| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
JustJohn
Joined: 18 Oct 2007
Location: Your computer screen
|
 Posted: Thu Jun 12, 2008 6:05 pm Post subject: Bike stolen? What the heck... |
 |
|
I got home yesterday, went down to the the apartment entrance to grab my bike for a trip to E-mart and it was gone. I'm pretty absent minded, but I'm pretty sure I didn't leave it somewhere else.
I'm a bit perplexed. I had a fairly sturdy lock going from the frame to the rear wheel and I live in the back corner of a moderately sized town, so I can't imagine there being many professional bike thieves. I'm inclined to think that someone who lives nearby picked it up and carried it to their house. (It's a decent bike but not THAT nice, and not super light either.)
I was hoping it was a joke, but it's still gone today. Do you think it would help if I wrote a note? Would 내가 자전거 주새요 be correct? |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
Bibbitybop
Joined: 22 Feb 2006
Location: Seoul
|
| Posted: Thu Jun 12, 2008 6:11 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| I don't know what would help, but I do know the cops won't help you nor would they care. My friend had his motorcycle stolen. 3 different cop shops told him to go to another station, they said they didn't deal with thefts. And their cars often have a TSD flag on the back. "Theft Specialist Division." Or is it TSI? Who cares, Korean cops are useless. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Underwaterbob
Joined: 08 Jan 2005
Location: In Cognito
|
| Posted: Thu Jun 12, 2008 6:18 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| I live in a pretty small town too and the bike/scooter/motorcycle thieves come in waves. I'm pretty sure they come from other cities and just drive around picking up everything they can and cart them off. For about a year and a half nothing, then blammo me and two of my friends lost our scooters within a couple months of each other. And yeah, the cops won't do anything. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
JustJohn
Joined: 18 Oct 2007
Location: Your computer screen
|
| Posted: Thu Jun 12, 2008 6:25 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Hmm, this isn't sounding good. Traveling stealsmen? If that's true my bike could be in Seoul by now. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Ya-ta Boy
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Location: Established in 1994
|
| Posted: Thu Jun 12, 2008 6:31 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Yeah, bikes and scooters need to be chained to something that can't be moved, like a lamp post--and even that is no guarantee. Korean thieves ride around in trucks at night and lift any 2-wheeler that isn't chained down. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Kimchi Cowboy
Joined: 17 Sep 2006
|
| Posted: Thu Jun 12, 2008 6:34 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Bike thievery is commonplace. My co-worker had two bikes stolen in two years, and mine almost got jacked - someone must've interrupted, because the cable was half-cut through, and it wouldn't have taken much to finish the job. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Kaeden
Joined: 15 Nov 2006
|
| Posted: Thu Jun 12, 2008 7:01 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Yep, common. My bike was stolen a couple weeks ago here in Seoul. My girlfriend had hers stolen a while back as well. Mine was chained up to a pole outside my appartment here. Ever seen a pair of boltcutters? If your bike's visible and someone wants it.. it's gone locked or not. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
KYC
Joined: 11 May 2006
|
| Posted: Thu Jun 12, 2008 8:01 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Mine was stole from my apt! I was on a very long vacation during the winter and I guess the landlord thought I had finished my contract. He came and took the bike. I was baffled and stormed to his place and we had a nice chat 
Sorry to hear about your loss. If you're still interested, I have my bike haha. I'm leaving this place soon. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
shifty
Joined: 21 Jun 2004
|
| Posted: Thu Jun 12, 2008 9:23 pm Post subject: |
|
|
I've had two...TWO... fullhouse bikes go. Made me very happy each time.
It is ESSENTIAL to park it in apartment. This is disagreeable at first, for it makes the place honk like a bike shop, but at least allows you to give it a pat of affection on the way to the bathroom.
When I lost the second one, trips to my fav restaurant were curtailed and then it so happened that the rice cooker found its rightful role in my life.
Never looked back!!
What I'm saying is that take heart, there may be a silver lining in all of this. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Adventurer
Joined: 28 Jan 2006
|
| Posted: Thu Jun 12, 2008 9:30 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| JustJohn wrote: |
| Hmm, this isn't sounding good. Traveling stealsmen? If that's true my bike could be in Seoul by now. |
Well, my Korean friend has bike seat jacked with three times. You'd be surprised at the amount of petty theft out there. I got my wallet stolen at McDonald's before. Crime can happen anywhere. It really sucks when it happens. I am sorry, man. I am sorry your bike is gone. I hope you like your next bike more. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
caniff
Joined: 03 Feb 2004
Location: All over the map
|
| Posted: Thu Jun 12, 2008 9:43 pm Post subject: |
|
|
If you have a bike in Korea, I recommend having the worst piece of shit bicycle possible.
Take your bike and spray paint the whole thing flat black. Then throw dirt on it while the paint's still wet. Put a bunch of stupid-looking stickers all over it, then scratch up the stickers to artificially age them.
Unfortunately, you will still need to lock it up. But if you follow my advice I can virtually guarantee your bike will not be stolen. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Adventurer
Joined: 28 Jan 2006
|
| Posted: Thu Jun 12, 2008 9:45 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| caniff wrote: |
If you have a bike in Korea, I recommend having the worst piece of shit bicycle possible.
Take your bike and spray paint the whole thing flat black. Then throw dirt on it while the paint's still wet. Put a bunch of stupid-looking stickers all over it, then scratch up the stickers to artificially age them.
Unfortunately, you will still need to lock it up. But if you follow my advice I can virtually guarantee your bike will not be stolen. |
I have a better idea. Why not spray paint part of your bike white and put in Korean the word "Wayguk" or foreigner. Who wouldn't want to steal it, then? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
kiwiduncan
Joined: 18 Jun 2007
Location: New Zealand
|
| Posted: Thu Jun 12, 2008 9:52 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| I had my Kona stolen a few years ago when it was still in a cardboard box in storage in an old co-worker's building. Fortunately about 3 years later I was walking down the street in Seoul and I saw an old man riding it up the hill, so I was able to reclaim it. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
caniff
Joined: 03 Feb 2004
Location: All over the map
|
| Posted: Thu Jun 12, 2008 10:01 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| kiwiduncan wrote: |
| I had my Kona stolen a few years ago when it was still in a cardboard box in storage in an old co-worker's building. Fortunately about 3 years later I was walking down the street in Seoul and I saw an old man riding it up the hill, so I was able to reclaim it. |
I think the Davester's deserve more information about that story. Did he calmly get off the bike and give it to you with an apology? Did you have to chase him down and fight him?
Please share. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
kiwiduncan
Joined: 18 Jun 2007
Location: New Zealand
|
| Posted: Thu Jun 12, 2008 10:09 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Here's the story that was written for the Singletrackworld website.
| Quote: |
Almost three years to the day some *beep* stole my beloved 1998 Kona Kiluaea, which was my prized toy, and which I had been lovingly building up with lots of cool stuff over the year that I rode it. Full of memories of riding in the UK and around New York city, it was nicked in Seoul, Korea before I'd even taken it out of its box. I was devastated.
Three years passed. Back to England then back to Korea again. A great Rocky Mountain Blizzard came and went then my current 5 Spot came along. The last two years of biking in Korea have been fantastic, but I always wondered what had happened to the Kona, and if I would ever see it again. At the time the Kona was stolen I even cut out a picture of it and stuck it in my wallet, in the desperate hope that one day I would see the bike by chance on the streets of Seoul, a city of 11 million.
That chance came last weekend. Walking down the street I saw an old chap riding up the hill towards me. It had become an ingrained and unconscious habit to check out bikes as they were ridden past, and as he approached I recognised first the shape, then the color, then the details of my long lost Kona.
I called out. He stopped. I ran up excitiedly and insisted that it is my bike. Heated words were exchanged. I called out for the police. I tried to squeeze myself into the triangle of the bike. A crowd gathered.
We realised this wasn't helping. I showed him the picture of the stolen bike. Friends and family were phoned. We agreed to go to the police station to discuss it. I was pretty sure that the guy was innocent. The actual thief was probably several transactions past.
We exchanged all our details and over the next few days negotiations were made. Korean law is crappy in this regard. If stolen property goes through several hands, and they cannot be proven to have knowledge of the theft, you cannot reclaim anything. On top of this, although my Kiluaea was unique in Korea (that model was never imported) and made even more recognizable by all the changes I had made, the old Kona distributors in Britain had gone bust, and taken all their records with them. Despite recognizing all the components I had changed, recognizing individual scratches and chain rub, and even seeing the same old saddlebag, proving the bike was mine in the eyes of the law would have been very difficult without the serial number.
In short, the old guy and his son-in-law (a keen biker who originally bought the bike and later handed it on to the old guy) were under no legal obligation to return the bike. I had to hope for plain old human decency and compromise. A deal was struck.
Last Saturday my friend and I shopped around and settled on a nice wee entry-level KHS that we bought for 350,000 won (about 300 dollars). We then met the son-in-law and the father-in-law in their neighborhood that evening and did the swap over.
There were smiles and handshakes all around. The old guy got a prettier bike with more gears and a bouncy fork. I got my sexy little bling-blinged racing whippet Kona back. I even got my quality rear light back too, though I let him keep the naff saddle bag.
A particularly cool thing was when the old guy said something about how he almost never cycled along the road where I first saw him, and that for some reason he had just felt a strange urge to go in that direction. He put it down to the bike itself having a desire to return to its old owner.
Anyway, the son-in-law (who actually happens to be a plastic surgeon, so probably has no problems with cash) then transfered 200,000won into my account. So I got Flipper back for 150,000 won ($110). In Korea this is about the same cost as the bike's Chris King headset alone. But of course, I've got a nicely made classic steel frame kitted out with a Kona P2 rigid fork, LX to XTR parts, RaceFace cranks, stem and handlebar, an Easton seatpost and other nice bits. Not to mention all the happy memories of sunny English singletrack, tea and scones, wet and mushy Wales, warm beer on cool days and Manhattan taxi dodging.
Lessons learned.
Have more than one record of your bike's serial number. Pass on some copies to friends and family.
Take some close-up photos of your bike's distinguishing scratches and scars.
I heard one guy suggest putting a splash of long lasting nail polish on a suitable part of your bike and pressing your thumb into it in order to fingerprint your frame. |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
