For Sale: TRi spoke

So you met the guy in person? Have you told the police where this was, what the guy looked like, any contact phone number you had?

Wiganwill do you really think that the police did'nt ask me everything you are sayin! I helped them as much as possible! You think i wanted to get in shit for this

I am asking you these questions because if it had been my wheel that had somehow ended up in your possession these are the questions I would want answered. And, had I mistakenly bought a stolen wheel this is the info I would have given to the police.

Maybe you could share those details with us too Donious?

will why do you think the police let me go! Because i helped them as much as i could and told them the truth

So you told the police everything you knew, that it came from Gumtree, was bought on a certain date for a certain price and you told them everything you could about the guy you bought it from? Basically, realising your mistake, you have done everything you can to help them find the thief?

We/I don't trust the police... they are powerless Donious

Yes i did everything i could do! You must think i like bike thiefs! I pay good money for my bikes and parts! I dont want my stuff stolen

Sniffy i never will again!

No, but you can understand why people on here want to make sure you are kosher and that you have done what you can. If you have then fair enough. You live and learn.
Time for bed.

fair enough will

We/I don't trust the police... they are powerless Donious

What you mean like successfully recovering a stolen wheel and returning it to it's rightful owner (assumes po-po aren't rocking it on their Trek mtbs)?

khornight i was a messanger for over a year while at college! i have no reason to fear fixie crews! Plus the wheel did'nt come from a fixie! And you say be more careful. But how do you expect someone to know if something has been stolen??

A whole year?!

... Sorry, it's late, I tend to fall back on sarcasm when tired, rather than post, you should come to drinks and meet people.

Oh and for what its worth, if you bought the wheel in good faith*, then I think it fucking sucks that you got done over. I wouldnt want to be out £120.

But don't get it twisted, you got fucked over by the THIEF! Not by the guy who's wheel got stolen, not by the police, the thief.

...and I also feel for you for the general agro and grief.

Lets hope the police can use the info you gave them to track the guy down.

*imo *any *time you buy from gumtree, your due diligence has to be x10 what it usually would be.

khornight i dont want to get into any bitch fight via lfgss! and thanks for the invite

Hugo your actully rite! I shouldnt be pissed at da guy it's da thief! Thanks bro take it easy

and the moral of this story is check the stuff you are buying carefully and that it comes from a legitimate source

So some someone had a bike stolen and now has one wheel of that bike back. Another person is down £120 and has spent a night being waterboarded by the police. Seems to me that the only winner is the thief and that the moral of the story is to do everything possible to avoid buying from thieves. Buying from them, encourages them to steal more and can end up costing you more than you think.

^^
Words of Wisedom, Serve the System

So being a messenger and active on a bike forum, you should be aware of perils of Gumtree. Do you have a link / screen shot of the gumtree ad?

It could help us in recognising the thief to make sure this doesn't happen to anyone else.

It may feel harsh fella but you gotta flip it - if your bike got nicked and you saw it for sale what would you do to get it back?

We're all pretty passionate about our rides and in some ways getting jumped by the po is one of the safer options!

I know it's a hard way to learn but you gotta be super careful about where you're getting stuff from

The Waynemeister is right. If you have a bike stolen and see it being sold on e-bay gumtree or even on here, you should not just rush off to confront the seller. The seller could easily be involved in the theft. Bicycle thieves are seemingly more organised and not afraid of violence. Contact the police first and only if they refuse to act should you act independently. Added to which, a bona fide seller who accidentally bought stolen property is not likely to hand it over without payment simply because you say it is yours.

If the guy got me arrested because he did'nt want to pay that's crazy!

No

(assumes po-po aren't rocking it on their Trek mtbs)?

Let's be honest, that would look pretty sick

Oh and Donious, Wiganwill was a courier for almost two decades and would be blown over by a couple of fixie skidders shouting "Do a skid".

^very tempted to do this for youtube...