In 1966, Huffman introduced a new long-wheelbase bicycle frame called the Rail. The new frame was approximately 4″ to 5″ longer than previous models. The new frame became Huffman’s base model until 1968. In 1968, in an effort to market a children’s bicycle with an automotive theme, Huffman designers added a car-type steering wheel in place of handlebars to the Rail frame, which became the Huffy Wheel. Generally, both homeowner’s insurance and renter’s insurance cover the theft of personal property, but that’s not a guarantee that you’ll be able to recoup the value of your stolen bicycle. Our homeowner’s insurance (through State Farm) covers theft of personal property, but our annual claim deductible is $3,800—about $800 more than the Santa Cruz Tallboy was worth brand new.
Don’t expect them to dust your car or garage door for prints to find the perp. Unless your stolen bike falls into their lap while dealing with another incident or crime (which does happen, so don’t give up all hope), there’s little the police can or will do about it. The very first thing you should do when your bike is stolen is file a police report. Cities huffy cruiser have different instructions for filing reports of theft, so be sure to check your city’s instructions online. In Boulder, you can file a police report online and there’s even a specific form to fill out if the report involves a stolen bicycle. Alternatively, you can call your city’s non-emergency police dispatch line to file the report by phone.
After all, my husband and I live in Boulder County, Colorado, one of the bike meccas of the U.S. where the joke is that the bike on the back of the car is often worth more than the car itself—and thieves know it. Besides being a hub for mountain-, gravel-, and road biking, Boulder is also a university town huffy cruiser and exceptionally bike-commuter friendly, meaning there are a lot of people who ride and own bikes here. In other words, its a town ripe for the picking. At their peak, the bicycle division manufactured over two million bicycles per year and were the largest bicycle manufacturing company outside Asia.
The has exactly what you need to enjoy a fun ride around the bike path . Once you file a police report, temper your expectations. Chances are your local police department has their work cut out for them dealing with more serious crimes than bike theft.
Some insurers also have a sub-limit for bikes, e.g. $1,500. We know of only one lucky friend who was able to recover a stolen bicycle after pedaling around his neighborhood and just happening upon the thief riding his easily-recognizable custom bike. After confronting the thief on on the spot (a risky approach that police advice against), the thief abandoned the bike and ran for it. Like I said, this friend was one of the lucky few. Often, expensive bikes are stolen for the purpose of making a quick buck. Bike thieves might try to sell your stolen bike on popular online marketplaces like Facebook, Criagslist, or eBay.
If you haven’t already, register all of your bikes on Bike Index, a website run by a non-profit that helps users locate stolen bicycles with the help of other users and police departments across the country. In our case, it made no sense to file a claim since there would have been no insurance payout. It’s also worth noting that many insurance policies will only pay out the actual cash value of your bike, not the total cost of replacement. So unless your bike is brand new, expect the insurance company to account for depreciation.