Thieves Target Bankers Hill Bike Shop Multiple Times

A local bike shop is warning neighbors about a trend in bike thefts.

A thief broke into Uptown Bicycles in Bankers Hill on Thursday night. It’s the fourth time the shop was broken into in the past two years. The latest break-in was captured on surveillance video.

“He definitely seemed like he knew what he was doing. The same thing with the other break-ins, they knew something about bikes,” said Corey Jameson, service manager at Uptown Bicycles.

Video of the break-in shows a young man wearing a mask. He broke a window near the front entrance. The thief is seen grabbing a bike worth approximately, $1,000 and within seconds he left the store through the window he broke.

Uptown Bicycles has been broken into four times in the past two years.

“We probably in total had over $100,000 worth of bikes stolen,” said Jameson.

An insurance provider dropped Uptown’s coverage after a recent theft claim, forcing the bike shop to find a new insurer.

Recent data from the San Diego Association of Governments show property crime is up in San Diego County. In the first half of 2021, bike thefts increased 13%

“A lot more people are riding bikes and at the same time, people are more desperate because of the pandemic. Bikes are easy to steal, easy to hide, easy to transport,” said Jameson.

Following the break-ins, Uptown Bicycles has increased its security and is considering more upgrades. Managers at Uptown are hoping their experience will encourage San Diegans to take bike theft seriously.

“We’d like to get our bike back, but that’s not the biggest deal. I’d like to bring exposure to the issue. I know a lot of people are kind of ignorant about it,” said Jameson.

Insurance does cover the cost of stolen bikes, but because of global supply chain issues, it has been difficult to get replacement bikes shipped to San Diego.