BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

OMG! Jeff, I am so sorry. Best of luck on its recovery!

Locked?

got your bike,,came in the other day,,has to be your bike says jake the snake on it faded paint light weight quality bike ,I do get trade ins and some used bikes in time to time and I look for post on stolen bikes and just saw this.I thought something strange after I gave him money for it he left with out filling out a re slip,,you can call me at 412 716 4956 craig,,,im 99% certain its yours,,,come and get her

OMG, Craig, you are AWESOME. Congrats to Jeff...

Awesome indeed! Any chance of ID'ing the guy who brought the bike in? Store video, etc.? Maybe the police would make him a visit.

Yep it was his bike,he picked it up and I was glad to get it to him and some kool history about the bike and Jeff. I did not know he knows the Dirt Rag people so I bet many here know him,anyways a very nice guy glad he got his bike back.Marko you know we have a great video set up and I remember what the guy looked like and has been at my shop before and I bet he will be back again and I know what to do.

nice!

Did you sell him a U-lock?? :D

YAY! I am torn between being incredibly grateful that thieves know that Craig will buy bikes off the street, and feeling like that somehow encourages theft. But, since the alternative seemes to be selling the bikes for scrap with no chance of recovery, I'm pretty securely on the side of being grateful that Craig is out there and the punks stealing bikes for quick cash know they can go to him. Thanks, Craig.

I think people should make sure Craig knows the serial number and photo of their stolen bicycle and he should refuse to buy bikes he knows are stolen. Maybe just grab the bike and tell the thief to get out. Now, I'm sure word would get around and people would stop taking bikes there to sell, but ethically I think it's wrong to buy a bike you think was stolen -- even if you intend to return it to the owner. It's just making it more likely someone else's bike will be stolen next. And it's not necessarily that easy to sell a stolen bike if the outlets that buy them are shut down one by one.

I have no idea what the best solution is, but I'm not going to tell Craig how to run his business when I can't possibly place myself in his position. If I ever have a bike stolen, I'll be sure to stop by BH with a photo, serial number, and contact info ASAP so that he has the evidence and knowledge he needs to bust any punks that try to sell my bike to him. Reselling in Pittsburgh seems to be a rarity, still. In Chicago, these bikes end up on CL within hours. If they don't go that route, they show up at one of the large swap meets which are not friendly to anyone who is obviously there looking for a stolen possession. I think it's wonderful that Craig got the bike back to its rightful owner, that's all that really needs to be said!

+1, I'd rather have Craig buy a questionable bike, with the intent to try and find it's rightful owner, than to have the components being sold on CL/ebay with no way of recovery. If Craig was doing it just to make a buck I'd be pissed, but he clearly is not doing that.

I understand the concern about buying used bikes off the street but I am a bike shop and a museum and with very good security and with a guard at the gate so i would think many thieves would not want to come here with stolen stuff but yes it can happen as me myself have had things taken out of the shop.I was so upset when it happen the first time I gave my friend Jerry k a call since his shop is something like mine , like he told me it happends don't let it bring you down do you best to stop it,,take the good with the bad thats business.We have over 3000 bikes and most are older vintage and some used bikes and believe me people don't keep or they lose the receipts,i wouldent have all the bikes if I had to have the sales receipts for every bike that comes in.I buy bikes from garage sales flee markets bike shows and walk ins.My policy is when I get a walk in with a bike for sale or its a trade in and they don't have a sales receipt we quarantine it for 30 days or take personal info .I chek out web sites for id s on stolen bikes as I do on this site that's how we found the owner for the bike .I have called the police a few times if we suspect something and we go they the rules they give me.Im certain on 90% of items resold in the good old USA receipts don't exchange.We are a bike shop museum that buys sells used and new bikes and parts. We have donated many many bike through the 30 years of me dealing with bikes ,THANKS and by the way we are having a benefit Art sale / some bike art from Kim Cagni.Kim has Parkinsons Disease and a portion of the proceeds of any sale of Art will go to the Michale j Fox Foundation along with her longtime friend Dan McCarthy are working togather to bring awareness to early onset Parkinsons Disease.Kim was diagnosed with Parkinsons in 2004 and Dan in 2005,,anyways she is a fantastic girl and I look up to anyone like her,she will not let this bring her down and let this beat her so please support her everyone is welcome to come to Bicycle H on Nov 15th Friday night 7 pm,,,we are having a C,D release party on sat nov 16th,,after 7.00 pm please support some great Pittsburgh home grown music,Charles Wallace c.d release party,its a bit of Jazz and some easy rock acoustic guitar,,everyone welcome,,for more info see us on facebook craig morrow I can post more info or bicycleheaven.org,,,,all good home grown stuff

I like the idea of quarantining the bike for 30 days, I hadn't thought of that. Maybe also a photo of the guy selling the bike? It would be cool if you could provide the police with the id and photo of the guy who sold you a stolen bike, wouldn't it?

This makes me smile.

been there done that more than once lol,,glag you got a smile and I did when he picked up the bike,,that guy loved his bike I think he had it for many years and a avid bike rider I was told,,,,,we have two bike events on nov 15th and 16th 7 pm you come by the bike trail on the north shore,,,,,,

Thanks for the update, Craig. I like the 30 day quarantine idea too. I think that takes care of all my concerns about buying bikes off the street. If it means there is a way to reunite bikes with their owners, that makes me happy. Lord knows we won't stop bikes from being stolen in the first place! Glad this one has a happy ending. P.S. There's a maroon/purple Masi listed as missing on the message board. Is everyone watching for that one too?

No Masi bike has ever came by but will keep a eye out for it. I just want to be clear about something, if I knew a bike was stolen I would not buy it for any reason and have turned down bikes in the past and darn nice bikes to boot , if it seems to good of a deal to be true or just does not seem right i turn it down .I cant drill people who bring bikes in or do trade ins that's not right eather i don't want customers to think i am calling them thieves .I had a guy bring a bike last year that was for sale and a deal to good to be true but i turned it down thinking he stole the bike. I could have called the police about it as he went away down the road but think about it if it was his bike and i was wrong now what,,not good.I get many types of people who come to the Museum and we don't charge a cent and believe me its cost a lot to keep this going.I have found you cant go by the way someone looks ,we have a donation box at the door and some people who come in and look like they don't have a buck to live on but put money in the box and some come in with a suit and tie spend 2 hours don't leave a cent,,point is i treat everyone the same and cant go by the way they look,,same as the people who come in with bikes you have to be carful in many ways what you say and do.

bicycle heaven wrote:I cant drill people who bring bikes in or do trade ins that’s not right eather i don’t want customers to think i am calling them thieves.

As a bike owner, I would be appreciative, not insulted if you grilled me on a potential sale. Likewise, if someone ever took my picture while I was cutting a lock off of my bike, I'd be thankful that someone took the time to stop and catch a potential thief. A legit owner is unlikely to get mad while a thief would seriously object to say, a photo. But again, you are the one running a business... what do I know? I trust your judgement on this.

Drewbacca yes i understand your point,when i get a bike in i ask things like what did you pay for it do you have a sale slip why don't you want the bike and many other things and most of the time we get a tell number credit card info and many other things,,you get to learn a feel for people,,i had a girl who brought in her husbands bike and sold it to me and said she was mad he had the bike and was gone all the time and was never home.I held onto the bike for a month thinking he may be in for It and mad as hell ,or even better would buy a new bike as it was missing lol

@bicycleHeaven, it sounds like you are a pretty good judge of people and I think you're doing a lot of good for the bicycle community, including the way you purchase used bikes. Good luck to you. The story about the woman selling her husband's bike reminds me of the joke about the $250 Lexus -- have you heard it? Guy sees an ad for a $250 Lexus, too good to be true, but he calls up, the woman answers, says come on over. He goes over, the car is perfect, drives well, everything's good. He thinks the car must be stolen or something but the woman has all the papers etc., everything's legit. So after he gets everything signed over to him he asks her what's up. "My husband left me yesterday, ran off with his secretary, told me to sell the car and send him half."

bicycle heaven wrote:i had a girl who brought in her husbands bike and sold it to me and said she was mad he had the bike and was gone all the time and was never home.

Wow, what a lovely person to be in a relationship with!

god forbid SHE get a bike and RIDE WITH HIM! from the sound of it, he's probably better off riding alone though.

Craig should have tried to sell her a tandem :P

I was just thinking someone asked if jeff had a lock on his bike and he did but dident use his u lock that day but i think he said a chain lock.I sell locks and I try to sell the better ones but many go for the 15.00 lock we sell and that's a cable type not of good quality,but I try to get them to buy a u lock but they don't want to pay the higher cost,that reminds me of the time I sold the cheap type to a guy and he came back the next day with the cut lock and yep no bike .The police came by today looking for info on a I.D. of someone they think is been taking bikes.I think we helped them out and I haven't said anything before but someone stole a bike from a girl who was in my shop for only 10 min right off of the bike rack last week.This was the first time since I have been here someone has taken a bike.The park here has a guard 24 hour duty and stll someone had the balls to take it,she bought it brand new only 3 days before.She was in our shop to buy a new bike for one of her kids ,I flet so bad about it but the police are on it,and to boot she lost her glasses and we couldent find them.

I am happy the owner got his bike back. I know if I had my bike stolen and a place like Bicycle Haven got it from the jerk and got hold of me, I would be more than thrilled to get my bike back! There are always going to be thieves in and around cities that steal for drugs, food or whatever. People need to lock up their bike correctly and take responsibility. What happened is really the bike owner's fault and consider them lucky. Buy a good U-lock. So far in our region that is good enough. I would buy one that latches on both sides because that means they need to cut the U-lock twice. We don't have those type of thieves here yet, but at some point it is going to go down. I have a NYC U lock and also a big chain. Someone tried to steal my bike once prior to my locking system and that was enough for me to go big. Money well spent.

I admit, I was lazy, stupid and naive by using a cable lock. Valuable lessoned learn. Now I use a(n) U-Lock (ABUS) and probably won't ever have my 2nd best buddy stolen again. Thanks everyone, especially Craig and Bicycle Heaven!

Ride King I just has two guys come in with a red / silver mongoose yesterday and I turned it down and called the police about it,they would not give me I.D. info and left quick .i just saw a post ten min ago here on the forum , sounds like it could be that bike,,,this could be two bikes that came through my shop in two weeks

Good news police are able to get good video .I kept them in front of the cam for a good while and got them walking in and out of the shop hope that helps.

there's some angels dahn there at bicycle heaven!

Good news police came by today with a photos of one of the thieves who have been taking bikes ,,yesterday police got him on the north side by P.N.C Park taking a bike.I cant tell you much more than that but we are working with the police to do our best to get them in jail and has worked out with 5 bikes back to the owners.Did you see the post on Craigs list,,,[ someone stole my bikes,],,,,we got two of the three bikes back to her,,,it does pay to list such post.I am not looking for a pat on the back im just posting this so people know bike theft is high at this time of year and posting on Bike Pittsburgh and Craigs list helps.Bicycle Heaven is a bike shop Museum that deals in used bikes antique bikes and new bikes,,Nothing like scoring a great find or a great deal to make money on but I want it to be clear we do our best to do things right and fair,,thanks,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,buy u locks

Thanks Bicycle Heaven! PS. I have a U-lock now.

bicycle heaven wrote:Good news police came by today with a photos of one of the thieves who have been taking bikes ,,yesterday police got him on the north side by P.N.C Park taking a bike.

YES!!!!

Thanks B.H!

You know if Bicycle Heaven had a PayPal account that could accept donations, now might be a good time to post it. Seems like they deserve a pat on the back.

Thank but no way would I ever take that but thanks for the nice offer,but if anyone wants to donate anything do it for Kim Cagni for her Parkinsons Disease benefit she is having here at Bicycle Heaven this Nov 15th Friday after 7 pm.She will have some food drinks and her art work and 3 other places will be open here in the building,,other art and kool things they have going on,,wine and music,,thanks,,,,o and the Port Authority Police are on the trail for the bike thieves and are doing a great job. help suport them as well

I recommend these articles about bicycle theft: what happens to stolen bicycles http://blog.priceonomics.com/post/30393216796/what-happens-to-stolen-bicycles bike theft in San Francisco http://www.sfbg.com/2007/02/13/chasing-my-stolen-bicycle?page=0,0 One conclusion: bike theft is much more intense in certain cities, e.g. New York City or San Francisco Bay Area. The thieves are less sophisticated and the market for stolen bikes is weaker, in Pittsburgh.

A sting set up would be easy,just set up a few bikes and I bet it would not take long before someone comes by to take the bait...bait bike

paulheckbert wrote:what happens to stolen bicycleshttp://blog.priceonomics.com/post/30393216796/what-happens-to-stolen-bicycles

I think the salient part of the article is: Or, they’re just assholes. There's isn't a lot of money in it. Also what is the cutoff value for grand theft? If it's $1000, then there are a lot fo bike thefts that are felonies.

Is this the same kid who stole a few bikes at Pitt? The wording in the listing is the same - "I'm up for trades (I like bike stuff or silver coins but I'm open to anything) or the best offer" http://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/bik/4205314400.html