Once you have as much of the above as you can get, simply click here, register, and log in to list your stolen bike(s). Once they are registered, they'll be auto-tweeted out via our Portland Twitter feed (see below) - and the bike's info will be available to all our area partners.
Spread the word!Finding stolen bikes is a game of numbers - the more people you have looking out for your bike, the better. So: you're going to have to spread the word. Tell everybody you know about your stolen bike . If you're in an apartment building, post a flier. If someone stole your bike from a business, alert the building management. And of course, you'll want to hit all the popular online methods, because Craigslist isn't the only place thieves sell stolen bikes online anymore.
Twitter - If you're on Twitter, definitely post your Bike Index link, a photos of your bike, and tag @stolenbikereg and Portland's Bike Theft Task force officers at @ppbbiketheft
Facebook - Facebook is a good next step. Post your bike, mention all the specifics, link its BikeIndex listing, and maybe get it out to some of the local PDX stolen bike groups like 'PNW Lost/Stolen Bikes.' If it's a specialty bike, like a cargo bike, you may look for specialty bike groups like 'PDX Cargo Bike Gang'. Be sure to look around for more specific neighborhood groups, too, like "Stolen In St. Johns"
Instagram - Stolen bikes Instagram is a great resource - so if you're on Instagram, post your bike, mention the make, model, specific city you're in and then tag @bikeindex so we can regram it
Reddit - we see stolen bike posts on Reddit all the time, and there's a lot of eyeballs there, too. So - if you're a Redditor, /r/portland and /r/cyclepdx may be a good place to start.
Nextdoor - even though Nextdoor is a 'closed' system, so to speak, there's still a lot of local eyeballs there. So it's worth posting your stolen bike's BikeIndex listing to Nextdoor.
Look for your bike 'in the wild'
It doesn't hurt to just cruise around Portland and look for your bike 'in the wild.' Tons of PDX bike theft victims have spotted their bikes in the usual places, i.e. one of Portland's many open-air chop shops. There's always a fair amount in the industrial sectors downtown, along the east side of the Esplanade, and many along the Springwater corridor.
The locations of these change pretty frequently but hit up the local FB groups and ask around, and you'll get a list of known chop shops pretty quick. We've also seen thieves 'stash' bikes in public bike racks (so they can leave them there, locked, to sell later) so be sure to check out the bike racks you see while you're out and about.
Keep an eye out for it onlineA huge, huge amount of stolen bikes are fenced online - but it's not just Craigslist you have to deal with anymore. Now, there's many different sites you will need to watch:
- Offerup - a chronically terrible service full of stolen bikes. This is the first place you should go to look for your stolen bike - or stolen anything - for that matter.
- Letgo - another app that is similar to Offerup - same idea
- Facebook marketplace - not as popular with thieves yet, but growing
Make it a habit to check for your bike on these sites every day, for many weeks - even months, if you can. We've seen thieves steal bikes and stash them in storage for months to let them 'cool off' before listing them for sale online. So be ready to play the 'long game' if you're serious about hunting down your stolen bike.
If you do find your bike for sale on Craigslist, LetGo, or Offerup - get in touch with the police, and skip contacting the online site because none of these services are ever going to help you. Don't waste your time engaging with these sites unless you enjoy terrible, Kafka-esque discussions with unhelpful people who will do nothing but send you form letters and/or ignore you. Chasing your bike with your local police instead is the way to go.
You can always email contact@bikeindex.org if you need some tips for dealing with online sellers who may have your bike.
Some final notes: I’ve been working on the bike theft problem since the mid-90's - basically trying to connect bike theft victims with people most likely to recover stolen bikes — i.e., shops, other bikers, schools, police departments, etc. I’ve found that by giving everybody access to the data they need, this model works - you wouldn’t believe some of our recoveries! The more people know about BikeIndex, though, the better it works. So: I’d hugely appreciate a link, a retweet, or simply you letting a local bike shop know about bikeindex.org.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://bikeindex.org/news/what-to-do-when-your-bike-is-stolen-in-portland-oregon