Funny story, somewhat related... A friend of mine had his vintage (don't know what kind since he painted it himself in a sort of leopard print to "hide value") track bike stolen while we were in a bar one night. We went outside to leave and Irving's bike was gone. He freaked out and set out on foot to look for it. He found it about 5 blocks away (down a small hill) in some bushes just off the street. Can you imagine an ordinary thief snagging this bike and sailing down this little hill only to realize that there are no brakes? We all had a good laugh picturing that.
Kendra Coatney hilly Seattle, WA
On 9/13/05, Carb7008@cs.com <Carb7008@cs.com> wrote:
> This issue has always been problematic for me as the hunt for bikes (and
> parts) may lead to questionable persons and places. Of course its imposs
ible to
> tell if a bike rightfully belongs to its present seller even if it hasn't
> changed hands in 50 years! A ground-off serial number is a powerful clue
to the
> bike's checkered history but what can be done about that? I guess you ca
n give
> the bike to the Police and if unclaimed, it will be scrapped or sold at
> auction. If its a nice bike, who among us would do this? What if a fell
ow lister
> buys a bike, describes it to the list, then another lister says "that's m
y bike
> stolen 10 years ago out of my garage!" Should the original "rightful" ow
ner
> get the bike back for free? Should he reimburse the present "unrightful"
> owner for what he paid for it? They say possession is 9/10ths of the law
, is this
> just a cliche if no corraboration exists? If a new owner is morally,
> legally, ethically (take your pick) obligated to return a bike to someone
claiming to
> be the legitimate owner, what level of proof must be offered, a police
> report, bill of sale, serial number, all of the above? If we on this lis
t propose a
> "stolen bike" policy, why would anyone describe a recent acquisition with
any
> detail for fear of a "stolen bike" claim unless he/she was 100% sure of i
ts
> provenance? Wouldn't one of the greatest resources this list provides be
> diminished? Is this entire subject moot unless we're talking about a bik
e whose
> "Bluebook" value is greater than $100, $1,000, $10,000?
>
> Jack Romans
> Sacramento, CA