Stolen and Dumped off Bike in Houston Area? I'm Betting...

[varuscelli]

I'm betting someone stole and dumped this bike (mountain bike), where it eventually surfaced on Houston's Craigslist:

To my untrained eye, the components seem expensive. Not my listing, not my bike, just something I spotted as for sale. (And a bike for which the finder/seller had gone through some effort to find the real owner) .

http://houston.craigslist.org/bik/399143267.html

Listing Quotes

26in men's mountain bike with suspension - $100

I have a bike for sale that was left on my property. I tried for nearly 2 weeks to find the owner; I even made flyers and put a sign in my front yard. Nobody has claimed it, so now it's up for sale.

There is no name on it - just a bunch of stickers - but there are some parts with names:

Fox F80X Terra Logic front suspension
Kore handlebar
Shimano XT and LX brakes
White Industries ENO pedal arms
Easton pedals
Thudbuster Uni-Pivot seatpost with rubber spring

The bike is very lightweight. I weighed it at 20.5lb.

My price is $100 and I live in Spring (NW Houston).

[Rex G]

Yep, probably stolen, and the author of the ad is selling something that is not legally his to sell.

[Monoborracho]

The link will show it has been flagged and removed.

[Pharmr]

Yep, probably stolen, and the author of the ad is selling something that is not legally his to sell.


I guess he could have turned it into the police.

[Rex G]

Yes, found property should be reported to the police. The finder can file a claim on the property if the owner does not claim it after a set period of time, and THEN the finder can sell the item if he wishes.

[varuscelli]

Yes, found property should be reported to the police. The finder can file a claim on the property if the owner does not claim it after a set period of time, and THEN the finder can sell the item if he wishes.

You'd think that the average person of reasonable intelligence and honesty might take that approach.

I guess what determines that is each person's sense of what's right and what's wrong and having the personal integrity to do the right thing in a given situation.

But, who knows...maybe the person who found the bike was someone who (like many folks) was strapped enough financially that he rationalized himself into selling it. (And I could also see that as an easy thing to talk oneself into doing in certain circumstances. Not what I would personally do, but I could certainly see someone in need making that decision.) Could have been greed, could have been need. Still a wrong approach, though (sadly).

Once again, I bet that's a bike that someone misses and that they spent good money to fix up with some pretty special seeming components. I'm far from being an expert in customizing a bike, but I can see that a few of the times described and pictured are not your average stock bike parts (I don't think).

Oh, well...