We were rapidly diverging from the original topic header, so I split this discussion into its own fork while I could do so cleanly.
I had a read through this thread and I could not see the reasons why it did not happen.
As usual with admin-related topics, a number of members contacted me off-forum (via PM or email) about the topic. In the end, off-Forum opposition exceeded the enthusiasm we saw on the Forum. There's a lot to be said for sharing serials openly online and creating our own registry...and a lot of concerns for some which I hadn't realized.
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• Chief among the concerns were fear of fraudulent registry related to various online sales boards like Gumtree, Facebook Marketplace, and Craigslist, where "concerns" were cited (no hard evidence) of photographed or listed serials being used by thieves to falsely register another's bike as their own. Of course, queries are often made here regarding the serials of bikes as they relate to size or date of manufacture and people sometimes post the whole serial.
• In the end, most detractors indicated they prefer national registries *because* access to the serials is restricted except when needed for registration, inquiry, or proof -- and in many cases, the serial is secondary to a ticket/sticker number, which adds a layer of anonymity to further prevent fraud. With such registries in existence and with much greater reach and scope than this Forum, it made these efforts seem rather lacking and duplicative with no benefit. Most of these larger registires are familiar to police departments and if they see the sticker, they will check the registry.
• There were various ideas for me as Forum administrator to become a repository for this information, in part because I live in the US Pacific Northwest, far from where most Thorns are located. I wasn't/am not too keen on that idea for a number of reasons.
• We (myself and the off-forum correspondents) concluded the best and most workable solution would be to use some existing cycle registry, then as a further hedge against theft, record that data tag number as well as the bike serial number and a photo, perhaps including one of the owner posed with the bike. In the event the bike was stolen, report it to the registry, then post the photo(s) and information here on a case-by-case basis for members to keep eyes open, particulalry in the locale. Obviously, this would work best for bikes located in the UK...where most Thorns are sold.
• Also, the "finding" of an owner can be a bit iffy here. Members know one another only by their screen names, not their real ones. Bikes can go missing for years before recovery, if ever. Former owners of stolen bikes may have moved-on from the Forum by the time it is recovered...long after in insurance settlement is made. In the scenario mentioned by George (mickeg), what happens to the found bike after settlement is complete?
• I don't recall exact Forum membership at the time I first proposed the registry, but we currently have 3,725 members, so the expressed approval was far from a mandate. The Rohloff listing has 77 entries at last count. It serves as an informal database but some members have left, others haven't logged-on for years, and still others I know have sold their bikes but not deleted their entries. I had thought it would be an easy self-running task: Copy and Paste my line and add Your own. Unfortunately, this was a task beyond what all could or were willing to do, so I ended up doing all the additions, deletions, alterations, and recompiling in numerical order. You'll note Julk lost his Rohloff EXP to a thief in 2010 and it was never recovered, despite the notice posted here.
So, this is why things never moved forward.
I realize that while my 2012 Nomad Mk2 is everything to me, it has fallen off the charts for many thieves except for the Rohloff hub. It has 26in wheels/tires and is far heavier/heavier-duty than current bikepacking and gravel bikes. Formerly top-end 26in MTBs of all brands are going for peanuts on the used market, a few finding life as enduro-allroads (mine) or drop-bar pseudo-gravel bikes. Thr hot ticket for bike theft locally is now e-Bikes, more specifically e-Bike batteries. These are rarely well-secured, easily unlocked, often unserialed, and easy to resell. I spoke to a local dealer about this and he said once customers learned the price of replacement batteries, they were very attracted to buying "rebuilt" ones from Craigslist...not rebuilt but stolen and resold, possibly to the same owners who lost them.
Best, Dan.
