Stolen Giant VT2

[Wannabe]

They deal in 2nd hand and new bikes / spares. As a matter of fact I have some of my old stuff at his shop, amongst others my Ksyrium SSC SL wheels, old 9sp Ultegra groupo (complete with cranks/pedals), old Alex Mtb rims. I find it easier to take my stuff to him to sell, as he deals with this kind of items all day long and has many customers walking in looking for 2nd hand stuff/bargains.

 

If you think his add on Gumtree is fishy, call him on the no. I provided and ask him why he does his dealings in a way that is suspicious to you.

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

Yeah, Cape Town Cycles have been around for AGES. Mostly dealing in 2nd hand, and makes Avron's place look like a kiddy day care in terms of amount of parts & bikes etc. Well worth a look.

[Caerus]

They deal in 2nd hand and new bikes / spares. As a matter of fact I have some of my old stuff at his shop, amongst others my Ksyrium SSC SL wheels, old 9sp Ultegra groupo (complete with cranks/pedals), old Alex Mtb rims. I find it easier to take my stuff to him to sell, as he deals with this kind of items all day long and has many customers walking in looking for 2nd hand stuff/bargains.

 

If you think his add on Gumtree is fishy, call him on the no. I provided and ask him why he does his dealings in a way that is suspicious to you.

 

 

Just did, spoke to Marc, seemed a nice enough chap. He is gonna change the advert.

[Edge_Design]

I am also merely stating facts below, I am not accusing anyone of anything beyond the facts:-

 

I've tried to post a few warnings about the shop on the hub along the way... I can confirm that back in 2009 when my bike was found at his house 2 hours after it was stolen, the police were aware of at least 4 stolen bikes found with him. They would not press charges as they reckoned he was a nice guy Somehow the thieves knew where to find him to pawn off the bikes (he never advertised that he bought bikes publically from what I could tell yet always had lots of stock).

 

After that, he moved into the shop in Wynberg where it is my understanding that the police in the area use it as a first stop whenever a bike gets stolen (seems to indicate they expect them to end up there for whatever reason).

 

I have watched the gumtree ads for years. You will never see an original spec bike advertised and the descriptions will often differ from the actual spec of the bike (a large advertised as a medium etc.). Further to this, for 3 of the 4 stolen bikes I know of, he was only found with the frame (denied receiving any other components with them). My bike was found within 2 hours of being stolen and the pedals were gone, the bolts on the brakes had been loosened and a few new cable ties had been added as if the cables were reattached to the bike before I collected it - appeared as if it was in the process being stripped when it was noticed by another hubber.

 

I found a stolen bike with him which he advertised on gumtree (actually was advertised as stolen on the hub by the same person who found my bike - a friend of Neil's). It was advertised as being a different size to what it was so he didn't think it was his bike until he actually went there and saw it and it turned out to be the same.

 

That is a bit of background of my knowledge of Neilswheels and I am sure there are massive gaps which I am not aware of or bikes which had been sold before being found. I have no proof it is done intentionally and not purely by stupidity/ignorance, but I have felt the need to keep an eye on the ads and to warn people about it in private whenever they have a bike stolen in cape town.

[Caerus]

I am also merely stating facts below, I am not accusing anyone of anything beyond the facts:-

 

I've tried to post a few warnings about the shop on the hub along the way... I can confirm that back in 2009 when my bike was found at his house 2 hours after it was stolen, the police were aware of at least 4 stolen bikes found with him. They would not press charges as they reckoned he was a nice guy Somehow the thieves knew where to find him to pawn off the bikes (he never advertised that he bought bikes publically from what I could tell yet always had lots of stock).

 

After that, he moved into the shop in Wynberg where it is my understanding that the police in the area use it as a first stop whenever a bike gets stolen (seems to indicate they expect them to end up there for whatever reason).

 

I have watched the gumtree ads for years. You will never see an original spec bike advertised and the descriptions will often differ from the actual spec of the bike (a large advertised as a medium etc.). Further to this, for 3 of the 4 stolen bikes I know of, he was only found with the frame (denied receiving any other components with them). My bike was found within 2 hours of being stolen and the pedals were gone, the bolts on the brakes had been loosened and a few new cable ties had been added as if the cables were reattached to the bike before I collected it - appeared as if it was in the process being stripped when it was noticed by another hubber.

 

I found a stolen bike with him which he advertised on gumtree (actually was advertised as stolen on the hub by the same person who found my bike - a friend of Neil's). It was advertised as being a different size to what it was so he didn't think it was his bike until he actually went there and saw it and it turned out to be the same.

 

That is a bit of background of my knowledge of Neilswheels and I am sure there are massive gaps which I am not aware of or bikes which had been sold before being found. I have no proof it is done intentionally and not purely by stupidity/ignorance, but I have felt the need to keep an eye on the ads and to warn people about it in private whenever they have a bike stolen in cape town.

 

I would have smashed him then and there if I found my stolen bike in his possesion. Irrespective of him "not knowing where its come from" Thats why there are laws in place for details to be taken.

[Wannabe]

Just did, spoke to Marc, seemed a nice enough chap. He is gonna change the advert.

He really is a nice chap. Friendly and knowledgeable.

[MariusL]

Just posted a note on neilswheels profile asking to give his side of the story to this thread... let's see

Edited April 29, 2011 by MariusL

[Caerus]

He really is a nice chap. Friendly and knowledgeable.

 

 

Just said that with the amount of stolen & hi-jacked bikes it looked a bit suspect, he seemed to agree.

 

What with whats going on at Neilswheels, it does draw suspicion. If only from a couple people.

[Wannabe]

Just said that with the amount of stolen & hi-jacked bikes it looked a bit suspect, he seemed to agree.

 

What with whats going on at Neilswheels, it does draw suspicion. If only from a couple people.

Good on ya for calling him.

[Pappa Bear]

just reading thru all of this....?. This dude seems like the kind that looks away...... The kind that take no action, as it is not his problem. Poeple like this make it unsafe for all of us. This is why we need to cycle in fenced areas, people like this make us carry guns while we are riding carbon fibre, people like this caused numerous hubbers to be robbed stabed and traumatized...... What can we do to stop this guy receiving and selling stollen goods? How can we force him to be more figialant when receiving 2nd hand goods......

[The Drongo]

Where did they get all those parts from??

 

Another rather interesting add I found on Gumtree advertising a Scott Spark 15.

 

Gumtree Scott Spark link

 

The item description is as follows:

This bicycle has hardly any scratches. Gear change is perfect. Frame is Carbon Fibre and a Large size. Tubeless tires. We purchased this item for R45000. Its only 1 year old

Price is slightly negotiable.

GREAT DEAL for what you get

 

Does this not seem an odd way to describe such a high end bike? No description of components, wheels etc.

Just seems strange...

 

's very interesting.

 

There was a turkey advertising a Scott Spark 15 on The Hub here yesterday - no pic, stupid price, poor english, and a poor grasp of sarcasm, but said he bought it for 32000.00 so 25999.00 was "A Good Price".

It also comes with 27" wheels - god help us......

 

shall check it out..

 

EDIT

 

YEP. Same one (same cell number) >>> thehubsa.co.za> Classifieds> MTB> Complete Bikes> Dual Suspension Bikes> Scott Spark 15

 

The price is now a very reasonable 22,500.00, down from 25,999.00. A wonderful picture has been added.

Check it out, absolute bargain. Me personally, I am too dumb to figure the difference, so won't be going for it myself.

 

You can also get a Scott junior and a 12,000.00 bottle of whiskey from the same source if you are keen. :thumbup:

Edited April 29, 2011 by The Drongo

[MTB_Roadie]

Just said that with the amount of stolen & hi-jacked bikes it looked a bit suspect, he seemed to agree.

 

What with whats going on at Neilswheels, it does draw suspicion. If only from a couple people.

 

Escpecially with the increase of recent bike theft and jackings here in CT...everything mainly happening in Southern Suburbs.....mmmm....pay a guy R500 for a bike....and they steal it to buy tik....or whatever....he strips the parts,etc....if parts only had a serial number on it to see they match....mmmmm

[raptor]

i know when the guys at CT cycles buy in a bike they take your full detail , very nice guys and always great service from them. lots of the older parts also come from the old willy engelbrecht store

[Above Average Joe]

Ebe, similar thing happened to me. one morning my family woke up to find that our metal gate had been lifted off the hinges and stolen!

 

Was driving on woodstock main road the next week and glanced at one of the pawn shops along the main road and saw our metal gate!

 

Stopped off, asked them where they got the gate,told them it was mine and it was stolen and took the gate back.

 

Best not to negotiate with these thieves, just take what is yours and let them come after you if they have any problems.

Edited May 1, 2011 by Above Average Joe

[Edge_Design]

...

Edited April 29, 2011 by Edge_Design

[neilswheels]

Just posted a note on neilswheels profile asking to give his side of the story to this thread... let's see

 

Been trying to reply the whole weekend, being informed that I "did not have permission to reply". Found out today that I needed to validate my recent re-application to be a member of The Hub, as I haven't posted for over a year.

First the details of the Stolen Giant VT2.

I was out of my shop on Friday, 15th April. When I returned, I was told that 2 guys had brought in the VT2 to sell, but as I was not there, nothing could be done without me assessing the bike, to see if I was interested. So the bike was left in the shop. It wasn't hidden away - just left in the front of the shop, with nothing to hide, as it was not my bike. No price tag was put on it, as happens to all stock which is for sale.

Saturday, (the next day), at about 13.45pm, (15 minutes before closing), the owner of the bike walks in, and enquires where the bike comes from. I told him that it had been left the day previous day, for me to decide whether to buy it or not. He then informed me that it was in fact his bike, and had been stolen a couple of days previously, from his car, while he had gone to a mosque for prayer purposes. I told him that he should come with the police, and that they could remove it, but that I was closing in 10 minutes. The doors were in fact closed, when he returned with 2 policemen, so I opened the door, and I was informed by one of the policemen that I must not sell the bike. I told him that I would not, and they all left.

Monday came and went, without any visit by the police. As I was about to lock up, (we try to close at 6pm - but often get delayed slightly), so at about 6.15pm, two guys arrived, who I had never met, one of whom said that he had come for his money for the VT2. I told him that I was not buying that bike, as I believed the bike had been stolen. He then asked for the bike, as he had left it there, for me to buy it. I told him that he couldn't take it, as it was stolen. The 2 guys became quite aggressive, and so for my own safety, I had to let them take the bike away.

My mistake here was that I did not inform the police immediately.

All of the above is pretty much recorded in the original post, by the owner of the bike. What was NOT mentioned in that report, is that I informed a detective from my nearest police station, the next morning, of the preceding events.

So then Tuesday came and went, still without a visit from the police.

Only on Wednesday, did they arrive with the bike owner, only to be told of the events of Monday evening.

Now get this. On Thursday evening, one of the 2 guys who collected the bike from me on Monday, came back, offering " Bossy, you can have the bike for R700"

I went straight home, and called the police station to report what had just happened. I WAS INFORMED THAT THERE WAS NO ONE AT THE STATION AT THE MOMENT WHO COULD DEAL WITH THIS MATTER, AND THAT I SHOULD CALL AGAIN IN THE MORNING.

So Friday morning, I called to speak to the detective who deals with these matters, only to be told that he was not in the office, so I left a message for him to call me, which until now has not happened. I will not mention his name here, but if anyone is interested, contact me and I will give you his name.

 

Our main business, is the sale of used bicycle, both road and MTB's.

I have been caught before, where I have had to return a bike to its rightful owner, and this is very costly, so as far as possible, I try not to get caught.

As we are primarily in the 2nd hand business, we have to abide by the laws governing this practice. Just as is the case with Cash Crusaders/Converters, we HAVE to have a Register of 2nd hand items. We record the seller, take his ID, and more recently, address and phone number. As one hubber suggested, call the person's phone immediately, to see if that is the correct number, and that is exactly what I did today, with an expensive Raleigh Carbon roadbike. Thanks for the tip. After taking in any used item for resale, we are obliged to keep the item for 8 days before it can be resold.

 

Reply to MTB Roadie.

Our website has NEVER been set up, so it wasn't removed for any reason. A student set up test site for me about 2 years ago, and we have fiddled around with putting some dummy adverts on it, to see if we can get it up and running.

We have NEVER advertised that we have a website, but do plan to get one soon.

Regarding the Battaglin which was shown at R16,900, which had the "crappy" plastic pedals, you are quite welcome to contact me, and I will give you the name of the guy who sold that bike to me. Someone test rode that bike, so we put some flat pedals on, and then the picture was taken.

 

Reply to Edwin Watson

No, the bike was not being sold. Read my account of what happened.

 

Reply to Mock Turtle

"blaming the staff" That's not what happened. Read my account of events.

I cannot be expected to be in the shop at all times. There are other issues which require leaving the shop for certain reasons, although I try to be there as nuch as possible.

This bike was not for sale, and has NOT been recordeed in the Register

 

Reply to Mojoman

See above. The website has NEVER been formally put into use. only as a test site for our use.

You will see that instead of a picture , or logo, at the top of the website, the words "Neilswheels Logo" appear, showing that it is still in the process of being put together

 

Reply again to MTB Roadie

We advertised a Cervelo P2 as a roadbike. You say that it used to be TT bike. This bike has an adjustable seatpost, and was set in the backward position, and sold to us as a roadbike. So because we advertise it as a roadbike, does that make us "dodgy" as you put it?

We buy all sorts of parts from many people, as they have upgraded, and/or do not have any use for them any more. Someone even donated a whole box of parts and wheels to us last week, which is of no use to him any more, and is just taking up much needed space for him. He wouldn't even accept a gift of some tubes for his trouble.

 

Reply to Skylark

You make insinuating remarks about a Specialized Carbon bike that we advertised, too cheaply, you claim.

Well here's the story about that bike.

The guy who owned it is Achmat Solomon. He is called Solly. He regularly brought his bike to us for service and upgrades and tweaks. Then it was stolen. He was desperate, so ordered a new bike from JHB. It duly arrived, and then his stolen Specialized was found, with someone trying to sell parts off it. So then he had 2 bikes, and he brought the Specialized to us, and I bought it.

His telephone number is 0835417762. He is a regular hubber, and goes under the name of Shaz . I insist that you contact him, and when you have, you can apologise to me

 

Reply to Specialized

You say that we only have 2nd hand stuff.

We buy spares and tyres, tubes, wheels, lights, locks, cages and a multitude of other items, from the major suppliers. All this stuff is NEW.

About 15% of our bikes are brand new, coming from major suppliers, and come with a full one year warranty.

Sorry that you weren't happy with the manners of the staff, but this is the first time that this matter has been complained about. I'm sure that there are a large number of customers who do not agree with this complaint, as our regulars visit us often, as we also sell accessories, (new and old), and do services and repairs on bikes, at very competitive prices.

If you have a complaint, I would welcome your comments, so that I can address the problem.

 

Reply to Gummibear

We had a visit from the local police/detectives, just over a month ago, who came to check our register

 

Reply to Cassie

Thanks for the mostly good comments

Again, please note that bbecause we sell mostly used bikes, parts are often not working properly, and need to be swopped/exchanged/replaced, to make them saleable. We often cannot afford to put back the same as the original, as this can make a bike too expensive

 

I wish to make it known that we were quite recently involved with the handing over of 14 bicycles to the HOPE Foundation, to children in the Blikkiesdorp community in Delft, who are affected by Aids. This was covered by The Argus

We plan to do another similar act of charity quite soon

 

We have had a couple of bad experiences. I'm sorry to say that as careful as we try to be, we have been caught. This has even happened on trade-ins, of which we do many.

 

So for any one concerned, my details are as follows

Shop Name Neilswheels

Location Checkers Centre, Main Road , Plumstead, Cape Town

Shop ph no. 021-761 7563

Hub name Neilswheels

 

Feel free to contact me, or PM via The Hub

It would also be encouraging if anyone has had a good experience dealing with Neilswheels,as most of the comments were scathing, and many were made on incorrect suppositions