Stealing Bicycles

by DIzzIE

Just a few tips on a nice way to make some cash; something to do on a boring Wednesday night ;).

What

Stealing a bicycle with the purpose of reselling (or perhaps even for personal use).

Materials

• Bolt Cutters [Can be purchased for $15 at a local hardware store or stolen from a repair truck/toolshed]
• A can or two of spray paint, particularly the metallic enamel spray paint variety [Once again, can be purchased for $5 from a local hardware store…Krylon is a popular brand or swiped from a garage]
• Transportation to a somewhat distant city [Different state would be preferable, different town would be a minimum]

Where

Well, anywhere where there are bicycles :), college campuses tend to have lots of areas for bicycle parking, just make sure that you look like you belong on a college campus, and keep an eye out for security patrols. Another place would be in front of supermarkets, libraries, and so on…

When

Night or at least dusk is preferable so as to make your actions less noticeable.

How

Approach the bicycle stand calmly, keeping the bolt cutters inside a jacket/trench coat, or if on a college campus, inside a backpack. If concealed in a trench coat, the bolt cutters can be secured with a rope tied around your shoulder. Three things to look 1) the most expensive looking bike, 2) the bike that doesn’t have any security, and 3) is anyone closely watching? Assuming there is a bicycle that is not secured, you will have to make a choice, judging by its appearance, if you can get a sufficient amount of money for it, or whether you want to go for the nicer, secured bike. As for secured bikes, your best bet is to go for the ones that are locked with a chain or cable, versus a U-shaped lock, as those are a bit harder to cut through with the bolt cutters. Of course, if you have the necessary locksmith skills, you can always pick the locks, but the rest of us have to resort to the brute force methods. Near the bike stand when no one else is at the stand, and casually, after noticing the target bicycle, lean down, take out the bolt cutters and cut through (the cable locks will obviously be the easiest to cut through), the chain locks may take a few tries to get a clean cut as will the U locks.

Getting Away

You will then need to make another choice: do you want to just ride away on the bike or do you want to put it in a car and drive off. The advantages of the former include a more casual appearance, while at the same time risking someone noticing the bike. The advantage of the later is that you will get away from the scene of the crime faster, yet you risk getting questionable looks when you put the bike in your trunk (if it fits in the first place…). A suggestion would be to ride the bike to an alley and place it into your vehicle there, away from prying eyes.

Another choice that you will have to make is whether to leave the broken lock at the bike stand, or to take it with you. Leaving it at the scene may leave unwanted finger prints, while taking it with you may involve a direct link between you and the theft should you be apprehended (although the bolt cutters would be a big link anyway). Hence, what is recommended is that you dump the broken lock into a distant trash can.

Reselling

You may not even want to resell the bike but keep it as a means of transportation, but in any case, the bike should be repainted (this is where the spray paint comes in), and stripped of any identifiable characteristics: stickers, little novelty license tags, distinctive bells, etc…

If you want to shell out a little more money, you can have the bike professionally powder coated.

After the bicycle has been sufficiently modified, it is recommended that you wait a sufficient amount (several months) before reselling, after which you can use standard venues: asking friends, organizing a garage sale, selling at a swap meet, and so on…As well as making flyers to post locally on street corners with a phone number…You may also want to (albeit the additional risk) make a posting on various online bicycle classifieds sites (just type in ‘used bicycle classifieds’ into a search engine).

You may also want to ‘strip’ the bike and sell the parts individually: pedals, seat, wheels, etc…

Obviously the amount that you are selling the bike for will depend on the brand/type of bicycle that you got, and once again you can check the retail price online and set your own price accordingly.

Even after the cost of spray paint, bolt cutters, and transportation is subtracted, you should still make a pretty good profit.