Both of my bikes stolen overnight

[Alexvs]

Hi,

I've been unfortunate enough to have both of my bikes stolen from inside my house overnight last night/this morning while I was sleeping. No idea how I managed to sleep through it but they managed to get the front door open with no issues and specifically targeted me for the bikes as nothing else was taken even though my car keys were in plain sight with everything else of value in my living room.

The first is my 2012 Specialized Secteur Comp in black and white with red accents which I'd recently had a bike fit on so has the stem slammed to the bottom of the stack with all existing spacers sat at the top. It also has Time Xpresso 4 pedals on and a Fi'zik Arione saddle in black with suede center strip. This pic is from when I first bought the bike as don't have a recent one:

The second is a Giant Rapid 4 in black/white/grey which was pretty dirty and stock except for the M520 SPD pedals.

Both bikes were taken from Kents Hill in Milton Keynes and I woke up to my front door wide open so they managed to get something through the letterbox and grab the handle as you can't open the door from the outside without the key.

Thanks

Alex

 

[Bob Orbell]

Sorry to read of your loss Alex, sadly, the world is full of arse holes.

 

[ianrauk]

Sorry to hear about this Alex.
At the top of the Stolen Bikes board is a sticky with some very useful information that may help you spread the word and may help to go some way to retrieving your bikes.

 

[Alexvs]

Thanks guys. Yeah that was the first thing I read and went ahead and did all of what was suggested. Fingers crossed they either get recovered in one piece or I have new toys through the insurance. It's just slightly shocking it happened while I was upstairs asleep, I just need to try forget that and move on.

 

[ThinAir]

The world really is coming to something, when even in our own houses, we are going to to have start chaining bikes to fixtures and fittings!

Really hope you get these back, sooner rather than later!

 

[DCLane]

Hope you get them back soon.

If they've gone into the house, it does seem they knew what they were looking for. Have there been any suspicious cars/people around?

I always take my bikes through the house to the storage I've got, under the impression it'd put any prospective theif off. Clearly not in this case.

 

[woosey]

If you have a 'normal# upvc door they most likely would have just used a bump key, the locks on most doors are *scarily* easy to get in if you know what your doing :S

 

[numbnuts]

That's a big poo, I hope your insured.

 

[Sandeep2504]

that's really awful, it's an sickening feeling when someone "invades" your house like that, i feel your pain

 

[Flying Dodo]

If you have a 'normal# upvc door they most likely would have just used a bump key, the locks on most doors are *scarily* easy to get in if you know what your doing :S

Sad but true. Cheapie Euro cylinder locks as used in most uPVC doors cost less than £15 and can be opened very easily. Far better to spend about £45 on an upgraded one with specific anti-bump, anti-pick and anti-drill protection. It only takes a couple of minutes to swap the cylinder locks over for a secure version.

 

[Milzy]

If you have a 'normal# upvc door they most likely would have just used a bump key, the locks on most doors are *scarily* easy to get in if you know what your doing :S

I changed mine to the latest 5 lever locks with anti drill & anti pick. Alarmed too.

Nothing would be better than to have a big guard dog.

 

[Alexvs]

Thanks all, it's a very sad time that thieves are no longer afraid to come in to houses that are occupied and help themselves to our hard earned! It's bad enough coming back to find everything gone, but the feeling of knowing someone has been in your house while you're upstairs is sickening and frightening and I count myself lucky they came and left without anything else happening as not sure how I would've reacted driven on by adrenaline had I heard them and confronted them.

DCLane, nothing out of the ordinary that I've noticed as I live in a culdesac so it's not like many people pass so only normally see the regular passers by.

I had a Police forensic officer in at lunch time and it was like an episode of CSI (or a little less glamorous), he opened his suitcase and took out some tools to brush down the area of entry and took away some finger prints. I had to do the whole finger print thing so they can dismiss my own and he showed me exactly where they got in. There was a tiny indent where they'd used a flat screwdriver or similar and jimmied open the door and unlatched it. Obviously someone who knew what they were doing as I wouldn't have had a clue these UPVC doors were so easy to get into.

Thankfully both bikes were listed under specified items on my insurance and I have a phone appointment with a claims handler tomorrow to discuss the specifics. Hopefully they'll cover everything else that was on the bike and the Garmin 800 that I had on the bike. Thankfully I keep all receipts so keeping hopeful I'll get like for like back on everything or even get lucky and they find them.

Thanks again for all your kind words.

 

[DCLane]

There was a tiny indent where they'd used a flat screwdriver or similar and jimmied open the door and unlatched it. Obviously someone who knew what they were doing as I wouldn't have had a clue these UPVC doors were so easy to get into..

Top and bottom key-operated locks then needed - easy to get and fit. We've got them and it's obvious on the UPVC door where it's been forced previously, before we bought the house. That may have been by the previous owners, who were dipsticks.

 

[RiflemanSmith]

Thanks all, it's a very sad time that thieves are no longer afraid to come in to houses that are occupied and help themselves to our hard earned! It's bad enough coming back to find everything gone, but the feeling of knowing someone has been in your house while you're upstairs is sickening and frightening and I count myself lucky they came and left without anything else happening as not sure how I would've reacted driven on by adrenaline had I heard them and confronted them.

DCLane, nothing out of the ordinary that I've noticed as I live in a culdesac so it's not like many people pass so only normally see the regular passers by.

I had a Police forensic officer in at lunch time and it was like an episode of CSI (or a little less glamorous), he opened his suitcase and took out some tools to brush down the area of entry and took away some finger prints. I had to do the whole finger print thing so they can dismiss my own and he showed me exactly where they got in. There was a tiny indent where they'd used a flat screwdriver or similar and jimmied open the door and unlatched it. Obviously someone who knew what they were doing as I wouldn't have had a clue these UPVC doors were so easy to get into.

Thankfully both bikes were listed under specified items on my insurance and I have a phone appointment with a claims handler tomorrow to discuss the specifics. Hopefully they'll cover everything else that was on the bike and the Garmin 800 that I had on the bike. Thankfully I keep all receipts so keeping hopeful I'll get like for like back on everything or even get lucky and they find them.

Thanks again for all your kind words.

Burglars have never been afraid to enter the premises when people are sleeping, it is aggravated burglary or as they say a "creep".

 

[e-rider]

I always lock my bikes inside the house too, to something that doesn't move (easily). Get several locks on the front (and rear) door too - this is basic security really and unfortunately needed in the society that we live in.