Chasing Down a Stolen Cargo Bike

How BikeFinder and a helpful stranger saved the day

A cargo bike was stolen downtown, even with the frame lock secured. Read about Solveig’s bike recovery experience with the help of her BikeFinder and an angel passerby.

This is Solveig’s story:

“I use my cargo bike every day of the year, except when there is a lot of snow. I own a Riese & Müller Load 75 rohloff Familie, Charcoal gray that I bought in 2022 for 123 300 NOK. BikeFinder was recommended by the dealer, Evo electric bikes, because of the combination of tracking device and good insurance.

When my bike got stolen, I was at a meeting in Oslo Cathedral at 10:00 in the morning and parked my bike just to the right of the entrance – with the frame lock secured. After the meeting, we had a coffee nearby and when I returned, the bike was gone. I got stressed and had to think fast.

I knew the theft had just happened, so I quickly opened the tracking app and turned it on full blast. At first, the app showed the bike 300 meters away, at the end of Karl Johan street. My colleague and I immediately got up and ran toward it. Unfortunately, when we reached the location, there was no bike in sight. I rechecked the app and saw it moving down Storgata. My colleague had to return to the cathedral for another meeting, so I continued chasing the new location alone. On the way, I started feeling nervous about who I might encounter, so I called the police for advice.

Luckily, I had enough battery on both my phone and the tracker, but I was worried about how long it would be able to assist me in the hunt. So, I quickly pressed ‘report missing’ to alert the BikeFinder team in time. I got an email confirmation with the next steps. The police couldn’t help me in the search but said I could call back if I found the bike and the thief.

A friendly stranger stops the thief

As I ran to the location marked on the map, in the middle of Storgata, a new update showed the bike was slightly further down the same street. It was both exciting and really cool to actually see it parked under a tree. I rushed over to confirm it was mine and checked that all the parts were in place before unlocking it. Then, out of nowhere, a young woman asked if it was my bike, which I confirmed. She told me that she had seen a slightly tired guy dragging it down the street. She calmly walked over and respectfully stopped him. When I asked for her number to thank her, she initially declined, saying she hoped that by helping an unknown cyclist, someone would do the same for her if she ever found herself so unlucky. I insisted on tipping her a finder’s fee, still full of adrenaline.

A short while later, I received a thank you note and two videos she took when she stopped the thief. He was obviously a drug addict, offering an absurd explanation as to why he was dragging a bike worth over NOK 100,000 without a key or computer down Storgata in the middle of the morning.

I had used the bike’s frame lock, but the thief rolled the front wheel while lifting the rear wheel. Remarkably, none of the spokes were damaged.”

One last note from the BikeFinder team

This story highlights how traditional bike locking mechanisms are surpassed by thieves. In this instance, it wasn’t even an organized crime. We recommend using multiple security systems to make it as challenging as possible for thieves.

Thank you for sharing your story with us Solveig and we are so happy you recovered your stolen bike!