norskagent

My route from downtown to my house (8 miles) takes me through the less savory part of town for a few blocks. So when I saw someone walking with a fuji track up to a house, it caught my eye, most bikes (pretty much all bikes) I've seen through there are either low end, or old, or both. When I got home I checked craigslist for stolen bikes but saw nothing. But in talking with a friend, I learned his friend had his fuji track stolen recently. I've been by the house where I saw the fuji and it is still there, leaning outside the house. There is no doubt it is the stolen bike, based on the parts, unique bar tape, etc. The question is what is the best way to recover, a drive-by-grab-and-go, or notify the police and get them involved. I'm assuming the bike's owner bought it used and doesn't have documentaion for it, but I'm not sure.

ZiP0082

what city do you live in?

norskagent

raleigh nc.
It's on blount st., where you go for drugs, hookers, shootings, etc.

maddyfish

Best thing for you to do is tell the owner you saw the bike. And then do not involve yourself any more than that.

Soil_Sampler

hot fuzz


call the cops...

dookie

sounds like a rough town...

all the more reason to *not* take the DIY approach. i'd go to the cops ASAP, before it gets traded for something else.

isn't that pronounced 'blunt' street?

2wheelsgood

Yeah, forget the sting operation. Tell the your friend to file a police report if they haven't done so already and then tell the cops where it is and let them do their job.

norskagent

I already told the owner, and left it at that. I just wanted to see what some other thoughts were.
Yea, it's pronounced "blunt" st., and it's just a small part of the town that's sketch, not all of it!

carleton

Wow. You guys are amazing.

You'd feel really bad if some inner-city kid was an aspiring track racer and happened to have a nice bike and then you ran in his house and stole it or you took it from him off the street.

I'm black and when I was younger it would to kill me when people saw my nice sh*t and people would assume first that it was stolen. When I used to BMX in SF cops would harass me assuming that I "stole some kid's bike". Literally detained me until I did a trick on it.

So, F*CK you and your simple thinking.

carleton

...but if you HAVE PROOF and are SURE that it's the stolen bike then get him to call the cops.

dsh

It's usually wrong to assume, but the OP did say it had "unique bar tape" and other distinguishing features.

norskagent

What part of "There is no doubt it is the stolen bike" don't you understand?
I checked craigslist on the possibly false, but still plausible assumption it may of been a stolen bike. When I didn't see anything there, I forgot about it until I learned of a stolen bike matching the description of the bike I saw. EXACTLY.

decals over "track" on toptube
red electric tape instead of standard bar tape
silver/grey nonstock dp18s
small ~49cm size

PedallingATX

no one's assuming anything if it has the same bar tape and other identifiable features. Besides, if that bike really did belong to the person in that house, I'm sure they would lock it up. The fact that they leave it lying around shows that they don't really care about it b/c they didn't pay for it. Ease up off your soap box, carleton. No one cares if you're black.

LoRoK

Lolz. Racism is funny.

carleton

Yeah, sorry guys. I had a PTSD moment,

I just don't like the assuming "this bike doesn't belong here" and considering the "drive-by-grab-and-go".

Turbo Mini

Simple thinking? The OP simply said that he saw the bike on rough street in a shady party of town... YOU are the only one talking about race and playing up stereotypes. Good job.

p.s. I think the OP should tell the owner to involve the cops.

uke

Clearly the best solution in this case.

carleton

Until now, you didn't mention the details of what made it unique. Some people think that switching the bar tape from black to gray "customizes" it.

Again, contact the guy who lost the bike and get him to call the police. Vigilante justice only works in the movies. You run up to someone's house and grab stuff and you are liable to get shot or a least a bat to the back.

akkando

As soon as possibletake a friend with you and go take pictures of the house, cars parked there, and bike so the owner has at least some way of identifying the bike and where the stolen bike was then stored, linking it to probably whoever lives there because who knows, that bike could move again before anyone has a chance to get it back or the cops get involved. He or she might need the evidence.

If I was the owner I would probably take it back myself personally.

The cops may be the best way to go though.

seedubs1

cops are probably the safest way to go.

But if it were me and that was my bike, I'd go get it and ride it out of there really fast. I'd probably bring my ccw with me as well.

adaminlc

I've done the grab-and-go before. Probably not the best idea, but it worked out.

benm

My bike (Bianchi Pista) got stolen a couple of years ago. Three months after it was stolen I found it for sale on craigslist.

Luckily I had stuck a business card down the seat tube, and I had also written my name on the rim tape underneath the tires, so when I got the police involved there was no question that the bike was mine.

dayvan cowboy

Thats a good idea.

dsh

Making a mental note to check these whenever I steal a bike...

LoRoK

How do you get the business card out of the seatpost?