Stolen bike recovery in Australia

Most stolen bikes in Australia never come home. Industry estimates put recovery rates around one in five — not because the bike vanished, but because it reappears on Gumtree, Facebook Marketplace or eBay without anyone connecting it to the original report.

What usually happens after a theft

• You file a police report and (if insured) a claim — serial optional, photos optional.
• The bike is written off or sits on a “stolen” list that nobody actively matches to live ads.
• Days later it shows up online under a new suburb and a vague title.
• Unless someone is watching marketplaces, the listing expires and the trail goes cold.

Why passive registers struggle

Free national registers are useful for deterring opportunistic resale — a thief may avoid a bike with a known ID kit. They do not, by themselves, scan every new marketplace listing against your serial and photos. That gap is where most recoveries die.

Theftsight is built for the active half: continuous marketplace watch, image and serial matching, and a path to police and insurers on the same case. Compare approaches on Theftsight vs PropertyVAULT.

What to do if your bike is stolen

• Report to police and keep the event number.
• Note frame serial, make, model, colour, and distinctive marks.
• Save clear photos (whole bike + serial area) from before the theft if you have them.
• Register or mark the item stolen on Theftsight so marketplace watch starts.
• Share the record with your insurer and local police if you can.

Step-by-step report checklist: How to report a stolen bike. Serial help: Frame serial numbers.

City-specific watch

Marketplace listings cluster by city. Start with your metro: Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane.