Possible stolen ebike?

[Swany05]

The amount of butthurt in this thread

 

Potentially stolen bikes will go unrecovered due to PC bs,  If this was your bike would you still be so quick to criticize the OP? highly unlikely 

 

if i see something that looks suspect (Within reason) i will post, i dont care if people label me id rather apologize if i was wrong than let potential crime go unnoticed. 

 

Who said that the only thing needed for evil to succeed is for good men to do nothing?

 

ps: if i had spent 70k on a new bike i wouldnt even let my mother ride it. 

[Steven Knoetze (sk27)]

The amount of butthurt in this thread

 

Potentially stolen bikes will go unrecovered due to PC bs,  If this was your bike would you still be so quick to criticize the OP? highly unlikely 

 

if i see something that looks suspect (Within reason) i will post, i dont care if people label me id rather apologize if i was wrong than let potential crime go unnoticed. 

 

Who said that the only thing needed for evil to succeed is for good men to do nothing?

 

ps: if i had spent 70k on a new bike i wouldnt even let my mother ride it. 

 

[Swany05]

exactly

 

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[Butterbean]

So as an example, I saw an elderly african gentleman on an old Ellsworth a week or 2 ago.

So is it stolen, was it given as a gift/transportation by the previous owner.

If I stop to ask about ownership, how would that even go.

"Hello, is that your bike?"

"It is very nice, where did you get it from?"

 

Immediately the guy will assume I am saying it is stolen, or am I wrong?

 

Now imagine a taxi see's this going down and 10 secs later you have 10, very angry people standing around you, accusing you of racism, etc. Tomorrow my face is being circulated on FB in a video depicted this scene and I am are getting digitally raped on social media.

I become instantly vilified and possibly prosecuted, fired, etc as people demand the suspects head on a stake. The described events above may be very dramatic but not unheard in our country these days unfortunately.

 

So I do hear you,and I too have a very unique and expensive MTB that I hope if somebody suspicious is seen riding it; that they would stop and ask.

The question is, in today's lovely RSA, how do you do that??????

Your questions posed in your example are actually perfectly innocent.. Again, a true cyclist will tell you what shop, and wouldn't mind either...

 

The amount of times other cyclists have asked about my Ritchey frame or Chinese wheels, out of interest, is countless... Same as any other interesting product I own... People talk about desirable things...

 

It is a simple inquiry.

 

Even from this example, no one even spoke to the rider in question. They took a pic based on a suspicion, if it helps a potential victim ID a bike and a regular route, great. If not, a random person on their legally owned bike has his photo on the internet... It's not exactly a harmful assumption, is it?

[Escapee..]

I dont know if anyone can remember that dead sexy Niner that Dipslick had?

 

It was stolen at some stage and everyone shared the pictures far and wide. Dips never got it back.

 

So he built another one. Exactly the same spec and a custom Martini spray job just like the first one.

 

The amount of times he was stopped and told its a stolen bike was something stupid. He was riding it with cycling clothes and a helmet and still got stopped.

 

And as far as I know he is a white oke 

 

 

Added a pic

Edited January 16, 2019 by Escapee..

[Meezo]

I dont know if anyone can remember that dead sexy Niner that Dipslick had?

 

It was stolen at some stage and everyone shared the pictures far and wide. Dips never got it back.

 

So he built another one. Exactly the same spec and a custom Martini spray job just like the first one.

 

The amount of times he was stopped and told its a stolen bike was something stupid. He was riding it with cycling clothes and a helmet and still got stopped.

 

And as far as I know he is a white oke 

 

 

Added a pic

 

how is she doing, please send my regards...

Edited January 16, 2019 by Meezo

[stefmeister]

How do you prove a bike is yours if you get pulled over?

You show them your shitty IG selfies, and make them read the inspirational captions to bore them to death.

[Tutu Mntambo]

Chances are very good that this man did not steal the bike however he has spent some of his own money to buy from someone else who may have been a bike thief. Whether this man is the thief is very unlikely, bike thieves generally don't 'ride their own supply' so he is simply a man who needed a bike and came across someone who may have stolen the bike but is selling it off as his own.

 

I see many black man who seem to not 'fit' the profile of someone who could afford a certain bike. Almost daily I see guys in overalls like the above mentioned riding bikes that cost muuuuuuch more than their assumed salaries and trust me when I say that no black man will spend more than R3000 for any bike unless he is a hobbyist with a 9-5 and a family. This coming from a black man at the age of 28, that man is not the owner of that bike and he is not the thief, he bought because he needed to get from home to work more quickly because the difference of 30minutes to get to a jobsite for many low income households can mean no dinner for the night or even a week. 

 

I'm glad u hubbers have engaged in a good spirited debate and avoided the issue of race, well done, I feel most of you may be right, hell I could be wrong too but we'll never know until someone asks him how much he paid for it...

Edited January 16, 2019 by Tutu Mntambo

[NickGM]

Chances are very good that this man did not steal the bike however he has spent some of his own money to buy from someone else who may have been a bike thief. Whether this man is the thief is very unlikely, bike thieves generally don't 'ride their own supply' so he is simply a man who needed a bike and came across someone who may have stolen the bike but is selling it off as his own.

 

I see many black man who seem to not 'fit' the profile of someone who could afford a certain bike. Almost daily I see guys in overalls like the above mentioned riding bikes that cost muuuuuuch more than their assumed salaries and trust me when I say that no black man will spend more than R3000 for any bike unless he is a hobbyist with a 9-5 and a family. This coming from a black man at the age of 28, that man is not the owner of that bike and he is not the thief, he bought because he needed to get from home to work more quickly because the difference of 30minutes to get to a jobsite for many low income households can mean no dinner for the night or even a week. 

 

I'm glad u hubbers have engaged in a good spirited debate and avoided the issue of race, well done, I feel most of you may be right, hell I could be wrong too but we'll never know until someone asks him how much he paid for it...

 

Is there an award for "Best first post"?

[Dirkitech]

No reports of any missing trek ebikes or a boost in trek ebike sales on the sheets yet?

Wonder if the same person rides the same bike on the same route everyday - in which case it would be great if someone nearby could talk to them/their employer, because I believe them riding without a helmet is passing off a negative image towards other road users and in lights of the recent unprovoked attempted murder, this could be a bad omen for the rest of the cycling population.

[Dirkitech]

Is there an award for "Best first post"?

eh, there were more assumptions and generalisations in that first post than there is in this whole thread combined ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Prince Albert Cycles]

Whilst all this was going to and fro he must be in Springbok by now , that is if he had a charger in his overalls

[Tutu Mntambo]

eh, there were more assumptions and generalisations in that first post than there is in this whole thread combined ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

That's a fair comment seeing as nobody knows anything for a matter of fact right now however. I only recently bought a 'road bike' 6 months ago. Mind you it is a piece of **** that cost R2000 which I use to get to my accounting job 15km from home twice a week. I bought the 'piece of ****' because I know what happens in the streets of Johannesburg regarding theft and I wouldn't be caught dead riding a flashy bike from the South of Joburg into the city, it would be taken from me without a second thought by a bike thief who does not care about the colour of my skin. I do not wear high end gear either, just a pair of sneakers, shorts, a t-shirt, helmet and a backpack. 

 

We simply need to be conscious as people of the current state of affairs in the country, that there are more hungry people than those that are fed. There's a saying that a man who has nothing to lose is the most dangerous, so if you look like you don't have much to lose you are less likely to get mugged. Rather keep your expensive kit at home for a sanctioned race for your own safety and that of your family. Until things get better in our country for all you can expect to get your bike stolen off you if it looks like a good pay day to a criminal mind.

[Dirkitech]

That's a fair comment seeing as nobody knows anything for a matter of fact right now however. I only recently bought a 'road bike' 6 months ago. Mind you it is a piece of **** that cost R2000 which I use to get to my accounting job 15km from home twice a week. I bought the 'piece of ****' because I know what happens in the streets of Johannesburg regarding theft and I wouldn't be caught dead riding a flashy bike from the South of Joburg into the city, it would be taken from me without a second thought by a bike thief who does not care about the colour of my skin. I do not wear high end gear either, just a pair of sneakers, shorts, a t-shirt, helmet and a backpack. 

 

We simply need to be conscious as people of the current state of affairs in the country, that there are more hungry people than those that are fed. There's a saying that a man who has nothing to lose is the most dangerous, so if you look like you don't have much to lose you are less likely to get mugged. Rather keep your expensive kit at home for a sanctioned race for your own safety and that of your family. Until things get better in our country for all you can expect to get your bike stolen off you if it looks like a good pay day to a criminal mind.

Being a more experienced rider, there's a lot I don't agree with, like not riding in full kit, not riding with the same equipment and weight you train with (besides training wheels) etc.

However I fully agree with your words on being conscious regarding the current state of affairs and that I also don't get to cycle to work due to living on the South side of the Jhb.

 

Also, a bike that goes from A to B isn't a piece of junk, regardless of price I wish you many safe kilo's of the meterage kind!

[Goodbadugly]

Chances are very good that this man did not steal the bike however he has spent some of his own money to buy from someone else who may have been a bike thief. Whether this man is the thief is very unlikely, bike thieves generally don't 'ride their own supply' so he is simply a man who needed a bike and came across someone who may have stolen the bike but is selling it off as his own.

 

I see many black man who seem to not 'fit' the profile of someone who could afford a certain bike. Almost daily I see guys in overalls like the above mentioned riding bikes that cost muuuuuuch more than their assumed salaries and trust me when I say that no black man will spend more than R3000 for any bike unless he is a hobbyist with a 9-5 and a family. This coming from a black man at the age of 28, that man is not the owner of that bike and he is not the thief, he bought because he needed to get from home to work more quickly because the difference of 30minutes to get to a jobsite for many low income households can mean no dinner for the night or even a week. 

 

I'm glad u hubbers have engaged in a good spirited debate and avoided the issue of race, well done, I feel most of you may be right, hell I could be wrong too but we'll never know until someone asks him how much he paid for it...

A teacher earns R12k a month

What does this bike cost? R60k ish?

A teacher will have to save 30 months to buy a bike like that. Is that a 2018 model Powerfly 5?

I do not see blue collar workers earning more than policemen, teachers, secretaries etc. The maths...

https://www.payscale.com/research/ZA/Job=Production_Worker/Salary

Edited January 16, 2019 by Goodbadugly

[scubes]

I'm glad u hubbers have engaged in a good spirited debate and avoided the issue of race, well done, I feel most of you may be right, hell I could be wrong too but we'll never know until someone asks him how much he paid for it...

 

you make a good point that this man is not riding his bike- he may have bought a stolen bike and may not be the thief. you brought up race though (not sure if you were the first) which isn't or should not be relevant. it is more a socio economic thing surely- i am so fed up with debates in SA being around race or skin colour and this is driven by anc politics etc- it is divisive and can have no positive outcome.