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Sun 9 Aug, 9:00 am BST

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Beware when buying a second-hand bike

By BikeRadar

Insurers Cycleguard have warned that the growing bike market means more and more people are being conned into buying stolen bikes.

They say that, with a bike being stolen every 65 seconds in the UK, the second-hand bike market is a potential minefield for the prospective buyer.

Here's a checklist of some of the tell-tale signs that can help buyers spot a stolen bike before they part with any cash:

Are the owner and the bike a likely match? Wherever possible, ask to meet the seller face-to-face, preferably at their house or place of work. Ask yourself whether they could have afforded the bike in the first place.

Do all the parts match? Thieves will often damage a bike in some way, or remove parts such as one of the wheels, in order to make it easier to steal. If the front wheel is missing or different to the back, or the frame has scratches, don’t be afraid to ask what happened. A legitimate owner should have credible answers to this type of question.

Does the owner have proof of purchase? It may not always be available but most bikes come with some form of documentation, such as warranty agreements and manuals. Some may even have a service history. A lot of owners also choose to insure their bike, so it is worth asking whether they have supporting documentation that they can show you.

Are there any security markings on the frame? Most bikes have a serial number etched onto the bottome of the frame, and a lot of cyclists now put a postcode mark or security tag on their bike to help them trace it if it is stolen. If any of these markings are damaged, or if the information doesn’t tally with the owner, start asking yourself some serious questions.

Cycleguard's managing director James Pickering said: “The boom in cycling has created rich pickings for bike thieves, with a fair proportion of stolen bikes ending up on the second-hand market. If you purchase stolen items they never actually belong to you, and can be seized at any time, either by the police or by the rightful owner.

“As a general rule of thumb, if you’re not certain about where the bike has come from, think carefully before buying it. Once you’ve handed over the money it can be virtually impossible to get it back should the bike prove to be stolen.”

User Comments

There are 6 comments on this post

Showing 1 - 6 of 6 comments

  • Be especially wary of eBay bike sellers. My '05 Enduro was stolen recently and less than 48hrs later it had been stripped into bits (I'd upgraded many components) and was up for auction by one person using two seller names (xtremewinter & quickerbybike). The police were notified with the details of all item numbers plus my frame serial number and they in turn apparently got in touch with eBay. Five days later the auctions ended and my precious bike was gone for ever. Two months later and I'm yet to hear anything back from either the police or eBay and the seller continues to sell bikes on a regular basis. If they do ever decide to pull their finger out with thieves on eBay it will be the unsuspecting buyers who will no doubt be left out of pocket while the scumbags get a slap on the wrist.

  • A good how-to is being played out here:

    http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/stolen-on-one-scandal-29er-1x-9-w-london?replies=12#post-583414

    Contact the Police, but they can't act unless you're 100% right that it's your bike. Their advice is win the bike, check the serial numbers, then contact them.

  • i know a lot of bike shops note the frame number and customer contact details when they sell a bycycle. Why not make it a national register thing so when your precious bike is stolen (as wsa the case with my friends Whyte E5) you can report it to you LBS and at least have half a chance of getting it back (e.g. if it's taken in for a repair etc.) Similarly potential buyers armed with the frame number could do a check to see if it's "black listed". Another tio - match the bike descripton to the photoe's - I spotted several Whyte E5;s on EBAY where the descriptiojn didn't match the photo's (e.g. SRAM X.0 rear mech quoted and XTR M970 pic shown !!!).

  • Had our backup bike rode off on its own @ RAGBRAI this year from our team bus. Got it back 1 week later after it was found by the police, who tracked it down via www.bikeregistry.com . If more cyclistes utilized such free public registries the resale market would be a lots less lucrative....

  • Don't forget www.stolenbicycleregistry.com - there's even http://mobile.stolenbicycleregistry.com if you want to run a serial via cellphone to see if a bike has been reported stolen.

  • Anyone lost a Mojo SL/Big Hit/Stumpjumper (comp or expert) around Cwmbran (very close to Cwmcarn)?

    http://shop.ebay.co.uk/merchant/madlad2008_W0QQ_nkwZQQ_armrsZ1QQ_fromZQQ_ipgZ25

    Now, I have to say for legal reasons, I'm *not* accusing this ebayer of selling stolen gear. Repeat, *not*.

  • 1

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