Found (alleged) stolen Thorn Sherpa in Barcelona

[ibanyarza]

Hello:

I'm new to the forum, in fact I don't own a Thorn, and I'm not even sure this thread goes in the correct place, my apologies (moderators, please edit/move to a proper place if not correct).
But let me start from the beginning. Although I'm writing from Barcelona, I'm a fan of Thorn and a usual customer at SJS. I'm a cycle tourer and build/restore bikes myself, let's say I'm familiar with bikes, bike mechanichs and "odd" and special stuff. I've lived in the UK, so I'm familiar with UK brands and bikes too.

Well, it turns out that I was taking a walk through the old town in Barcelona the other day and this guy who didn't entirely match the "world tourer look", to say the least offered me a Thorn Sherpa for 100€ (90 GBP) He said the bike was bought in a nearby town, but I recognised the brand and knew that it was impossible to get it in that small town. I've suffered bike theft, so I refused to even talk any further to him, and I saw him dissapear in the crowd. But then I thought that most probably the next person to be offered the bike would not a) have any knowledge about touring bikes (let alone the value of a Thorn; both in terms of money and sentimental); b) have the ethics. Then I put myself in the position of the true owner of the bike, so I came up with the philanthropic resolution to get the bike and eventually find the unfortunate owner. I run after this guy and agreed to pay what he wanted (he didn't seem to be the kind of person you want to mess around with, and it was the worse bit of town for that matter).

So I have this Thorn Sherpa and I'm looking for the owner.

Here's a link to the picture/ad I've posted in my Flickr  http://www.flickr.com/photos/7394371@N06/4192945796/

The same morning I got the bike I contacted Thorn cycles and they have already started to look for the owner in their archives. The girl on the phone was ever so kind.

I'd say the frame size is around 50-52 cm (I'm 5' 10" (178 cm) and the bike is a tad small for me).

There's no personal detail on the bike.

I hope that all this information will be enough to locate the owner, I guess it's someone on tour in Spain. I have chosen not to take the bike directly to the Spanish Police since I know that could slow the process and take forever to be solved (if ever). I have been stolen a precious bike of mine in the past, so I can easily put myself in the position of the owner, I just hope we can do our best to find him/her.

Please contact me if you have any news.

[geocycle]

Great to hear there are still some people prepared to do the right thing.  Good on you.  I hope you find the owner.

[jags]

well fair play to you your a true gentleman.i hope you find the owner some how doubt it ,but good for you .

[ibanyarza]

I see that this post has been added to the CTC forum, great idea! I remember taking part in that forum a couple of years ago; so I'll go there too in order to get some visibility for the post.

Thanks for your replies. I guess that when someone steels a touring bike (especially one that has been with you for thousands of kilometers) the loss is impossible to forget.

[gearoidmuar]

Well done sir! Is there a number under the bottom bracket or somewhere?

[ibanyarza]

Is there a number under the bottom bracket or somewhere?

Hi, gearoidmuar,
Yes, indeed, that's the first thing I thought of. In fact, it was the crucial information I shared with Thorn, but it turns out that they do not keep a database of registration numbers crossed with sales. So they're looking for/contacting owners by size and colour. Let's see and wait and maybe someone has an unexpected Christmas gift this year

[StuWW]

Did this bike ever get reunited with its owner?

Just looking for a happy ending!!! 

[jags]

i was thinking that myself but it coulden't be in the hands of a better owner.

[sejf]

Hi its the girl you spoke to on the phone at Thorn Cycles.
I emailed some customers who bought Sherpas with the matching spec over the past few years...If I were to carry on there would be an endless list! So far no one has replied.
Like I said before...If I had a bike stolen - the first place I would go is the police station. I completely understand your reasons for not going to them but perhaps contact them and ask if anyone has filed a report for a missing Thorn Sherpa? You dont have to disclose any information.
Keep me up to date, and obviously I hope you find the owner.