Are cyclists stealing from cyclists?

[SkipdiverJohn]

you used to see a suspiciously large number of second hand bike parts down brick lane market in east london.

The Shoreditch end of Brick Lane has always been notorious for the fencing of dodgy gear. Nothing new, was probably much the same a hundred years ago long before it all got sanitised and gentrified around there.

 

[Blue Hills]

The Shoreditch end of Brick Lane has always been notorious for the fencing of dodgy gear. Nothing new, was probably much the same a hundred years ago long before it all got sanitised and gentrified around there.

Yes it has been sanitized - remarkably so. I remember it from donkey's years ago - even though very central a largely forgotten area of London, assorted fascists selling dodgy newspapers on sundays, I once got "advised" not to take photos as some of the old guys selling jewellery didn't like their photos being taken.

 

[T4tomo]

It's road.cc. As a news source its credibility is a little north of the Beano, but well south of the Daily Sport.

11-28 10spd cassette found on moon.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Perseverance captures first images of cyclists on Mars

 

[MichaelW2]

I has a nice Shimano 600 Arabesque rear mech removed from my bike...in 1985.
Nothing new.

 

[icowden]

One should always apply the sensationalist headline rule. When the headline is a question:-

Have cyclists resorted to stealing cassettes and rear mechs due to component shortages?

The answer is always "NO!".

 

[newfhouse]

Betteridge’s Law

One should always apply the sensationalist headline rule. When the headline is a question:-



The answer is always "NO!".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betteridge's_law_of_headlines

 

[matticus]

That's a good rule of thumb. See also:

Cyclists: Scourge Of The Streets? - Channel 5
www.channel5.com › show › cyclists-scourge-of-the-str...

9 Jul 2019 — There is growing tension between two wheels and four.

Channel 5 claimed that they were merely asking the question.

 

[yello]

The Shoreditch end of Brick Lane has always been notorious for the fencing of dodgy gear.

It is where I bought a bike from, near on 30 years ago now, not that I knew of its reputation back then.

 

[marzjennings]

Must say I do find it rather unbelievable. Having being targeted by bike thieves for years the vast majority wouldn’t turn to thievery just to replace a spare part. If it is happening it’s more likely to be carried out by someone specialising in that kind of thing.

Nothing new, I had a couple of cycling mates 35 years ago, keen weekend racers, who would always carry a small tool kit, couple of allen keys and chain breaker just in case the opportunity for a free upgrade presented itself. It's the main reason I never lock a bike up outside or use a bike rack as I knew the types of scroats that can strip a bike in seconds.

 

[Blue Hills]

A Finnish friend of mine was staying in a cheap hotel round there some years ago. He was delighted to bag himself a Brooks saddle for next to nothing and was amazed at the bits and pieces on sale. He was a bit saddened when I explained to him where they had all come from.

I've not been there for ages. I only ever went there for the curries. I expect all the curry houses are high tech barista-run exclusive-roast cafes now.

At the risk of thread drift, I think Club Row animal market still existed there when I first came to London.
Many of the buildings round brick lane looked as if the Luftwaffe had been over the night before.
There's a manhole cover on a pedestrian traffic island near now trendy RichMix that gives access to secret cold war tunnels.
I have pics of a demo highlighting it and the secret state.
God I feel old.

 

[Blue Hills]

Nothing new, I had a couple of cycling mates 35 years ago, keen weekend racers, who would always carry a small tool kit, couple of allen keys and chain breaker just in case the opportunity for a free upgrade presented itself. It's the main reason I never lock a bike up outside or use a bike rack as I knew the types of scroats that can strip a bike in seconds.

scum.
I used to lead lots of free London bike rides.
As we stood around nattering at the beginning of one ride the conversation turned to nicked bikes and suspiciously cheap bikes for quick sale that were almost certainly nicked.
One gleeful wise-guy chipped in that he would happily grab the bargains.
We were a motley easy going bunch (never knew who would turn up) with all sorts of opinions but I still regret not telling him to sod off home.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

I like a bargain, but even so I wouldn't knowingly buy bent gear, as you're fuelling the market for bike theft. My M.O. is to always check out eBay sellers other stuff and feedback before purchasing. Most look OK, but I've avoided buying from the odd character that I just had bad vibes about. Luckily at the prices I pay there's not much criminal profit to be made, so the proportion of listings I have suspicions about is very small. if I was spending real money, not just beer money, then I would need to be doubly vigilant as the incentive for sellers to punt out hooky gear would be correspondingly greater.

 

[Blue Hills]

Luckily at the prices I pay there's not much criminal profit to be made,

Top tip skipdiver.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

Top tip skipdiver.

It's something I think you also practice with your purchases, albeit you don't take it quite to the extreme I do. Cycling is no different to anything else in life in that the more cash you've got tied up in it, the more attractive it is to rogues who want to try and grab a slice of it, and the greater potential loss you are exposed to if they succeed.