BICYCLES stolen from a Manchester community cycling service have been spotted for sale on GumTree.
Seventeen cycles were stolen last week from the Bike Hive in Whalley Range which was a real blow for the charity.
A new fundraising appeal has now been launched to pay for replacements.
Organiser Eve Holt said: “We were just at the point of thinking that the fleet was in good order and we’ve got the tools and we’ve got a growing bank of volunteers that we could look to expand.
“I got a call Saturday morning to say that somebody had broken in on the Friday night.
“He had managed to take 17 adult bikes.”
Some of the bikes were altered for individuals with difficulty riding.
“They practically look like new really and they are quite specialist bikes, which are really good for people that are learning to ride.
“They are really sturdy and easy to use.
“We have one trike to enable anybody that really can’t get on, at all, two wheels to ride,” Holt said.
Broken into last night @WRonWheels @AlexParkMCR our fleet of bikes taken. We used & maintained bikes to enable local people to learn to ride pic.twitter.com/85ETj4M8SL
— Eve Holt ?#DivaManc (@evefrancisholt) March 18, 2017
The Bike Hive operates outside Alexandra Park in Whalley Range, helping less fortunate individuals to ride bikes every Monday.
“I got a call Saturday morning to say that somebody had broken in on the Friday night.”
Cycle training events called ‘Learn to Ride’ and ‘Road Rider Ready’ are run by qualified and experienced cycling instructors to embed road confidence in cyclists around Manchester.
“We ask people to donate bikes, so people donate their second-hand bikes.
“And we then fix them up and either give them away for free to people that have no money, so like sanctuary seekers or sometimes people buy them, particularly kids ones,” Holt explained.
These bikes have all been stolen from @WRonWheels community bike project @AlexParkMCR this weekend. Keep a look out. https://t.co/kqhPe7juWf pic.twitter.com/LoJmbrjciu
— Eve Holt ?#DivaManc (@evefrancisholt) March 20, 2017
A selection of the stolen bicycles have appeared on GumTree, a site owned by eBay.
“A load of them have popped up on GumTree, which has been incredibly frustrating because they have been selling under our noses, literally.
“We’ve obviously told the police everything and we’re waiting to see how that progresses,” Holt said.
The Bike Hive took part in the Big Bike Revival event last year, and is hoping to bring it back to Alexandra Park in Summer 2017.
Anyone with information about the stolen bikes should contact Greater Manchester Police on 101.
To support The Bike Hive, visit its crowdfunder page and help it replace the stolen bikes at spacehive.com/bikehivemcr
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