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what happens to stolen bikes?

this barely-worth-the-trouble bike of my son's was stolen last week in the north side, from a subterranean parking garage he lives above- not sure how to post a picture here- but it's a small silver+gray+rust mountain bike, with 26" wheels, cheap shocks in the front aside from the sweet ride, I don't believe it was worth anything. Even the spokes were rusty. There is some sentimental value in the loss, as usual. If anyone knows where these bikes end up, please let me know. This one has a Free Ride sticker on it ("01514")- at some point it was someone's project there (not mine). Thanks.
pxlrvr
2014-05-13 22:05:53
Odds are it was stolen for a joy ride and then dumped somewhere... It's usually kids stealing these things, maybe keeping them hidden behind a tree or what not so their parents don't question the new bike. If they do try to sell them, they typically end up on craigslist or a bike shop. You can try making a flier with pictures and dropping them off at all the local shops just in case the thief tries to sell it. At least, that seems to be the norm for Pgh. In other cities, there are facebook groups where the criminals trade in addition to swap-meets which are a big attraction to bike thieves (fortunately we haven't gotten to that point here).
headloss
2014-05-14 00:45:07
Sorry to hear of the theft. I agree with Drew it was probably taken by a kid or a street person for them to use, not really to sell. You might want to drive down some of the alleys in the area and see if the bike is "parked" in some out of the way spot. I would encourage you to file a police report for this even though the bike is not worth very much money - they entered a building to steal this and that's pretty bold. It also lets the detectives know what's going on in the neighborhood and adds to crime statistics, etc.
marko82
2014-05-14 08:45:00
I think bicycle thieves should be treated like horse thieves in the Old West: hang 'em and given 'em a fair trial ;-{)}
pghdragonman
2014-05-14 11:53:57
IIRC what my mother said, they end up on a farm somewhere, being happily played with by little farm children... or maybe that was our dog...
jonawebb
2014-05-14 12:23:37