Wolf Amongst The Sheep - Story About Your Neighbour's $20,000 Problem With Stolen Bikes

May 13, 2014
by Danielle Baker  
Some names have been changed to protect the innocent and unfortunately not-so-innocent.

Last month local police executed a warrant for a home in a middle class neighborhood in Vancouver; they were searching for stolen bikes. The house belonged to a businessman, his wife and children - your average nuclear family. Nothing stood out about the property, a well kept house with a nice car parked in the driveway, that would alert you to any wrongdoing within. Next to his kids' pedal bikes in the garage hung the owner's mountain bike, next to that police found roughly $20,000 of suspected stolen bike parts.

Images from Stolen Bikes.
  Items seized from the suspects garage while held in the police evidence locker.

The Evidence
In the months previous to the bust, police had received two separate calls about stolen bikes. One came from the business, Endless Biking, where a smash and grab had left them without their cashbox, computer and one Rocky Mountain Element. The second call came from Tom whose mountain bike had also been stolen. Dedicated to finding his bike, Tom scoured the usual Internet hotspots for used bikes sales and found his components for sale under multiple accounts on Pinkbike.

With collaboration between North Vancouver RCMP and Pinkbike, it was found that the multiple usernames, some listing international locations, all traced to one IP address and one location. Using this information police obtained a warrant to search the premises, expecting they would find Tom’s stolen bike parts.

Constable Dave Vunic describes what he saw upon entering the suspect’s garage, “there was a corner with ten or twelve suspension forks, a pile of twenty or more wheels – Chris King hubs, DT Swiss, you name it, it was there. There were Tupperware full of derailleurs and shifters, a closet full of bike frames – which I’m guessing had been stripped down and he hadn’t had a chance to dispose of yet. "But”, he adds, “The first thing that caught my eye was the Rocky Mountain that was taken from Endless Biking because I knew that bike and I knew that it had been stolen.”


The Crime
From the evidence collected the police surmised that the suspect was purchasing stolen bikes from petty thieves and drug users, stripping the valuable components from them and disposing of the frames, as they were the only traceable items. He would then organize the derailleurs, brakes, wheels, forks and the likes into labeled bins, piles and racks, before listing and selling the parts through multiple accounts on Pinkbike.com.

The suspect claimed, that not knowing it was stolen, he had purchased the Rocky Mountain Element for $1200 on Craigslist.com. Police have since arrested another man, who was already known to them, for the break-in at Endless Biking. They feel that it is more likely that this suspect paid roughly $300-$400 to the known criminal for it, expecting to make roughly an $1800 profit from the XTR components. This is just one example of what appears to have been a long running bike theft operation.

Stolen and now recovered Rocky Mountain
  The Rocky Mountain Element that was stolen from Endless Biking and found in the accused's garage.

The Suspect
“He looks like a regular guy or business man,” says Constable Vunic, “I would never think of him as a bike thief, I think of a bike thief as a street person who is going through alleys and looking for an opportunity to steal from someone.” The suspected criminal claimed that police had simply stumbled onto his hobby. His defence became that he was an avid biker and as a favourite pastime he purchased used bikes on Craigslist, stripped the valuable components from them and resold them for a profit on Pinkbike. “The accused knows his stuff, he knows all the parts, and he knows that value of an XTR derailleur or any other component. By looking at his collection, he’s probably been doing it for years.”

A review of his ‘for sale’ posts on Pinkbike showed that he was careful to undercut similar items by a marginal amount, helping him to sell quickly but not raise suspicion. He never met the purchasers in person, even though they were often from the same city, he used a courier for deliveries.

Police admit that this suspect was not on their radar, however some of the people associated with the stolen goods in his possession are known bike thieves (police believe that based on the volume of high end parts in his possession he had multiple people working for him). The racket that he had going on was kept so low key that it is unlikely that anyone outside of his immediate family had any idea about it.


The Outcome
Is this man a criminal mastermind or a hapless bike enthusiast whose only mistake was maintaining multiple Pinkbike user accounts and disposing of bike frames? We may never know. “It can make sense, he says his hobby was to buy parts and sell them,” says Const. Vunic who is doubtful of suspect’s defence.

A conviction of possession of stolen property over $5000 carries jail time. Crown Counsel must be able to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt in order to prove a crime and without traceable parts, unfortunately there is was not enough evidence to proceed. And so they chose not to lay charges against the accused. Worse yet, says Const. Vunic, “we had to return all the parts [except for the Rocky Mountain Element], which is horrible”. Unfortunately with thousands of dollars worth of untraceable product it is easy to claim innocence – and ignorance - in the eyes of the law. “He played stupid.”

At the end of the day, even if he is innocent and he is telling the truth, his actions are still keeping bike thieves in business. His only error was listing the parts from one bike at the same time through multiple Pinkbike accounts; even so had it not been for an overzealous bike owner, his operation might have gone unnoticed for many more years. Only mountain bikers buy mountain bike components and he is essentially laundering them so that we are unknowingly purchasing stolen parts. As a self-described mountain biker, he is among us and is one of us. “I have no doubt that when this is posted on Pinkbike he will see it.”



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daniellebaker avatar

Member since May 10, 2007
235 articles

420 Comments
  • 365 28
 If 'Tom' would kindly come forward and disclose this guys details so we can f*ck his life up then it would be much appreciated. There's something wrong with the world when scum can get caught with $20000 worth of parts in their garage with evidence that some of it is stolen, and then still walk away free, and still get to keep all the parts!!!! Makes me sick
  • 41 9
 Amen to that, name and shame this a*shole of a suspect. Caught red handed and just acted dumb. That is not good enough, i'm sure all the people that this creep ripped off want proper justice. People should be made aware of his user name (multiple names) so they don't get stung like everyone else did. Well done to all those involved in exposing him..........
  • 117 74
 Calm down and let the justice system do its work. You can only do more harm than good by getting this guys name and then harassing him and his family. Don't be an ass
  • 27 13
 Sounds nice but what's going to happen is that his family will end up as collateral damage. So as much as I'd like to give the fucker a kick to the nuts, I think we'd better surcumb to rationality.
  • 16 5
 What a waste of all those good frames that the young lads could make good use of. Scummers like this bloke deserve a kick in the nuts. Very resourceful, but can they prove he broke the law? Name and shame is the way to go!
  • 83 6
 Lavendergrooms, the justice system did it's work, it took a suspect, a whole pile of evidence and connections to known thieves and went 'eh, fuck it,' then sent him on his way. Tax payers dollars hard at work. . I don't think the desire for vigilante justice is at all sensible, but I can understand why people would feel that way in the face of this story. I hope Pinkbike have banned the IP since they aren't beholden to due process.
  • 10 0
 as for making a case in court...couldnt they match serial numbers? I make sure i have all mine written down at home
  • 15 1
 It is great to hear about them doing actual police work instead of going after the much more lucrative task of catching speeding motorists with their pants down.
  • 37 6
 Lavender, the justice system doesn't work. Not sure where youve been..
  • 8 5
 lawyers......
  • 36 1
 @Lavendergooms, I just think the guy's user name should be made public to pinkbike user's as they do not wish to purchase stolen products. Nothing to do with harrassing the guy. But he is scum at the end of the day.
  • 4 1
 Presumably, hopefully, any trace of him has been removed.
  • 13 3
 Electronically, or physically??? either gets my vote Smile
  • 26 65
flag mnorris122 (May 13, 2014 at 3:52) (Below Threshold)
 Idiots, everyone is innocent until proven guilty. What if this guy actually is innocent, and you f*ck up his life? That makes you a royal a*shole
  • 19 107
flag mnorris122 (May 13, 2014 at 4:09) (Below Threshold)
 *Time to make people angry*
Oh wait you guys are Brits, you don't have a constitution that writes all this stuff about the rights of suspects out, you just detain for awhile, THEN see if you want to arrest them. Here in the civilized world, believe it or not, you're not allowed to detain someone for extended periods of time umtil you have enough evidence to place them under arrest. That's why this man isn't behind bars, all because of those darned civil rights!
  • 51 4
 youre not allowed to detain people in Britain for an extended period of time, you have to press charges within 24 hours. Another educated guess presented as a fact on pinkbike.
  • 7 60
flag mnorris122 (May 13, 2014 at 4:25) (Below Threshold)
 Compared to how long you're allowed to detain people here, that's an extended period of time
  • 25 7
 Habeas corpus. And we do have a constitution. But frankly it's just as dead in the water as the yank one and your Canadian bill of rights. And by the way, everything is detailed in our system, yours and the yanks system is a derivative of ours.
  • 13 62
flag mnorris122 (May 13, 2014 at 4:28) (Below Threshold)
 And if british police THINK someone's a terrorist, but they're not really sure, they're still allowed to detain that person for 28 days. Tell me that's not fucked up
  • 28 3
 When people blow up buses in a capital city, s**t starts to get real!

anyhoo, this dude aside bike thieves suck hairy ballsac. out.
  • 32 7
 Mnorris, you can get jailed for ten years in Canada for wearing a mask at a protest.... Or do you still falsely believe Canadians are free? in fact as far as criminal governments go, yours is right up there with ours, the yanks and the Aussies.
  • 4 49
flag mnorris122 (May 13, 2014 at 4:44) (Below Threshold)
 Actually you can be jailed 10 years for wearing a mask at a riot or unlawful assembly. Big difference between a riot and a protest. And that's only after you've been arrested, allowed to lawyer up, had a fair trial, and been found guilty
  • 24 1
 I worked for years in the criminal justice system and it would make all you sick how horribly it fails. It favors the criminal not the victims. It truly is disgusting
  • 14 1
 What the f*ck is an unlawful assembly? Complete bs that's what. As for the riot thing, it becomes a riot when either the government is so corrupt the people don't know what else to do, or more commonly the plain clothes police turn up and start the riot. They've been caught doing this countless times. As for 'lawyer up' you instantly become a ward of the court so forget your fair trial.. The prosecution and the court are the same entity.
  • 11 43
flag triggstar (May 13, 2014 at 4:59) (Below Threshold)
 I kinda like stolen bikes...they are cheap as chips at the police auctions waheyyyy
  • 36 49
flag digthehills (May 13, 2014 at 5:08) (Below Threshold)
 @mnorris122 ...DID YOU ACTUALLY REFER TO AMERICA/CANADA AS THE CIVILIZED WORLD??????... How are those relaxed gun laws over there these days?? Still selling school kids deadly weapons at walmart???
  • 14 0
 Not that i really care, the 28 day day detention law lapsed 3 years ago. We may as well get our facts straight if we're going to have a barney
  • 12 4
 In fairness to Norris the gun problem in Canada cannot be compared to the one in the US, but yeah I spotted his reference to the civilised world, very amusing. Make mine a double fluoride please barman...
  • 10 13
 hahaha nice, yeah I don't think canada has as big a problem but that side of the world is def not the civilized side
  • 9 0
 There is a difference between being proven guilty and actually being guilty. If the evidence does not own up to a certain standard a person can not be convicted, but the common sence tell us he's guilty, hence why we as a people judge a person who's not convicted for any crime.
  • 41 2
 Yes because we all know the justice system is infallible and never lets guilty men go... dude admitted to buying stuff that he knew was super cheap on craigslist, purposely made multiple accounts on PB from different countries, purposely disposed of the only traceable items (the frames), and was still caught with known stolen bike parts. Does that sound like an innocent family man to you? The only reason he went free is because of a TECHNICALITY. This pisses me off and it should piss you off also. The police said this dude knew exactly what he was selling and how much to sell them for, where to buy them from and when he got caught, all of a sudden he's a dumbass. Yeah, that makes complete sense. If you want to rely on a broken justice system to provide justice, go ahead but this scumbag is obviously taking advantage of fellow riders who have had their shit jacked. I really hope someone posts this guy's info. up... internet mob seems appropriate here.
  • 9 0
 Well said Scott. Far too often we rely on 'but he wasn't proven guilty'. When we all know what's going on here.
  • 21 0
 He probably bunged the judge a nice pair of fox 40s to go free Wink
  • 10 0
 I have lost bikes and I'm will never get over it(TT). Hope someone burns!
  • 7 1
 What a load of bollocks
  • 3 6
 Care to elaborate on your intelligent biological observation? Obviously, your useful input is satisfactory without any details.
  • 28 0
 The burden of proof is on the prosecution to protect YOU. The standard of proof is beyond a reasonable doubt to protect YOU. The rules pertaining to admissibility of evidence are there to protect YOU. And your siblings, your children and your partners for that matter. Yeah, unfortunately too often guilty people get off, but in a system that relies on fallible human agents to be investigators, prosecutors, judges and juries, and where an individual comes up against a monolithic state that's infinitely more resourced then him, it is so important that he gets the benefit of the doubt and that the proof standard is so high. Guilty peeps getting off is an unfortunate side effect of an imperfections system. But no system can be perfect when it's made up of imperfect actors. Those of you claiming that our justice systems are flawed have clearly never been on the reviewing end of a prosecution as an innocent party. If you had you'd be singing a different tune
  • 2 0
 Apologies for my phone's auto correct. But you get the gist
  • 14 0
 We should all become Pinkbike Vigilantes and just beat the sh*t out of all the bike thiefs!
  • 2 1
 This is a massive topic, involving different forms of law, who you really are, how we ended up like this and the true purpose of legislation and the UCC. You make valid points and whilst it was me that tempted you to elaborate I'm pretty sure your comment isn't aimed at something I've said. But the biggest flaw in this whole topic, and what makes it a deep one, is most people's presumption that all law is just law. For example, we started out in a discussion about what is a true crime, theft, where you have an injured party. But we ventured into something else when discussing legislation, which is in fact contract law.. but hey, they don't want everyone to know that, for obvious reasons.
  • 1 0
 @Keskiyo you meant liars
  • 8 20
flag dchill (May 13, 2014 at 6:33) (Below Threshold)
 The biggest flaw is the ultra liberal pansies crying the justice system is corrupt.
  • 11 2
 surely the biggest flaw is the "pansies" who dont dare to cry about the corrupt justice system?
  • 5 0
 You don't have a Scooby do you? Maybe you like the idea of privately run prisons and napoleonic law? If you think the essence of the entire legal system isn't corrupt then you sir haven't been paying attention.
  • 5 2
 Bluumax... Legend! I wish I'd thought of that. Well said. The problem is definitely those who think 'everything is fine and as long as just jump through whatever hoops the boss says to I'll be fine'. The human race is one step from being a domesticated species, where the offspring are born with no fight, no resistance. And then it really is game over.
  • 8 0
 Lol politics... Good way to get people bent out of shape....
  • 6 1
 I'd say if the guy is indeed innocent then we'll all hear from him in the forums. If I was pinched for stealing from my biking brothers the first thing I'd do is major damage control. If I was innocent. I've bought stuff before and questioned it's origin, and have a friend who buys bikes and parts them out all the time on PB. Plus he rotates through like 4 or 5 bikes a year. Most of the stuff he buys is from guys in our extended riding group so I know none of it's stolen. But if you looked at his selling history it could certainly appear like he's doing the same thing as this guy. I'm inclined to say this guy won't be checking in with us though. Multiple accounts and what not. He obviously didn't want to get noticed. I know he's gonna read this so let's invite him to speak his peace if he's indeed innocent.
  • 3 1
 I would say our biggest flaw, is that we allow small details to pollute the bigger meaning, this guy bought stuff full knowing it was stolen, He is not a good faith purchaser, punishment should be to the extent of the laws capabilities.
  • 6 1
 Justice systems aside, this guy knew this stuff was stolen and didnt care. Figured hed make some cash. No we cant prove it but i hope he reads this article and these comments and goes to sleep tonight knowing that he is SCUM. Also i really doubt hell keep at it now. I bet the wife was livid.
  • 3 1
 Creberfilms, agree with you. But you have definitely never lived in Latinamerica. Canadian police did its job. Mexican police would beat you up for denouncing, while they patty the rober in the back. Yes it sucks he got away, Pinkbike should ban the guy from the site, and keep a look out for him, because even banned he might just mask a new ip. But around here in the third world things are well... they suck even more, you get your bike stolen or anything you will never get it back, and literally if you denounce and they find the guy, at the end you might not press charges out of fear..
  • 2 6
flag metong (May 13, 2014 at 7:16) (Below Threshold)
 youtu.be/8FzkYR6VCfY MUST WATCH......ITS THAT SEASON!!!!!!!!!!!!
  • 17 1
 This is why I hate pinkbike. The comments turn from about bike thieves to shitting on other countries. Go on a political forum if you want to talk politics. @Mnorris122 the American bill of rights were based off the Brits so there's that and @digthehills America and Canada are pretty civilized, I'm not gonna argue about gunlaws
  • 8 0
 Making a country civilized or not. This country bashing is dumb as he'll. we are all mountain bikers upset about this thief and want to see justice, but then we turn on eachother.
  • 13 0
 Man, every country is fucked in its own way. Mine included. As much as I love Canada, it constantly makes me shake my head. But so do all the rest of the countries. We all make compromises for money that lead to less than awesome outcomes. This is reality.
  • 3 2
 I am down for that lets beat the crap outa this guy! On a a side not the article says that the only traceable item on a bike is the frame. That is not true actually your fork and rear shock should have a serial number and in allot of cases especially on sram's newer product's small items such as shifters and derailleurs will have them too. I Hope that all manufacturers will start putting serial numbers on small items soon it will make tracking these kinda scum bags easier. I would recommend that everyone get serial numbers off every single part you can on your bike. Maybee even go to your local bike shop and have them help you find all the ones that are on your bike.
  • 2 3
 Someone should inform us who this guy really is - if the law won't help to publicise the shit he does, then the public needs to do it. Do not think for a second its his hobby - unless you read that his hobby is moving stolen bikes and he has a supplier.
  • 13 2
 Yes, Come on, Pinkbike. Give me an address. I'm sure the house is somewhere right around mine. I need to know. For, errr, science.
  • 4 4
 @digthehills - sorry, did someone from Northern Ireland just make a blanket statement about other countries being uncivilized? Recent history must not be your strongest subject, huh?
  • 7 2
 On pinkbike you're guilty until proven innocent
  • 3 2
 Jonny, it's not unreasonable for people to assume this guy is completely guilty. He almost certainly is. In other places in the world he would have almost certainly been charged with possession of stolen goods. Due process, the burden of proof being on the prosecution and prosecutorial discretion are all incredibly important for a functioning justice system, but that doesn't mean that individuals have to blindly trust that an obviously guilty person is innocent until they are convicted. That's just silly.
  • 7 4
 Lets do it 3rd world style, cut off limbs!
  • 5 1
 With mountain bikes bikes approaching the 10K mark and wheels alone in the 3K value there needs to be more steps taken to protect the consumer. Stiffer penalties against bike theft, should be automatic grand theft felony with jail time. Bike manufactures could also do more to make every item completely traceable could be a huge selling point especially buying high end components and frames. p.s. violence is not the answer, Be like Tom, use your brains and more thieves and people like this will get caught
  • 8 2
 When I went to Gambia (in West Africa) I was amazed at the effectiveness of their self policing. If somebody steals from you, you find out who it was and cut off their hand. No tax dollars wasted.


Personally I think his guy needs to lose a hand and take a good slap in the face... with a brick.
  • 2 1
 Serial numbering more parts would be great, particularly for higher end parts - but that relies on the consumer to retain documents/register the parts and then report them stolen to shops/manufacturers/police. Another sorely missing item is a good, in-frame concealable low-jack style tracker. Most frames have nooks where something about the size of 2 AA batteries could be hidden, and non-rechargable batteries can last years and years. Unfortunately right now all we have are obvious external devices that all but the very dumbest of thieves would just take off and discard.

Stiffer penalties may sound great, but they're only as good as the degree to which they're enforced. There's very little appetite in most places in the world to house people for extended periods of time for passive theft, no matter how valuable the item is.
  • 1 2
 Great job, if you could now do Adam Rees from Bournemouth that would be a great help - the little fuckas took loads of money on scams
  • 3 0
 I use a data tag in my bike frame....50quid and then when it gets robbed report to the police and data tag switch the device on and the po po can trace like a tracker.costs 100quid to turn it on.and it's only the size of a grain of rice.happy days
  • 2 0
 Triggstar, can you share a link? I'm at the site for a UK company called Datatag, but they don't have a tracking/locating device for bikes like what you're describing.
  • 1 2
 My bad...iv just read through it,it's not tracker its just an identity chip....but it cost me 50 quid still....I think it's thatcham that does the tracking device but it's pricey.the data tag is with the police but just registering your bike ain't good enough anymore it needs to be tracked but the police say its a 65% better chance of getting it back with a data tag as the bike always has something distinctive about it then,unique as the copper said....but at a near 1k price tag for tracking its kinda pointless unless you've got a high end bike.
  • 3 5
 Those who wish not to consider politics (and hide from true grown up responsiblity) should rename it 'my life'. Point in case, you ride in forests and woodland right. For now. And maybe for a while. But what about your kids? Because the UN agenda is to steadily decrease access to these places, no conspiracy, all available to read in a government document. Certainly in the UK (maybe someone clued up stateside can fill us in on your situation) your woodlands are presently being sold off by your government to private hands. Whilst they assure you this won't affect you, this is a smokescreen, because the truth is laid out in black and white. Don't expect your government to tell you the truth or even the important bit. A flick through some freedom of information requests will confirm this. So if you're over the age of spunking in your pants over the lingerie section of a catalogue then maybe you should take just a little interest in politics. Because rest assured, it's taking a huge interest in you.
  • 5 0
 Idea of "f*ck somebody's life up" on your own is beyond dangerous and stupid. It is criminal.
  • 1 3
 Here here Axxe.
  • 4 2
 If the guy is innocent, why would he register multiple accounts on Pinkbike to sell his legitimate goods? I know this isn't proof of his guilt or anything, just pointing it out.
  • 1 4
 axxe- duh, that's why you get some nerd who goes on 4chan and you have that person post his personal info. up Wink . PB could be held liable if a member posted that info. on here but who gives a crap about 4chan? Ruining his life is harsh because it'd also affect his innocent kids and hopefully innocent wife but something like spamming his phone/house with junk would be awesome.
  • 3 4
 Imagine you tyrannical bastards were able to rewrite the laws. This country would be hell!
  • 4 1
 He won't be able to ride after he receives the ASS TAX at jail.
  • 2 6
flag mtbforlife4 (May 13, 2014 at 13:52) (Below Threshold)
 www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FzkYR6VCfY

Just watch it!

Dont keep scrolling!

Do it watch!

Its about stolen bikes!
  • 13 2
 Last night a rat broke into my truck stealing all my tools, wallet, and some extra stuff. This morning I called the cops, and explained what happened, and as I described the equipment stolen, the cop stopped me and said: "wait, does it look like this, etc. etc."??? I said, yeah dude! He told me: " we caught the guy braking someone elses window, we put him in custody, we have your tools, but we had to let him go since there was no eye witness to press charges". So, I went to the station, filed a report, and got all my tools back, the cop told me: "we have everything you said, but the wallet, we'll get him again A.S.A.P, but for now here's a picture of the guy, if you see him, beat the shit out of him, and then call us to put him in custody". Lol this was real, I still can't believe it...
  • 9 1
 ^Shit goes down in Puerto Rico
  • 2 4
 Ha...try watching some of those extremely gruesome mexican video where they cutting off heads with a knife or chainsaw for what amounts to petty theft. ..or the African videos where people are beaten to death or set of fire while they're still alive for what seems like nothing more than gang turf laws while bystanders cheer them on... ha Civilization ...off topic tangent sorry.
  • 1 0
 Lol.... Great vid
  • 1 0
 Thank you for not being an idiot bfe89.
  • 1 0
 Too much blah, blah, blah until it hits home! Rules don't apply to thieves, only to those to obey the rules! Once a thief always a thief!
  • 5 8
 hey hey now...thats the amernicans not us. We Canadians aren't obsessed with having the right to use a high powered assualt rifle to kill a deer.
  • 5 2
 We need Judge Dredd in these dark times.
  • 2 4
 Fuc his family, dudes a piece of scum and any seeds he got on this earth is scum to. Wife obviously knew what was going on. Think about all the kids that washed dishes or flipped burgers for months to buy these bikes. They should take his shit under proceeds of crime.
  • 2 6
flag Axxe (May 13, 2014 at 17:18) (Below Threshold)
 Obviously knew? Assume much? Bought stuff on Craigslist and resold for profit. Boo-hoo, lets crucify him. Criminals are those who did not pay those burger flipping kids a living wage. Or those who mark up those bikes triple, without adding anything but sleek marketing.
  • 1 4
 Is it lonely up there on your soapbox Axxe?
  • 2 2
 getting a little off topic ---

ha ha --- yeah, it sorta gets my goat a little that the motocross industry sells products that are waaaaay the F bigger, heavier, more complicated can withstand waaay more abuse than bicycles products and yet -- the cost to us consumers is about the same..(generally speaking it is). I often buy motocross branded fork oils and other items from the local motorcycle store instead of our bicycles wholesalers.
  • 3 4
 @K-Brown - you understand that hunting rifles are more powerful than assault rifles, right? Of course you don't, but please, don't let the facts stop you.
  • 4 3
 for protection

Shot guns rules!!!

just shoot in the general area --- you'll hit your target (bad guy).

and I'm not sure there's a bad guy in the world who doesn't know the sound of that loud scchhhhhchick!!! when you arm a shot gun
  • 3 5
 You relize you can get ar15s in the same calibre as a hunting rifle.Of course you don't, but please, don't let the facts stop you. And paying kids a livivng wage to flip burgers is the most ridiculous thing ive ever heard. It takes no skill, isn't hard work, and carries very little responsiblity.
  • 4 3
 An 'assault rifle', the term he used, is by definition a carbine length, select fire rifle chambered in an intermediate cartridge, right? If it was chambered in a cartridge powerful enough to kill a deer it would not, by definition, be an assault rifle. But like I said, don't let the facts stop you... I generally assume that people who can't spell "realize" don't generally realize much at all.
  • 3 3
 please, can we all get back to how badly this guy deserves to get repeatedly tire tapped in the nuts. maybe we can make that a feature, upside down blow up doll tire taps.. if that doesnt change the subject off guns and politics i dont know what will.
  • 4 3
 you can kill a deer (humanely even) with a .223, pretty much the premier "assult rifle" cartridge. a guns a gun.
  • 1 2
 You're being intentionally semantic in the name of nothing. My original point was that assault rifles are less powerful than hunting rifles used for deer - that's correct. Your contention that you can kill a deer if you want to with a .223 is technically correct, but it doesn't disprove anything I said and it's completely asinine and frankly cruel. A quick Google search (I'm not a hunter) indicates .243 is the smallest cartridge one should use, and most legal jurisdictions call for larger ones.

Oh, and 5.56 Nato is "the premier" assault rifle cartridge, the .223's parent cartridge. Dingus.
  • 4 3
 I vote for a reflexive and irrational mob to be assembled forthwith.
  • 3 7
flag KUNTHER (May 13, 2014 at 18:09) (Below Threshold)
 I love my guns!!!!! MURICA.
  • 2 5
 In Soviet Russia, guns love you.
  • 2 3
 this man should be held down at the bottom of a 10ft huck to flat, so that his nuts are right were the rear tire lands, and we should all run him overSmile
  • 1 1
 That's called getting it done eh!
  • 1 0
 wow the rcmp actually did something. gotta see catch this story in the Vancouver Sun.
  • 1 1
 Don't be ignorant of Canada's history...the Japanese in WWII
  • 2 5
 What about the Japanese and WW2. They were barbaric, slaughtered the Chinese. Did senseless surgery without any anesthesia, brutally killed POWs, killed their own children instead of surrendering to allied forces.
  • 2 3
 And how is this relevant to bikes, and bike thief's again?
  • 2 2
 How is the comment above mine revelent?
  • 4 0
 I'm going back to the Emilly Batty thread. This one lost its steam.
  • 2 0
 Mnorris122 is our guy obviously.... I mean just look at the amount of negative props he has! I'm joking......
  • 3 0
 speaking of scam artists check this guy out pinkbike.

www.pinkbike.com/u/gregflint

bastard nearly got me i wanted that genius bad.

if you copy the image url from any of the images in his trek 9.6 ad and do a reverse google image search you will find an ad in the UK where this scammer got the pictures from. not really sure how his scam would work though. to automatically have access to paypal money dont you need to have a verified account meaning paypal has your banking information?
  • 2 0
 also i called his phone number and he didnt answer. says he is in virginia but it was a minnesota number
  • 1 0
 Yeah well, Civilisation is kind of overrated anyhow.
  • 1 3
 $10,000 bikes are a joke and anyone who buys them is a moron who deserves to have their bike stolen, they're the ones who make manufacturers think it's okay to charge those kind of prices.
  • 130 2
 "he looks like a regular guy".............. the police are aware these guys dont walk around dressed like the ham-burglar right?
  • 26 0
 usually bike thieves are the lowest of the low, not businessmen with a nice house and family
  • 3 0
 ba dum tisss!
  • 24 10
 Or he didnt know thief comes in white these days.
  • 36 3
 The proper thieves speak to you from TV screens! Hear hear!
  • 16 1
 lol Hamburglar
  • 6 1
 Robble-robble
  • 2 0
 there are two bikes thieves, the lowest of the low, and then the business man (as above story points out). This guy only has 20'000 worth of gear on him, what no one knows is for how long and how much money $$$$ he has already made from stolen shit!!!

I know, because I had a bike stolen - was suspected to be a friend I went to high school with, but get this, he was a guy who didn't even have to work, he had his parents bankrolling his lifestyle.... boats trucks sleds... and bikes. Two years later I stumbled along a friend of his from high school who was riding my bike!!!! And he seemed nervous when I was asking him where he got it. We were going to go camping, and drink some beers - which is when I was going to explain to him its my bike - but then he split!! His girlfriend told me the next time I saw her ( her and I were friends) that she thought it was sketchy what her boyfriend was up to -> both of them were moving bikes!!!
And for a lot of $$$$

Warn a bro -> there is big business in bikes, and not selling them from a bike shop.
  • 2 1
 maz-o, you might be right. hovewer, i know some people that love to collect bike parts. it might be the case that some people collect bikes in any possible way not giving a f*ck that it's an extremely sad experience for others. personally, i ended up in a similar situation to this one (i think). maybe one day i'll get my bike back from a guy that was discovored to have tens of stolen bikes.
  • 1 0
 sad story iBeaver. That fact that it was a mate must make it waaayyyyy harder.
  • 1 0
 Chill out, y'all. There's probably more to the story than it seems, which is why witch hunts are bad.
  • 1 0
 ...All property is theft....
  • 2 1
 A random, positive interrupter to dumb political cliches: Steve Peat - what a legend Big Grin
  • 65 0
 This is why I spoon with my bike... I know, I need a lady
  • 25 0
 sounds like you've got your priorities the right way round
  • 8 5
 Nah, a bike is not going to cook you dinner...
  • 22 0
 but it will never say no when you want a ride Wink
  • 4 1
 If only your bike could make you a sandwich!
  • 7 0
 I introduce every girl to my bike as my girlfriend, and if they have anything to say about it, they get the boot!
  • 5 0
 I love my girl but my bike doesn't care if I ride other bikes...
  • 2 0
 My bike IS my girl... she's always there for me, no matter how much money i put into her, I always know where she is, and no matter how much i ride her, she never says no
  • 1 2
 Guess you can also use lube and your right hand if that's what you're into...
  • 2 0
 Only as long as it's Rock n Roll Gold
  • 32 1
 Well done pinkbike and vancouver police. Maybe the Australian police should take note. It seems they always turn a blind eye when shit happens saying its not a priority. Had my bikes stolen a few months back and the fuzz didnt do shit, even when the guy was seen riding my knolly podium around town just 2 days later.
  • 10 0
 Ill second you on that mate. had my bike stolen a couple of weeks ago. had video evidence and all, handed it into the police and the couldn't have cared less.
  • 8 23
flag joks1991 (May 13, 2014 at 0:51) (Below Threshold)
 lol if your 100 % sure thats your biek kick the mans ass and take the bike . i did wen some ashole stolen my bike after weak soo i soo my bike.100% was sure the code ewen was on frame.. iwaited wen dude wack ou unchain bike and kick his ass.. and went off i dotn cafe f*ck ppl whos stels bike.
  • 63 0
 I have no clue what you just said.
  • 15 0
 I hear that in Germany you can sue the police if they don't do their job. Sounds great.

Can a German verify this?
  • 11 0
 You can sue the police anywhere bud.
  • 5 1
 1 1/5 year ago i had my bike stoles and never found it again, but if ive seen the guy i would kick his ass.....
  • 16 0
 Some years ago my moms bike was stolen.
A couple days later she saw it standing in front of a house nearby, in a row with other bikes (all for sale, but without a sign).
I went there and took the bike back and then called the cops.
They told me they could not do anything: no time.
And to make things even better, they told me I had committed a crime by stealing the bike back!
As the police woman was explaining that they would not come after me, I hung up the phone.
Don't want to be arrested for disrespecting a cop (they do have time for that).

I thought these things only happened in the Netherlands.
But judging the comments, it happens everywhere.
Weird world.
  • 3 0
 IntoTheEverflow: Dude, here in Finland is the same....Nobody do anything.
  • 10 0
 So when one of you rocket scientist buys your next used bike, if someone just comes up to you and starts beating on you, don't fight back because they may be in the right cause you stole their bike.
  • 5 0
 Same in Poland. Two of my commuters have been stolen and police just put the case into a drawer. And we all are paying taxes for this exclusive service of preparing paper about stolen bike and putting it deep in the ass.
  • 2 0
 Can't agree with you more mate. Aussie police spend all there time looking under hoods of cars for the slightest modifications...
  • 1 0
 I understand your logical sarcasm... They would not have even asked questions, just committed a vicious venomous attack against someone (who happens to have a (very) similar Bike to the one that was (allegedly) stolen) - I mean, it Could be possible the manufacturer/builder assembled a few 'identical' models - or the rider actually legally purchased it from a police auction, pawn shop, private citizen, etc., VIN may have never been reported - or an acquaintance just 'recovered' your bike (after recognizing it somewhere) and was bringing it to their house until they could contact you - or 'Something' YOU Do Not Understand, Yet... (Perhaps, Now, they will become much more pragmatic...?)
"I understand!" (that passion about a personal 'trespass', but do not (fully) agree...) [reversing Chris Rock's classic statement]...
(Many, maybe even Most) Humans, left to their own feelings and intellect, can easily make things Worse... The 'Justice' System seems to be designed to 'cool' things down, systematically, helping to avoid greater mayhem [Just-Ice]...
Yet, as mentioned above, the Just-Ice System cannot (ever) be 'Perfect' if,
a) designed and operated by imperfect humans... Or
b) evaluated by imperfect humans (who happen to be emotionally involved)...
Think it though before acting upon impulses... (including speech, writing, text and type...)
I Try... (and sometimes Succeed...)
  • 32 1
 there's a special place in Hell for ppl like these. a place where they go down the Val Di Sole and Andorra downhill track put toghether, on an hardtail, without saddle, without brakes, again, and again, and again.
  • 5 1
 Haha. What about on rollerblades? Proper punishment. Shame too!
  • 3 1
 now now we all have our fantasies....
  • 8 1
 Make em ride those tracks with scooters. Bikes are too good for them!
  • 5 0
 As long as they're clipped in with super tight cleats. I'd pay good money to watch that
  • 3 2
 BURN THE WITCH BURN THEM!!!!!!
  • 12 0
 I have to say at this point that pinkbike banter and comments is way funnier than facebooks equivelant. Which says to me that mountain bikers are generally funnier than the public at large. Big Grin Well done people. 68% of imaginary statistitions state that 88% of mountain bikers are approximately 40% funnier than joe public. Probably. Haha imagine if your name was Joe Public! Somebody must know one..
  • 1 0
 You forgot without a helmet or protection.
  • 5 0
 Or they could just go down the whoops in Cairns!...too soon?
  • 1 0
 Never. Good lad.
  • 1 0
 I dunno, I road Stickter Gnar at Blackrock on a hardtail without a saddle and had a damn good time of it. I broke my seatpost near the top so I didn't really have any other option.
  • 16 0
 Two things spring to mind:
1) I will not hesitate to use some real friggin harsh methods to protect my property (high voltage chains are one option)
2) Wouldn't it make huge amout of difference if everyone started using UV pens to at least mark your postcode on all components possible (they use it UK quite a bit for crime prevention) so then when situation like this occurs you can prove that all the 'untraceable' components are in fact traceable to certain extent?
Anyways... What a bastard!
  • 3 0
 An engraving pen works too, and is VERY permanent.
  • 15 0
 So now, if I was PB, I'd be having a look at multiple accounts on the one IP address, especially if the accounts are shown to be in different parts of the country/world.

If there's one thing that working on databases for twenty years has taught me, it is 'Where there is smoke there is fire' - if you find an anomoly, look harder and you will find many more.
  • 5 0
 That thing made me wonder why he was released, someone setting up multiple accounts in different parts of the world is obviously trying not to be caught for something...
  • 2 1
 jissse - totally agree. Where there's smoke there's fire.
  • 2 0
 i think it probably falls under circumstantial evidence, something any halfway competent lawyer would have no problem getting rid of
  • 2 0
 I agree.. If you have multiple accounts under different parts of the world, but all with the same IP, youre probably doing something youre not supposed to.

Why would one person need more than one account to begin with? unless youre someone who owns a shop/company, you shouldnt need more than 2 accounts. (personal and business)
  • 1 0
 I use multiple accounts for certain social media sites. One that is real and one dummy account for all the junk such as entering contests without dealing with the associated onslaught of promotional spam that comes with it. This guys usage of multiple accounts is certainly more sinister...
  • 1 0
 you do raise a valid point about the 'junk'.. although fb, twitter, ig, etc are not the same thing as PB. if you dont own a shop or a company, there is no good reason (that i can think of) for you having more than one PB acct.
  • 1 0
 agreed. Selling stuff from multiple accounts is very shady.
  • 15 0
 Nice work Pinkbike. It would have been easy when the request came in for the IP addys to say I'm too busy and get on with posting stories, thanks for doing the right thing and helping out!
  • 19 1
 Although maybe you should have sent his address to Dexter instead of the police? Smile
  • 5 8
 Awww, bless. Dexters not real bud. Sorry to break it to you.
  • 5 0
 ^lies.
  • 2 0
 I'm happy to take those negs from upset dexter geeks, because it tee'd up ozziefish for something truly funny. Smile
  • 14 0
 Fact of the matter is: If I am not RIDING my bike. It is inside my house. If we have to grab dinner, it's drive through - OR we drop the bikes off at home and go eat.

Part of the problem is bike owners - treating their $2000+ investments like they are worth much less. Between my bike, and the wifes - we have $12,000 tied up in them.

Now imagine, putting a briefcase on the back of your vehicle - with a sticker on it that clearly said ($3,000 inside). The briefcase was colourful, and shiny. Better yet, it's clear so you can see the cash inside. Only the briefcase has a serial number.
Now put a thin cable lock around it. Go for dinner. Anywhere you choose. How long is it going to be there?

The biggest part of prevention is thought, and protection.
  • 2 0
 That is why all my bikes are chained even inside my home with a motorcycle type lock. It will prevent someone breaking into my house and just rolling the bikes out
  • 1 0
 Fair enough, but in that instance my house insurance will not only cover the bikes.... but my broken door/ glass/ etc too.

If i'm paying my deductible to repair my home, i'd like a pair of new bikes too.
  • 2 0
 same here. DH rig and Enduro inside the apartment. and i live in a small loft, so basically i sleep in the same room where my bikes are.
  • 2 0
 @Bruccio us too. We are in an 893 sq/ft loft, and we have two high end Cannondale's living with us. As an FYI - these work killer... www.amazon.ca/RAD-Cycle-Products-Bike-Hoist/dp/B000PEURIQ I've always been super interested in these too: www.amazon.com/Thule-872xt-BSTK2-Bike-Stacker/dp/B001PQVOOY/ref=sr_1_13?s=cycling&ie=UTF8&qid=1400250066&sr=1-13
  • 1 0
 good hint bro. really gotta check this. thanks
  • 13 0
 hi everyone, i am from Kosovo and lot's of stolen bikes come in here. I actually tried to find people when i saw a really good bike with cheap price. Never could find anyone but here is a web : www.merrjep.com go to filters "bicikleta" (you can change language up in the right, from google) and there are plenty in there you might find something friends bike or yours, and if you find your bike msg me on private and i'll figure something out, i can call the cops or something. I'll help out. Just please you need to make sure that is your bike.

Cheers
  • 1 0
 I've been fortunate enough not to have had a bike stolen, but I really appreciate what you're doing. Thank you.
  • 14 1
 What is always fascinating for me is their profits, which are pointing out pretty clearly that such activity is relatively non-effective source of income while doing a lot of damage. Once I watched a documentary about 3 guys doing car-sale scams on ebay. They were working their aXXes off, mainly with making new accounts and documents, travelling to different cities to make IP adress untraceable. They were ending up getting "salary" slightly higher that what they would get from a decent job. If they were to invest same motivation in any job they'd be way better off. I can only assume that all that was taking enormous amounts of his time. What a low-life
  • 1 0
 This guy is a mountain biker too. I would feel like an absolute fuckin worthless bellend handling stolen bikes.

Causes a lot of financial cost, pain and inconvenience to a lot of people so that you can make a small amount of money for yourself and some other low life criminals.

You'd have to be a huge a*shole
  • 1 0
 Same sh*t trying to sell a bike. People waste so much time and talent into trying to do some kinda petty pay-pal scam. It's just as funny (laughing at them) as annoying because they probably aren't making as much for their time compared to a real job. And that's without the risks.
  • 1 0
 what a good point, i wonder the same thing. judging by the post, my guess is the mortgage made him do it. the fact these components sell for a substantial amount would only be known by a mountain biker, so it stands to reason he would be 'one of us'.
  • 11 0
 There's a special place in hell just for bike thieves.
  • 4 1
 ...and he will see it for sure :-)
  • 7 0
 I've had two bikes stolen in the last six years. The first was clipped off a roof rack (cut the rack) midday in Victoria and the second was pulled out of the back of a jeep (broke the lock on the back hatch) in downtown Kelowna at dinnertime. The worst. In both cases when I reported the bikes stolen the officers chuckled at my chances of getting them back... even though the value of both bikes was more than some of the cars they likely search out with more fervor (though I can understand that cars may be easier to find). However, the real emotion wasn't around the loss of financial value but rather what each bike represented in terms of the pure joy of riding they represented, the pride in building them up, speccing them just right to match features of riding I enjoyed and the amount of work put into maintaining the bike... now someone else just has it... with no struggle or connection...and likely no use. Hard not to get angry. Wish there was a way this guy would be forced to give up the parts and could be found guilty (if he is in fact guilty...which it sounds like he is). If there was a set of gold chris king iso hubs can I have them back please?
  • 1 0
 Kelowna lots of bikes get stolen if they high end the scums what live in this town is like litter on the streets...Thieves everywhere... Own a high end bike in this town lock it up it to your rack don't even trust it in your yard well your inside for more then a second lol...
  • 6 0
 I'm surprised that none of the other bikes he had didn't have their serial numbers listed in a stolen bikes database. I realize that he was selling parts, not frames or whole bikes, but it sounds as if he had lots of frames in the closet. List your bikes at places like this:

www.stolenbicycleregistry.com
www.nationalbikeregistry.com
  • 12 0
 on a totally unrelated note, 1995 called and wants their website design back.
  • 2 0
 I had both bikes stolen OUT OF MY HOUSE. Serial numbers would have been nice but the police didn't care so much about those as much as they did about the color/make/model. While it can't hurt to register your bike at those places the best thing to do is have a few good photos and a parts description. Both of my bikes were found and returned within a month.
  • 4 0
 And you live *where* in smallville, USA? I've never heard of anyone getting their bikes back in any city of more than 20,000 people...
  • 2 0
 WAddict, I live in Grand Junction, CO, city of ~60k, valley population of ~150k, so small'ish. Obviously it was more luck than anything, I had already started the homeowners insurance claim and was looking forward to the prospect of replacing two nice bikes with two brand new nice bikes. Apparently when tweakers steal your bikes and drive around with a broken ass plate-less trailer full of stolen goods, expired tags on the car and erratic driving the police tend to take notice.
  • 1 0
 Well, it was nice that they helped you out in that way (by being stupid and attracting attention). I'd say you're one of the luckier ones then.
  • 1 0
 I had my Nomad stolen last year and it was the photos AND the serial number that got it back. The photos to alert bike shops and folks around town to keep an eye out for it, and the serial number to confirm with the police that it was my bike if it was ever found, since sometimes parts are stripped, bike is rattle-canned, etc. I actually DID get my bike back... it was noticed by a local bike shop employee who had seen the PHOTOS and tracked the dude until the police arrived.. but it was the SERIAL number that proved it was mine to the police (oh and the fact that I basically started crying when I saw it at the police station).

The pictures were absolutely necessary for insurance claim purposes. The bike was worth a lot because it was all custom, so photos along with receipts from everything (which I didn't totally have) can prove the true value of the product... otherwise they will sometimes go for the lowest MSRP for that particular model - depreciation by how many years old it is... even if parts are newer.

Now that I live in North Vancouver, I am super paranoid and have all of my shit documented and locked up at all times. There is quite a lot of thievery in these parts... but I am glad they got this a*shole.
  • 9 0
 I am not saying that I can make this guy disappear, but yes, I can make him disappear.
  • 6 0
 Sad! Not enough evidence for a charge of possession of stolen property over $5,000.00? The one bike from Endless biking (Rocky Element with XTR) alone would have a replacement value over $5,000.00. Then you have the "closet full of bike frames" (and it looked like there were at least a few other complete bikes) - which you could find owners of - maybe even just a couple. Did they even try before giving the stuff back? I didn't see a notice anywhere (could have posted a list of frames on Pinkbike - but without size and color so you don't get 50 people claiming it's theirs), maybe one of my bikes was included - sad to see what little effort was done here. But I don't think you need to do all that - the one stolen bike with all the other parts, the volume of transactions - "beyond a reasonable doubt" isn't an impossible burden without a confession. Sometimes you need to take a stand and send a message. You can't win if you don't risk losing.
  • 2 0
 could not of said it any better, ^
  • 1 1
 If only the onus was on the accused to prove himself innocent beyond a reasonable doubt.
  • 5 0
 Everything that is worth more than 50 bucks should have a barcode lasered on it. Item then needs to be registered to a database after purchase with a pin delivered with the product, smartphones scan barcodes, easily checked if product is stolen or not. If you scan stranger barcodes it does not tell you any data, just if it is ok or the status is stolen. If the barcode is removed the item is dodgy. If it gets sold, seller receives pin and changes registration to his name. If police finds something suspicious, they can find the owner in less than one minute.
  • 5 2
 I don't want barcodes all over my bike.
  • 5 0
 could be hidden on the insides of fork lowers and on the bottom side of bars and stems etc.
  • 6 0
 Doesn't have to be a barcode just an etched in number and then you have to pre register everything via the company is a great idea most bikers think of this and it should be done.
  • 1 0
 That is a good idea, and I would be on board with that. I'm just a huge fan of looks, as I am sure many PB'ers are, and just wouldn't want to have something noticeable all the time. I would probably end up taking the barcodes off anyway, then what? I am a thief? haha. Something needs to be done though. Yeah, an etched serial # would be awesome.
  • 1 0
 My ck hubs have s/n's, so do my boxxers and so does my frame... why not the crank, shifters, and derailleurs?
  • 3 0
 problem is nobody WRITES shit down anymore, not even their frame serial #s. Oh sure a business will put it on the receipt when you buy the bike, but the average consumer won't then save that receipt or put the serial # into a file anywhere.
  • 2 0
 I took photos of all my parts and serial numbers and uploaded them to my dropbox. I agree about paper receipts. They get lost. I've bought parts and bikes off pinkbike, but I would never buy something sight unseen. I go see the person selling the stuff face to face. At the very least, if something goes bad and I end up with stolen parts, I know what they look like.
  • 5 0
 Multiple accounts on Pb and the simple fact no one has $20,000 worth of stolen merchandise in their garage and doesn't know its stolen should have ended this guy in the clanger
  • 12 0
 Right. Why would an innocent person need multiple accounts?

Answer: they wouldn't.
  • 4 3
 There are laws and procedures necessary so that we don't burn women for witchcraft. Such situations as above are sad yet normal symptoms of an insitution holding a social system in tact. The only reason we are btchn about them is because we do not see the big picture of what they do. The only solution is to deal with the guy yourself, and there are surely painful ways allowing you to avoid justice system.
  • 3 1
 Well said Waki. Without that insitution, the social system would fall into an anarchical system of mob justice. While this situation is very frustrating and it appears obvious to most that this guy has a lot to hide, without proper evidence linking him to a crime he cannot be charged or convicted. He is innocent, for now.

But as Robert De Niro said to Gaylord Focker in 'Meet the Parents', "I'm watching you" - hopefully that's what Vancouver RCMP said to this guy with the same finger motion that De Niro used on Focker.
  • 1 0
 The car industry had a huge problem in the Uk in the 1980 and 90's, with cars beeing stolen so often that some models became uninsurable (Ford Escort Cosworth was one that springs to mind). There were lots of government initiatives to stop car crime and the introduction of etched glass and better alarms etc. but the only thing that finally reduced thefts significantly was when manufacturers introduced electronic keys, so cars couldn't be hotwired and driven away. Not sure what could be done in the bicycle industry but it needs significant investment from manufacturers, distributors, shops and the police to tackle it head on. Think we will go through the same learnings of the car industry, improving identification of bike frames and prevention until something new is introduced to tackle it head on.
  • 4 0
 One thing that everyone seems to be missing is that this guy didn't steal anything. He's the middle man who fences ?stolen? bikes and parts them out for a profit. Buy low and sell high/supply and demand - that's the way the system works. His defense is classic reasonable doubt as there are plenty of people who do the same thing with many, many other products - most legit.

Unless we stop buying used bikes/bike parts on PB, Craigslist, EBay.... (myself included) nothings going to change. Hell, I have never bought a new bike or carbon rims. Some ads are easy to spot as suspect/stolen ENVE AM rims laced to CK hubs, like new - $400, but the same ad at $1800 is a good deal. Some crack-heads are easy to spot, but meeting a "normal" looking guy in a public place (or even worse through the mail or courier) for some sweet bike parts is text book on how it's done.

IP address are easy to mask/reroute, so are accounts and user names. The only way to stop this douchebag is to get him on tape buying bikes/parts that he knows are stolen (smoking gun if you will). That and having a police force that actually gives a dam!
  • 2 0
 I should admit I have seen deals on Craigslist that I was very compelled to buy, and part out, leaving only some bits for myself, for profit. I have avoided the temptation, as it was most certainly stolen goods. But if I did not, and was caught, I do not think I would have been prosecuted - I would have had no way of knowing about it being stolen for sure.
  • 1 0
 Climberdave - thing you are missing is the crime they were contemplating charging him with is possession of stolen property - not theft. Is his defence so reasonable? Let me ask you - when's the last time you saw a newer Rocky with full XTR for $1,200.00. Compound that by the pile of frames that had been stripped - and then the cops say no traceable parts - sorry, but what effort, if any did they make to find the owners of the frames? Could have posted some form of list here. I don't buy that his defence would win. Any reasonable person should find him guilty of possession of stolen property over $5k on the Rocky alone - the rest is gravy and just circumstantial evidence of what is so obviously going on here. Face it - they view this as a petty crime and can't be bothered - and as long as they take that view, nothing is going to change.
  • 1 0
 I do not think that any reasonable person would necessarily find him guilty of buying stolen goods beyond a reasonable doubt. People buy stuff on classifieds all the time. Maybe any of you bought a stolen bike on Pinkbike too. And later parted it out.

I am not saying he is innocent. I am saying it is not trivial to prove his guilt in a court of law (which is quite different from a mob on a street).
  • 3 0
 I tell you what.He wish he's stupidity would be a one saving grace. It's only a matter of time before rain falls on your head. You can't sell all this pile of parts you gather and wish its would be Benjamin's franklin Papper you would be putting in your pocket. You know why? apparently your on the spotlight already pumpkin.
How exactly did you manage to get your head so far up your own arse.
  • 9 2
 Name and shame. If he is innocent, he hasn't got anything to hide
  • 11 0
 Of course, there are people who have named and shamed totally innocent people as peadophiles, who then have had their lives ruined by vigilanty citizens ousting them from their communities. If he is named and shamed, you can guarantee his innocence will carry no weight. Better to be civilised about these things old chap.
  • 1 0
 No one knows enough about bike parts to think that these thieves, which are the obvious visible low lifes they mentioned him not being, are selling clean bikes at prices that are mind boggling. Do you think he uses a courier to sell things inside the city to protect his identity when the norm is to avoid shipping and buy in person just because he is shy? He is clearly guilty, but he may still get off with it.
  • 1 0
 He may very well be guilty, but the stance 'if he is innocent, he hasn't got anything to hide' completely washes over the fact that if he is innocent, he has a right to privacy. You can't apply that line in a fair society. Apply it in Russia.
  • 7 2
 A$$ hat. People like him need bad things done to there bung hole for the trauma they've caused the bike owners and most importantly, the bikes.
  • 4 1
 This is becoming a business for thieves now and putting it on the media isn't gonna help stop it..

then the pigs let the guy go with all the stolen s*it...Well if your a thief now your really gonna jump on this business.
he's probably sitting at home still flipping parts and drinking a beer laughing.

f*ck thieves someone ever catches someone stealing there bike think of all the storys like this and don't hesitate to crack em one.
  • 1 0
 hell pinkbike didnt even let us know his site names , i wonder if i bought stuff from this scum?
  • 1 0
 Right? It kinda sucks thinking "Hey, I bought some stuff recently for a really good price. I wonder."
  • 4 0
 The bit that I find the hardest to digest, is that the scumbag is a fellow "real mountain biker"

With all the love and attention that goes into our bikes, how can we do this to ourselves?
  • 3 0
 He's not a fucking 'real mountain biker', he's just a piece of shit capitalizing on the trust and camaraderie of a tight-knit community... That makes him lower than dirt.
  • 3 0
 Your comment is bang on this piece of scum does not know what our bikes mean to us .Any real biker could not commit such a cowardly act
  • 3 0
 How come multiple accounts are allowed tobe set up using the same IP - this can be checked and maybe should be implemented on PB - there may be justified reasons - a lost account password etc etc but then a delay and a check will have to be done when matches are found, but new registrations and duplicate IP addresses need to be handled in some way - its not a total barrier but it takes away 1 route for these scummy bastards!!
  • 5 0
 You can have a few PBers rooming at the same dorm or house that has the same public IP, or even the same company public IP. It would be hard to set a binding rule like that without negatively impacting legitimate users as well.
  • 1 0
 It might be possible in the context of having item's for sale on pinkbike.. what's more important, a bunch of roomies being able to access the pinkbike's buy&sale or thieves having the ability to conceal them parting out a high end stolen bike?
  • 2 0
 That's a good idea. I'm not a PB coder, I did code at the Holiday Inn last night. However, a flag could be setup for various or unusual Buy&Sell postings from the same IP. It could be hard to not have false positives without looking for duplicate data.
  • 1 0
 Two people using the same internet connection maybe? :p
  • 1 0
 Multiple accounts from DIFFERENT countries, but the same IP is a clear red flag.

Of course it is easy to mask/change your IP address...
  • 3 0
 Yes people steal bikes, yes people sell them knowing they are stolen but dont let the article go to your head. People who steal anything and sell it should be punnished, not all people who sell bikes are theives. Some people such as myself plan to have a shop ina few years and buying and selling on here helps, dont victimise everyone because of an article and do.your homework on the seller and items.
  • 4 1
 Every day I see some twit with tennis shoes , no helmet on a bike that just does not like they should own it. so I say hey that's bike is stolen. The answer every time . I bought it off of this dude for 500 bucks. It is easy to see the pink bike accounts that have people selling oh perhaps 20 forks. Good chance those are stolen parts.
The police don't do jack shit about it.
They got lucky and stumbled onto this hoard of stolen bikes.
Probably a million bucks worth of bikes stolen from BC every year.
No one bothers telling the police. WHY? No faith that they will get any thing done.
Buying used parts off of PB or graigs list? Please don't buy stolen parts. That's why the bike thieve industry thrives. Hell ask the seller plenty of questions. Us riders can stop bike theft by being far more carefull in purchasing used parts.
  • 2 2
 "Every day I see some twit with tennis shoes , no helmet on a bike that just does not like they should own it. so I say hey that's bike is stolen." - It's comments like that make me lose my calm nature and make this post. I ride my bike without a helmet etc, does that make me a bike thief, or someone who bought the bike off a thief? Don't judge a book by it's cover. I have had the Police joke about the legitimacy of my bike on numerous occasions, and I usually tell them to f**k off, I have countless receipts and nothing to worry about, but it's that prejudice and stereotyping that reinforces my opinion of most people. I live in a fairly poor community, but am not poor (I choose to work, and to work hard). I earn money and like buying nice things, it's what most people do. However, if you come from an underprivileged background, it seems to be that you cannot or are not allowed to own these things? Thanks for inducing a mini rant.
  • 3 0
 Well, guy is not a "thief". He is a fence. Which still needs to be proven. It is entirely possible that he indeed was just buying stuff on craigslist without a prior arrangement with thiefs - police needs to make them talk.
  • 2 0
 Just had three bikes stolen last week, the police have managed to get one back but doubt I'll see the other two, confirms my suspicions on how they are getting rid of them by breaking them for spare parts, hard to trace. Frame numbers not much use as the bike I got back had the frame no. ground away and a fake one stamped in its place but being a rare bike the Police recognized it when a guy who claims to have bought it in good faith was caught riding it near where I live. He's now being charged with handling stolen goods as he won't say who he bought it from. Hope my insurance covers the other two and the repairs to the one I got back.
  • 2 0
 even so, you should be glad, that something like that happens so rarely. It could be worse, like in Hungary, a really large group of people does the same thing, but go even further. For example, they buy cracked, or welded frames, refurbish them, repaint them, and then sell them as new or slightly used trough the internet. A lot of people buy components, creates false , photoshoped pictures of it, and then sell them the same day they bought it under a false name or address, making huge profit on it. Or there are those people , who doesnt even care , if the component or bike he is trying to sell is multiple time overpriced, becouse these people are trying to make profit on kids, or very beginners in the sport. So be glad that something like that is a one time only stuff, and that you live in a place where something like that is so rare that it is fascinating to read about it..
  • 1 0
 They sound like used car salesmen from the USofA! That's just wrong
  • 5 2
 Pinkbike should at least make the guy's user names available. He hopefully is not on PB anymore so that would do no harm. I am sure that any one of us would like to know if we have bought stolen parts at sometime.
  • 2 0
 i buy stuff many times a week and would like to know as well if ive help keep this guy in a nice house , this will help me know what to maybe look out for and keep scammers out
  • 2 0
 There should also be more security on PB for opening an account. That will stop the multiple account people. On Pinkbike we enjoy the trust of our fellow members. We move money and bike parts all over the continent with confidence. This type of situation starts to erode that.
  • 2 0
 This is not a shocker, however a reminder for everyone to protect their possession and not to give up if some low life steals it.

In other news, anyone living in Northern California and looking for your stolen bike, check Laney College in Oakland every Sunday. I kid you not. Check the yelp reviews of this "swap meet" it will prove it is a camp ground for hot items.

www.yelp.com/biz/laney-college-flea-market-oakland
  • 4 2
 so awesome that he got caught. some of my friends have had bikes stolen and its sucks. as a mountain biker i know how much we all put into our bikes, time, money, finding the perfect component for it and having it stolen just plain sucks. good job Vancouver police dep.
  • 6 5
 Did you read the whole story? They had to let him go and give all the stolen stuff back to him!
That's not a good job by the Vancouver police at all!
  • 9 1
 You can't blame to police! They made the arrest and took him to court, blame the rat if the justice system!
  • 2 1
 @abzillah Police did all they could, it's the justice system that's complicated. Basically if you buy a stolen bike and "don't know" that it's stolen, the original owner does not have a right to get it back. This is what they failed to prove and therefore they had to let him go.
  • 7 1
 No they didn't, if he is using multiple accounts it is extremely obvious to any retard that he is doing something dodgy and knows it. Not saying it's the same in other countries but police turn there noses up at stolen bikes round here, they would much rather be arresting under aged smokers and people climbing trees. If they were passionate they could have taken this much further. If I bought £20,000 worth of Class A drugs and then claimed I thought they were penny sweets, would I get away with it? NO.
  • 4 0
 Well said, the justice system is a farce. The criminal courts are thus named because what goes on in there is criminal, literally.
  • 1 0
 That's not true. If they can trace the stolen property the original owner always has a right to get it back, as they pointed out in the article with the Rocky Mountain that was taken from the shop. That's why you have to be carful if you are buying stuff. If it's found that something you bought was stolen you could be screwed. You yourself might not get in trouble if you bought the goods legitimately, but they will take the stuff back, and you be out of luck.
  • 2 0
 why did not the police charge him with possession of stolen goods at least ? i bet if he had a shitty house in surrey they would have been all over that .

and who the hell strips down full bikes and throws away the frames without knowing that they are stolen??

that rocky mountain looked like it would have been well over $5000 , why could they not just do at least the charges for the rocky mountain and get possession of stolen goods over $5000??
  • 3 0
 To charge him with possession of stolen goods they need to prove he knew it was stolen. Which is possible, but not trivial.
  • 1 1
 Circumstantial evidence (in the form of the multiple accounts and listings provided by Pinkbike) proves that he not only knew something was up, but that he deliberately avoided detection by committing user account fraud. If the courts really wanted to prosecute this, they would.

However, my guess is that because he is a seemingly 'upstanding' citizen with no prior offenses, the courts and prosecutors decided to look the other way, OR he has a really great, really pushy, very technical lawyer who forced the issue of plausible deniability.
  • 2 1
 Pinkbike user account fraud?
I am sure they would be jumping all over the chance to incarcerate someone for Pinkbike user account fraud.
  • 3 0
 Any lawyer who have not been disbarred for criminal stupidity will easily demonstrate that multiple accounts on Pinkbike is just an effective way to do perfectly legal sales. And cops know that, and have no desire to bring forward weak cases.

Why do you think the same outfit, like backcountry.com for example maintains a dozen of website selling the same shit?

Yes, a likely criminal got off, but the system is better off with making some asshats walk than risking prosecuting a genuinely innocent person.
  • 1 2
 ... Because sarcasm will get your everywhere!

And yes -- creating false account under different emails in countries you don't reside in IS fraud... Or have you lost your dictionary?
  • 1 2
 Uhhhh, except backcountry.com has a business license and isn't selling/fencing stolen goods.... So no, it's not really the same thing.
  • 3 0
 No, it is not fraud. You can create as many accounts as you want and it will not be a crime. And, yes, it is the same thing. They both sell stuff online. You do not need a business license to sell. And, oh, by the way, plenty of legitimate businesses are selling grey market OEM takeoffs at a steep discount, to the great pain of many small stores.
  • 5 0
 Multiple accounts? If he was inocent he would have only one account.......He was hiding something for sure.
  • 3 0
 I'm sure he came up with some bullshit excuse for that as well...
  • 1 0
 Common sense and proof beyond a reasonable doubt are two very different things.
  • 2 0
 I know how this feels. I had 3 bikes stolen from my a garage last November, 2 YT Industries Wickeds and a carbon Felt roadbike. I was lucky enough to get them all back within the day only to find out they had been stolen by my next door neighbour. Hopefully some of these parts will make it back to their owners.
  • 3 0
 I hope they got prosecuted for that? or do you just give their yearly invite to the neighborhood Christmas party in the form of a punch in the face?
  • 2 0
 three bikes is atleast three punches in the face.
  • 3 1
 I have had several customers ask me for the serial numbers of the bike and bike frames they bought from me..usually, it was because theirs got stolen. ...or they would ask about serial numbers in the event it got stolen. .....well, having it on hand would be nice but it's not something I store in a date. ..that's up to the consumer to keep track of.

On the local scale, police here really dont bother with it either ....in the event a frame gets recovered (which is very rare, having that number helps).
  • 4 2
 You don't keep track of serial numbers for the bikes you sell? Every shop I ever worked at did that. Is it that hard of a thing to do for customers who are giving you hundreds/thousands of dollars?
  • 1 0
 For the police, a serial number is just a PITA. The best thing is a visual description with photos otherwise your bike might just end up at the police/sheriff's auction if you're lucky.
  • 1 0
 well --- once in a blue moon we did but..maybe for the first two years of selling bikes.... after talking with several different people in the business of law enforcement and even more people in the insurance gig --- it's pretty close to pointless cause of the "system" and how it really works.. only time we really use them is in the event of a warranty which only applies to the original owner...... not to mention, there's a whole ton of high dollar products we sell that's left in the box, all wrapped up in factory foam and plastic --- will sometimes check the condition of the product if the original box looks banged up but otherwise, we leave stuff alone so we don't risk internal damage -- been selling bikes since 1991.... how many times as a serial number come in handy, showing proof of a stolen frame, bike or high dollar bike product? zero ---- not once.

just recently replaced a Marin Palisades for a gal who had her bike stolen from here apartment --- did the insurance ask for a serial number? yes... did they NEED a serial number to submit the claim, no? they still paid her claim, all they asked for was a bill of sale. They even told her, serial numbers don't really do any good...just like the auto industry, it was either taken for a joy ride and dumped somewhere or parted out and sold for parts... any common bike-jack out there, if they even keep the bike for personal use, probably filed off and painted over the serial number with a rattle can paint job.
  • 2 1
 illegalsmile said it well --- that's pretty much what the cops told me too... they simply don't have the time for stuff like tracking serial numbers --- frankly, to be blunt... I doubt they really care about it either since they know the insurance industry doesn't really care either --

drop a GPS locator chip into the frame with some super glue is my suggestion for peeps who don't keep their bikes outta harms way---


which reminds me --- another guy, he bought two Marin Quakes from me back in 2006 or 07, one for him, one for his son... they were stolen from his condo at Snowshoe during a trip he took out there.. the Marin Quake is no longer in production so I couldn't replace it --- but he condo insurance paid for the replacement value which was something like $6k each --- not once did they ask for a serial number -- all they wanted to know was the value of the bikes when they were new. so instead of two new Marin Quakes, I hooked him up with two brand new Transitions --- one super dope Tr450 (for him), one purdy darn nice Tr250 for his son... good for me cause since the insurance paid for the replacement, he pony'd up a little extra outta pocket and got himself a higher level bike.
  • 4 0
 @scofflaw - its not their job to create this ever growing database of every serial # on a bike or frame theyve sold. its just too much effort..

pedal also raises a good point about leaving stuff in the box. do you really think they're going to open everything up, unwrap and upack, just to pack a fair amount of it back in the box?

its your bike, so its your responsibility to take care of it.
  • 1 0
 Interesting to hear all this. I have never dealt with the insurance company side (thankfully!!) but whenever a customer came back for a bill of sale for a bike that had been stolen, they always wanted the serial number. Like you said, maybe this is something the cops ask for just out of habit. Also, given the scale of the homeowner's/renter's insurance system, they probably just pay the claim as quick as they can and move on. Since most stolen bikes never show up again, it does seem to be more of a waste of time than anything. Thanks for some edumacation!
  • 1 0
 it is an interesting (and unfortunate) process.. =/
  • 1 0
 Knowing your serial number, and checking the serial number of a bike you consider purchasing, is actually quite useful. It is also useful to the police. I have firsthand experience with this. It is a unique identifying code that can be used in a legal way to help establish proof of ownership. The police have helped me recover a stolen bike, and I have helped the police recover someone else's stolen bike. I found out it was stolen by checking the serial number in the serial number database. If you don't know your serial number, and you don't post it when it is stolen, your chances of finding your bike go down, simple as that. If you don't have your serial number, if your bike is found, it becomes harder to prove that the bike in question is yours, especially as when stolen bikes are found, they don't always have the same parts that they had when you owned it.

A bicycle shop not keeping track of customer serial numbers is unfortunate, in my opinion. Most ERP software would make keeping track of such information simple. And if a shop does not keep track of serial numbers, HOW WOULD THE SHOP KNOW if the serial number would have been helpful?
  • 1 0
 PedalShop: I've been wondering how to attach a GPS chip in my bike. I found that the main problem is having a power source to keep it running. Do you know of something to get?
  • 1 0
 don't actually know if there's anything out there with true GPSable tracking for bikes... or anything for that matter... it was just a thought. I bet though, there's a possible option for the same type of information chips they use for pets that could be used. that's a little different of course, that's the type of thing it's sorta like a bar code reader that's inserted under the skin of cats and dogs ---- doesn't do ya any good if you can't take them to a vet who has the readers for it.
  • 2 0
 I know the law is different in the USA to the UK but with so much value and so many items he must be able to prove where one or two of them came from? Email records or other acounts or mobile phone calls made. You'd even say it would be wise for someone engaging in such a business hobby to keep receipts to protect themselves against such allegations.

However a much more simple way of busting him is to get the taxman on his case.

I have had my garage robbed twice in the last 8 months and lost 5 bikes. Apparently there is a person known to Police that the thieves go to much like the chap in this story. He has a house full of parts bikes and he runs a regular cut and shut operation. Even though warrants are served the authorities just can't seem to nail him.

Thieves and handlers of stolen goods have no perception of the hard work it took to earn the disposable income to build a great bicycle. If caught the sentences are too short and there is no actual recompense for the vicitms of crime.

So if anyone sees a cheap Trek Stache, a very battered Stumpjumper with Marzocchi 44 RC3 Ti forks, a Genesis Core or a Ragley Blue Pig please let me know.
  • 3 0
 Actually, it is the police that needs to prove where anything came from. He does not need to prove anything.
  • 1 0
 Datatags may be the answer, they work for stolen motorcycles and help trace parts that are passed on.
  • 2 0
 another reason to make sure you record your parts,if you can, use a dremmel tool to put an identifying mark on them,use a registry service. share info with police. its not fool proof,but gives you a chance to recover whats yours if its found.
  • 2 0
 "I buy and sell mountain bikes for a hobby, but the 1700-3000 dollar frames have no use in profit" what a dick. This guy deserves jail time. No question. If anybody figures out who this guy is. Make sure you tell everyone on pb so we can bash his scams making pinkbike useless to him.
  • 2 0
 In a way this guys victimized the people he sold to as well. He'd buy (fence) bikes from dirtbags and then sell the parts back to a community that hates bike thieves. The buyers never got the chance to choose not to buy stolen parts and thus supported the dirtbags we all hate.
  • 1 0
 It's a shame that a prosecution will probably not happen, but at least the police investigated it, 4 of my bikes in the past have been stolen, with the police doing fuck all in each case. On one occasion my bike was stolen from work by an ex employee, had CCTV footage of him taking it out the back, took this information, two witnesses who heard him boosting about stealing the bike and his home address to the police and the police said this was inconclusive and refused to proceed.
  • 1 0
 Insurance covers the loss of the original bikes owner, people have purchased components at a good price, thieves will carry on stealing but will eventually get caught.. In my eyes this reflects worse on the justice system than the criminals, Its clear that the suspect is in connection with organised crime, they should be persuing him not giving him a get out of jail free ticket...
  • 1 0
 i keep having this dream after i picked up my yeti 303wc . In my dream i would walk down stairs to see my amazing bike and its gone front door wide open and no yeti in sight i dont know what i would do if this were to really happen but i know how i would feel and its not good stealing is horrible and people that steal what other people have worked so hard to get is just amazingly wrong hope this shit stops ! its much more rewarding seeing something you put time n effort building up and then riding it !
  • 1 0
 We all remember what happened when Peewee had his bike stolen.....I cried. As he found out...the fat rich kid took it. Damn you fat rich kids. Though the best movie about a stolen bike.....perhaps the only movie about a stolen bike?

www.youtube.com/watch?v=6T1tvyfcezI
  • 1 0
 I caught a guy riding my bike a day after it was stolen and managed to stop him in the street for a polite talk about why he had it. The cheeky F*#ker then attacked me with a chain and lock! What unfolded was one hell of a fist fight in till I got my bike back! I then got the same bike stolen 3 days later! So I HATE bike thieves!!!!!
  • 1 0
 had mine stolen, i found it, cops couldnt do anything with all my pics and receipts... no serial number no bike back... I learned a lesson. Shop that sold it is selling here on pinkbike too, and had mine advertised here as well... lesson learned
  • 1 0
 Is there any way you guys at pinkbike could tighten up on how many accounts 1 person has? ie just 1? Probably a lot of work, but guaranteed if there is one lad caught at this there are probably 10 unknowns. Maybe get a programmer to write a simple program to connect the dots and sent the questionable evidence to the cops. I would help fund the programmers costs and Im sure there are other who would too.
  • 1 0
 Danielle; Great story. Informative and abit shocking at the same time. Happy to say I found a unicorn tonight. My bike was stolen from me last Friday on a very busy street. After a few days of going through the emotions, I got an unexpected call from an RCMP Cst. saying that my bike was recovered at a pawn shop. Lucky for me, I had my serial # which made all the difference. Thiefs, they aren't always so smart and left my name sticker still on the bike.
  • 8 3
 Print his name and address please.
  • 1 0
 I can see his user accounts published on a list somewhere, that makes sense. But to publish his address? That's asking for vigilantism and probably won't happen from PB...
  • 4 0
 Scary shit, makes me want to make all my kit distinguished, like painting it or initialing things descretely
  • 1 0
 I have. All of my components have unique markings in similar locations so that if my rig were ever stolen and parts recovered, I could accurately identify them by these sweet little markings that appear innocuous to any idiot thief. Wink
  • 1 0
 This article reminds me of an interesting study I read some time ago reporting that bike theft is the most profitable type of crime if you consider what you risk vs what you earn from it. Sadly, it also pointed out that the return to owner rate of stolen bikes is extermely low.
  • 4 0
 I buy a lot on PB. I'd like to know this guys handle to see if I unknowingly purchased from him. : (
  • 1 0
 One minute I'm thinking how great are the police over there are, you showed them evidence and they acted on it, then they let him off! Wtf. Surely the fact he has 20g in parts and frames and not one receipt would prove it. Christ you show the filth were I live anything they throw your case in the bin just because you showed them up by doing there job for them.
  • 1 0
 yeah, im still super confused to as why they couldnt return the rocky mountain (unless if the shop already got their insurance payment).. if i had my bike stolen and i managed to find it and prove it was mine by mathcing the serials, you bet your ass id be getting my bike back!
  • 1 0
 To be honest this happens a lot in the biking world. People buying bikes stupidly cheap and then breaking them to make some quick money. Its not the first and definitely not the last. We are constantly on the look out for stolen bikes and have managed to get about 10 - 15 bikes back to owners over the last year, police have been helpful most of the time but the people stealing them usually get away with a slap on the wrist. Until they start making an example of people it will carry on..
  • 1 0
 So what makes the parts untraceable? Are there no serial numbers on derailleurs? Shifters? Brakes? Cranks? Or is it that we don't record them, only recording the serial number on the frame? Either way the situation is sort of stupid, when components are worth so much money these days. Strava lets you record every component of your bike to track it for wear. No reason you couldn't put a serial number on there as well. With everything computerized there is no reason not to have all the components of a stock bike digitally available to the purchaser to make it even easier.

Bike crime is a major industry. It would be nice if the manufacturers did something to make it a little more difficult for the thieves. Barcodes on major components that could be scanned to automatically register them using a smartphone for example. While it will often come down to too much stuff being stolen and not enough time or resources to investigate it would be nice if something that at least could be used in a case like this to prove the goods stolen and return them to the rightful owners.
  • 1 0
 I don't think there is anybody else out there that makes bike owners more angry than bike thieves. They are just pure scum! The fact that this guy has been caught red handed and has got away with it is simply shocking. It must have been awful for the police officer to hand back the stolen goods to this piece of s**t. One day he will get what's coming to him....either by the law or by a bike owner who has had his bike nicked and has paid him a little visit. What ever happens to him I will look forward to the next pinkbike report.
  • 1 0
 Unfortunately, it's not about what we know anymore, it's about what we can prove. Until this guy's family or friends step up and say 'Uhh, yeah. He knowingly bought and laundered and sold stolen property', the authorities have no proof, and he walks.

'Plausible deniability' is the name of the legal game, folks. He paid his cheap street thieves well for their troubles, and they can't prove he knew....

This sort of situation is why I would almost believe in vigilante justice, but who says what a vigilante mob would do would be just and fair?

Hopefully karma will strike this bike-stealing bastard.
  • 1 0
 Hey PB team, good on you for helping the Police to get this slimeball.
I wouldn’t be surprised if a huge number of the bike that get swiped from Whistler ended up getting funneled through this guy. I wish it would slow up the bike thefts in Van and surrounding areas, but someone else will step in.

It would be great if you could share the multiple accounts this guy was using, so that some of us can figure out if we’ve purchased stolen goods from this goon – in the interest of “assisting police”. I’m sure you’ll face some sort of legal action if you post his actual name, as much as we’d love to roll him
  • 1 0
 you can see a Fuel EX 9.9 2011... list price 7800$

A really great bike, i had one before my remedy, i sold it because it's a crime to let a bike like this one unused in a garage.
So many peoples could ride with this pile of bike.
And so many riders were only walking because of this guy

...no it's definitly not a mountain biker
  • 1 1
 So many bikers were walking because of bike thieves.
Sure this guy provided a market for the bike thieves but he also provided a metric ton of bikers with inexpensive, lightly used parts.

He is kind of like Robin Hood. Insurance will cover bike shops/bike owners (if they have insurance), so he is only damaging Insurance Companies (and seriously, screw them).
  • 1 0
 Which in turn produces an increase in insurance rates. This guy is no robin hood, he is nothing but a low life criminal who deserves to be in Jail.
  • 1 0
 www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bike-theft-engraving-improves-odds-of-getting-it-back-1.1406807

Engrave your parts with a phone number/last name etc. Maybe not all - but chances are somebody won't/can't sell an engraved part or at the very least they'll have a hard time explaining why your phone number and name are on something they're trying to sell.

Of course, it doesn't help if YOU want to sell those parts eventually.

Some local Community Police Stations in Vancouver will engrave for free or for a nominal fee I think.
  • 1 0
 Surely some MTB enthusiast with mad hacker skills can help id this perp. Then we can show up at his place, and show him the proper use for all those extra seatposts he's collected.....even the broken one.....I know where we can put them.
  • 1 0
 All y'all on the West Coast of the US and Canada should check out project529.com These guys are going after bike theft with some big muscle and already have several key law enforcement agencies involved. There's a free mobile app and online database that has already been successful. Anyone who was at Sea Otter this year will probably know what I'm talking about.
  • 1 0
 How could someone consciously do this and not feel even slightly bothered? This man has got to have tricked himself into thinkin all he is doing is business. Buying stolen bikes, how could that hurt? They are just material items, right? I'd say it goes much deeper than that. If he really is a mountain biker, he should be able to relate to us. Understand the joy we get riding with our friends and being outside in beautiful places all around the globe. What I'm getting at is, peoples' bikes are much more than simple possessions. They are a key to a lifestyle most desire to live. Speaking for myself, before I bought my bike I worked a ridiculous percentage just for my bike. Literally hundreds of hours spent working just so I could have a decent bike. (Well, actually an awesome bike but really it's the only true friend I have). So, to feed the ones who take these beautiful machines away from, is truly immoral.

Best regards,
Dude
  • 1 0
 For as much as we pay for components. The manufacturer should put serial numbers on at least a sticker in places you can't see. Example. Inside of the linkage of a rear derr. Or on the inside of the clamp of front derr. Forks should have unique serial numbers as well.
  • 1 0
 My girlfriend had a bike stolen from her when we were about 40 miles away from where we lived. I checked craigslist and about a week later it was for sale about 5 miles from where we lived. I went and got the bike with no problems without police help in a self set up sting operation that worked out well. It's pretty common for people to steal bikes and then sell them off in areas outside their locale. Since it was over a state line though essentially the police were worthless. Wouldn't do anything about anything. Bike thievery is all too common and usually unless you're a business you don't get much help. Good job by Tom tracking this A-hole down, but we obviously need a PB justice team to take care of thieves.
  • 4 2
 Ur all going good job this guy walked away wit out a charge an keeps the parts terribly job Vancouver police keep up the worthless work all u pugs seems to do
  • 2 0
 His defence might work.

Had he not created multiple accounts to sell with.... Why would any innocent person need to do that?
  • 1 0
 to be honest here , i have more than 1 account , as i have a "work account " and a "personal account". i work in the industry and make some really dumb comments on pinkbike, that the company i work for would be not be so stoked to assosiated with,
BUT.. i will let any one stop by my home to buy stuff i have for sale and i dont throw away good frames and keep the parts and sel under accounts from different places and addresses
  • 1 0
 I just had an Evil Uprising stolen off my car in Snoqualmie WA. full xx1 drive train all rock shox sram parts and Mavic Crossmax SX wheels. Any leads or help would be greatly appreciated! check my user profile for pics!
  • 1 0
 I agree that the legal system isn't perfect. That's why my mom had the breadboard. I'm not saying hang the guy but a decent beating would be appropriate. Maybe make him walk a few miles in Lycra bought at Baby Gap.
  • 1 0
 All bike parts and frames need to be manufactured with a tiny ID chip or something for theft prevention or recovery.

something like this
mediacircus2.blogspot.ca/2012/12/mc2-post-1463-how-rfid-chips-work-and.html
  • 1 0
 My bike got stolen on January 25th, what's the bet that it past through this scum cunts hands and its now long gone. Thanks for fuelling the stolen bike business you dumb fuck!
  • 1 0
 Tell me about it devastated my bike got stolen on weekend my gran passed away last month left me money I bought a glory spent around 1500 on it and some low life brakes in and steals it was devastated
  • 4 0
 GREAT story. Kudos to pinkbike.
  • 1 0
 To all bike thieves - read the above Text carefully and think twice before taking someone's bike next time.

It often pays off to stick to an idea - kudus to Tom (or whatever your name is :-) )
  • 3 3
 You only need a lock if you plan to leave your bike somewhere it can get stolen. I don't ever need a lock, cuz I don't leave it where it can get stolen. It's only in 3 places, in my place, in the back of my truck or under me! 4 if you count my bike shop. You don't want you bike stolen, don't leave it somewhere it can get stolen.
  • 4 0
 Not always an option dude, I had one stolen last year from inside my house! I never though I would need to lock it to a radiator!! Bike thieves are scum. fact.
  • 12 0
 True story; A shop in Yorkshire had their store broken into and their cache of bikes stolen. Insurance paid out but insisted on increased security measures. So, they bought a virtually impenetrable shipping container and shut the bikes up in that outside. The theives turned up again with a hiab and lifted the container onto a flatbed, drove off into the moors and torched their way through the side in the dead of night. If a theif wants your bike, don't ever doubt there ware ways and means of him getting it (including mashing your skull in with a stick as you ride by). Protect yourself, and keep it under wraps that you have a nice bike. The best insurance is not to advertise what you have.
  • 4 0
 Agreed bluechair, the theives just need to know a) Do you own a bike? b) Is it worth nicking? c) Where do you keep it? Then depending on the answer to 'b' that will detemine how much effort they'll put in. We had three bikes nicked last October from a locked garage, that were locked to the roof trusses. Just removed the garage the roof and cut the locks. We're alarmed and all kinds of secure now but the first step is don't advertise the fact you have decent bikes. Difficult I know, but keep it to a minimum.
  • 2 0
 Broke in my house while I was asleep upstairs and wheeled my bikes away, now having to turn my house into fort knox, get a burlar alarm and won't be using my bike rack anymore, will be hiding the bike inside the car. I'm the third guy in our club who has had a break-in but we all live in the same town but they are definitely targeting nice bikes they see on the back of cars (we all have bike racks). Other friends in the same club and town seem to have escaped their attentions and don't have bike racks. As dglobulator says, don't advertise your nice bike to the crooks.
  • 2 0
 Pretty sure there are a group of 'spotters' operating in the South West, Police know about it, but just can't get enough evidence to prosecute the crew, who get bikes by 'cryo-cutting' the locks off - we don't stand a chance!!

considering rigging traps around my bikes so that I can collect 'evidence' - broken bike thieves Smile
  • 2 0
 I know we don't all have the option of being able to carry bikes 'incognito', but bikes on car roof racks just scream follow me home! This article should go out as a warning to all the people who finish their ride, 'lock' their bike onto the roof-rack, then wander off in post ride buzz mode to the cafe at the other side of the car park and expect it to still be there when they get back. The thieving scum are everywhere, be it wandering around the trail centre car parks with a helmet and a riding pack on, or sneaking around in our gardens and sheds in the middle of the night. Be careful out there people!
  • 5 0
 CSI Pinkbike. Nice.
  • 2 2
 How many times have we read that "I'll just wait to buy it used"... If you can afford it, by new. Stop helping to create this market.
And why wouldn't PB list his user names? What harm would come from that? PB probably has a complete list of ALL parts transacted, and I'm sure it would be eye-opening to all of us to see how common this really is.
  • 1 0
 i would say at the very least it could/would cause some sort of confrontation if someone local recognizes them.. i know for a fact if i knew of a local who was stealing parts, i would not just sit back and watch it happen.

hell, here in the US, it would probably get violent real quick.
  • 2 0
 PINK BIKE, you have broken bikes,broken riders and crashes in action. how about stolen bikes so we can work together as a community and help each other find stolen bikes.
  • 2 0
 There is a section here for stolen bikes in the BuySell, www.pinkbike.com/buysell/listnew/?category=68. We added it in last year, hopefully it's another tool to help bust these wankers.
  • 3 0
 He s probably the same guy that stole my Chromag Stylus in N Vancouver last july still hurts to this date.
  • 1 0
 They should find the owners of the bikes and let him return them and the reason why he stole the bike. After he returned the bike I would whoop his ass as a pre-ride warm up then ride.
  • 1 0
 This makes me sick, especially when they steal from people that work very hard to buy these very expensive bikes. As they say any way to make a profit. Burn in hell bike theives.
  • 2 0
 I believe the guys name is Gordon Sinclaire Blackwell and he was arrested a few years ago for running a "stolen bike recovery" business that sold stolen bikes.
  • 1 0
 if your hobby is parting out bikes, then there is no reason to "dispose" of all the frames. Sure some will not be worth trying to sell, but most are worth a decent amount of money. He's guilty.
  • 1 0
 Well since he likes bikes I would propose to put his hairy nut bag on the top 36 tooth of 1x11 Sram XXO cog set and climb a steep hill standing up, I heard that new drivetrain is really tough
  • 1 0
 Sorry if this has been answered, but is there any information available about the bikes and parts that were recovered? I'm still looking for my stolen Kona Coiler and it's parts.
  • 4 0
 Bastard!
  • 1 0
 well maybe a few bikes can be recovered. insurance insurance insurance is the name of the game once i get my new bike in a few weeks i am insuring that bike.
  • 1 0
 fuck this guy man he knew exctlly what he was doing, he should have to give everything back including the rocky mountain element as well as be fined
  • 1 0
 if police can prove that he was actually disposing of thousands of dollars worth of frames how is that not enough to establish his guilt?
  • 1 0
 Vancouver has a few bicycle "chop-shops" - but, as is typical, it is "procedural" (if you want) to do anything about it. Some call it "rule of law" - others do not.
  • 1 0
 Is there any chance we can get any info about this guy or general location. I buy a lot of stuff on pinkbike and would hate to buy from him. Even if he's innocent!
  • 2 0
 whoa that's crazy... I still feels angry from all those years when I had my few bike stolen from me.
  • 2 1
 so pb know he is reading this.have the not cancelled his multiple accounts. paranoia reins bet one of the comments about what a prick he is ,is from him!
  • 1 0
 Someone who knows the industry really well and knows how much people enjoy the sport, yet does this.....the "dark side" of mountain biking.
  • 4 1
 Time to chop some hands off!!!!!!
  • 4 1
 A perfect "How to Guide" for bicycle thieving bastards.
  • 2 0
 Yeah, thanks for pointing out what mistakes where made and why police actually got him...
  • 1 0
 In this day and age, if someone gets caught with $20,000 worth of bikes, that's only 2 bikes!! Must be worth more based on that picture.
  • 1 0
 Couldnt Pinkbike ban him for having multiple fake accounts? At least slow down his crimes? Just a thought, I don't know if it's allowed or not.
  • 1 0
 I guess everyone is innocent until proven guilty but having several accounts on Pinkbike is certainly odd. Anyways, punishment for bike thieves!!!!
  • 1 0
 He has multiple pinkbike accounts and never met any customers in person that right there should be sounding all kinds of alarms.
  • 1 0
 Vancouver has the worst property crime of any city in North America. It's a problem everywhere, but it's especially prevalent there.
  • 1 0
 Pinkbike must oust his user name makes me want to buy parts at retail so mine don't end up going for 20 bucks cheaper with 100 percent margin f@@@@@ him
  • 1 0
 They found "a closet full of bike frames – which I’m guessing had been stripped down and he hadn’t had a chance to dispose of yet."

So how no evidence?
  • 2 1
 put the twunt on a down ramp so we can que up and land on the fu))*r .....
only 1 thing to do with peeps like that .
  • 2 1
 id beat the cunt to within an inch of his life if i caught him, absolute scumbag!
  • 1 0
 Should of been a way to prosecute and not let people get away with this sort of stuff.
  • 2 0
 @digthehills, please don't compare us to Americans.....THANK YOU
  • 1 0
 stealing someone's pride and joy of a bike is disgusting, and anyone who is willing to do it should be locked up.
  • 3 2
 Chop of his braking fingers. Bastard deserves pain and never to ride again.
  • 3 1
 I'm not sure I like the title of this article. ..
  • 1 0
 This is why my bike is anchored with a 19mm pragmasis chain. youtu.be/LFafq-u7wqQ
  • 3 1
 Strip that motherfucker down and sell his parts!
  • 2 1
 Lets see a picture of the guy? If he is a biker I am sure we would know who he is.
  • 4 0
 His guilt is not yet proven in a court of law.
  • 2 0
 So, how do we know if this guy is still selling parts on PinkBike?
  • 3 1
 His accounts on PB please!
  • 1 0
 Tank tape him to a rigid supermarket whip with crap wheel set and give him a gentle push down rampage.
  • 2 0
 Wow, $20,000! I wonder whose pair of Intense Tracers he stole?
  • 1 0
 This guy is like walter white instead of selling meth hes selling bike parts.
  • 1 1
 It took me three years to build my dream bike. If some one stole it I would go crazy.
  • 2 1
 " Solified in this case he's an horrible C*NT "
  • 1 0
 That many bikes with a stand like that? Heh..
  • 1 0
 Hi!! My name is Angelo Castro From Chile.
Send to Chile?
  • 1 0
 For the love of god post his info
  • 2 0
 That's crazy
  • 2 1
 No sense of honor! Nobodies true friend but his own.
  • 1 1
 The laws are favoring the criminals more and more. Pussy justice system has become a tool to $$.
  • 2 1
 i'd go medieval on his arse...

pd: in Chile this is a daily reality...
  • 1 1
 well if someone ever finds his name they'll probably beat the living hell out of him
  • 2 1
 nice now i know how todo crime, thanks.
  • 1 1
 still bullshit, i lost 2 of my bikes and there right to have them i guess. we need bikes with tracking systems and alarms when they have been taken 10 feet from the bracelet thats on our wrists. 29'ers are here 145mm axles are here now, BB's out the ass and heart pulse gps tracking computers. WERE are the alarming devices.
  • 1 0
 you know you can get motion sensor disc lock alarms right? XENA etc..
  • 2 1
 Damn, now I'm going to have to create another Pinkbike account....
  • 2 1
 So what where the user names?
  • 1 2
 Karma's a bitch Tom! Hope u read this. May you spear your ballz on your handlebars when u go on your next ride. Did that hurt Tom?
  • 1 0
 I hope this guy loses all the money he gained from this "enterprise".
  • 1 0
 Better that 100 guilty go free than 1 innocence be unjustly punished
  • 1 0
 Criminal, yes. Mastermind, hell no!
  • 1 0
 I'm still taking offense to the title of this article
  • 1 0
 shoot first, ask questions later
  • 1 1
 this stinks so bad i can smell it from the UK
  • 2 3
 steal my bike, meet my ak Smile Smile
  • 1 3
 Sometimes too much is done to protect the innocent...
  • 1 0
 You know what they say.. it's better to set ten guilty men free than send one innocent man to jail. Bittersweet when everyone can tell point blank he's a crook.

This prick doesn't deserve to get away with this, but it's pretty well up to manufacturers to start identifying all parts with serial numbers.. This f+cker wouldn't be handed back all his stolen parts if they had serial #'s.
  • 1 4
 Oh because if you have lost your bike you gotta buy a new one.
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