'Bike Batman' returning stolen bikes to rightful owners

He moves swiftly and unseen through the dark corners of crime, taking on thieves and restoring justice to victims. And like the caped crusader, his identity is unknown.

Who is the Bike Batman?

One person who will never divulge the secret identity of Seattle's two-wheeled dark knight is Bryan Hance.

Related: Seattle bails out the Pronto! bike share program

Hance runs a website out of Portland, the Bike Index. It has served bike owners and victims of theft in getting their bikes back. The Seattle Times reports the number of bikes thefts in town have nearly doubled within a year. And battling that statistic is a man known as the Bike Batman. The name should, perhaps, come as no surprise — after all, Seattle has other superheroes patrolling the night.

Like Alfred is to Bruce Wayne, Hance's tools and assistance support the mysterious bike hero.

"We work fairly close together," Hance told KIRO Radio's Ron and Don Show. "There are a lot of guys like him. There's about three dozen every day in various cities that are just bike guys looking for a great deal and they know how to spot stuff that doesn't fit."

"The thing about the Seattle Batman guy — he's one of the few guys who take it to the next level and meets up with the (thieves) and gets the bike back. He's on number 22 at this point."

That success can, in part, be attributed to the service provided by the Bike Index. Bike owners can register their rides on the website with serial numbers, photos and any information that can prove a bike is theirs. If a bike is stolen, an owner can simply click a "stolen" button on the site and the information is relayed to partners across the United States.

"It's a really simple concept. We provide free way for people to register their bikes before they are ever taken," Hance said. "If they are ever taken, we provide a way for people to register as well. When they do that, the information goes out to thousands of our partners in many states — cops, pawn shops, riders, bike shops, you name it."

When bike gurus are riding through their biking communities, looking for deals, such as the Bike Batman, they come across this information. The Bike Batman, however, doesn't let the bad guys get away.

"He's smart about it. He doesn't put himself in danger. He's not a vigilante. He always gives the cops a heads up," Hance said. "He's incredibly successful and he's done amazing work."

Being smart and safe, Hance notes, is a good idea when dealing with bike thieves. Such thieves can range from an addict stealing to make money for their next fix, to highly organized operations. He said that bikes are commonly stolen from places people think are safe, such as locked rooms, or places with security cameras. But these places often do not deter thieves.

"One guy with the right set of tools can get in and go nuts," Hance said.

He notes that cities with bike theft problems often have other similar issues. Portland, like Seattle, is dealing with a homeless issue which can lend itself to other issues, and eventually a bike theft problem.

"Sadly, every single city we talk to, hands down, they have the same problems — Portland, Seattle, San Francisco, Miami, all of them," Hance said. "The other thing is the RVs. I spent a summer chasing these RVs around town that we knew were operating as chop shops."

Hance said that people who want to protect their bikes can take two simple steps:

• Take out a phone and take photos of the bike and any unique identifying aspects of it.

• Go to www.bikeindex.org and register the bike with the serial number and other information.

Cox Media Group