Your Stolen Bike?
Thread started by
skd at 12.12.08 - 2:24 am
Junu and I were at the bicycle kitchen preparing our bikes for the Toy Ride and we noticed this kid (12-14) working on a nice fixed. He kind of looked like some of those kids who had been stealing bikes.
Everyone is innocent until proven guilty, so we don't want to cast aspersions, but is this a stolen bike?
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Dude, that would suck.
Imagine being 12 and just realizing how cool the L.A. bike scene is and wanting to be part of it, only to find yourself hated by all because you and your friends made the abysmally poor choice to steal bicycles for some extra cash. If it were an adult, I'd have no sympathy, but for a 12-14yr old kid, that would be kind of a bummer.
Let's hope that he bought that bike with some birthday money and decided to convert it himself. Judging from the cranks / quick release front wheel, this isn't a fancy track bike, but a fairly low dollar roadbike conversion.
JB12.12.08 - 8:17 am
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Yeah...
Imagine being 12-14yrs old walking into a co-op to work on a bike you bought off another kid for like $100 only to find out that someone recognizes it as someone else's bike and you're like, "What? I bought this from some other kid who needed money."
"Who is this kid?"
"I don't know... "
"Take us to him!"
"I don't want to get involved. I just wanted to fix my bike."
"You have no choice. You were involved the minute you bought that bike."
It would suck...
digablesoul12.12.08 - 9:23 am
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i assume every fixed gear conversion with no brakes and no foot retention that i see is stolen.
ruinedbyidiots12.12.08 - 9:28 am
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was funny cause I already seen bunch of little gansters down by hoveer and 75th on fixed gears..and no Im not assuming ..I know their older brothers..and grew up in the area and know they have not worked all summer to buy those bikes.
i see riding going main stream in the hood..
deesimple12.12.08 - 9:47 am
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fuck kids. they ARE trouble making bike thieves. and ussually kids are doing something wrong anyways (I was) even if its not stealing bikes, so keeping an eye out for them is not an unreasonable thing to do.
Llana Pajama12.12.08 - 10:49 am
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I was wondering what a nice fixed looked like.
Thanks!
User112.12.08 - 10:52 am
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"i see riding going main stream in the hood.."
This is interesting.
imachynna12.12.08 - 12:03 pm
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exchanging dishwasher bombers with track bikes
KiMS112.12.08 - 12:04 pm
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So, if I go riding my MTB through the hood, does this mean I'll get capped for riding the wrong bike???
bentstrider12.12.08 - 1:08 pm
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no, you'll get capped for blasting country music.
ipsofatso12.12.08 - 1:11 pm
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@RBI
So all my bikes are stolen?
Just cause you need some sort of retention device to keep your feet on your Fixie doesn't mean everyone else does....
I'll flat pedal all the way to Ojai and steal your SPD's you long haired Tecate drinking mother F'er.
stillline12.12.08 - 1:12 pm
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"I'll flat pedal all the way to Ojai and steal your SPD's you long haired Tecate drinking mother F'er. "
AHAHAHAHAH
KiMS112.12.08 - 1:21 pm
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saying that riding fixed brakeless with platform pedals is safe is stupid, matt. it doesnt matter if you know how to skid with them.
ruinedbyidiots12.12.08 - 1:34 pm
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I never said safe. I just said not stolen.
stillline12.12.08 - 1:36 pm
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so should i have said "for the most part..." before my first post?
the kids i see riding these bikes are the ones that fit the descriptions of the thieves. just saying.
ruinedbyidiots12.12.08 - 1:37 pm
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What's your description of the thieves?
How would that description differ from any other random group of 12-24yo kids in that neighborhood?
JB12.12.08 - 1:41 pm
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good question. i dont know, i dont hang out in that neighborhood often after catching three of them trying to take my front wheel.
ruinedbyidiots12.12.08 - 1:46 pm
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TALK ABOUT A WITCH HUNT, WE SHOULD FEEL ASHAMED, AND WERE STILL NOT GOING TO DO SHIT ABOUT SOME LITTLE KIDS STEALING OUR BIKES.
WOW.
EXCEPT TAKE 'SECRET' PICTURES, AND THEN POST THEM ON THIS WEBSITE, I'M SO IMPRESSED NOW.
I GUESS THAT'S PROGRESS, RIGHT?
eddieboyinla12.12.08 - 1:55 pm
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shut the fuck up eddie, and go bake joseph some cookies
mandingo12.12.08 - 1:58 pm
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REMEMBER TO TAKE A PIC OF ANY LATINO THAT APPEARS TO BE UNDERAGE, THAT HAS A BIKE THAT COULD BE STOLEN, THEN POST THAT PIC HERE ON THIS WEBSITE, JUST IMAGINE THE COLLAGE THAT CAN BE PAINTED.
IT'S WRONG TO ASSUME THAT ALL UNDERAGE LATINOS THAT OWN A FIXIE IS STOLEN, IS ALL I'M SAYING.
eddieboyinla12.12.08 - 2:32 pm
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i know this kid and the bike.
to my knowledge he came into the kitchen and built this bike after he was trying to fix a bike that was too big and super heavy for him. we kicked him down with the schiwnn (dont remember if its was bare metal already or if he did that) but now he comes in all the time to tune it up and to work on his sisters and friends bikes.
seeing as he is very young and in the kitchen i think you should of asked him or me (or one of the cooks) about the bike before putting it blast.
dont get me wrong though the stripped paint def, makes the bike suspect. but i think the cageless pedals and general condtion of the bike reflects an unexperienced or uninformed cyclist more than a stolen bike...
ive already told him about the pedals but some kids (if you can believe this) dont feel safe on cages cause they feel they will get stuck if they fall- even though they are riding brakeless??? go figure.
as for the paint...although not the official policy of the kitchen we give a lot of shit to kids that come in with bad rattle can jobs. i mean spray paint will chip and make your bike look all fucked up but when bike is entirely spray-painted including derailleurs, rims, tires and not even dry yet! WTF!
this kid however is not that case but i will def school him on the pitfalls of not having a bike that is not socially acceptable by the "bike community"
i know this bike and the kid who works on it...
its a bare metal schwinn
that being said...
i cant say for certain if its stolen or not but he has had it for a while and has worked on it at the kitchen a bunch...got pedals and cranks from us i think
he's also always in fixing his sisters bike which he built from a donated bike and patching flats for his friends.
so yeah i can see why the stripped paint would be suspect but really i've seen a lot worse come through () and doubt this is stolen.
cant say much for the effectiveness of posting a foto but if it is anyones i htink he bought off the thief
bicioso12.12.08 - 2:58 pm
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obviously i suck at posting.....ignore everything after the gap....bad editing on my part.
bicioso12.12.08 - 3:01 pm
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THANKS FOR CLEARING THAT UP, POOR KIDS PROBABLY READING THIS TREAD EVERY SENCE ITS INCEPTION. WONDERING WHAT HE DID WRONG, THAT SUCKS.
eddieboyinla12.12.08 - 3:06 pm
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this kid however is not that case but i will def school him on the pitfalls of not having a bike that is not socially acceptable by the "bike community"
Coments like that make me want to start stealing hipster bikes!
buckchin12.12.08 - 3:12 pm
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"the pitfalls of not having a bike that is not socially acceptable by the "bike community" "
mmhhhmmmmm
FUCK THAT SHIT
KiMS112.12.08 - 3:15 pm
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Yep, fuck pompous hipster bike snobs.
buckchin12.12.08 - 3:36 pm
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You Hipsters pay close attention to the NY scene....
skano12.12.08 - 3:38 pm
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pompous hipster bike snobs.
FUCK THAT SHIT
mattspeed12.12.08 - 3:38 pm
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maybe im not getting these comments but...
i grew up panting my bmx bike, later my mtb and road bike.
sorry but the late 80's and early 90's had horrible graphic designers.
i got a lot of shit for it back then from the "bike community" (mostly kids with more money) for doing it.
although some degree of suspicion is warranted because of the practice of painting bikes that are stolen....that this kid was suspected as being a thief or someone who bought stolen property because of how his bike looked made me remember how i got shit for having a painted bike- albeit for different reasons.
bicioso12.12.08 - 4:00 pm
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No matter what u do to that piece of shit bike it will be recoginzed as eddieboyinla's bike
Debut21312.12.08 - 6:40 pm
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Here is how i came to the conclusion it may be stolen
its a single speed, with gears, no derailleur
handlebar is stripped of tape
the kid was spotted at santacon with a COMPLETELY different bike
it could be a project bike at the kitchen, although he walked in and out with it
i remember when my parents bought me bikes, it was typically a mtb from costco or toys r us
to think that this hispanic kid's parents went on craigslist to look for a roadbike is complete horeshit becuase believe me i bet you they dont even have 56k.
my neighbors just bought their laptops and they're thinking they're stealing free wifi from me. but these assholes are going to every dummy page i can set up and steal all their passwords muahahaha
1junes12.13.08 - 11:34 am
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"to think that this hispanic kid's parents went on craigslist to look for a roadbike is complete horeshit becuase believe me i bet you they dont even have 56k. "
generalizations based on someone's ethnicity and where they live is fucking ignorant and racist, no matter what color
your skin is.
coldcut12.13.08 - 2:24 pm
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to be fair, all of the descriptions of the people stealing bikes have been hispanic.
*im just trying to justify what i say because ive got white guilt.
ruinedbyidiots12.13.08 - 2:28 pm
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i know what you mean. i just think sometimes there's better ways of dealing with these thieves instead of generalizing and assuming that all hispanic kids ages 10-? are thieves.
you shouldn't have white guilt. you seem like a cool guy. even when i try to troll.
coldcut12.15.08 - 12:16 am
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ITUNES, YOUR CRAZY.
"to think that this hispanic kid's parents went on craigslist to look for a roadbike is complete horeshit becuase believe me i bet you they dont even have 56k.
my neighbors just bought their laptops and they're thinking they're stealing free wifi from me. but these assholes are going to every dummy page i can set up and steal all their passwords muahahaha"
ITUNES
12.13.08 - 2:34 pm
eddieboyinla12.15.08 - 6:28 am
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no ok, i didnt mean to diss hispanics like that
that was uncalled for
but nobody is going to look on craigslist for bikes except people who need it for utility/transportation or a rich hipster.
and those kids don't really fit into the category.
you can give these kids the benefit of the doubt, i just have a keen sense of smell for
*sniff sniff*
SKETCH.
i'm not a racist.
only against koreans. srsly
1junes12.15.08 - 11:28 am
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junu,
why are you racist against koreans?
im a bit offended.
KiMS112.15.08 - 11:29 am
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