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If you've got nothing planned sunday and your legs are feelin' healthy, there's a charity ride 4 Peaks for Parkinson's. Small donation. Fully supported at certain points (food, clothing drop off etc). I'll be there with some of the EV guys.
Excited for the great weather this weekend as well.
Riding out with a buddy around North Shore on Saturday. Man, if I wasn't going hiking this Sunday. I would be so down to do this ride. Have a good ride Will.
'No drop / regroup ride eh'? What if I take all day, just for SFU? haha..
Have fun!
Anyone going to the big Police Auction on Saturday? Yes, lots of bikes, but in my experience from past auctions, the prices will get bidded really high and won't be worth it in the end, especially with the buyer's premiums (17%), plus taxes, plus $10 admission fee.
And be aware of the BMO Marathon this weekend if you're riding in the city.
The expo is on at the convention centre if you need to get some gels or running gear.
Okay, story time!! I've been waiting to tell this one, since it has the best ending possible!
A few days, I noticed a bike on Craigslist, that looked very similar to the bike that my co-worker had stolen from UBC. It was stolen from his house TWO YEARS ago. I txted him, and told him to look at the very vague ad and the two blurry photos posted. What was strange was, that it had the same aftermarket red saddle and white shimano pedals that my co-worker installed after buying the bike. See, my co-worker had given up all hope of ever finding his bike again, and has bought a new bike since then.
So, I emailed the ad, pretending to be an interested buyer and asked what size it was, and when I could come see the bike, even though the ad had a name (Curt) and phone number in the reply box.
Amazingly, I did get a reply, and set up a time and place to meet. It was today at 12:15 at a townhouse complex in North Vancouver. So, at this point, I discussed this with my co-worker and we went over our options. Yes, we can go confront the seller and dish some vigilante justice and take the bike back, or go the proper route and call the cops. He did call the cops at the time the bike was stolen, but like most people, he didn't record the serial number! Nor did he have any photos. So, I urged him to go to the bike store he bought it from and have them look it up and print out another copy of the receipt for him. And they did! I gathered all the evidence, screen grabs of the craigslist ad, receipts for the aftermarket saddle and pedals, and talked to a friend who's in the VPD. He said, yes, you can try to steal it back, or bring a few friends with you..hahaha, or call the North Van RCMP.
We opted to 'do the right thing' and called the RCMP, and told them the entire story. We asked them if they could send an undercover cop to accompany or meet us when we met up with the seller. You know what they said? They said, 'potentially'. Um, ok. Well, I guess at this point, we can't prove the bike is ours 100% if we can't verify the serial number on the bike itself. AND if the serial number is filed off the bike, we are SOL as well! So we had to hope the serial number was still there.
Fast forward to this morning, the RCMP officer said he cannot come, and even suggested to us to steal the bike back! I was somewhat surprised about that. Made us promise, over the phone, to not be confrontational or cause conflict! LOL. Well, if it was some big thug, we'd pee our pants.
Anyways, my co-worker and I came up with one plan of attack. We agreed to just look at the bike and NOT steal it back. Of course, leading up to the meeting, we were both pretty nervous about the whole thing. And this whole time, I was using a fake name on my email, so the seller has no idea who I am or what my phone number is.
So, I drove us up to North Vancouver, scoped out the townhouse and parked a block away, in case things changed and we did steal the bike back if our minds changed. Txted the seller to come out front, and a surprise to both of us, it was a middle aged woman! But sure enough, there was the bike, with the same red SMP saddle and white pedals. She introduced herself to my co-worker and my co-worker says his real name, when we had discussed to use a different name! D'oh! Buhahaha, oh well, whatever. I told her that he brought me along to check out the bike, since I knew what to look for. So I fiddle with it a bit, checking out the brakes, the gears, and then I flip it over, you know, to check for the serial number on the bottom bracket. I had pre-written the serial number on my palm because I knew I wouldn't be able to remember all those digits in that situation! Well, of course, the bottom bracket cable guide was covering some of the numbers, but we could see that the first 2 digits and last digit matched. OK, we are 99.9% sure this is THE bike now. We couldn't test ride the bike, because both tires were flat, so that gave us no opportunity to just ride away.
I tell the seller, yes, we'd like to buy the bike, but we need to go to the bank machine to grab some cash and come back. She even suggested taking the bike with us, to put some air in the tires. At this point, I look at my co-worker and am thinking, hey..we can just take the bike right now with this opportunity! Gave her this old defunct bank card for collateral, but she was smart enough to ask for something with a name on it. Thinking quickly, I was like, nah...we'll just go get cash and come back for the bike.
We walked back to my car and jumped inside. Called the RCMP again, and explained the entire story yet again, and finally they said they'll send a cruiser out right away. After 10 minutes, a ghost car finally comes down the road and we meet with the two officers, and go over the story yet again! Officer is like, wait, you're only 'sorta' sure it's your bike? Well yeah because the cable guide is covering a couple of digits, but I explain to him about the red saddle and white pedals and that we got MOST of the digits of the serial number. They said to txt her back to have her come out front, and they'll pull up when we're talking to her.
So, met up with the woman again, and we had to break it to her. Co-worker says to her, this is actually my bike, it was stolen from me 2 years ago. She was like, HUH WHAT? Then the cops come pulling up with their siren and lights a-blazing, jump out and yell, 'you're under arrest!'. Yep, just like on tv! hahaha. It was pretty exciting, but I was like, uh...that's going overboard no? After explaining the story to the woman, and taking off the cable guide, we verified the entire serial number. The woman explained how she got it as a mother's day gift from her ex-husband and kids a couple years ago. That very well may be a true story, and we felt bad for her, but we were happy to get the bike back! To be fair, my co-worker even offered to pay her the money for the new chain that she said she put on there, but she refused, and she said she was happy to return the bike to the rightful owner! So, I guess the RCMP will follow up with her ex-husband now.
Well, sure made for an exciting Friday, and good to miss some work. Justice has prevailed, hahaha! (Well, not really, since we don't know who the thief is.) And hopefully this will shed some light on what preventative measures you should take to protect your bike! Photos! Photos of you WITH the bike! Serial numbers! Receipts! If you bought the bike 2nd hand & don't have receipts, then run serial number checks to see if the bike is stolen BEFORE you buy it. Engrave your driver's licence number on it, maybe also on some parts if they're pricey, like the saddle, pedals, etc. Hide some personal information down the seat tube, under the inner tubes, in the stem, under the bar tape/grips, etc!
And if you do have your bike stolen, I know the chances are slim to none of ever finding it, but keep looking out for it! Because the cops won't be looking for it, it is the lowest on the priority list for them.
*Willing to be hired as your bike detective.
Last edited by azncreationz; 05-05-2015 at 10:14 PM.
Just got my my bike fit done by Ian Pacific Multisport today. Really great fellas over there! Charged me a reasonable price for the fit and gave me a deal on a new stem (they determined mine was a bit too long) and cleats. Would recommended!
Thanks, bcrdukes!!
Last edited by tomatogunk; 05-08-2015 at 10:32 PM.
so i picked up a cannondale quick cx1, figured since ill be pulling along the twins chariot alot i'm better off using a hardtail instead of my full suspension rocky mountain. i've already picked up my leds and some fenders, just wondering what are some good saddles and bar packs at a decent price? i'm just a casual rider but i do plan on commuting eventually.
One thing i am also looking for are helmet straps, i have a helmet but the dam strap don't adjust big enough so the dam things are pretty much tight on me. if i cant find straps whats a good helmet that comes large and wont break the bank?
Congrats on the buy! The Quick CX1 is a great commuter and kid hauler.
There's no magical answer to your question regarding saddles and bar packs, but what I would suggest is to get in some more saddle time and ride around for a few weeks get your body used to the bike, then seek some help from your preferred bike shop for assistance.
Can't help you on the helmet strap arena. I would suggest checking online first or visiting a bike shop to gauge what your options are. Perhaps azncreationz can chime in.
Happy riding!
__________________
Quote:
Originally Posted by BIC_BAWS
I literally do not plan on buying another vehicle in my lifetime, assuming it doesn't get written off.
Picked up a new bike to replace my stolen one. It's a 2015 Argon18 Radon, ended up getting the full 105 setup. Wife is gonna let me keep it in the condo now.
Spoiler!
Not many dealers carry Argon18's. I went to MightyRiders as they were the closest and didn't like the service I got, or rather didn't get.
Emailed Speed Theory and North Shore Roadbike and North Shore was the only shop to respond.
I ordered the bike from North Shore and it came a week later.
I made an appointment to go pick up the bike today. When I showed up, they forgot I was coming so the bike wasn't assembled.
Not a big deal since I had to go to Arcade station to pick up some E85 and I spent some time checking out their shop. They seem to be a pretty high end shop, carrying quite a few
expensive bikes in stock.
After an hour and a half, the bike was ready and I was fitted.
Picked up some bike lube which they gave to me for free because of their mistake. Overall, a pretty good experience at North Shore, but I'd still rather have my old Argon and not go through this ordeal.
Sorry you had to go through the ordeal and sucks that it took so long to get you back onto a bike. But at least you got a sweet ride now!
Edit: Is that a Shimano 105 10 or 11 speed? I think the 10 speed groups aren't easily accessible now, or at least financially, they are more or less the same. Am I wrong?
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BIC_BAWS
I literally do not plan on buying another vehicle in my lifetime, assuming it doesn't get written off.
The groupset is a Shimano 105 5800 and is 11spd. I still have 2 wheelsets that I got from you, but they don't work with the 11spd....though I could use the front wheels.
Sorry you had to go through the ordeal and sucks that it took so long to get you back onto a bike. But at least you got a sweet ride now!
Edit: Is that a Shimano 105 10 or 11 speed? I think the 10 speed groups aren't easily accessible now, or at least financially, they are more or less the same. Am I wrong?
Pricing between the 5700 and 5800 are quite similar...which I find odd. You can still find them readily available online though. But ya you do need 11 speed compatible hubs.
The stars aligned yesterday and I was able to clear my schedule and spend the whole day riding. Smashed my distance PR, wanted to keep going but my stomach started acting up from all the crap I was trying to cram down lol. And it was a brutal headwind heading all the way home.
holy sh*t, i'm just happy to do 8km to steveston and then back home, then again i'm pulling along a couple babies in a chariot.....
which reminds me it's pretty difficult to find a place to park the bike with the chariot, i was wondering if anyone has used the filzer kickstands...idc if its light or what not my main concern is durability.
also gonna get rid of the rear planet bike hybrid fender because it bends too easily, i might just look at adding a pannier style or seatpost rack for usability.
and geezus cannondale's stock seat sucks ass (no pun intended) for comfort, i see everyone upgrading seats what's a good quality brand i should be looking at (my ass big LOL)
Well, any distance on the bike still counts, and nobody ever said it would be easy doing it with kids in a chariot!
Filzer products (for me anyway) have been hit and miss. Having said that, I don't have a kick stand so I can't speak for the quality. Since it's an MEC exclusive/in-house brand, it should be okay and you have their warranty.
Most, if not, all stock seats suck ass. I tend to steer people away from the MEC brands (i.e. Planet Bike etc.) and encourage people to go Italian (i.e. Selle Italia, Fizik, Selle San Marco, Prologo) and Specialized (American.) Again, you would have to go to a bike shop to get fitted, but try to put in more bike time before changing saddles. It could also be fitment between you and the bike that is causing problems.
__________________
Quote:
Originally Posted by BIC_BAWS
I literally do not plan on buying another vehicle in my lifetime, assuming it doesn't get written off.
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