Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Anyone been accused of stealing the bike you ride?

So I am riding home last night and some guy pulls over off the side of the road and accuses me of stealing his bike after asking me to pull over. I thought he needed help so I pulled over but he started yelling at me about the bike so I gave him a "cool story bro" and rode off.

I am pulling into my place, and the guy followed me home! Seriously. At this point, I am in defense mode, and I roll up to his car and tell him to get out and ID himself. He won't and calls the cops. The cops come and basically tell him he is a complete dumba55 who could have been severely beaten or shot. To boot, the bike was stolen a year and half ago and he has no serial #. He just said he had the same frame, and was "sure it was his". It is an older fuji race frame, but he told me there were onjly "10 ever made (uhh..wrong)", mis ID'd the color of the bars and seats (I had changed both) and basically looked like a blathering idiot. He then said "it was a popular bike with hipsters", and I asked how if there were only 10 made? lol.

It was so weird, that I am glad the cops showed up to ID this freak and record the incident.

So I ask..have you ever been accused of stealing a bike that you are riding?

For a disclaimer - I did not steal the bike.

Dunno, but if I found someone who looked like they had my bike and my bike was recently stolen I probably would have pulled over and asked them about it.

Yes, as a matter of fact. Back when I was riding my white Peugeot conversion, I was accused of stealing it by the cops. Someone stole a white mercier kilo tt on campus and the cops thought my bike was that one (how you confuse a Peugeot conversion to a kilo tt I have no idea). It was pretty crazy. I was just riding down the street, stopped at an intersection, and all of the sudden 3 cruisers show up out of nowhere and stop me (this was when I was in munice. Those cops have no clue what they are doing and)

The cops didn't know how to pronounce Peugeot or Mercier. I was polite in correcting them and said I would keep an eye out for it. The next day, the "friend" of the guy that got his bike stolen stopped me but then realized it was a Peugeot. He was cool, and I told him to keep an eye on craigslist.

Turns out, in about a month, a white Mercier Kilo TT with reb bar tape (the description by the cops) shows up. The guy said he was "leaving soon and needed to sell asap." He was asking $100 more than the retail on bikesdirect.

I emailed the police about it, but I don't know if anything ever happened.

No but my 1993 Trek 7000 was stolen four weeks ago. This week I saw it in Craigslist, contacted police, went and looked at bike confirmed it was mine. The police came and confiscated the bike. That is the last I heard. The guy who was selling the bike is a member of these forums. Sounds like I may or may not get the bike back. At least I got it out of the hands of the fence.

I think cops spend a lot of their time trying to look busy.

I emailed the police about it, but I don't know if anything ever happened.

the police LOVE emails

No, but I accused someone of stealing a bike the other day, took his photo and went on over to the LBS that I thought it was originally bought at. It has just been bought by the original owner two weeks prior, and was indeed stolen. The LBS insisted on giving me some fresh cold water for my bottle (it was a hot day) and gave me some swag to take home. I hope the guy gets his bike back....

haha. Yeah I told the guy if it was his bike I would gladly give it to him. But to not have a serial # and go around following people home and accusing them of theft is insane. Especially when it has been a year and half since the theft. That being said, I told the cops I do not want to be riding around on a stolen bike, so if somehow it truly is stolen, I want the guy to have his bike. The way he went about it, IMO was extremely dangerous. Following me home was a bad idea.

Lesson : Write down your bike Serial # asap. That is your only chance of getting the bike back if it is stolen. The police do not care how "rare" your bike is. They only deal with raw data.

The guy who was selling the bike is a member of these forums.

http://img530.imageshack.us/img530/4216/srsly001.jpg

seriously

Lesson : Write down your bike Serial # asap. That is your only chance of getting the bike back if it is stolen. The police do not care how "rare" your bike is. They only deal with raw data.

Another reason why PedalRoom is awesome - you can privately store your bikes' serial numbers and notes on your profile.


seriously

Did you call him out?

"Did you call him out?"

We had words at the scene when the bike was recovered. He claimed bike was not mine, and was selling for a friend of his. I know it was my bike, I bought it brand new, and I know every scratch, rusty bolt, and modified part on the bike. The fact he lied, and resisted giving the bike up tells me he is guilty. He probably does not know I know his user name here. I found it by running his phone number through Google. Up pops bikes, bike parts, and other stuff for sale. Some bike parts were listed here on the forums, with the same contact number.

The investigation is ongoing, and direct contact here will not help.

I hear you. It's good that you're on his trail.

"Did you call him out?"

We had words at the scene when the bike was recovered. He claimed bike was not mine, and was selling for a friend of his. I know it was my bike, I bought it brand new, and I know every scratch, rusty bolt, and modified part on the bike. The fact he lied, and resisted giving the bike up tells me he is guilty. He probably does not know I know his user name here. I found it by running his phone number through Google. Up pops bikes, bike parts, and other stuff for sale. Some bike parts were listed here on the forums, with the same contact number.

The investigation is ongoing, and direct contact here will not help.


Once things are over, out his shady, stealing ***, at least to the admins.

You should tell us his username so we can stone him with our words.

I would tell the admins his user name if I knew how to contact them.

It's sad that a member of these forums would be caught doing something like that - everyone seems a higher quality. I figured everyone here had the same resentment toward bike thieves..

Fortunately for me I posted a picture of the bike in the C&V forum a month before it was stolen. I had just put those geeky handle bars on, which were still on it when recovered. I still have the bright green straight bars, that were original. I am hoping to eventually find a 1993 Trek catalog to prove the bike came with the original bars. I wonder how hos friend had the bike for years, when I was posting it here in the forums right before it was stolen. The only part stripped was that Specialized Roadbike seat, and post.

My bike is post 1741, in the thread below.

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php/148170-Show-us-your-vintage-mountain-bikes!?p=12628190&highlight=#post12628190 (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php/148170-Show-us-your-vintage-mountain-bikes%21?p=12628190&highlight=#post12628190)

To the OP i would never confront the someone like you were confronted. Maybe if it was real obvious it was my bike, and i felt real sure about recovery without injury. Sorry about hijacking your thread.

To the OP i would never confront the someone like you were confronted. Maybe if it was real obvious it was my bike, and i felt real sure about recovery without injury. Sorry about hijacking your thread.

I definitely would. I wouldnt be hostile until I found out it really was my bike. Spent a lot of money, and would be furious if someone just stole it and I saw them. But I try to never allow my bike be a crime of opportunity.

"cool story bro"

I'm quoting you, quoting yourself. :p

He sounds pretty stupid, but I don't know. I went to some great lengths to recover my stolen wheels.

He sounds pretty stupid, but I don't know. I went to some great lengths to recover my stolen wheels.

I think many of us would - stolen anything for that matter.

haha. Yeah I told the guy if it was his bike I would gladly give it to him. But to not have a serial # and go around following people home and accusing them of theft is insane. Especially when it has been a year and half since the theft. That being said, I told the cops I do not want to be riding around on a stolen bike, so if somehow it truly is stolen, I want the guy to have his bike. The way he went about it, IMO was extremely dangerous. Following me home was a bad idea.

Lesson : Write down your bike Serial # asap. That is your only chance of getting the bike back if it is stolen. The police do not care how "rare" your bike is. They only deal with raw data.

This is entirely true about serial numbers. I found my stolen bike in a rack, and despite all the insanely unique modifications I had made (diamond wrap bar tape, hacked mustache bars, bright yellow fenders and pedals -- yeah, okay, I shouldn't admit to that last one), the cop who showed up told me I was out of luck without a SN.

All that said, I did find my bike about a year after it disappeared. And you indicate you told the cops you don't want to be riding the bike if it is stolen. Does that mean the timing of your purchasing the bike is actually consistent with when it was stolen? Did you ask the guy for identifying features of the frame and any other components that might not have been swapped out? I'm not at all accusing you of having stolen it, but I do know that if I saw someone riding around what I was sure to be my bike, I might become belligerent enough to put the person riding it on the defensive, even if they bought it in good faith. He might have been a jerk about it, but is it possible you have his bike?

Wow I had the same bike stolen Twice!! It was an old Schwinn Highplains mountain bike. The first time I saw the guy riding my bike past my house, where it was stolen from. He says he paid 20 bones for it I gave him $5 bucks and got it back. Not really into calling the cops when I had contraband on my persons. The second time the same bike was stolen from work. 2 weeks later I spot my bike in a "Bum Circle" at the park across the street from my job??? The kitchen crew and I rolled up on the fools, no one claimed the bike so I walked off with it. From then on out I learned 2 lessons. Buy a decent lock! Dont lock your bike up to Cement blocks, even if it is 3 locked together.http://www.kollewin.com/EX/09-15-09/Concrete-block,japan.JPG

in college i had this beater pee wee herman bike that i wouldn't even bother locking, so one day i come out of the library and it's gone. few weeks later i'm sitting on the quad and here comes this girl wheeling my bike past. i'm like 'hey, that's my bike.' and she handed it right over, mumbled something about finding it on her front lawn. i was just stoked to have the bike back.
another time, another bike: someone swiped the unlocked front wheel off my trek 850. i got to my LBS and tell my friend Dennis i need a new wheel. he's like 'For that Trek? a dude was just in here with one of those wheels, wanted a flat fixed. (mine had a flat). he had the dude's address so we went over and found the bike, rim had the same stickers and definitely looked like mine, but this guy was smarter than me and had locked it properly. Dennis knows karate so we considered a late night ambush but after sobering up decided to just buy a new wheel.

fixedgear80 - You locked your bike to a cement block?

:roflmao2:

bleh bleh bleh karate blah blah

the solution to everyone's problems (except the cinder black thing)

/thread

jk keep going this is great!

to the OP, where did you get the bike? used? CL? eBay? unfortunately even if you may not have stolen it, buying used bikes always runs the risk of buying stolen bikes. you are pretty much just taking people at their word

a few years ago i was riding around with my friend, and this guy pulls up on a trek T1. my friend instantly recognized it as his (stolen 2 years prior) with it's different wheels, cranks, pedals, bars. he told the guy it was his bike and asked where he got it. the guy was an exchange student from london and said he bought it at a pawn shop for $300. my friend offered him $300 for it and got his number. 2 days later my friend got his bike back. obviously a pawn shop is one of the more likely places to pick up something that was stolen, but point is the guy didn't steal it, but it was stolen.

lol @ "cinder black thing"

lol @ "cinder black thing"
I saw that and was briefly reminded of the blackface thread.


...or is that something we don't talk about here? :innocent:

Oh man...was I responsible for that?

http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys/smiley-scared008.gif

It has never happened to me, but I wonder if it might someday. I recently purchased a used Schwinn cruiser, and while I am 100% sure the person I bought it from was legit, she told me she had also purchased it used a couple years earlier. So, who knows if that guy was legit, or how many times this bike has changed hands?

As for the OP story, that guy really handled it all wrong. Chasing someone down and treating them like a bike thief is a really bad way to go about it. If someone is riding a stolen bike, there is a good chance they are not a thief. They may well have unwittingly bought a stolen bike. So, a polite inquiry would probably be a much better way to handle it.

Well the guy said his bike was stolen a year and a half ago. He also said the seat and bars were white, and they were not. I made those changes, and that was a red flag to me. I am just big enough for the bike, and I was 2-3 inches bigger than him, so that was also a red flag.

I bought the bike on CL from a guy I know in the past who is a bike mechanic. He had bought it used at a bike shop and was a little too big for it so he sold it. Is there a chance it is a stolen frame? Yes..of course. Is there a chance that my frame is not his stolen frame? Yes, and I would say that is a much stronger %.

I had my team issue Trek OCLV mtn bike stolen at a race, right from the team trailer. I went back to get it, it wasn't there. I asked the team managers wife where it was and she was like "some guy came by and said he knew you and he wanted to take it to go find you". Like WTF!?! It was one of five like it, the only one in New England, but we never did see that thing again. *sniff sniff* Luckily Trek had a new one to me 3 days later. I hate thieves.

fixedgear80 - You locked your bike to a cement block?

:roflmao2:
haha it was 3 stacked together right outside a friends house! It was the 4th of July. I was young. I know I know.

This isnt anyone accusing me of stealing a bike, but it is a story of bike theft nonetheless.

Utah has free concerts every Thursday night in the summer and thousands of people show up - many of them bikes. There is a bike valet but many people lock their bikes up to trees outside the concert fences. I remember locking mine up next to a tree along with many other bikes as well. Went in, enjoyed the concert, and upon coming out was walking to my bike when I noticed a cut lock laying next to my bike. Coincidentally the guy who owned the lock came walking out as well, looked down at the cut lock, and sadly sad "Dude, my bike got stolen." I have never seen such a sad look overcome a mans face before, and everyone kinda gathered around and complained about how much it sucked. I considered myself lucky that my bike was not stolen as it was right next to his, but I cant imagine that guys sadness. He had to walk home that night... I wasnt able to ever see what bike it was.

Unfortunately when you buy used, you never know. Maybe you were lucky and he made a mistake. But plenty of people are riding stolen parts or bikes and hoping that that hot craigslist deal or ebay deal was just a deal. Some people I'm sure know that some of these deals are too good to be true. And you know what they say about things that are too good to be true. All I know is, if I found some guy riding what looked to be my stolen frame from 2 days ago or 2 years ago, I'm coming in for a closer look. Sure you may have not been the person who stole it, but how do you know the person you got it from didn't? You may have been offended by his response but how would you have handled the situation in his shoes? I probably would have just followed you until you stopped, so I could get a closer look at the bike and never would have confronted you. Some people wait until you lock up the bike and then throw their own lock on the bike with a note informing you that you may be in possession of something stolen.

I have a feeling the first bike I bought, which was used, was a stolen bike. It was too nice to be had for $100 (except for the crap adjustment of the parts) and the guy had a garage full of bikes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVsLAFGgN88
Sorry had to do it!! lol

Awesome. The only time I have ever been accused of (or congratulated for) stealing a bike was when I was ghost-riding my wife's bike home. I rode past a somewhat ghetto house and somebody said "yeah... that ***** STOLE that bike!". I thought about correcting them but was too dumbfounded by the fact that they would say something so unintelligent with their 6 year old kids around so I kept riding.

when i was 14 i was riding diamond joker and these kids sitting by their stoop on their bikes started talking and pointing at me. then one of them started chasing me on his bike screaming after me that i had stole it. i rode like the wind and escaped. very happy that i avoided being robbed that day

With my main bike, I know if it were stolen, the person would have a hell of a time if he took it to the bike shops. Especially if he took it to the two local Schwinn dealers.

Here, I can register the bikes SN with the police department, so that is a plus. I haven't done that on my current bike though, but my old Mtn Bike has the sticker on it.

(I wonder if having the numbered stickers from the PD have any deterring power against bike theft)

I was riding through the park a few weeks ago, stuck behind these two kids (15-16), when all of a sudden this older guy jumps off a bench and yells that's my bike you stole. he only gave a half hearted effort to chase the kid down and the kid just rode on. I rode behind him for another 200 yards, he was talking to his buddy but I couldn't hear.

I really wanted to kick him into the grass off the bike and get the dude his bike back, but at the same time you can't just go kicking people off bikes without being sure it was in fact the guys and stolen. I rode past him and just told him "if you did steal that, you need to give it back man. S**t ain't cool to steal" and just had to ride on.

Spent all day thinking about it, and in hindsight i should have stopped and asked the guy about it real quick to find out more, then chased the kid down if he could confirm it was stolen. It wouldn't have hurt him to knock him off into the grass and just hold him down. Bike looked nice, some $500-$600 mountain bike. Shame people feel it's okay to steal at all.

many lols at "Dennis knows karate so we considered a late night ambush"

got accused of an old olympic frame i repainted by some hipster