Questions to ask a suspected bike thief?
I saw someone walking with a Specialized Allez down to the Blue Line, and he was wearing Chuck Taylors with Shimano clip-less pedals on the bike. This is always an alarm in my mind.
I was just wondering about questions you might ask if you saw what you suspected to be a stolen bike.
What came out of my mouth:
"What kind of wear do you get on your tires? I'm always looking for something that will last for more miles."
Turns out my worries of bike theft were quashed when he showed me the shoes voluntarily and talked about the fit of his new bike, voluntarily.
After all the posts about the swap-o-rama suspect bikes, I figured a separate thread would be worth while as to how to strike up a conversation about questions less obvious than "how much did that set you back?"
Views: 652
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Tyler G on
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You could ask "Bike thief says what?" real fast to see if he falls for it...
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Permalink Reply by Patrick O'Connor on
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my bad. may or may not have had a few whilst watching the Hawks game.
Jeff said:How to spell "thief"? ;)
Sorry, couldn't resist
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Permalink Reply by dav on
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I just laughed out loud. Thanks.
Tyler G said:You could ask "Bike thief says what?" real fast to see if he falls for it...
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Permalink Reply by Digital Dario on
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Perhaps you can ask him what materials it is made from, or even ask specifically about the frame, fork, etc. And get them talking about it.
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Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on
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Ask no questions, they will alert the bike thief to your suspicion and they will run taking the bike.
The only reasonable course of action is to punch them in the throat, reclaim the bike and ride off as fast as you can. Watch Craigslist, here and the stolen bike registry for ads regarding the bike and then return it to it's rightful owner.
If you accidentally get the owner I am sure they will be grateful enough at your efforts to stop bike theft in Chicago they will not press charges.
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I don't know if they do this in Chicago, but when I was in Bloomington, Indiana, you could register your bike with the police and they would give you a big green sticker with a number on. If your bike was stolen, you could report it to the police and give them the number. This saved it from being sold at police auctions, and I imagine a concerned citizen could report a suspected bike via its registration number. I get that there are several million people in Chicago, so the logistics of doing something similar are poor, but it is an idea.
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Permalink Reply by andy on
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ask them about the drivetrain. or if they like the xtr brakes on the road bike. if they stop and look to see what's on it before responding, they might be a thief.
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Permalink Reply by Les Rorick on
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Why has no one acknowledged this!? This is amazing. Bravo.
Amber K said:
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Just make sure you don't look shifty and you won't have any problems.
Or learn to recognize sarcasm; that would work too...
Jennifer said:Wow, I hesitate to ride anywhere in the city anymore, for fear that my bike will be either legitimately stolen or "reclaimed" by some sick vigilante.
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Permalink Reply by Tank-Ridin' Ryan on
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Maybe you could add a motion-detecting flamethrower to your bike then.
Jennifer said:Wow, I hesitate to ride anywhere in the city anymore, for fear that my bike will be either legitimately stolen or "reclaimed" by some sick vigilante.
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