and is some kind of peice of mind.
You know who to vote for
As a cyclist a good item to carry is DeepHeat it's very good for knee pain and balaclava eye pain 😉
I had two visits by balaclava gangs to my house. First one was 7 guys at 4am, second was 6pm. House was clearly cased and terrified my family.
We put up razor wire (illegal), but as you say we had no way to legally defend ourselves.
I'm polish. I'm 6'1. I'm just under 120 kilo. I work out. I train martial arts and I would love to see someone with the knife trying to steal my bike in the middle of nowhere. That would be the most beautiful day of my life
Sreggin
I had my expensive Ebike stolen from my property at night. Told police and they didnt even give me a call for 2 weeks never mind come out to my property. Long story short I checked selling sites daily (almost hourly) for months and 5 months later I saw it for sale. New grips, seat and pedals but I had a unique spacer that I spotted. The bike then SOLD that day and I thought it was gone. Amazingly 1 week later it was up for sale again. I informed police who once again did absolutely NOTHING. I sourced the address through a contact getting a post code. Then Google mapped the images and figured out where it was. I left work and went to the house, kicked off and got the bike back. All the while the police were informed I was about to confront them. They still wouldn't come. THE POLICE WILL DO NOTHING, so put something small and unique on the bike that's hard to tell isn't standard.
Handcuff yourself to the frame
Welcome to anarcho-tyranny by design.
I would encourage people to make a formal complaint against the police. Also to complain to their MP about the failures of the police.
God damn you are going downhill. UK when I visited 2007 was a great place to be, sad how far you have gone
Don’t live in a city and your chances of getting your bike nicked drop 99%. In the space of two weeks over 3 groups I seen 9 posts of bikes being nicked just in the BD4 post code.
Mountain biking is a great Hobby and you can do it with no worries on a cheap bike