EigerSA

this still on? every friday night?

just out of interest, a while back, a deal was made with the security guys in my area, basically they were offered a "bonus" for recovered property and arrest of suspects. the bonus wasn't cash, but a meal voucher for spar or something to that effect. the level of crime dropped perceptively... perhaps it's an idea you could use. had out pics of the bikes to security officers on patrol (with their companies say so obviously) and see what happens.

@covie: i hear what you're saying, and i understand that you're pretty frustrated by the system. but the fact remains the system is all we have. the reality of the situation, is that certain crimes have higher priorities than others and unfortunately for mtb'ers, theft of bikes is not prioritized very highly. if guns are used, that obviously up's the anty, but at the end of the day it's still a bike that was taken. considering the inefficiency of the police, considering the lack of empathy amoungst non-riders (90% of the population at least), considering the style of riding that takes us out into remote places, don't you think we should start being responsible for our own safety? consider this, even if carte-blanche does get involved, it's going to take months before it gets aired. and once it's aired and lets sat it's such a fantastic piece of journalism the country jumps and sparks, it will still be months before we see the results. so what about in the meantime?

lol - and i yours.. and this is not a personal attack on you i'm not defending the police, it's just the reality of the situation. the police are not made up of robots, but human beings. some things get their attention, some don't. and their priorities are based on crime stats, so high rapes or assaults, that's what they going to work on.

my suggestions... 1. take lots of pics of ur bikes, from every angle. record component names and serial numbers if any. 2. when stolen, report to cops and supply pics and description. 3. approach bike shops to put up a notice board. 4. print pics out, hand to all bike shops in the immediate area, ask hub members in other areas to print out pics and hand to bike shops. 5. do the same for pawn shops & 2nd hand shops. maybe consider offering a reward for info. 6. get number of detective and phone once a week for an update. please understand the detective himself is probably no more an expert in bikes than you are, don't expect miracles, he/she is human. 7. meet with local cpf and hand out pics. 8. be proactive 9. place an ad in guntree and other foums 10. don't give up

said far more succinctly than I ever could...

if this is the last resort, what other steps were taken? how many of those affected have joined their local cpf's? how many have opened up cases and actively followed up with the detective? what's actually been done to get to grips with this? what are you expecting the cops to do? do you honestly think they're going to put you to the head of the queue, jump you ahead of the staggering amount of rapes and murders and assaults that 95% of the rest of the population has reported? if you choose to ride in remote spots, should the cops be pulled away from their regular patrols just to look after you, will you still feel the same way when a family becomes a statistic because you guys knowingly and happily put yourselves at risk?

actually I have had a gun in my face, being the victim of an armed robbery at home involving 4 guys most recently, as well as the odd occasion over the years in the police force. i have no idea of your point here? My point is that so often we all complain about something and then wait for someone else to do something about it. i'm genuinely hoping that people don't see the media or carte-blanche as a problem solver because they are not. these people affected have to get stuck in themselves, i'd much rather watch carte-blanche report on have the problem was resolved rather than just report on the problem itself without result.

that's my point. carte-blanche and other media will just report that a bunch of guys who have enough disposable income to drop 20g's plus on a bike and are now bitching that their toys are being nicked is not exactly going to bring you the type of sympathy you need to get people to act on this. when this stuff happened in giba, one of the best pi's (and cops) was brought in and the guys were caught, and there was no syndicate (one of the bikes was found stuffed into the thatching of the robbers house). my point is you guys have to solve this problem yourselves, carte-blanche and rest are going to do nothing except report it, big-deal. get the guys from the area together, form a body with a head who can meet with the cpf, the police and the cpf of the area suspected of harboring these guys. carte-blanche is not a magic bullet.

i'm not sure what you think this proves? your phone got stolen, and someone else is now using it? what did you think was going to happen? and you have no idea how many times this phone has changed hands and whether the person now using it is even aware that it is a stolen phone; and so what if it has a number of names that you consider to be of Muslim persuasion? but of a reach quite honestly.

i get your point covie, and you're right, 27 out of 181 is still 27 too many. i just feel that working with the community and police will go far further to improve the situation than carte-blanche will, and in all honesty, they don't really help much in most situations anyway.

i wouldn't say 15% of all bikes, just 15% of the people who responded to the poll; that's 181 members out of 403 active users. also I notice the one of the poll choices changed from "no" to "no not yet", kinda biased isn't it?

the reason high end bikes seem to be getting taken is probably due to the fact that the high-end bikes are the ones being ridden, kinda logical isn't it? not trying to spoil anyone's fun here but there is no "syndicate" targeting bikes here. there are opportunistic criminals who have cottoned on to the fact that mtb'ers are pretty easy targets. they tend to carry cellphone's, cash and are mostly in small groups, or by themselves. and of course they going to take the bikes, they not about to let you ride away for help while they walk away, they gonna ride the bikes away while you slowly walk away for help, and maybe they'll even get to sell the bikes on to someone for a couple of r100's.

before you guys decide to hide in the bushes and jump all and sundry, start by attending the next cpf meeting in your area and voice your concerns there, or meet with the local crime prevention or better yet, the police reservists. spread the word our first, you'll be surprised just how much the local people positively respond.

so so so sexy! no chain tensioner? what gears front and back? I'm using 32/16 and it's starting to skip so figure I need a tensioner.

the only way this is going to stop is if the thieves are caught quickly. the only way for that to happen is if a network gets up and running where members of the community can quickly respond to a theft, and by visiting 2nd stores and bike stores regularly. the bikes themselves need to be registered on a central database. The cops on patrol are not detectives, and they cannot just drop everything to hunt for some missing bikes, they have to patrol as well as answer other complaints. the detectives themselves have rapes and murders to deal with, not too mention court dates and witnesses to track down, a bunch of overpriced bicycles are not going to hold their attention spans for any amount of time - and I for one don't blame them! consider offering a nice reward for the return of the bike as well as information of the thieves, post the reward offer in the nearest township. put pictures up, you'll get a far better result than relying solely on the police and the hub.

i'm not sure that's the case. i reckon it's most likely opportunistic crimes, mtb'ers are either by themselves on the ride or in smallish groups. they don't ride in public places, but in the bush and they carry at least a cellphone and maybe some cash. mtb'ers are easy targets. the bikes are probably ridden around in the townships or stashed somewhere for a while before the guy attempts to sell it to a pawnshop or something; which is exactly what was found in Giba some time ago. at the end of the day, try not to be an easy target is the only thing that'll work unfortunately. "sorting" the guys out might just end up making things worse, next time round the guys may decide to kill rather than scare or wound.

it seems things are really getting out of hand, a guy swinging a knife around like that is obviously not concerned with hurting/killing anyone! Glad you're ok and no one was hurt though.

what a fantastic idea! I have an entire garage chock-a-block of crap, I'll pack it into a bigger box, and then stick it on ebay, with any luck I'll have cleaned the garage within a few days and have made a bucket load of cash

why don't u try contact silverback themselves? explain to them you're ready to purchase, but you now want it direct but with a discount, sought of as an apology for making you run around

+ 1

very good idea that. of course some instructors may be a little hesitant in something like that since they may not see their clients again, they'll all be at home training to the podcast!

I counted at least 25 places where I would have died a painful screaming death! What an awesome ball-busting video, had to download it to watch again

I definitely like!