E-bike stolen and recovered within a lunch break

Discover how Aaron’s quick trip to the post office ended with his bike being stolen in plain sight.

This is Aaron’s story:

“I purchased my bike through a cycle-to-work scheme from my workplace. Since then, I cycle to work each morning. It’s an e-bike, Specialized Turbo Vado 3.0, worth ￡3000 at the time of purchase.

I Initially found out about BikeFinder when I popped into a few local bike shops for advice, such as Lunar Cycles (Kentish Town). I was looking for an easy-fitting tracker and a simple way to have my bike insured. I have an additional lock on the bike, but at the time it was stolen, it was not in use.? Luckily, I had the BikeFinder which just stays in the handlebar at all time.

Stolen within minutes

The day it happened, I had a few items to post that I needed packaging for, so I took a quick trip on my lunch break to the post office. As I was only going to be in for a maximum time of five minutes, I parked my bike right outside the entrance. It was still visible and I turned off the electric feature. This is one of the reasons I did not lock the bike with my D-Lock, which was my mistake and a lesson learned. Then, I just went inside, grabbed a box and while paying with my eyes on the cashier for a few seconds, my bike got stolen.

I ran out and as I was near a lime rental bike bay, I simply unlocked a bike, opened the bike finder app and began my pursuit, as there could only be a few minutes between me and the thieves. Luckily the tracker had 40% charge, at this point I had set it to standard mode. While tracking the bike, I called the police to raise a crime report and they said they’ll try to get someone to the location my bike was tracked to in 60 minutes and asked to be updated on any location changes.

As I got closer to the bike, I changed the tracker to tracking mode as this drains the battery very quickly.

"As I was following my bike on the BikeFinder map, I found the two thieves with my bike in Trafalgar Square.?"

I made sure the encounter was as brief as possible. As I was in a tourist area, the police would likely be present within minutes if things escalated. I approached the theives, made sure they felt exposed and demanded my bike back. They swiftly gave it over without causing a scene and quickly walked off.

The main goal was to get the bike back with as little hassle as possible, which at the end of the day was achieved. However, for anyone’s safety, I would advise police intervention.

After that, I called the police to let them know everything was resolved, and I still made it back to the office on time. I even had time to grab a bite, haha.

Once again thanks to BikeFinder for helping me recover my bike. I hope this experience proves useful.”

One last note from the BikeFinder team

Fortunately, Aron's brave encounter with the thieves ended well. However, we advise against confronting them on your own and leave it to the police.

Bike thieves are constantly on the lookout for unattended bikes, quick to seize any opportunity. Never assume your bike is safe the moment you turn your back. Always lock it and stay in control by using tools like the BikeFinder tracker for added security.

You can read more success stories like this on the BikeFinder website.