Possible stolen ebike?

[alexwc46]

Saw a dude in red overalls on what looks like a black Trek ebike coming out of Ixia Road onto Koeberg and down to Joe Slovo.

[alexwc46]

Best pic I could get...

[Shebeen]

Saw a dude in red overalls on what looks like a black Trek ebike coming out of Ixia Road onto Koeberg and down to Joe Slovo.

Wait till he finds out what a replacement charger costs

[Odinson]

Did you just assume his socio-economic circumstances and bike preference?!

[RocknRolla]

Did you just assume his socio-economic circumstances and bike preference?!

Well, given the option between a 70k car, and an E-bike, the choice is obvious.

[Odinson]

Please change the thread title to “Possible stolen motorbike”.

 

Thank you.

[gummibear]

Wait till he finds out what a replacement charger costs

Those batteries don’t last long and he’ll toss the bike when has to try and pedal without the assistance ????????????

[BaGearA]

Please change the thread title to “Possible stolen motorbike”.

Thank you.

Butthurt ebikephobians unite

[Me rida my bicycle]

Guy's who's to say it was stolen he could have won it in lucky draw or he doesn't have a garage so decided to buy a bike because his a big cycling enthusiast and doesn't have a license. Have you seen these guy's get electricity to their houses making a charger would be nothing????????

[King_Crispy]

Did you just assume his socio-economic circumstances and bike preference?!

The fact that he's not wearing a helmet shows his disregard for himself and the law...

[gombai]

I am struggling to get over the biases in this thread, 

 

Because the guy has overalls and no helmet and his assumed social economic basis - the bike is possibly stolen and he can not afford a replacement charger? 

 

What if he is an honest working man who bought this bike for his commute (and he prefers cycling to increase his fitness vs. buying a 70K car) and he has the charger at home?

 

Is there something I am missing here, if not then surely we can not be this judgemental?

 

[Wayne Potgieter]

 

I am struggling to get over the biases in this thread, 

 

Because the guy has overalls and no helmet and his assumed social economic basis - the bike is possibly stolen and he can not afford a replacement charger? 

 

What if he is an honest working man who bought this bike for his commute (and he prefers cycling to increase his fitness vs. buying a 70K car) and he has the charger at home?

 

Is there something I am missing here, if not then surely we can not be this judgemental?

 

You must be new here....

 

 

 

Here are the reasons we assume its not his bike.

 

1. He is not wearing a helmet - anyone who spends this kind of money or enters competitions with this sort of prize would have/buy a helmet.

2. The bike is clearly not setup for his height - seat is way too low and the frame looks to be the wrong size.

3. It appears to me that this bike does not have flat pedals (I base this on the fact that his shoe (safety boot) has a significant bend in the centre of the sole). This means (If I am correct) that he has had the funds to place clip pedals on, but no helmet or riding shoes?

4. Historically on the Hub, when someone has found a person that does not fit the bike (all the above points considered) it has turned out to be stolen/bought from a thief.

 

Sure, its a lot of circumstantial evidence...

[Reg Lizard]

I don't even think he knows its an e-bike

[Dirkitech]

 

I am struggling to get over the biases in this thread, 

 

Because the guy has overalls and no helmet and his assumed social economic basis - the bike is possibly stolen and he can not afford a replacement charger? 

 

What if he is an honest working man who bought this bike for his commute (and he prefers cycling to increase his fitness vs. buying a 70K car) and he has the charger at home?

 

Is there something I am missing here, if not then surely we can not be this judgemental?

 

If it looks like a dead fish, stinks like a dead fish and says "dead fish" on the label, it must be a pregnant aircraft carrier, right?

 

It's one thing to avoid being judgemental and what not, but taking high roads and turning blind eyes for the sake of I'm assuming political correctness is even worse. I was going to comment exactly what Wayne commented right after your message.

 

If you can afford an ebike, you would in all likelihood have the basic knowledge and funds to be wearing a helmet.

If you can afford an ebike, you would in all likelihood be wearing cycling shoes or shoes that work with platform pedals - not leatherlike boots!

It's also questionable that the photo shows someone cycling across in the pedestrian channel, but that could be semantics.

I'm 6.1 feet tall and while knowing my bike frames are slightly too small, I still don't look half as disproportionate to this image.

Again, applying my own situation to the context, when I had extra cash around and wanted to improve my commuting times, I bought a motorbike. For a 70k ebike, you can already get more than enough motorbike, so where is the reasoning behind that?

 

Whether whoever reads this agrees or disagrees with stereotypes and biases, I appreciate and support reports like these, because when someone is riding my mtb in overalls, I'd want to find them and knowing there are people out there who look out for disproportionate combinations is good - public surveillance if you will.

[Help.Me.]

I smell something, because dont e-bikes belong in the mountains...#justsaying.

[gombai]

If it looks like a dead fish, stinks like a dead fish and says "dead fish" on the label, it must be a pregnant aircraft carrier, right?

 

It's one thing to avoid being judgemental and what not, but taking high roads and turning blind eyes for the sake of I'm assuming political correctness is even worse. I was going to comment exactly what Wayne commented right after your message.

 

If you can afford an ebike, you would in all likelihood have the basic knowledge and funds to be wearing a helmet.

If you can afford an ebike, you would in all likelihood be wearing cycling shoes or shoes that work with platform pedals - not leatherlike boots!

It's also questionable that the photo shows someone cycling across in the pedestrian channel, but that could be semantics.

I'm 6.1 feet tall and while knowing my bike frames are slightly too small, I still don't look half as disproportionate to this image.

Again, applying my own situation to the context, when I had extra cash around and wanted to improve my commuting times, I bought a motorbike. For a 70k ebike, you can already get more than enough motorbike, so where is the reasoning behind that?

 

Whether whoever reads this agrees or disagrees with stereotypes and biases, I appreciate and support reports like these, because when someone is riding my mtb in overalls, I'd want to find them and knowing there are people out there who look out for disproportionate combinations is good - public surveillance if you will.

 

I will respond to this and Wayne's post here.

 

I get being pro-active about identifying potential stolen items etc but until Odinson requested the title to be changed there was an ASSUMPTION made that this bike was definitely stolen! You call it political correctness but in my view this is about realising that we may have biases and assumptions that inform our view about other people that are totally wrong.

 

Some of the reasons you guys are giving up here are based on your worldview, for example: I have seen many people on the streets with expensive bikes and no helments, I have encountered people that prefer smaller size frames. I know folk who wear overalls to work but make a tonne more than oaks who were suits.

 

Lets be vigilent but lets also be driven too much by our biases.