A post about a seemingly small act of carelessness—or potentially a calculated move—has gone viral on Reddit after a worker found their bike locked to another bike by a stranger after a long work shift.
The incident has prompted thousands of reactions and warnings about a particular form of bicycle theft.
On July 18, Reddit user u/Sue-Vide posted a photo to the r/mildlyinfuriating subreddit titled: “Someone looped their lock through my bike after a 10hr [hour] shift. I decided to take the ‘I’m not angry I’m just disappointed’ route.”
In the image shared with the post, a handwritten note is shown attached to the bike, saying: “Please be careful about locking your bike up next time! I just wanted to ride home after work!” The post has amassed 58,000 upvotes and thousands of comments since it was shared on July 18.
What looked like a harmless mistake drew swift suspicion from fellow Redditors, who pointed to a disturbing and increasingly common theft tactic—locking a target bike in hopes that the owner leaves it overnight—making it easier to return and steal later.
According to a January 2025 study published in Findings, based on data from the National Bicycle Dealers Association, around 2.4 million adult bicycles are stolen in the United States every year, translating to a rate of 709.6 thefts per 100,000 people. The annual value of stolen adult bicycles is estimated to be $1.4 billion—making it one of the most common property crimes in the country.
As of now, there is no confirmed update on whether the bike was recovered or stolen. But the situation has clearly struck a nerve online, with several convinced that it was an attempt to steal the original poster’s bike.
“Sometimes thieves do this intentionally so you will leave your bike overnight,” wrote u/Empyrealist in a top-voted comment.
Others urged immediate action. “GO BACK NOW! This is a very common way to steal bikes,” warned u/dream_a_dirty_dream. Another user, u/sedisrevir, added bluntly: “Your bike isn’t gonna be there tomorrow, I hope you have a cordless angle grinder.”
User u/Coreyneedsanap expressed frustration and encouraged the poster to take back their property, saying: “Dude what everyone else said, this was intentional, cut their lock and get your bike before it’s gone. TBH [to be honest] even if they ‘messed up’ and put their lock around your bike too (they didn’t), it’s their fault their lock got broke because you cut it getting your property back.”
In a follow-up comment, the original poster acknowledged the growing concerns, saying: “Since everyone is saying it’s a ploy to steal my bike, I’ll update tomorrow if it’s still there. I’m on the schedule tomorrow morning, so I’ll know pretty soon if it’s gone or not.”
In the title of a later Reddit post, which appears to have since been deleted, the worker noted: “Everyone said my bike would be stolen, but turns out they were wrong.”
For those who find themselves in a similar situation, u/International-Cat123 advised: “Call someone you know who has bolt cutters. If you have proof that the bike is yours, such as picture of you with the bike in another location, the nonemergency police line will often be helpful.”
Newsweek has contacted the original poster for comment via the Reddit messaging system.
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(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
