WWMD: Stolen bike found, but the guy claims he paid a lot of money for it

[SchralphMacchio]

So in January I had my apartment building's steel gated bike room broken into, and my bike lock disabled and my Yeti SB-66 (and road bike) stolen.

Insurance actually covered the cost of the Yeti, and I ended up getting a Bronson CC with a sweet kit with the money - no cost out of pocket for me. On paper, the Bronson has a better kit than my old bike, carbon frame with lifetime warranty, handles every situation I throw at it, climbs okay, jumps really well ... but for the first 3 months I kept saying, "I really miss my Yeti!!!" Geometry just wasn't doing it for me - not progressive enough - and the rear linkage is not as optimized for climbing as the SB-66. Yeti was like driving a Lambo and Bronson is like driving an Audi, very comfortable but not very "jet fighter like" in how it handles terrain.

Today some random guy who lives 4 miles away calls me out of the blue, saying that he bought it from a local construction worker, and a couple of months later checked https://bikeindex.org/ and realized that he bought a stolen bike. He didn't know what I wanted to do and didn't bring up money until I asked him specifically if he paid money and if so how much. He claimed that he paid $1000 for it. He suspects the bike might have changed hands a couple of times in the last 10 months.

He said he wasn't sure if I had already gotten a replacement bike or if I had insurance pay me for it, and hasn't been in this situation before but called me because it was the right thing to do with stolen property. Overall his tone was sympathetic and I have no reason to suspect he's scamming me - he did not ask for money. He put it to me to think about how I want to handle it, and I told him I'd call him back since it was a huge surprise to get his call.

On the one hand, it's my property and I have proof that I paid for it and it's mine.
On the other hand insurance did cover my loss and this guy is out a big chunk of cash if I go to repo the bike with no remuneration offer or return reward.
If I thought my current ride was way better, I'd move on and maybe even go riding with the guy.
But I do miss that bike. Despite it being old and out of warranty and hard to service, that progressive frame has a feeling that you can't understand until you ride an SB-66. I'd LOVE to get it back, I just need to think about what's a fair to handle this.

WWMD?

[MTslackcountry]

The right thing to do is eighter let him keep the bike or pay him for it. You were made whole again by the insurance company. You could have bought the same bike with the insurance money if you really wanted to replace it.

[D(C)]

I agree that the right thing is for him to keep the bike given your insurance outcome. Where he might be useful is providing information to authorities to track down the thief, but the risk is that your insurance company wants the bike to recoup some of what it paid out to you.

[toast2266]

Assuming you talk to him more and are comfortable he's not scamming you...

Buy it from him for what he has into it. Ride the Yeti again and confirm that you do actually like it better and it's not just your perception becoming hazy over time.

If you do like it better, mix and match parts from the two bikes to pimp out the Yeti as needed. Sell the Bronson for more than $1k, which should be pretty easy to do. Maybe consider selling the Bronson to dude who had the Yeti.

[m45ece]

If you like your old bike better than your new one couldn't you offer to trade him? He doesn't have the emotional attachment to it that you do and the new bike's worth more so it'd be a win-win.

[rudy]

I'll line up to take the "throw away" bike for $1,005

[XXX-er]

It might be beat to shit by now

you could sell the bike you got and give him some $ to cover what he spent

you could just leave things as they are

we got a lot of fucking lawyers & dentists here so what are the legal ramifications I wonder?

[SchralphMacchio]

Assuming you talk to him more and are comfortable he's not scamming you...

Buy it from him for what he has into it. Ride the Yeti again and confirm that you do actually like it better and it's not just your perception becoming hazy over time.

If you do like it better, mix and match parts from the two bikes to pimp out the Yeti as needed. Sell the Bronson for more than $1k, which should be pretty easy to do. Maybe consider selling the Bronson to dude who had the Yeti.

Yeah so far this resonates with me the most.

I should ask if he has any evidence of payment - paypal, cancelled check, bank withdrawl, matching up with purchase timeline, etc.

If I ride both bikes side x side then I'll know it's not fanciful thinking and focus around the frame that I really do like better.

Yeti I had XTR rims & hubs w/ fast engagement, Bronson rear hub sucks w/ slow engagement. Yeti I have harsh original CTD, Bronson I have plusher RT3. Cranks, bars, etc.

MTslackcountry - I actually couldn't have bought the same bike again because it's been out of production for 2 years and really hard to find used in the right condition with the right kit, and the insurance money would not have covered a current gen SB-6c with equivalent kit (that's like a $8-9K bike). Also some claims require you to show insurance that you are replacing the lost item so it was easier to buy new, kitted as close as possible to what's desired, with a single expense rather than buying lots of things here and there over the course of 4-6 weeks.

[muted]

Ask him if he found the package in the seat tube and if this is a setup with the cops listening. He will say no, so then apologize and say, "Just keep it. But maybe don't try to fly with it".

[eskido]

I'm with toast as well, sounds like good advice

[::: :::]

Since they paid out, your Insurance likely owns the bike now so refer him to them

[stuckathuntermtn]

My renter's insurance never asked for the money back, but I did call them. They paid for it, so it was theirs.

Serious thought: trade bikes with the dude? There's probably a 60 or 90 day window where after that you don't have to pay them back. Just an uneducated guess. Probably varies by state.

[muted]

Just an uneducated guess..

this should be your signature!

[east or bust]

explain that the said bike has sentimental value to you. offer to trade straight up. if the guy is genuine (which it sounds like his is) I highly doubt he would have a problem with it, assuming both bikes hold roughly the same value.

[DasBlunt]

how did he get such a smoking deal? sounds like he just wants money because he said what he paid....like a sob story.

. get your bike back, cops love this stuff.

[WTF is dat]

Have you considered asking him if he wants to trade you for the bike you currently have?

Tell him you really loved that bike and see if he wants to trade

[MTslackcountry]

how did he get such a smoking deal? sounds like he just wants money because he said what he paid....like a sob story.

. get your bike back, cops love this stuff.

You dumb fuck. He got it cheap cause its stolen. Ethically Scharlp would need to contact the insurance company if he gets the bike back for free. The dude with the bike reached out and asked schralp what he wanted to do... Doesn't sound like hes trying to extort money out of him. Im sure that bike is worth more than $1k so shralp should buy it from the guy if he wants it back. That is if its not trashed. There is 0 reason to contact the police. All that would do is waste everyones time. If he gets the bike back for free can you say insurance fraud? Das cunt you can now shut the fuck up.

[Shredhead]

Even if he pays for the bike, it could still be considered fraud.
Contact the insurance company.

[Peruvian]

You should call the police as they have an open case on your stolen bike.

[MakersTeleMark]

If he gets the bike back for free can you say insurance fraud?

Hypo for you: You lose your phone, but have insurance. You pony up the deductible, remotely brick the old one, and receive a new one. The old phone gets mailed back to you by an anonymous good samaritan. What do you do?

Also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posses...f_stolen_goods

[MTslackcountry]

Dascunt thinks he should get cops involved so that schralp can fuck over the guy who did the right thing and try to get the bike for free therefor profiting on this whole thing. Dascunt types are why our country is so fucked up. People don't do the right thing anymore. The guy with the bike should be commended for reaching out. although the guy should have checked the bike before he bought it and could have busted the bike theif in the first place.... I for one would not want to be riding a bike around that I scammed and schemed for. Karma is a bitch... riding along take a digger hmmmm karma.... hmmmm broken neck....

[MTslackcountry]

Hypo for you: You lose your phone, but have insurance. You pony up the deductible, remotely brick the old one, and receive a new one. The old phone gets mailed back to you by an anonymous good samaritan. What do you do?

Also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posses...f_stolen_goods

How would the good Samaritan have my mailing address? I would likely call insurance company and ask them what they wanted me to do. Most likely because both phones are now used they would write it off and I would have 2 phones, good karma and a clear conscience.

[Danno]

The "correct" answer is call the cops and notify your insurance company.

If you don't feel a strong moral pull to do the correct thing, then toast's answer.

[MakersTeleMark]

I've dealt with this situation before, and I can tell you while you might feel bad for the guy, you are entitled to your bike back without payment. Period. It's his fault he purchased stolen property. Whether you want to get the cops involved is up to you. As for your new bike, you paid premiums to insure it. Those premiums paid off. Nice little windfall, but not illegal, or unethical.

[SchralphMacchio]

^ I'll check the T's & C's of my insurance policy in addition to the paperwork I signed when I accepted the compensation for loss and damages. I'm not sure anything amounts to fraud if I get back the original goods, because the replacement goods have already been depreciated. It's not like I can just go return those goods and refund the insurance company. Likewise there is no guarantee that my property is in the same condition before I was deprived of use.

The open police investigation is a valid point. I do have a case on file (required for insurance). Person who contacted me remarked that the person he purchased from had gotten it from someone else as "loan collateral" but balked. Pawn shop possibly? Who knows. Stolen bikes are a racket and this was no druggie opportunistic crime - it was a straight up pro thief specifically targeting my property and my bikes. They probably work with other people who fence the goods into the community. I was shocked to see that it ended up so close to home; I figured it would go on a van headed for Sacramento rather than risk being discovered in the local area. Shows how little I know about drugs/thieves/fences/pawn shops/fraud/etc. Police deserve the opportunity to close the case or put more intel together ... but shit, this is Oakland and honestly the cops don't have the time to investigate people like me w/ good jobs having $5K bikes getting stolen with no one getting hurt.