Kuota Kharma 09 and a Trek 1.5 WSD Stolen!

[Kuota M]

7 week old Kuota Kharma Ultra 09 was stolen from the bike racks at Kew Gardens between 12 noon and 3:35pm on Sunday 16th August 2009

The Kuota is an XL framed bike with black bar tape, fulcrum 5 wheels, Fizik white saddle with red stripe and continental 4000s tyres.


The thieves also stole my lady's 2009 model, 52cm Trek 1.5 wsd, blue and white road bike with white Specialized BG Toupe saddles and grey Bontrager Race-Lite tyres.


The police know and I hope whoever tries to ride these bikes has something bad happen to them if they do.

I am sorry for sounding as I do, but the thieves have stolen a part of our happiness.

M

 

[Kuota M]

I saw this advert on Gumtree this evening after posting my stolen bikes advert.
I have tried on several occasions to contact "William" and "Jennifer" to no avail as the given number says calls are not being connected at this moment.
Let me tell you: I bought my bike 7 weeks ago for £1900 BEFORE adding a Fizik Arione saddle, Conti 4000S tyres and Look Keo Red pedals to it.
There are only TWO authorised Kuota LBS's in London
There is NO WAY ON EARTH anyone would sell this bike after 3 months let alone drop the price by £1200 on it.
I have alerted Gumtree see the ad below.
-----------------------------------------------
Kuota Kharma 2009 (full carbon) (£700)
Date posted: Thursday 20th August | Ad viewed: 124 times
Location: Brick Lane

Hi i am selling my Kuota Kharma bike in excellent condition. I purchased the bike around 3 months ago and have now decided to sell because i think someone can get much more meaningful use out of it then me, The size is Large and the frame made from Carbon fibre which makes it very very light and very Fast, it also comes with the 2009 Shimano Ultegra full groupset. The bike is in Perfect working order with no problems or marks, First to see will buy. For any further questions please contact William or jennifer on 07508259781
-----------------------------------------------
I WILL SEE YOU, I WILL FIND YOU, YOU THIEF.

 

[ianrauk]

I sincerely hope you get your bikes back I really do & hope some harm befalls the tealeaf bastard, but goddam it man, why the did you leave near £2000 of bike out of your sight?

Have you alerted the police about the advert?

 

[Kuota M]

Thanks Ian,
It was the first (and last) time I ever leave my bike unattended.
It was left in the bike rack at Kew Gardens in front of the ticket office and directly under the security cameras.
This is a bitter lesson to learn.
It is a distinctive bike and I will see it as I travel across London and the South East.

 

[ianrauk]

I know exactly how you feel mate. I had a new bike stolen after only 5 days from the train station, got it on cctv too.. brazen as you like the thief was. Nowhere near as nice as your Kuota but horrible feeling nevertheless.
So a good tip, for times you are going out and leaving your bike locked up, take an old less valuable bike. A bitter lesson learned indeed.

Hopefully the police track down William and Jennifer sooner rather then later and you get your bike back.

What colour is the bike? help if a few forumites can keep an eye out. Picture would be good too.

ps welcome to the forum.

 

[MacB]

well done on having the details for the police, relly hope the scumbag gets caught.

I know what Ian means but I'm getting heartily sick of this 'don't leave your bike response'. When I had one stolen at a station I consulted with BTP on how to proceed in future. They recommended never leaving a bike at a station......gee thanks guys. Catching bike thieves shouldn't be too tricky.

But my biggest bugbear is the marketplace, if none of us ever buy hooky stuff then the market vanishes. I wonder how many regular cyclists think nothing of buying, no questions asked, from Brick Lane, Gumtree, etc.

 

[ianrauk]

Hi Maccy,
I know exactly what you mean, but these days you just can't leave a valuable bike like that out of your sight for a second, a fact of life. As I said ealiuer I left a brand new bike (5 day old Subway 2) at Orpington Station which was subsequently nicked, it was all on CCTV, they said they knew who it was but I heard nothing back even after repeated calls to the police. I learnt a lesson that day. Never again will I leave any of my nice bikes out of my sight for any length of time. And if I do have to, ie at the train station or shops then it will be my crappy old hack bike. OK you may have a very nice bike that is a fantastic ride and you want to enjoy. But leaving locked up for a while.. not a chance. At least the OP had the very good sense to write down the serial number, how many people actually do that I wonder?

 

[MacB]

yep, I keep meaning to write down serial No's and also get the free markings the local police put on for you. Like you I haven't left either of my better bikes out of my sight and they aren't anything like as fancy as the OP's.

I know it's just reality it just bugs me that the main onus seems to be on us. Don't leave it, bigger better locks, sold secure ratings(though testing doesn't use the tools thieves do), make it look cheap, get insurance and so on. I think it was Coruskate posted up about targetting thefts from the other end. Target shops/traders that buy them and their customers, confiscate thebikes after the transaction is complete. Trader loses money to evidence and customer ends up with ni bike and out of pocket.

 

[Kuota M]

Photographs of our stolen bikes have been added.
a tip to all is if you cant be bothered to write down your serial number, take a picture of it and write it down when you can.
Seeing your replies have helped me and my lady to not feel so alone in this so thank you all.

 

[MacB]

sorry Mark, but that is one fine looking bike and, you're right, very distinctive, good luck.

 

[ianrauk]

A very distictive bike Mark.
Keep us updated with any news.

 

[fossyant]

What locks did you use?

 

[Kuota M]

It was an Abus silver rated D-lock.
If there are any suggestions for good D locks, I would welcome them however, I don't think I will lock my bike outside anywhere again. I will get something good for my garage though.

I am also looking into tracking devices. I guess anything that will give me some peace of mind.

 

[e-rider]

That ad on gumtree sounds very much like your bike. I'd try and track them down yourself and don't wait for the police to do absolutely nothing.

 

[e-rider]

were the bikes insured? If you have house insurance this sometimes covers bikes away from the house. Worth checking.