My "old bike" was stolen today....

[Polish]

Bought the frameset for $395 retail back in early 1995. This was the first year Bridgestone sold the RB-1 as a frameset only. And the last year Bridgestone USA was in business - they folded later that year.

Anyway, built it up with Campag 53/39 and finished the qualifiers for PBP 1995on the bike. Davis Bike Club - tough hilly Brevets ouch. My kid was born in early September 95, and I am listed as a "DNS" in official program of the late August PBP of that year.
It was an exciting and studdly time in my life

I work in the bike industry and have owned/ridden 15+ bikes since then. Titanium/Aluminum/Carbon/Steel. Serotta/Bianchi/Litespeed/Guerciotti/Look/Lynskey/Colnago/Kestrel.
Ridden and sold them all as demo's. Great bikes every one really.

But the RB-1 has stuck with me.

So here is what happened today. Rode into work and leaned it up against the Shop window outside like I do everday that I ride into work. Done it a over thousand times literally. Go inside, shut off the alarm, set down my messenger bag, turn on the lights, say a silent prayer to Fausto etc. Work & Pray, Work and Pray.

And during those few minutes of getting organized for the day, someone snagged it and ran off. Boy, there are some mean people in this world.

The bike was old, sure. But the "current" parts were Top-Notch.
Campag was changed over to the first ever Shimano group to win the TdF - Dura Ace 9 speed. Vintage first year Mavic Kysriums. Never had to fuss with them and still as true as day 1.The original shiny Cinelli Pinnochio stem had been replaced by a much taller Nitto years ago. The "Team Issue" DA Crank replaced by a Ritchey Compact years ago too.

So rode home today on a new bike my size from off the shop floor. Campag again. Rode nice. Need to change the stem/bar tommorrow though.

 

[the student]

shame looked like it was a nice frame... it will take you a while to get used to the new one... Had one of my normal city bike stolen once... chained it to a pole...when i came back the pole had came out and my bike was gone... ( surely didnt think of that ) bikes get stolen in all kinds of ways... shame people still do that it... it wasnt the bike that was the problem but i was still 14km away from home...

 

[titan_90]

Sorry to here that The RB-1s are great bikes. Too many people have no class.

 

[hiero2]

I hate to be sour milk - but -- lock it, dude.

I dinna care where u r. Lock it. And, learn how to lock.

A thousand days safely leaving something unlocked is a thousand days that an opportunist had to observer your behavior. Need I repeat? Lock - it. This world is not what it was 50 years ago. U cannot go anywhere in the first world, and not find drugs or theft. U r better off looking for this behavior in the third world, where moral behavior still has some meaning. Sometimes. When the militia comes through, all rules go out the window.

So, the conclusion is -- lock it.

Sorry u had to lose this remarkable bike to get to this lesson. A painful lesson.

Best of luck ---

 

[Bike Opera]

That sucks, I feel your pain. Check and see if it shows up on craigslist, ebay, etc.

Yep, gotta lock it up to a fixed object...those thieves will steal anything that isn't bolted down. I don't let my bike out of my sight unless it's in my house.

Hope you'll get it back. Good luck.

 

[tubularglue]

Polish,

what bicycle did you replace it with ?

curious

 

[on3m@n@rmy]

While I love any excuse to buy a new bike, it still sucks to have your old friend taken.

 

[dansmith]

that's a real shame...most crimes are opportunistic, others are staked out and timed (especially with repeated patterns) and are usually those closest to you...like your neighbors...

i had a personal experience in this regard one day years ago and never forgot it...as i sat and ate my lunch one weekday...i was looking out the window, at the back of a three story apartment complex across the way...i noticed a guy going out onto his balcony and looked around to the balcony next door to him...he then climbs around the balcony wall that separates them...jimmy's open their sliding door and goes in...a few minutes later comes out, with seemingly nothing...and climbs back around to his place...

i thought to myself, yikes!...what do i do?...so, i made a conscious decision to report it...not sure of the outcome, but it just goes to show, how brazen people can be...

a member of my club just reported that his bike(s) were stolen from his garage, while they were gone for a few days...the bikes were also locked up in the garage...

these things are happening with more frequency, and not much seems to stop the criminals these days...

i never leave my bike alone, i even take it in stores if i need to go in, while on a ride...

hope you find your bike and the scumbag(s) that took it!

 

[slippyB]

sorry to hear this. there's a special place in hell for people that steal Bridgestones. My "old" bike/commuter (a Rossin steel-frame) is similarly special to me and I leave it locked on campus or around town and i always have bad thoughts about walking out and it's missing.

 

[dansmith]

recent stories that might be helpful...

these are two stories of club members i belong to and what they did...

first story:

Hoozah! a suggestion that I run an add on Craig's list to offer a reward for the stolen bikes, I did so with the result that I got an email that someone had my Serotta.

After an exciting day in the chase to the San Jose Flea market on a hot tip, we recovered the Serotta in excellent shape (minus computer, pump and race blades) for amodest finder's fee.

This guy is on a mission, scouring flea markets
for stolen bikes, matching them up with Carig's list, pocketing a modest
fee when he knows enough to sell them for far more. I do believe he is
not a bad guy although I was very skeptical for some time. We had a hot
lead on the Romano, but could not locate it. This guy promises to
continue scouring the markets for it and is convinced these bikes show
up multiple times as more sophisticated buyers acquire them and market
them at higher prices. Who knows?

What is clear from checking out the flea market is how many hot bikes
they are moving and what a racket this is. My only advice - the biggest
locks you can manage and use them all the time. Kryptonite is not bomb
proof but slows many down.

Many thanks to all of the supportive comments and offers of loaner bikes
from many of you. What a great community of friends. Thanks to all of
you for your support.

second story:

I had success with ads as well, this happened to me last year and here's a
post I wrote about it...

The guy told me he had purchased it and he wanted the price he had
bought it for, which was $300.

It went down like this...

I posted to craigslist and a couple of other forums, made fliers and
dropped them off at the local bike shops. A few days later someone
called and said he saw my bike for sale at the Oakland flea market and
was still talking to the guy who was selling it. I put the police in
touch with the guy who responded to the CL add and they set up a sting.
It failed because the guy selling the bike was somehow aware that the
police were involved, go figure.

At that point I got the number of the guy who was selling it for the guy who responded to the ad and called the seller. His name is Ernest and he sells bikes out of a white pickupat the flea market, (IMHO avoid him).

I called him and let him know that he had my bike. After 5 or 6 heated conversations he agreed to sell me my bike for "what he had into it" which was $300. I called the police again and was only able to leave a message, this was not very high on the priority list for them. At this point I decided to buy back my bike. I insisted that the exchange happen in a public place, which Ernest picked, OSH hardware off Ashby in Berkeley.

He shows up and the exchange happened like this, we met inside OSH and conversed about the theft. He said the bike was outside. I requested he get the bike he asked for the cash first. After a bit more exchange with Ernest, I decided to do it. With the thought that if I was being taken for the
$300 I could make enough of a scene that someone would call 911 and the
police would have to show up. I walked outside and another person (in a
hoodie with it up) walked up with my bike.

The lights were all gone and the seat had been adjusted, but other than
that it was in the same condition it had been in.

I really think that Ernest is the 'fence' for a bike theft ring and knew
what was happening. The kid who handed me my bike looked familiar, but
I didn't get a good look at him. I would have liked to have them
arrested but the police weren't really on top of it and didn't seemed
interested. They still haven returned my call.

I would also add, if you see bikes for sale on CL (or elsewhere) with
the phone number (510) 684-0087 avoid them as there is a high chance
that the bike is stolen. There are other bikes for sale associated with
this number and he sells a number of bikes from what I understand.

I'm still second guessing myself in how I chose to resolve the situation
because it is just wrong, but $300 was cheaper than even the deductible
on my home owners insurance policy. Also, I was unsure that I could
even replace the frame/fork as the only place you can get them is from
someone who buys used frames from the Keirin race circuit and they tend
to run small. The only other one I've seen is owned by the owner of
Montano Velo and it is hanging on the wall there and he was able to buy
it new from Nagasawasan, the builder.

I've also made it much harder to break into my basement, replaced the
latch and combo lock with a dead bolt, barred the one window, added a
lock to the door to the garage and chained my bikes up in the locked
garage. In addition to keeping U locks on them even at home.

 

[TexPat]

That's a tall bike, Polish. I had you pegged as someone much shorter.
Hope you get it back.

 

[The Devil]

Sorry to hear that Polish. Any CCTV Cameras in proximity. When You own something that long it has some sentimental value. Report it to the authorities. Have You got the serial number of the bike.

 

[Polish]

Polish,

what bicycle did you replace it with ?

curious

That RB-1 cannot be replaced...many miles on that bike!

I did build up a 2011 Litespeed however.

First got a crush on the Litespeeds when Festina rode them rebadged with Peugeot decals back in the 90's. Virenque and Zülle were the envy of the peloton due to those sleds! And of course, HWMNBN won his first yellow jersey (and WC) on rebadged Litespeeds lol.

That's a tall bike, Polish. I had you pegged as someone much shorter.
Hope you get it back.

Yes, I am a real Eros Poli. Well, an imagined one lol.

Turns out the thieves were a couple of neighborhood aholes.
They sold my old bike to some guy for $150, but offered through an intermediary to buy it back and resell it to me for $450 sheesh.
If they come back I will ask if they will take a check!

 

[tubularglue]

i've got a merlin compact. same as yours, basically - but with a funky headset.


i got it back in 02'
my other road bike , is a pos - rides nice though

memories connected to both

good luck

This is the headset in my compact. these bikes were uber light, but halfway through their contract they went to carbon rear seatstays. I had troubles with my mind over that decision.

http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/tech/2002/features/probikes/?id=lotto

http://www.bikesportmichigan.com/reviews/vortex02.shtml