“Bike theft is a Rennes sport”… These stolen cyclists testify

• In Rennes, as in most major French cities, bike theft is a real obstacle to cycling.

• To better understand the phenomenon, we asked you to tell us about your experiences.

  And share your tips and tricks to avoid theft.

• Insurance, the purchase of a good lock or the engraving of the bike are among the solutions put forward to limit the risk.

It is a real scourge with which many cyclists have already been confronted.

Whether properly secured or not, bicycles are regularly the targets of theft when parked on the street, and even in garages.

While the demand for two-wheelers is very high and the market is struggling to meet it, some ill-intentioned individuals have decided to trade in stolen bicycles, to the chagrin of their owners who find themselves deprived of their mounts.

In Rennes, the phenomenon has been known for a long time.

But it persists.

According to the latest barometer from the Federation of Bicycle Users (FUB), it is even one of the main obstacles to practicing in Rennes, which ranks third among cycling metropolises.

To find out more about the phenomenon,

gave you the floor.

Selected pieces.

Flights, even in broad daylight

It was a January morning, around 11 o'clock.

Caroline leaves her electric bike attached to the Colombier slab.

When he returned, he was no longer there.

“In broad daylight, then, an hour away.

I had attached my bike with a lock but it was not enough.

I had to buy some the same day (1,400 euros, it hurts!) because I only travel by bike.

I also lost the basket, the baby seat, the pump, all the little customizations and decorations”.

She invested in a new lock for 50 euros.

The same thing happened to Laëtitia.

“Bike theft is a Rennes sport!

Mine was stolen in the middle of the day, attached by a two-wheeled U.

Luckily, I had insured my bike against theft and damage”.

After a long negotiation, the insurance reimbursed him for part of the bike.

A new padlock but is it enough?

Many cyclists who have suffered one or more thefts end up investing in better locks.

An expensive but necessary purchase when you want to protect your property, especially when it comes to a top-of-the-range or electric model.

"It's totally crazy to see that in three minutes you can have your bike stolen in broad daylight and in full view of everyone", testifies Mikaël.

“It's pretty creepy.

It happened in front of my wife's workplace in the early evening with pliers to remove the lock, ”recalls Benjamin, who has already lost two bicycles in six years.

On the podium of cycling cities!

As in 2019, #Rennes ranks third among cycling cities in the @FUB_fr barometer behind Grenoble and Strasbourg.

85% of respondents noted an overall improvement in practice #velotaf pic.twitter.com/wh7NEgKbsX

— 20 Minutes Rennes (@20minutesrennes) February 10, 2022

Some try to find a trick, like Gaëtan.

“I always put two padlocks on when I leave it around town near other bikes.

I tell myself that the thieves will have to spend twice as much time as on the bikes next door and so they will rather steal the others”.

The difficulty of filing a complaint

In your testimonies, the difficulty of filing a complaint is recurrent.

Very often, the police did not take the time to listen to you, sending you back to the online tool (which you have to come and sign at the police station afterwards).

"I did not file a complaint because I have a friend who was laughed at when he told the police because his bike was not worth more than 200 euros.

Mine was worth even less than that,” says Baptiste.

“Unfortunately, I did not file a complaint because the police station refused to take my statement and my complaint claiming that there were too many bicycle thefts and that I would never find it,” recalls Margot.

“It was the cross and the banner to file the complaint.

It was necessary to make four or five round trips before a suspicion of taking a complaint, ”says Bertrand.

When the police catch the thief

If he had trouble convincing the police, Bertrand was able to count on their precious help to catch the thief, who had put his bicycle on sale on Le Bon Coin less than an hour after having stolen it.

Bertrand pretends to be a buyer and sets up an appointment with the man.

Alerted, the police assure her that she will be there.

“I see a young man, well dressed, approaching with my bicycle.

So I raise an arm in the air, a sign that the BAC must intervene.

He is tackled to the ground in just five seconds.

Bertrand then had to prove that it was indeed his bike by giving distinctive signs before being able to recover it.

“I'm not discouraged from cycling again, but now I've had it engraved clearly on the frame (Bicycode system) and I've changed to a stronger padlock”.

Not everyone is so lucky.

Lucie recalls her experience with bitterness.

“I went to file a complaint twice, since I had seen it on Le Bon Coin.

But I didn't want to go to the meeting alone.

The police did not help me”.

Thefts, even in garages

Among your testimonials, many mention theft in garages, cubicles or common areas of buildings.

Pierre-Jean remembers it.

“I had my bike stolen in the lobby of my building, on the Quai de la Prévalaye.

The thieves climbed over the 2 meter high gate.

They cut off the lock, which was very thick, and loaded the bike.

This theft deterred me from buying a bike for a long time.

I ended up finding an opportunity that suited me without attracting too much attention”.

​How

many complaints have been filed?

We asked the police and the prefecture if the number of complaints filed for bicycle theft had increased in the Breton capital.

We are still waiting to get that number.

The latest trends in Rennes evoked 800 to 1,000 complaints on the police zone.

They don't say much anyway.

At the national level, only 20% of thefts give rise to a complaint.

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