Bike Index's August 2018 recoveries!


As you can imagine, August kept us pretty busy. I can't recall a Fall bike theft season as active as this one!

In this month's recoveries:

  • "This is actually the second time Bike Index has gotten my bike back to me ... "
  • "Had I not signed up, my bike would have been ... put up for auction without me knowing it..."
  • "All thanks to Bike Index my bike was returned in less than a week..."
  • Usually getting these stolen-bike recovery stories out of people is like pulling teeth, but one user sent us a 1000+ word write-up on her lengthy (but successful) Serotta recovery in LA

Before we get started: Recall that Bike Index is a 501(c)(3) non profit. We love catching thieves and finding stolen bikes - but we could always use your help.

We would love it if you could donate to the Bike Index. Please help us keep these recoveries coming by donating here – tax deductible, too! We would appreciate it hugely if you did.

Now - onto the August recoveries!

"King County Surplus contacted me via Bike Index. My bike was considered a 'lost & found' item left on a Metro bus. So excited, no damage (other than removing my fenders). Props to Bike Index! Had I not signed up, my bike would have been donated or put up for auction without me knowing it. King County Surplus can't check police records so they check Bike Index when they receive bikes ..."
2014 Specialized Sirrus Sport - recovered: Aug 1, 2018
" Police returned (this) bike. All components were replaced with poor quality versions and bike is basically not safe to ride due to brake issues. Not sure about how well it shifts etc ... "
2002 Specialized Sirrus A1 Sport - recovered: Aug 2, 2018
"Someone found it abandoned and recognized it from my Facebook post. They checked the serial number here and it matched!"
2016 Specialized Mens Crosstrail XXL - recovered: Aug 2, 2018
Another great Stolen Bikes NOLA recovery - one of several this month. SBNOLA is a fantastic, well-run local FB group that is doing many on-the-ground recoveries in their community. They're worth a look at by any other FB groups trying to find the right model to run their own local bike recovery efforts...
2011 Trek 7.3 FX - recovered: Aug 3, 2018
" ... someone saw it on the street and then texted my number ..."
2018 Trek 15.5 - recovered: Aug 4, 2018
"A very kind person saw this website and returned my bike! Thanks A.P.!"
Cannondale R5000 - recovered: Aug 5, 2018
"Employees at USA Pawn & Jewelry had a customer try to sell it, they looked it up on Bike Index and held the bike, notifying me to come pick it up!" (Editor's note: shout out to USA Pawn, this is one of several bikes they've managed to recover.)
2009 Gary Fisher ARC Super - recovered: Aug 6, 2018
"I joined the Facebook group Stolen Bikes Nola and they returned the bike to me. They encountered someone riding the bike..."
2018 Priority Bicycles Priority Coast - recovered: Aug 6, 2018
"Police recovered ..." (Editor's note: no other information provided.)
2012 Specialized Dolce Comp Apex Compact - recovered: Aug 7, 2018
"(Portland OR Police) Officer Casey Jones recovered it! Awesome guy! "
2016 Fuji Nevada 29" 1.7 - recovered: Aug 7, 2018
"Hi, I purchased your bike a few weeks ago from a storage unit, and when I sold it, the new buyer pointed out to me that it was stolen. They will be sending it back to me, and I will get it right back to you ..."
1996 Klein Bikes Quantum Race - recovered: Aug 7, 2018
"Someone recovered my stolen bike through Bike Index. This is actually the SECOND time Bike Index has gotten my bike back to me. I really appreciate what you do. There are so many bike thieves in the city but good people run this website and good people check the serial numbers to return stolen bicycles. Restores my faith in humanity and brings a little tear to my eye :') Ride on! "
Norco Bikes Valence A1 - recovered: Aug 10, 2018
"I bought a women's Cannondale Quick 4 last week. I took it to (the shop) to have it tuned up and found out it was stolen ..."
2015 Cannondale Quick 4 - recovered: Aug 11, 2018
"Hey Bryan, I got my bike back! I just want to say thank you so much to you and Ernest, who found it. "
2017 Surly Cross Check - recovered: Aug 12, 2018
"It reappeared where we'd left it after community Facebook posts ..."
2018 Haro Flightline 24 Plus - recovered: Aug 13, 2018
"Bike was found on Kijiji. Met with seller and explained he had stolen property... " (Editor's note: Kijiji, for those of you who are unfamiliar with it, is basically a 'Canadian Craigslist')
2010 Norco Bikes Vesta - recovered: Aug XX, 2018
"The owner of this bike wrote such a long, detailed post about how they got their bike back that I had to break it into it's own little text file. The tl;dr version - bike is stolen, bike shows up on Offerup (of course) so the owner went full out recovery ninja and recovered her bike. Long story short: do not steal Kyla's bike. "
Serotta Tri-Colorado III - recovered: Aug 15, 2018
"Hello! One of our customers found your (tall) bike at the bus stop and brought it in so we could check the Bike Index ... "
2016 Surly Tall Bike - recovered: Aug 16, 2018
" Hi, I am pretty sure my husband just found your bike in an alleyway behind our house. Please contact us ... we have it secured in our home..."
2018 Bianchi Axis - recovered: Aug 15, 2018
"Found by member of the public dumped in their driveway ... "
Alba Levanta 8 - recovered: Aug 16, 2018
"(A short but sweet email from the CCSO Deputy who recovers more bike than anybody else around) - I have recovered your MASI!"
Masi Speciale Fixed - recovered: Aug 17, 2018
Yet another Stolen Bikes Edmonton recovery. We've said it here before but Stolen Bikes Edmonton is another local stolen-bikes FB group that is on an absolute tear when it comes to recoveries ... It's a closed FB group with a highly effective group of users and admins who are absolutely on point when it comes to recovering bikes in Edmonton. Honestly, it's hard to keep up with them. Keep up the good work!
2016 Rocky Mountain Bicycles Sherpa - recovered: Aug 17, 2018
" My husband discovered my trike was locked up at the local Fred Meyers and he retrieved it for me!!! I wish there was someway for the person who bought my trike to get his money back, but hopefully karma will mend the way.... "
Schwinn Meridian tricycle - recovered: Aug 8, 2018
"Someone texted me about (the bike) - and the police helped me recover it !!!"
Leader Bikes 725 - recovered: Aug 18, 2018
"Someone bought it and tried to register it on Bike Index - so they returned it!"
2015 Schwinn Speedster 3i - recovered: Aug 19, 2018
The bike was dumped the same night it was stolen in a neighbor’s yard and they found the bike through Bike Index!
2018 Raleigh Detour - recovered: Aug 19, 2018
"This bike will be in police possession now. Please call me at the Bike Gallery in Downtown ... " (Editor's note: thanks to Bike Gallery for always keeping an eye out.)
2009 Kona Honky Tonk - recovered: Aug XX, 2018
"Was found locked up with different locks several blocks away. Police cut through cables and returned it."
2015 Raleigh Detour - recovered: Aug 21, 2018
" My bike was recovered after person who bought my bike from person who broke into my house tried to sell it in LA. Thank you (redacted) and Riverside Sheriff's office ..."
2015 Wilier Triestina Zero7 - recovered: Aug 23, 2018
"Bike was recovered with the help of Edmonton Police Service and thanks to this site ..." (ed note: Stolen Bikes Edmonton ID'd this and brought it up with EPS)
2017 Specialized Cross Trail Sport - recovered: Aug 24, 2018
"Someone found my bike laying on the side walk, looked it up on Bike Index, and gave me a call. Thank you neighbor and Bike Index! "
2007 GT Bicycles Series 4 - recovered: Aug 24, 2018
" A combination of sharp eyes on Kijiji and the Police. Plus a little bit of daring. I used Bike Index to show the seller that my bike was stolen and convinced her to let me take it to the police..."
2015 Electra Cruiser 1 - recovered: Aug 24, 2018
"A Seattle PD recovery ... (no other details provided about this bike at this time)"
2015 Trek 7.3 FX - recovered: Aug 24, 2018
"Stolen Bikes NOLA recovered my bike ... (no other details provided about this bike at this time but - right on SB NOLA!) "
2018 Brooklyn Bicycle Co. Bedford - recovered: Aug 24, 2018
"Bike was recovered with help from the TPS and Kijiji ..." (Editor's note: It seems Kijiji is on a run this month ... )
1980 Miyata Team Path Runner - recovered: Aug 25, 2018
"A exceedingly kind neighbor recognized my bike on Bike Index and sent me a picture of two people walking by with it. He gave me updates on where the bike was so I could update the police and get the bike returned! All thanks to Bike Index my bike was returned in less than a week ... "
2016 Public Bikes R16 - recovered: Aug 27, 2018
"Someone found a suspicious bike on LetGo, looked up if any similar bikes were on Bike Index and when they found my story they got the bike back to me ... " (Editor's note: we're a big fan of recovering Faradays around here! They're awesome bikes. )
2016 Faraday Porteur S - recovered: Aug 28, 2018
"My friend saw someone riding it, checked the registration number, explained that it was stolen ... "
1986 Fuji Team Fuji - recovered: Aug 28, 2018


And that's a wrap for August.

Before you go - We would love it if you could help us out. I can't stress enough how much we need your help to keep this site running - in any way shape or form.

If you could take just two minutes out of your day and do just one of these things, we'd appreciate it hugely:

  • Take 2 minutes out of your day and tell someone you know who owns a bike about the Bike Index. Please!
  • Give Bike Index a shout-out on Facebook!
  • Tweet or post to Instagram about the Bike Index, and tag @bikeindex so we can follow you back.
  • Drop us a couple of bucks to help keep up the fight against bike thieves.

Thanks for reading! See you next month! </p>