Go Back  Bike Forums > Bike Forums > Classic & Vintage
Reload this Page >

"Hey, That's MY Bike!!!"

Notices
Classic & Vintage This forum is to discuss the many aspects of classic and vintage bicycles, including musclebikes, lightweights, middleweights, hi-wheelers, bone-shakers, safety bikes and much more.

"Hey, That's MY Bike!!!"

Old 10-17-19, 01:39 PM
  #26  
gearbasher
Senior Member
 
gearbasher's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Sitting on my butt in front of a computer
Posts: 1,535
Mentioned: 15 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 439 Post(s)
Liked 835 Times in 363 Posts
I had a friend whose bike was stolen. About two weeks after, he sees a guy waiting at a stop light with his bike. He runs over, grabs the bars, and tells the guy that it's his bike and either walk away or call the police. The guy got off the bike and walked away.
gearbasher is offline  
Old 10-17-19, 02:28 PM
  #27  
madpogue 
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Madison, WI USA
Posts: 6,876
Mentioned: 50 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2350 Post(s)
Liked 1,728 Times in 1,180 Posts
Originally Posted by gearbasher
I had a friend whose bike was stolen. About two weeks after, he sees a guy waiting at a stop light with his bike. He runs over, grabs the bars, and tells the guy that it's his bike and either walk away or call the police. The guy got off the bike and walked away.
There was a NYT feature article a few years ago, about a bike shop proprieter somewhere in NYC. He mentioned he's had occasion to do that once in a while when someone comes in attempting to sell / trade-in a bike. He was a pretty big guy, and he would just put one hand on the top-tube and invite the person to stay or go, as he calls the police.

As for the general subject matter of this thread, the "stranger's" story would have to be extremely convincing. There are too many ways to game such a system. Some PO could sell the bike, follow it as it changes hands once or twice, then show up as the "victim" of its "theft" several months/years prior. Or maybe some former roommate, co-worker, etc., who happens to be as knowledgeable about your bike as you are, might get a wild hair to mess with your life, co-ordinate with some other party you don't know, feed her/him enough intel to convincingly show up as the "victim". IOW, even with a convincing story, it's waaaay too complicated to make the call based solely on what the person presents. I don't really have an answer, other than that, because it can get so complicated and because of the imaginable (and unimaginable) wrinkles, there is no blanket "what would you do" answer.
madpogue is offline  
Old 10-17-19, 03:53 PM
  #28  
iab
Senior Member
 
iab's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: NW Burbs, Chicago
Posts: 12,155
Mentioned: 200 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2992 Post(s)
Liked 3,705 Times in 1,393 Posts
Originally Posted by Ballenxj
I do not expect to be scammed out of it.
Being in possession of stolen goods is not only not a scam, it is illegal.

And the person you bought it from could have purchased it in good faith.
iab is offline  
Likes For iab:
Old 10-17-19, 03:57 PM
  #29  
Ballenxj
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2017
Posts: 1,019

Bikes: Diamond Back Apex, Mongoose IBOC Aluminum Road Bike, SR road bike

Mentioned: 10 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 515 Post(s)
Liked 166 Times in 116 Posts
Originally Posted by iab
Being in possession of stolen goods is not only not a scam, it is illegal.

And the person you bought it from could have purchased it in good faith.
And this is why (if you had quoted my entire post) you would have noted that we both would have visited the person that sold it to me, to sort this out.
Ballenxj is offline  
Old 10-17-19, 04:20 PM
  #30  
WGB 
WGB
 
WGB's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2017
Location: Niagara Region
Posts: 5,655

Bikes: Panasonic PT-4500

Mentioned: 45 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1783 Post(s)
Liked 2,305 Times in 1,365 Posts
In Canada you can legally run any serial number through the Police database at anytime.

Search Bicycles by Serial Number

Easy enough to do even if you don't have data on your phone. Before buying a bike (or anything with a number) we can call serial number in and have a friend (or a cop) run it to make sure it isn't stolen. After that if someone says it's theirs, who cares.
WGB is offline  
Likes For WGB:
Old 10-17-19, 04:23 PM
  #31  
madpogue 
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Madison, WI USA
Posts: 6,876
Mentioned: 50 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2350 Post(s)
Liked 1,728 Times in 1,180 Posts
Originally Posted by iab
And the person you bought it from could have purchased it in good faith.
And the owner before that, and the owner before that, and.....

This is why this is such a complicated and nuanced question that the OP has posed. Again, too many possible variables.

One thing I would seriously consider proposing, if I sized up the other party as a mature and reasonable person -- split the difference. We find an agreed-upon value of the bike. Then we come to an agreement on who keeps the bike. The the party keeping the bike pays the other party half the agreed-upon value. Granted, neither party is "made whole", but if, say, I were Judge Judy, and such a case came before me, this is probably along the lines of how I would rule.
madpogue is offline  
Old 10-17-19, 04:26 PM
  #32  
iab
Senior Member
 
iab's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: NW Burbs, Chicago
Posts: 12,155
Mentioned: 200 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2992 Post(s)
Liked 3,705 Times in 1,393 Posts
Originally Posted by Ballenxj
And this is why (if you had quoted my entire post) you would have noted that we both would have visited the person that sold it to me, to sort this out.
You can sort it out all you wish with your seller, but if they bought it on good faith, you are sol. If they didn't buy it in good faith, good luck proving it and you are still sol because possession of stolen goods is illegal.
iab is offline  
Old 10-17-19, 04:27 PM
  #33  
Lemond1985
Sophomore Member
Thread Starter
 
Lemond1985's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2019
Posts: 2,690
Mentioned: 12 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1628 Post(s)
Liked 1,057 Times in 631 Posts
You would have to have reason to know the bike was stolen. A person paying full fair market value, under circumstances not hinting at anything shady, ought to be protected from prosecution, I would think, or would have a good defense if they were.

Some of the fairly high end 60's and 70's bikes around, who knows how many times they may have been stolen and resold, and stolen again? It would be a safe bet that any bike 50 years old that's had several owners probably has been stolen before at least once. Or "borrowed and not returned", whatever.

Not ever bike theft is done with bolt cutters, by a guy wearing a trench coat in an alley in the middle of the night.
Lemond1985 is offline  
Likes For Lemond1985:
Old 10-17-19, 04:28 PM
  #34  
iab
Senior Member
 
iab's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: NW Burbs, Chicago
Posts: 12,155
Mentioned: 200 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2992 Post(s)
Liked 3,705 Times in 1,393 Posts
Originally Posted by madpogue
And the owner before that, and the owner before that, and.....

This is why this is such a complicated and nuanced question that the OP has posed. Again, too many possible variables.

One thing I would seriously consider proposing, if I sized up the other party as a mature and reasonable person -- split the difference. We find an agreed-upon value of the bike. Then we come to an agreement on who keeps the bike. The the party keeping the bike pays the other party half the agreed-upon value. Granted, neither party is "made whole", but if, say, I were Judge Judy, and such a case came before me, this is probably along the lines of how I would rule.
You are going to victimize the victim a second time?

Awesome.
iab is offline  
Old 10-17-19, 04:35 PM
  #35  
madpogue 
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Madison, WI USA
Posts: 6,876
Mentioned: 50 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2350 Post(s)
Liked 1,728 Times in 1,180 Posts
Originally Posted by iab
You are going to victimize the victim a second time?

Awesome.
Doing nothing, giving the bike back, donating the bike to the local co-op, putting it in the grinder, EVERY possible action "victimizes" someone. By the very nature of the subject of this thread, the identity of the "victim" cannot be ascertained. Presumably that's why the OP posed the question. It wouldn't be worthy of discussion if the it could be determined who the "victim" is.

Last edited by madpogue; 10-17-19 at 04:38 PM.
madpogue is offline  
Old 10-17-19, 04:37 PM
  #36  
iab
Senior Member
 
iab's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: NW Burbs, Chicago
Posts: 12,155
Mentioned: 200 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2992 Post(s)
Liked 3,705 Times in 1,393 Posts
Originally Posted by madpogue
Doing nothing, giving the bike back, EVERY possible action "victimizes" someone.
As possessing stolen goods is illegal, so is selling stolen goods. You have legal recourse against the seller of the bike, but absolutely none against the owner of the bike.
iab is offline  
Old 10-17-19, 05:11 PM
  #37  
RobbieTunes
Banned.
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 27,297
Mentioned: 34 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 378 Post(s)
Liked 1,407 Times in 908 Posts
I know myself well enough to know I'd do the wrong thing.
RobbieTunes is offline  
Likes For RobbieTunes:
Old 10-17-19, 05:50 PM
  #38  
Mad Honk 
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2019
Location: Bloomington, IN
Posts: 2,937

Bikes: Paramount, Faggin, Ochsner, Ciocc, Basso

Mentioned: 114 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1283 Post(s)
Liked 1,836 Times in 1,110 Posts
I had a bike stolen after work one night, and it was documented by the local Popo's. I checked the impound lot for four weeks before buying another one just like it. They were both Trek 770's intended for Alexi before he left the team. Two years later my front wheel showed up in one of the LBS's. Shorten the story, my bike was sold by impound to a fellow who was a LDS member who would have returned it to me. I had moved on and did not want to upset this fellow's apple cart. But it really pissed me off about the local cops reselling my stolen bike. They made $ by my misfortune, and were never even apologetic about it. I am fortunate that I have been able to purchase new bikes in these cases, but it doesn't make it any easier to deal with corruption by the Popo's. MH
Mad Honk is offline  
Old 10-17-19, 06:31 PM
  #39  
'02 nrs
Senior Member
 
'02 nrs's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: se MIch.
Posts: 2,917

Bikes: 1938 claud butler,1983 Basso,teledyne titan,teocali super,nrs,1993 stumpjumper fsr,Paramountain,Paramount Buell(sold),4 banger,Zaskar LE,Colnago Master Ibex MTB,1987ish,.etc....

Mentioned: 7 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 787 Post(s)
Liked 2,910 Times in 1,472 Posts
do whats right/

happened to me 1 year after I bought a Commencal meta4.org. owner seen I had it for sale nearby,came over said-"thats my bike".showed pics of it in his possession but did not record the serial#.I was convinced so I removed all of my parts & handed it over-to his surprise.lost $$$ but win some lose some.if you ever had yours stolen then you know its not good karma.
'02 nrs is online now  
Old 10-17-19, 06:31 PM
  #40  
madpogue 
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Madison, WI USA
Posts: 6,876
Mentioned: 50 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2350 Post(s)
Liked 1,728 Times in 1,180 Posts
Originally Posted by iab
As possessing stolen goods is illegal, so is selling stolen goods. You have legal recourse against the seller of the bike, but absolutely none against the owner of the bike.
Once again, this assumes that it can be determined that the bike is stolen, or ever was.
madpogue is offline  
Old 10-17-19, 06:37 PM
  #41  
TimmyT 
Keener splendor
 
TimmyT's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: New York, NY
Posts: 2,649

Bikes: Black Mountain Cycles Road and canti MX, Cannondale CAAD12, Bob Jackson Vigorelli

Mentioned: 53 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 297 Post(s)
Liked 80 Times in 51 Posts
Originally Posted by RobbieTunes
It takes about 20 seconds to steal a bike. It takes about 10-15 to hood a person and stuff them into a trunk. Then you have all the time you need.


TimmyT is offline  
Likes For TimmyT:
Old 10-17-19, 06:40 PM
  #42  
Ballenxj
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2017
Posts: 1,019

Bikes: Diamond Back Apex, Mongoose IBOC Aluminum Road Bike, SR road bike

Mentioned: 10 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 515 Post(s)
Liked 166 Times in 116 Posts
Originally Posted by madpogue
Once again, this assumes that it can be determined that the bike is stolen, or ever was.
I quit arguing with him once I saw that "I'm always right" attitude. Life is too short. BTW, I try to buy from reputable people, because I already knew all the stuff he was trying to tell me.
Ballenxj is offline  
Old 10-17-19, 07:13 PM
  #43  
madpogue 
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Madison, WI USA
Posts: 6,876
Mentioned: 50 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2350 Post(s)
Liked 1,728 Times in 1,180 Posts
Originally Posted by RobbieTunes
It takes about 10-15 to hood a person and stuff them into a trunk.
Yeah, uhhh, we'll, umm, take your word for it.....

Originally Posted by RobbieTunes
I know myself well enough to know I'd do the wrong thing.
Okay, best reply yet; we can close this thread.
madpogue is offline  
Old 10-17-19, 07:39 PM
  #44  
francophile 
PM me your cotters
 
francophile's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: ATL
Posts: 3,916
Mentioned: 80 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1137 Post(s)
Liked 588 Times in 420 Posts
Originally Posted by Mad Honk
But it really pissed me off about the local cops reselling my stolen bike. They made $ by my misfortune, and were never even apologetic about it.
Exactly what I'm talking about above. It's really a shame.
francophile is offline  
Old 10-17-19, 08:03 PM
  #45  
jetboy 
Senior Member
 
jetboy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Oakland, CA
Posts: 3,445

Bikes: centurion cinelli equipe, look hinault 753, Zunow z-1, 83 stumpy sport

Mentioned: 66 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 814 Post(s)
Liked 330 Times in 186 Posts
In Hawai'i the police will take your bike if its not registered.

One time i had my bike stolen, so I quickly dragged out another bike and fixed it up enough to ride and rode it to work... to Waikiki. I had not time to register it as I was in a hurry to get transport to get to my job.

came out from my job. bike was gone.. turns out the cops cut my lock and took my bike! I had to go down there and pay them to get it back. what a racket. I was like.. friggin cops stole my bicycle!!! and they destroyed my property (lock). what a scam. All I wanted to do was get to work...

PS: the bike that was registered and got stolen... they never found that.

Last edited by jetboy; 10-17-19 at 08:09 PM.
jetboy is offline  
Likes For jetboy:
Old 10-17-19, 08:10 PM
  #46  
Ballenxj
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2017
Posts: 1,019

Bikes: Diamond Back Apex, Mongoose IBOC Aluminum Road Bike, SR road bike

Mentioned: 10 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 515 Post(s)
Liked 166 Times in 116 Posts
Originally Posted by jetboy
In Hawai'i the police will take your bike if its not registered.

One time i had my bike stolen, so I quickly dragged out another bike and fixed it up enough to ride and rode it to work... to Waikiki. I had not time to register it as I was in a hurry to get transport to get to my job.

came out from my job. bike was gone.. turns out the cops cut my lock and took my bike! I had to go down there and pay them to get it back. what a racket. I was like.. friggin cops stole my bicycle!!! and they destroyed my property (lock). what a scam. All I wanted to do was get to work...

PS: the bike that was registered and got stolen... they never found that.
That's ROTTEN!
Ballenxj is offline  
Old 10-17-19, 08:22 PM
  #47  
jetboy 
Senior Member
 
jetboy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Oakland, CA
Posts: 3,445

Bikes: centurion cinelli equipe, look hinault 753, Zunow z-1, 83 stumpy sport

Mentioned: 66 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 814 Post(s)
Liked 330 Times in 186 Posts
Originally Posted by Ballenxj
That's ROTTEN!
it was not a good day. offset by being in Hawai'i which in every other way, is really great. I loved cycling there for sure.
jetboy is offline  
Old 10-18-19, 12:33 AM
  #48  
JaccoW
Overdoing projects
 
JaccoW's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Rotterdam, former republic of the Netherlands
Posts: 2,443

Bikes: Batavus Randonneur GL, Gazelle Orange Excellent, Gazelle Super Licht, Gazelle Grand Tourist, Gazelle Lausanne, Gazelle Tandem, Koga-Miyata SilverAce, Koga-Miyata WorldTraveller

Mentioned: 58 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 783 Post(s)
Liked 1,215 Times in 677 Posts
If one of my bikes ever get stolen I'll just refer them to my project threads on here.
JaccoW is offline  
Likes For JaccoW:
Old 10-18-19, 05:15 AM
  #49  
RobbieTunes
Banned.
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 27,297
Mentioned: 34 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 378 Post(s)
Liked 1,407 Times in 908 Posts
I've given away bikes, but probably not to thieves. If I was convinced my bike had been stolen and the original owner presented, I'd give it back, as I got it (but less the 10sp or 11sp group!) I'd probably include the seat bag.

Pedal Room is a great place to inventory your bikes, including serial numbers. I try to keep a build sheet on each bike, in case of theft or damage. Almost every bike is a "build" of some kind or another, sort of the "why we're here."

The thing is, can you gain a riding partner, friend, or fellow enthusiast from the situation? If that's the case, there is no downside. We are all just borrowing or renting the bikes we have, anyway. If we think we can impose our will on them after we're gone, well, nice thought. Hopefully, the bikes win.
RobbieTunes is offline  
Likes For RobbieTunes:
Old 10-18-19, 09:38 AM
  #50  
francophile 
PM me your cotters
 
francophile's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: ATL
Posts: 3,916
Mentioned: 80 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1137 Post(s)
Liked 588 Times in 420 Posts
Originally Posted by RobbieTunes
Pedal Room is a great place to inventory your bikes, including serial numbers. I try to keep a build sheet on each bike, in case of theft or damage.
I distinctly remember someone - maybe it was @gomango ? and if not, sorry for tagging you, man! - they were mentioning in a thread about scammers who had been using pics of their bikes from a site like Pedal Room to conduct scams.

Whoever it was, they mentioned offlining or deleting all their content. It was at that point I realized the risk of putting that much info online. There's absolutely nothing stopping someone near you from filing a police report containing info of your bikes. Camp on it a few months, then report "OMG, I found my bike!" and you've got a mess on your hands.

I've always been tempted. At this point I just keep everything on a file store so I can reference pictures, and in the same folder keep critical details like pics of the online ad/auction (if applicable), a text file with serial numbers, contact info or address of the seller (if applicable) etc. "Just in case". It's tedious and it sucks when you need to share quickly/easily online, though.
francophile is offline  

Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.