My girlfriend in college had her bike stolen. This was in a college town (in the US), so bike theft was not uncommon there. She had her helmet attached to the

My girlfriend in college had her bike stolen. This was in a college town (in the US), so bike theft was not uncommon there. She had her helmet attached to the bike, or sitting on it, not sure which. The bike thief took the helmet off and threw it aside before grabbing the bike. Stolen bikes can be resold. But who wants to buy a stolen bike helmet?? Most people don't really want to buy used items which are personal in nature. While a bike helmet isn't underwear, it's still in contact with your head and your hair, while you're sweating a lot, and probably never gets cleaned. I imagine that for the same reasons, no one would want to steal your jersey or gloves. I'm more surprised that your pump and tools never got stolen, but there again it probably has to do with the black market realities: people will buy stolen bikes, but how many people are looking to save money by buying a stolen tire pump?