Morris Minor Owners Club

Stolen from my garden shed - locked, forced entry.
1968 Holdsworth Mistral, powder blue frame, no transferes, Campagnolo 12 speed gears.
I built this racing cycle for time trials using the best equipment that I could afford.

Claud Butler Mountain Cycle, mottled green frame with large diameter tubes.
No fancy suspension or anything, a basic 21 speed cycle

Sorry to hear that has happened Mike, did they do much damage?

Just broke a tongue and groove panel off the shed to get the padlock off. Must have come prepared with a jemmy.

Thats terrible hope you get it back as its a quality bike .Has anybody got cctv near you it may be worth asking

No CCTV, I live in a quiet, crime free (until now) residential cul de sac with Neighbourhood Watch signs on the lamp posts.

Probably someone who has seen you riding them and then worked out as you didn't keep them in the garage they must be in a shed.......sorry to hear this Mike.

Hi Mike,
There's a good following towards older cycles. In fact a guy I know quit engineering to run the forum 'retro bike'.
Therefore it may be worth a post on their forum (I've never used it! don't know if it's good or bad).
http://www.retrobike.co.uk/

I've got a 70's Carlton road bike. Nothing very special, but it's special to me. My garage was broken into and they took the cover off it... and left it! I guess they were looking for some expensive mountain bike.

ASL642 wrote:Probably someone who has seen you riding them and then worked out as you didn't keep them in the garage they must be in a shed.......sorry to hear this Mike.

The irony is that I have not ridden the Holdsworth for some time, I was considering getting the frame resprayed back to its original colours

Have you found the bikes mike ??

Afraid not.
My wife had a dig at the police at the local neighbourhood watch meeting, pointing out that when a car hit the bus stop at the end of the road there was a squad car there within half an hour, but it took a week to send a PCSO round on foot after the break in. (No serious damage to car or people)
Are there any useful websites to post a description of the bikes?

What about gumtree in your local area ???? local paper with reward ?? The police look like thugs when they turn up

any news ??

Latest instalment. The insurance company will not pay up because I cannot supply a photograph of a cycle built in 1968, despite me offering to supply a description right down to the gear ratios, and they will not pay out on my daughter's cycle because she works abroad and does not live in this country for the required number of days in a year.
It appears that you have to photograph everything in the house that you may ever have to claim for and anything belonging to yourr childen wich you may be storing in the loft or elsewhere on the property is not covered.

Try going on retro bike to get a pic of that particular bike ?

Download a picture off one of the vintage cycling forums all insurance firms do now is offer a cop out clause it makes you think why you pay your premiums

grr

I hate insurance companies, I got burgled before Christmas and it took months to get anything back (which we did luckily). Now I just taken a quick photo of everything in my house so I can prove I own everything. They try to squirm out of anything!

I have just spoken to a friend of mine who works for a well known insurance company. He told me you do not have to have a photo of your bikes, it is a ploy they use to squirm out. As long as you have a crime reference number it will suffice. It is down to the insurance company to deal with the Police if they suspect you are committing a fraudulent claim. There are occasions where insurance companies may request photos, it is normally before they insure you to get an agreed value only.

As for your daughters bike, he also said that is codswallop, it is an item in your property, therefore is covered. Items are not insured as individual property in homes otherwise you would have to list all items by group. Students who travel abroad often leave their belongings at home. He also said that bikes are normally limited to £500 or so unless they have an agreed value and then are catagorised as such. More expensive models are often refused insurance and are advised to seek specialist insurance such as the type done by Evans Cycles etc.

I suggest you go back and beat them verbally until they pay up.

Hope this helps

Jon

Thanks for that info Jon. The insurance company agreed to pay the full £500 for my cycle after I sent them a strongly worded letter and a full description of the bike. No payout on my daughter's bike though.
Next Instalment
Last Monday evening whilst walking the dog I saw two cyclists riding towards a parked van and then loading the cycles into the back. Considering this to be slightly suspicious I returned home and reported the incident on the Crime Stoppers, giving full details. Now you and I might expect the police to check the ownership of the van and despatch the local patrol car to take a peek in the back of the van. Wrong! I phoned up this evening to see if there had been any outcome and was given a load of xxxx about the local patrols being notified to keep a look out for the van, what was left of them as most were having a jolly in London, in case they happened to see it, which they did not.
Result
The van owner could have had a perfectly valid excuse or someone else has lost two cycles and doubtless others will also lose theirs unless they are caught in the act, and I do not have the satisfaction of knowing that someone has been done for knicking cycles, even if they were not the ones who stole mine.
Wait till I get to the next Neighbourhood Watch meeting!

sorry to hear about the break in Mike If anyone reading this has any thing that they value in a shed or garage and you dont want the expense of alarming it just go to Argos and by a £19 baby alarm they are really good as the old one's used to pick up every bit of noise and interference these one's now only click on when there is a noise to activate them. I have caught 3 lads a few years ago in the workshop of which they ended in court and the next time I heard someone he got away when he hid a motorbike on the river bank to collect later.The good thing is you know they are in there and they dont so you ring the police while getting dressed and wait for the police but dont put the lights on when you hear them as they will be watching the house for movement. Now someone will say the police wont turn out but twice they did for me and within a few minutes. It also pays to put a bit of blue tack over the red on light on the alarm as if its dark in the shed/garage it will catch there eye. just put the house one next to your bed and if you think you wont hear it you will believe me.

That is a great plan, what sort of range do they have and power requirements/battery life?