tbrtbx

Hey all,

So, a couple of years ago, i bought my first bike. I really liked it, it was stiff, and it was fast. But, 3 weeks ago, i singlespeeded it and sold it to my friend. He had it for not one week before it was stolen right outside his house, along with some other residents bikes. So, this afternoon i get a phonecall from him saying 'hey i've just seen my bike locked up 2 mins away from my house!'. I left my place to go there as soon as i could, taking a detour via my friends place to pick up his boltcutters (he needs them for work - !).

I got there to find the bike locked up with two cables, pretty thick-looking. So, i waited till not many people were walking past and went about cutting it. It took LESS THAN 10 SECONDS to break this twice :




A couple saw me and said 'is that your bike?', and i didn't know what to say, so i sort of said 'err well no, see, it was but i sold this bike and it got stolen, so i'm kinda erm taking it back', and they went on their way.


Moral 1 : If you see your stolen bike around, steal it back. The police wouldn't have given a damn about my problem. And i didn't want to wait around for the theif/new owner to come back.

Moral 2 : Finding your stolen bike on the street happens once in a million years. If you see someone cutting a lock, it almost definately is not a legit theft.

Now my friend has his bike back!

BuddyMike

I just got to savannah after summer break and my friends decided to go to a party across the street from my friends house. I haven't seen my friend in awhile and we are sitting on his porch drinking beer catching up. He said his girlfriends bike got stolen earlier that day and it sucked...... silence while we drink beer. Seconds later a crack head on said bike comes rolling by the house. Lets just say we got it back.

I also found another friends bike leaning against a building. It was stolen the night before.

doofo

you guys should make some money off this ****!

steal some other bikes while youre at it

hockeyteeth

Nah, man. It's not about stealing bikes, Doofo. It's about reclaiming stolen property. I don't consider that theft.

bellweatherman

That's cool that you stole your bike back. I would've done the same thing in your position.

However, what happens if the thief that stole your bike actually sol it to a person not knowing the bike was stolen. Then, you just steal it from someone who paid money for it. Now, that guy is out for some payback. I'd lay low for a while. Maybe even sell the bike and get another one.

doofo

lol

there was a thread about the perfect pawn shop for this kind of thing not long ago

beethaniel

what did you cut it with? At work we use band saws, those will cut through anything in like 3 seconds....oh yeah, to respond to bellweatherman's post, if someone bought it from the person who stole it, it would be possesion of stolen property, and they would be just as guilty as the person who stole it, remember, possesion is 9/10ths the law!!!

tbrtbx

Well, he might have bought the bike off the theif in good faith, but if he didn't get a receipt when he bought it, then he must have known it was stolen, or at least suspect.

I have a feeling the person who locked it there didn't steal the bike, since it was locked so close to the place of original theft.

But, i mainly wanted to let people know how easy it is to cut through cable locks I mean, look at that picture! It's basically a hollow steel shell, with a 3mm wire inside. How much longer would it have taken me to break a thicker lock? Not much longer.

I really recommend a proper Shackle lock. I'm sure it would be a LOT tougher to break than a cable. You'd probably need some sort of electric saw to cut it

tbrtbx

Cut it with these.



the ones i had were a smaller

chunts

so some dude is gonna come around and take his stolen-bought bike back? if it gets stolen again, it's still a crime. if he confronts you, well if you've got a bike and he doesn't its pretty easy to get away.

bellweatherman

Dude, I totally understand the original poster. I would've taken measures to steal the bike back myself. But don't be naive in thinking that the bike you stole back is being stolen back directly from the thief. The thief could've pawned it and some innocent buyer is now out for revenge.

blickblocks

Damn, the armor didn't do anything to stop you? I need a U-Lock.

Natron

That sucks but is very cool at the same time. More power to you. Glad you could recover it regardless of who owned it as that point.

tbrtbx

Not a f@kking thing. It is a joke. Please, do get a new-key style shackle lock , i'm sure you need some electric tool to get through it, which will make noise and possibly discourage the thief. I've met plenty of people who've had bikes jacked, but never have i heard of the thief sawing through the d-lock. It just doesn't happen.

Senses3

you should have just waited there till whoever it was got back (with the lock alreday broken ofcourse).

what brand lock was it?

tbrtbx

Not sure about the brand. ^^^and that's just asking for trouble. He could have been stronger than me, and it could have been nasty. No bike, no bolt cutters, a fight, police involved. Not worth all that hassle.

morbot

your lock looks like a turd

doofo

that lock isnt his

he stole it sucka

kemmer

I would have put my own lock on it and called the cops. I would want the person to know that the bike belonged to me and that I was taking possession legally. The next time you have it locked up somewhere don't be surprised to find some pissed off dude waiting next to your bike brandishing a u-lock.

tbrtbx

He did put his lock on it, but only till i arrived. I had no way to prove the bike belonged to me, i bought it so long ago - i don't know where the receipt is!

Rugen

You shoulda left a greeting card that said "this bike was reclaimed by legitimate owner" just to rub it in to the pogue who bought the stolen bike. Or better yet: "Hi, I'm the guy who sold you this bike. I decided to take it back so I could sell it to another sucka."