Neighbor Erik Nohlin moved to Prentiss Street in Bernal Heights one week ago after living on 23rd Street for four years before that. Sadly, his introduction to Bernal Heights included a brazen home intrusion robbery during which six rare bicycles were stolen from his garage.
Neighbor Erik is an industrial designer for Specialized Bicycle Components, the bicycle manufacturer based in Morgan Hill, Calif. Last Monday, Feb. 13, while he was settling into his new Bernal home, someone broke into his garage between 10:30 and 11 pm and took six bikes that represent five years of Neighbor Erik’s work.
Images of all the missing bikes are available here.
“My wife and I were at home and asleep by 11.30 when two SFPD officers knocked on thee back door and said that a neighbor had seen the door open when he got home, so he called the police,” Neighbor Erik told Bernalwood. “I walked down the garage with the officers and we found that my entire bicycle collection was gone, the wire was cut and u-locks gone.”
The thieves stole the bikes in just a few minutes, without making a sound. Examination of the scene revealed they had used a wire to reach through the garage mail slot and release the garage latch.
This sprint bike was among those stolen from a Prentiss St. garage on Feb. 13.
Neighbor Erik says the stolen bikes are one-of-a-kind creations.
A cash reward of $1000 has been offered to anyone who returns the bikes, no questions asked. “The bikes are so well known and high profile that turning them will be hard – they’re too hot,” he says. “I would hate to see these disassembled and sold as parts or sprayed black, as they’re so unique with their stories, not only to me but to cycling history.”
Bernal neighborErik Nohlin’s name appears on some of the stolen bike frames.
Anyone with information that might lead to the recovery of the bikes is asked to call 415 696 1434, or contact the SFPD at <brian.fogarty@sfgov.org>.
“We thought we had moved out of the more exposed 23rd Street to a safer place, but we certainly learned a lesson,” Neighbor Erik says. “It’s San Francisco and you need triple locks and eyes peeled 24/7.”
Bernalwood 
So sorry you got those bikes stolen.
I have deployed my old iPhone 4 as a motion activated cams. As soon as it sees something in the trigger zone (user configurable) I get an instant notice on my phone and live video. The app is MANYTHING. One cam monitoring is FREE.
I have no connection to the vendor. Just a happy user.
Mark
Ughh….
Nice bikes. Wonder if it was a targeted theft – seems it was well planned out. I truly hope they are recovered and the perpetrators caught and charged.
Hard to know for sure, but there’s a pretty steady stream of people casing the streets in Bernal looking for an opportunity—in this case, a garage door they knew they could best.
Sadly, Bernal does seem to have been experiencing an uptick in theft compared to years back. Thieves know where to find the good stuff.
FWIW, most bike thieves caught on camera have been white males in their 20s or 30s.
They must have seen the bikes being moved into the garage and targeted your place. Hope you get them back as they are beautiful. Hopefully everyone will be on the lookout for them.
Sent from my iPhone
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Our Bernal house was burglarized at 9:30 am last month! The individual broke the security glass in our front door in plain view of anyone who may have been around. A tight little street, but nobody noticed and for 1/2 hour the guy took what he wanted and loaded it into a pick up truck. A security camera 1/2 block away recorded it but too distant for ID. Super creepy after living here for 30+ years.
These days more home burglaries happen in the daytime than at night because so many homes are empty during the day. In ye olden days the woman usually stayed at home during the day, so this problem didn’t happen.
As for the bike theft, I’d say that two things appear to be at play here. One is that the thieves likely saw the bikes being moved in. Another is that if they knew how to trip the lock to enter the garage then they must be very familiar with the home, possibly from a previous theft or from having once lived there.
Many garage doors are easily broken into in seconds using this approach. The burglar need not be familiar with the interior.
So sorry you lost such treasured items. I hope they can be recovered. It is sad that there are so many burglaries happening now. I’ve lived in Bernal for 24 years and it’s never been like this until recently.
Hello
We had a friend who had some rare bikes stolen as well – in another neighborhood in sf. They are often resold on craiglist but with a wide radius including as far as Sacramento. He found his bike there and set up a sting with the local police to get it back. Perhaps this may help you. He also advised to make sure you etch something personal in the bike frame, that will help with proof if you see it on Craigslist . Bike theft is a sad but common occurence. Best of luck!
Tuesday, February 13 or Monday, February 12?