The single bike on the stolen bike registry on the Vintage Bicycle Quarterly website (http://www.mindspring.com/~heine/bikesite/bikesite/index.html, go to "Stolen Classic Bike Registry") has been recovered - a great success! In fact, it was found months ago by the police, and only after it was given to a charity did somebody recognize the bike. It wasn't the site that led to the ultimate recovery, but posts in various bike shops.
However, the story shows that such a listing could be a useful tool, especially if a stolen bike is taken out of the area where it was stolen and where it may be known.
Initially, the service was to be for VBQ subscribers only to keep the numbers down. But fortunately, theft seems less of an issue than I thought, so now I can take listings from anybody. Only condition is that it is a classic lightweight (but I am more flexible on this definition than the CR list!), and that the reward for recovery is at least $ 150 (not to me, but to the person finding it!).
So for now, all our bikes appear safe, but if one gets stolen, I want to hear about it! And I hope people who deal with classic bikes will check the listings when they see something suspicious, or just from time to time. For now, Alistair is happy to have his prized Rivendell back...
Jan Heine
Editor/Publisher
Vintage Bicycle Quarterly
http://www.mindspring.com/