bike stolen; more questions (about wheels, etc)

wrote:

a gps tracking device installed into the bike may help track down
theves- it will be a matter of 3 years or so and I think you'll see
someone like competive cyclist having it on their website for sale. a
bike is not just a bike; it can be a very personal thing; like the
only photo of a dead parent- stealing it is stealing someones history,
hopes and dreams. it is why bike theves should be more severely
punished than just for theft of property. perhaps the judges should be
avid cyclists themselves; I know a lot of lawyers are cyclists, I
wonder how many remain cyclists by the time they are called to the
bench ?

dream on brother.

On Jan 2, 10:52*pm, Paul Cassel
wrote:
Zoot Katz wrote:
On Wed, 02 Jan 2008 17:13:17 -0600, A Muzi
concluded:

Bike theft defies simple solution.

This looks like it could be fun built into a pair of hand grips.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Tazer-Glove/

Believe it or not, but if you managed this, you'd be arrested. This
would be a booby trap which is illegal in most states even if the trap
is sprung by someone intending a crime.

-paul

a gps tracking device installed into the bike may help track down
theves- it will be a matter of 3 years or so and I think you'll see
someone like competive cyclist having it on their website for sale. a
bike is not just a bike; it can be a very personal thing; like the
only photo of a dead parent- stealing it is stealing someones history,
hopes and dreams. it is why bike theves should be more severely
punished than just for theft of property. perhaps the judges should be
avid cyclists themselves; I know a lot of lawyers are cyclists, I
wonder how many remain cyclists by the time they are called to the
bench ?

Scott Gordo wrote:


I've found two bikes that had been stolen from me here in NYC.

and I once recovered a motorcycle stolen from me. The issue isn't if the
stolen goods still exist and are able to be found, but rather if the
police will do anything. I say yes, after theft the good are still part
of the material plane. I also say that the police don't care.

-paul

On Jan 2, 5:13*pm, wrote:
On Jan 2, 4:08*pm, "Squat'n Dive" wrote:





On Jan 2, 2:54 am, Paul Cassel
wrote:

Squat'n Dive wrote:
my allez sport had involuntarily left my garage last night.
lesson learned: write down a serial number and keep it in triplicate
in different spaces
for a subsequent police report about unintentional bum supply.

Why? So the police can activate CSI which will scour the nation using

because random crap turns up during routine police stops.
and, say, if they apprehend a bum for trespassing or whatever
and the s/n on his bike matches the one in their db of stolen property
then here you have it. i do not expect them actively searching for
my bike.

their amazing powers of detection and get your Specialized bike back?

Be SURE to tell the police the s/n so they can get a good laugh.

they asked for the s/n. i did not come up with this on my own.

sorry pal, but I found my stolen bike that was previously reported,
being held by a small gang of youths- I called and had police attend
and when they did I was the only claimant to the bike- the cops took
the bike to the station and I had to go there with my id and recepts
for the bloody thing and PROVE that I owned the bike; some 4 hours
later they let me have it. the cops are to be peed on for all I care.
we'll be better off if they just let us carry guns and deal with
people accordingly.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I've found two bikes that had been stolen from me here in NYC.

The first was an '88 Specialized Stumpjumper. Great bike. I was
walking up 1st aveune towards the L train when I found it locked to a
pole in front of a Chinese takeout/delivery joint. It was taped up and
a couple parts were replaced, but I have no doubt that it the ride
that had disappeared maybe 8 months before. I was with three friends
who doubted the veracity of my find, but they weren't cyclists and
weren't being very patient. It being 1999 or so, I didn't have any
paperwork for the bike. I started gently asking the delivery guys
about the bike, "Hey, that's a nice bike. Who's is it?", but they saw
right through me. I walked into the takeout joint and asked the owners
but they played dumb. Then I started yelling and cursing my brains out
hoping to rattle them but these are people who work behind a wall 2
inch thick plexiglass: they weren't impressed. I threatened to call
the cops, stomped out, said the same to the delivery guys, and walked
to a pay phone down the block to make the call. Of course, even if the
cops came, I had no proof that the bike had been mine. By the time I'd
reached the phone, the delivery guys had unlocked their bikes and took
flight en masse. I ran after them but they were history. I checked
that area a bunch of times afterwards but they probably parted out the
bike and left the frame to rot in some basement.

The second time was on my 30th birthday. I was riding home from work
over the Williamsburg Bridge, feeling good but a little wistful. I was
taking my time, when some speed demon blasts past me on a hot pink
Nishiki International that been stolen 2 years prior. I stomped the
pedals, caught up to him, rode him into the bridge's barriers and,
with murder in my voice, demanded my bike. The bike is big, a 62cm
frame I think, and this guy must have been 5'5. He said that he'd
purchased it on the street for $60. He was Hispanic, probably in his
early 20s, dressed for work in very worn but clean collared shirt and
pants, and looked really crestfallen. He wore black shoes on the SPD
pedals. I believed that he hadn't been the one who lifted it, but that
just wasn't my problem. I wasn't leaving the bridge without my bikes,
and we were going to do this one way or the other. I started talking
about cops again, even though once again I had no papers on this bike.
At the end, I gave him $60, walking two bikes down the ramp into
Brooklyn. I got home and looked the bike over. It was a bit out of
tune, but it was spotless, far cleaner than the grimefest I rode. The
frame was waxed, the spokes shone, and evidently he even waxed the
rims. Honestly, I felt pretty bad for him. He was flying over the
bridge, obviously feeling the buzz on one of the first really warm
days of the year, and I plucked it out from under him. OTOH, he got to
ride the bike for free for two years, and I've put enough miles on the
bike since to do him justice.

I had ANOTHER bike ripped off at Union Square one night. I found a
pair of bicycle cops and asked them to write up a report. They both
said that they had forgotten their pads. I just wasn't in a state of
mind to ask for badge numbers and all of that. This was also during
the peak of Giuliani's NY "Quality of Life" campaign, which felt like
martial law at the time (and almost got him run out of office). The
new cops weren't people to talk to. They were basically out to make
arrests and write up summonses, not write reports about bicycles.

Moral of the story: you're right to keep a record of the serial number
and report it to the cops in case you come across the bike again at
some juncture. No cop wants to get embroiled in a he said she said.
Removing the fork and writing your name and contact info on the
steerer tube is a good idea as well. Even then, it's a pain in the
ass.

/s

On Jan 3, 11:33*pm, Paul Cassel
wrote:
Scott Gordo wrote:

I've found two bikes that had been stolen from me here in NYC.

and I once recovered a motorcycle stolen from me. The issue isn't if the
stolen goods still exist and are able to be found, but rather if the
police will do anything. I say yes, after theft the good are still part
of the material plane. I also say that the police don't care.

-paul

Really? That wasn't the case for me at all. They NYPD zoomed over,
took detailed reports, and put on an investigation that rivalled the
Black Dahlia murder. In fact, there's rumors that my bike wound up in
Afghanistan, hence the war.

Fact is, if the guy I took my Nishiki from put up his dukes to defend
it, or if I crashed him, I could have been busted for assault. From
his perspective, it could be like someone running up to you, yelling
that you're wearing his shoes, and demanding their return with the
threat of violence. Hard to prove anything once the cops arrive except
for what the eyewitnesses say (which might land you in court or the
clink) UNLESS you've got the paper trail of a police report which
includes details that show theft and rightful ownership. Even that
might not legally excuse you for an altercation, though you might
ultimately regain your property.

It's not a cop's job to care (which isn't to say that many do.) It's
their job to uphold the law, though, so you have to be on the right
side of it if you want to use that card.

/s