Gumtree

Heard a friend talking about a bike he'd bought off of gum tree a few weeks ago, and he said it was obviously stolen as it was completely customised, worth about 5 times what the guy was asking for it. He then started to say how he had sprayed the frame and put stickers on it etc so it would be less recognisable. at this point i got a little cross, and asked if he knew it was stolen, why did he still buy it? he gave some crap excuse, to which i replied that i hope it was stolen off of him when he was miles from any public transport. someone had probably put a lot of effort and money into that bike just for some scumbag to nick it.

so here is the moral dilemma... you have seen a bike, normally worth about £600 going for £100. your bike got stolen, it wasn't insured and you've got very little spare cash. do you buy the cheap bike?!?!?

I like to think I wouldn't. I've never done anything like it so far neither.

No. I don't take the moral high ground on many things, but on this I would, only because I'd feel shitty every time I went for a ride.

Heard a friend talking about a bike he'd bought off of gum tree a few weeks ago, and he said it was obviously stolen as it was completely customised, worth about 5 times what the guy was asking for it. He then started to say how he had sprayed the frame and put stickers on it etc so it would be less recognisable. at this point i got a little cross, and asked if he knew it was stolen, why did he still buy it? he gave some crap excuse, to which i replied that i hope it was stolen off of him when he was miles from any public transport. someone had probably put a lot of effort and money into that bike just for some scumbag to nick it.

so here is the moral dilemma... you have seen a bike, normally worth about £600 going for £100. your bike got stolen, it wasn't insured and you've got very little spare cash. do you buy the cheap bike?!?!?

Oh and always a good idea to inform your friend of the damage a hefty D-lock can do to someone's face, should the rightful owner actually spot it.

thats why bike theft continues
people keep buying the bloody things
maybe we should report people buying stolen bikes to the police as we do for people stealing them

Tell your friend to watch episdoes of "My name is Earl" until he gets the message?

no, of course you don't. if you do then you are condoning theft. FFS.

Nope.

buying shifty bikes is not on.
i hope your mate gets a rash on his balls.

Interesting. I've never been as desperate as in the case you put, but I don't think I'd ever buy a six-foot bike from a five-foot teenager. For a start, it's giving money to the same scum who stole any one of the bikes I've lost in London.

Benefit of the doubt: maybe your 'friend' thought about the situation after the bargain fever calmed down, and he had already bought the bike. That's where he's being really slimy. Once you've already done the wrong thing, wittingly or unwittingly, you should try and pay it forward a bit. According to the type of bike, google the owner, ask around, the cops might help, and www.nationalbikeregistry.com should be helpful. I know people who have done this, tracked down the owner, and come to an agreement.

Have to add, Gumtree seems to becoming something of a shark pool lately. Maybe something to do with eBay cracking down.

Whenever im in a situation with a person who has an obviously stolen bike I try to get it off them for nowt whether they are selling it or not. Havent been in such a situation for a few years though.

Would you steal a bike from someone directly?

Same shit, different bucket.

Would you steal a bike from someone directly?

Same shit, different bucket.

my thoughts exactly. so then why do so many people buy from gum tree and brick lane, knowing the bike is most likely stolen?!?!?

if people don't buy them, then they aren't worth stealing.

Because most people have a slightly defective moral compass.

Many people's thought processes when it comes to getting something they want ridiculously cheap, never get beyond the asking price.

The thought of how they would feel if they were the theft victim, or the (unlikely) possibility of them being done for possession of stolen goods, doesn't occur (if it ever does) until later.

No. Fucking. Way. And anyone who does knowingly buy stolen bikes needs a good d-locking upside the head, along with the thief.

and he said it was obviously stolen as it was completely customised, worth about 5 times what the guy was asking for it.

Knowingly purchasing a stolen item is worse behaviour than the person who took the bike in the first place.

The criminal is stealing as he knows there is a market of selfish lazy twats who like to profit from theft but externalise the act by paying a sum to a criminal intermediary.

Your friend is a selfish cunt.

Your friend is a cunt. He should have just bought half a unipack.

so here is the moral dilemma... you have seen a bike, normally worth about £600 going for £100. your bike got stolen, it wasn't insured and you've got very little spare cash. do you buy the cheap bike?!?!?

Fuck no.
You find another frame and start again, you don't perpetuate the cycle.

Your friend is very probably middle-class, immature and over-privileged, and thought he was being 'well stweet' at the time. What he failed to realise was that he was being a knob.

And no, I wouldn't.

Can you please post a picture and description of the bike in the stolen bikes thread so we can get it returned to the original owner?

You wouldn't want to be a self-confessed accessory to a crime now would you?

1. You're encouraging the little chavvy scumbags to steal more bikes.
   
2. It's wrong.
   
3. If someone spots the bike as being there's, you'll have to give it back.
   
4. It's illegal to handle stolen goods.
   

i got into a rather heated discussion with a friend after i found she had brought a bike from brick lane. after telling her that it was almost certainly a stolen bike, she replied that she had had her bike stolen anyway, and she didnt care. i really couldn't seem to get her to understand that the only reason bikes get robbed is because fools like her are willing to buy them! gaaaaaah!!

I once asked a police officer about brick lane, specifically whether or not it was possible to buy a legit second hand bike there, or if they were all stolen.
(Forgive my naivety- I was new to London and it was a long time ago.)
The Police officer though for a second, then got out a UV pen and torch, scribbled “Met Police” on the down tube of his bike (he was a cycle copper) then shone the light on it.
Obviously “Met Police” then fluoresced.
He said to get one of the torches and to run it over the frame -and this is the bit that got me- and if nothing showed up in terms of owners name etc then the police could not take the bike off me even if it was stolen.
I reiterated that I did not want to buy a stolen bike, he said it did not matter, all that mattered was keeping hold of it after I’d bought it, stolen or not, and re-advocated getting a little UV torch.
I decided at that point to never buy a bike when I did not have a fair idea of the history.
Slightly shocked at the copper also.

point them to the thread about the gh.
i got it back on the basis that the police were just about to go round, and the guy was liable for handling stolen goods.