Bike Theft
Expensive bikes have caught the attention of organized crime rings.
By
August 10, 2024
Bike theft has changed quite a bit over the years.
Not so long ago, bike theft was a crime of opportunity–a snatch-and-grab or applying a wire cutter to a bike lock.
Bike thieves are now getting more creative and bold:
- Scouting neighborhoods with trucks and ladders to pluck bikes from second-story balconies
- Leveraging Strava data to track you and your bike back home
- Knocking down walls and evading motion detectors to snatch bikes from bike warehouses
Some bike thieves are stealing at an astonishing scale. Wired reported on one thief called “Ricky,” who they estimated sold $2.1 million of stolen bikes from late 2020 to June 2024.
Sadly, bikes are as attractive to thieves as they are to riders.
As bikes have become more expensive, with some brands charging upwards of $10,000, bike theft is now attracting the attention of more talented and prolific criminals.
