Have you had a bike stolen? We need your help

I had 2 bikes stolen from bike shed outside my flat in London last year.  They ended up for sale in Russia. A cycling club I'm a member of tweeted photos of the stolen bikes and a month or so later there was a reply to the tweet from an X user in Russia with a link to one of the bikes on sale on a Russian website. I found the other bike also for sale on the same website. One of the bikes was from a small British company, likely unknown in Russia. I think the person replying to the X post was just an ordinary Russian who had seen the bike for sale, googled it, and came across the tweet saying it had been stolen.

Apparently with current sanctions it is tougher to get good bikes in Russia so there is obviously an organised gang stealing bikes and shipping them to there.

Needless to say, I didn't get the bikes back.

Had a Ti Brompton stolen on LNER train March '24. Advised guard within 5 minutes (had pulled out of a station, it was there before).  Guards did nothing -- didn't even pass on to BTP. Phoned police - they got CCTV from LNER -- four weeks later. Police kept me informed regularly of their ongoing futile paper processing exercise. Paperwork probably excellent but pointless. NFU Mutual insurance very helpful in spite of problems with cover.

Kept an eye on socials / eBay etc for a few days. Sadly Brompton disbanded their Brompton register aimed at registering stolen Bs sometime prior to that.

Can't really help on the "after" - last bike stolen did come back but that was just luck because after some months someone tried to get it repaired by the bike shop I'd recently bought it from and they remembered it...

Had done the standard eg. Police, watching on a few websites. When returned it had been stripped of some parts also.

Up until recently, I had 2 Kryptonite New York locks that clipped conveniently within the frame triangle.  But I was concerned how resistant they are to angle grinders.

So I have now upgraded to a Litelok X1 and Abus Granit Super Extreme 2500.

The Litelok fits easily in its clamp within the frame triangle.  The Abus was a real pain, as the mount is designed to fit the side of a pannier rack only.  But I carry two panniers so this was not an option.

I did manage a custom solution and it is located on top of the pannier rack. But thatis not ideal as the cycle is now heavy at the rear.

Why don't these companies have more imagination and provide better solutions for carrying these locks on a cycle?

If people would not buy these bikes at BOOTSALES it would slightly slow, but not stop, bikes will be broken down for the parts, I see them every week at Swanly, and yes ive reported it, but the same people turn up with the bikes, last year I got there early and the people were in the van cutting off the locks, lights and computers, selling seperatly

Several bikes stolen:
From inside house a few of us rented in Newcastle, 1981.
As I talked to a couple of teens on blue footbridge over A13 and one jumped on my bike to zoom off down the cramp.
Locked to a post outside East London NHS Foundation Trust where I was in meeting about data.
Daughter, age about 12, had brand new bike taken as she unlocked it directly under CCTV camera at Beckton Globe.
Same daughter, age about 26, had bike taken from outside rented house in Peckham locked to iron railings that were cut.
About 1986, wife's and my bikes had parts taken when locked outside theatre in West London (seat from one, handlebars from the other)
Lessons to be learned from all experiences

Bike theft is a nightmare at present, and the Police don't take it seriously; they never have. There are the occasional successses where a thief is caught and analysis of his phone leads to other bikes being recovered; but in general, once your bike is stolen forget about seeing it again. We need to press our councils for secure cycle parking and take steps to improve our home security. What's a few quid for better locks on our sheds against having valuable bikes stolen? We also need to invest in better bike locks. Cheap cable locks are an invitation to thieves. No such thing as a thief-proof lock, but the longer it slows them the more chance they'll either give up or get caught. This is my bike security. Can be cumbersome to carry, but it's effective

I had two bikes stolen from my garage, never to be seen again.  What surpprised me was how much the cost racked up - it's not just the bike, it's everything that was attached to it, and sorting all that out for the insurance claim took ages. I am much more diligent about keeping my receipts now!

I had 2x bikes stolen from my shed a couple of years ago. I managed to recover one- not through the assistance of the police mind. I knew who did it as well.

Bike stolen from Manchester. Managed to track the sale and retrieve it from a Norfolk address with assistance from Greater Manchester Police and ebay