Monday, December 10, 2007

Worst of NYC Craigslist Bike Ads #33-#37

Last week I saw something disturbing on Craigslist, as did at least one reader who emailed me to bring it to my attention. No, it wasn't someone looking to trade a kidney for Suntour Superbe Pro crank or anything like that--black market organ trading is so commonplace on Craigslist that it's not even worth mentioning. It was actually something far worse. Someone was selling a Bianchi Pista for a price so shockingly low it brought the NYC PistaDex down to a staggering 350. And it must have sold quickly, because the ad vanished as fast as it had materialized.

At the time, rather than cause a panic by bringing this to your attention, I decided to watch and wait. It was the day of New York's first snowfall, so I figured maybe someone was panicking and that the market would undergo a correction. I was right. While there aren't any Bianchi Pistas for sale at the moment, I think the current crop of fixed-gear frippery should be enough to convince you the Apocalypse is not yet upon us. Or is it...?

Eai Brass knuckle track frame(Sand Green) - $220 [original URL: http://newyork.craigslist.org/mnh/bik/503364718.html]
Reply to: [deleted]
Date: 2007-12-08, 11:10PM EST

Properly used brass knuckle for sale i have original fork I am not selling it with the carbon fork that is on the picture.

the specs are

50cm 1 1/8 headtube (threadless) and

the bike does not include bottom bracket

but will include a head set (not the chris king)

it has scracthes no dents

it has vertical drop outs

aluminum frame rides nicely takes a great mass of abuse

i am a messenger in the city so i can show you it

serious inquires only [deleted]



Ah, so nice to see an old friend. If it is indeed the same bike and this person bought it I do hope he managed to negotiate the original $1,200 asking price. The seller points out that this frame is "properly used," but I see absolutely nothing proper about dressing a track bike like a raver. I also don't see "vertical dropouts," though I do see track ends. Most troubling is his reassurance that this aluminum frame "takes a great mass of abuse." Buying abused aluminum is like adopting an abused pitbull--sooner or later it's going to bite you in the ass. And why does he say, "i am a messenger in the city so i can show you it"? Is he an aspiring tour guide too?


58cm MOTH Track Bike - Tubular Deep V Campy Wheel Set - $650 [original URL: http://newyork.craigslist.org/jsy/bik/502510129.html]
Reply to: [deleted]
Date: 2007-12-08, 2:53AM EST

This is a great bike, fun to ride, super smooth. Unfortunately I've got to pay rent this month so I have to let it go.
I'm Selling it complete ($650 obo) or the frame or wheel set separate ($300 each).
58cm Moth Aluminum Track frame, integrated headset, aluminum fork drilled for brake.
Campagnolo Track Wheel Set, German Tubular tires, radial front, 3 cross rear.
46/17 IRO drive train, straight and true.
Custom Cinelli drop bars turned into bullhorns.
MKS Chain Tensioners.
Shimano Clipless Pedals.
Any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.


I like this ad for a number of reasons. Firstly, I'm a big fan of bike-in-the-kitchen shots. If you were to put a saucer of milk in front of this bike it would look like a gangly house cat. I also like that the seller mentions he's "got to pay rent this month." Why only this month? What stingy roommate, girlfriend, or authority figure has decided to finally put an end to his days of freeloading and ass-above-shoulders riding? Perhaps like Icarus his Moth has finally flown too close to the flame of laziness. I also wonder why he won't mention the brand of the tire and instead only calls them "German Tubular tires." Do sponshorship obligations prevent him from specifying that they're Continentals? But most of all I like that he says the drivetrain is "straight and true." This is the kind of thing a wistful captain might say about his ship's timbers before setting out to sea. I'm tempted to go see the bike if only to hear that description in person. "Aye, her drivetrain's straight and true, her saddle is high as the noonday sun, and her bars are lower than Larry David's testis."


$75.00 to $125.00 ( single speeds ) [original URL: http://newyork.craigslist.org/brk/bik/502611542.html]
Reply to: [deleted]

Date: 2007-12-08, 8:16AM EST

My bike shop with my nephew who lives near the Bedford L train station in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

check out our BIKES by e-mail at [deleted]

I believe this is what's called a "sentence fragment." I'm assuming he meant to add the word "sucks" after "Brooklyn." How do you check out bikes by email anyway?

My new bike may be your old bike-- [original URL: http://newyork.craigslist.org/brk/bik/502426962.html]
Reply to: [deleted]

Date: 2007-12-08, 12:21AM EST

So, my acquisition this evening (12/7) is a stellar new bicycle. On the corner of Bedford and Grand in Brooklyn-a gentleman, unsolicited, offered me a stunning bike at a discount rate. I bartered like a savy individual and walked away with a nearly flawless item for less than most pay for a reasonable steak entree or a moderate bottle of wine. Though I am guility- My good fortune may be the source of your tears or at least minute gripes. Common sense dictates this pedal vechicle was originally obtained by my street salesman through less than honest measures. I will return it to the owner if they read this and describe it succinctly- otherwise it's mine.

I was the recipient of a velocipede theft this last summer and understand the actue trauma involved running about like a desperate Italian with your son in tow -scavenging the markets for reminents of your transportation -disgusted, frustrated, and helplessly irate,.......... - Here's your chance to balance one petty injustice-- It's a men's trek- tell me the rest...........


I can tell you the rest, but not about the bike. I can tell you that you moved here after graduating from Oberlin and that you have a penchant for scarves and corduroy jackets with elbow pads. I can tell you also that despite your studied, old-fashioned persona you are occasionally seduced by the internet, and in your idle moments you've caught yourself browsing galleries of 19th century facial hair as part of your ongoing attempt to grow the perfect beard. I also know that when you're lucky enough to get a date you spend at least ten minutes studying the beer list, and when the bartender finally comes to take your order you have to tell her to come back because you haven't decided yet. You also read McSweeney's and may be working on a semi-autobiographical novel with a really long title--in fact, you contemplated titling this post "The Purloined Penny-Farthing: In Which I Purchase a Bicycle Which May Have Been Wrongly Appropriated by the Seller, and In Which I Endeavor to Return It to Its Rightful Owner." Also, your parents aren't really going to Mexico for the holidays. They just don't want you home for Christmas.

IRO Mark V fixed gear 56cm, plus parts, like new - $750 [original URL: http://newyork.craigslist.org/brk/bik/498989924.html]
Reply to: [deleted]

Date: 2007-12-04, 8:53PM EST

IRO Mark V, 56cm, fixed gear setup

This bike was built up from the Mark V frameset by Recycle a Bicycle in Brooklyn. All the parts and workmanship are superb.

Maybe 100 miles of riding since new.

NOS Sugino Gold 45T chainring

15T Shimano Dura Ace Cog

170mm Bulletproof cranks

Panaracer Stradius 700x23 tires

Mavic CXP22 rims + Formula hubs (running fixed gear, please note this is not a single speed/freewheel setup)

Kalin seatpost

NOS yellow perforated Selle Italia Concor saddle Dimension stem (threadless headset)

Optional front brake (currently fitted)

3 sets of bars:

Nitto NJS Pista track bars, straight road bars, shortened MTB risers

Kryptonite lock

Bern hard hat I'll even throw in a set of Adidas MTB shoes if you want.

Truly a great deal for someone.



IRO? Bulletproof?!? Dimension?!?!? All this for only $750? Clearly this person saw that $350 Pista last week because he's casting off the fixed-gear lifestyle like a swinger casts off his robe before stepping into a crowded jacuzzi. He's even including the shoes, the helmet, and three bars so you can pose differently on this bike according to your moods. I'm not sure what "straight road bars" are though. Does he mean "straight" like "straight-up?" Or straight like flat mountain bike bars? Or bullhorns? I also don't know what an "optional front brake" is. Are they making brakes that engage automatically now? In that case I suppose I finally understand the brakeless phenomenon--if I couldn't decide for myself when to apply my brake I'd probably ditch it too. In any case, here's your chance to step right into a used IRO for just a fraction less than what two brand new ones would cost.

83 comments:

Anonymous said...

omgomg, I did it!

Anonymous said...

Pipped at the line!

Anonymous said...

I would like to thank my mom...

Anonymous said...

i would also like to thank your mom.

Anonymous said...

top five...

Anonymous said...

Bare knuckle frames are steel, FYI.

Anonymous said...

Teehee, Oberlin.

Anonymous said...

that larry david "lowball" link had me laughing, hard, nice one BSNYC

Mamsterla said...

Sits up and coasts in for top 10

BikeSnobNYC said...

Anonymous 12:56pm,

EAI also sells an aluminum one called the "Brass Knuckle," which is what's for sale here.

--BSNYC

Anonymous said...

OK, so it's obvious, but I liked the Mothbike ad. You could buy the whole bike for $650, but if you make the seller take the wheels off for you, you can get the whole shebang for fifty bucks less.

Maybe if, after he takes the wheels off, you ask him to put them back on the bike again, he would knock another fifty bucks off the price.

Evershed said...

I laughed so hard I spilled coffee on myself

Matthew said...

Fear not! Despite an alarmingly large number of fixed gear bikes for sale here in the SF Bay area, our PistaDex remains robust at 562.5 for 8 Pistas rated including this seller who is really doing more than his share to keep the PistaDex strong: http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/bik/504422074.html

Of course, the myth holds that the Fixed Gear Apocalypse will start in the east and sweep across the land so perhaps we are just reveling in the glory before the fall.

erik k said...

do you think the man who acquired the trek is the type to sport an urban sombrero? im thinking of starting a club

Anonymous said...

Meow.

Strayhorn said...

The Triangle continues to lag in the PistaDex, but we do have people selling C-Dale CAAD5s converted to fixies for $750:

http://raleigh.craigslist.org/bik/504662363.html

He says it's just sitting in the living room but provides no photo, alas, because I like living room shots as much as BS likes the kitchen shots. Nothing like a squint at someone else's decor to make me feel like I'm not a total slob.

Anonymous said...

Now that's why I read BikeSnob. This post alone could provide fuel for a blog post of my own "In appreciation of Bike Snob". If only I wasn't lazy and if I only I had a blog.

Here are some gems (again, I'm lazy, so I'm just slapping some copied text in.

"I also like that the seller mentions he's "got to pay rent this month." Why only this month?"

"Also, your parents aren't really going to Mexico for the holidays. They just don't want you home for Christmas."

"He's casting off the fixed-gear lifestyle like a swinger casts off his robe before stepping into a crowded jacuzzi."

"He's even including the shoes, the helmet, and three bars so you can pose differently on this bike according to your moods. "

Also, I like anonymous at 1:04pm's comment on the Moth (BTW, what worse name for a bike brand, besides 'Pake', is there?) "Maybe if, after he takes the wheels off, you ask him to put them back on the bike again, he would knock another fifty bucks off the price."

Finally, the penultimate CL post for today got me wondering whether a new pre-Safety Bicycle trend is smoldering in the sub-culture. Penny Farthing Fakengers? Hipsters sans pneumatic tires?

erik k said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Johnny said...

Maybe the $50 discount if you buy the bike and wheelset separately is for the bus/taxi fare home, since you can't ride a bike without wheels.

This is assuming, of course, that he won't let you borrow a wrench to bolt-on the rear hub.

Karl Rover said...

Snob. Great job of weaving rarely mentioned body parts (kidney, testis, ass, beard, etc...) into a post about bikes. Usually everybody focuses on the legs.

Jim said...

I think you're being wayyyy too tough on the guy who bought the stolen bike - he's trying to do a good deed here.

It reminds me of a guy I saw on a loaded Trek Madone a few weeks ago. I was driving into work at 5:00 AM through a really, really dire part of D.C. Only prostitutes and serious degenerates were still out. I got stuck at a traffic light where several pleasure entrepreneurs of indeterminate gender were standing and this one guy - I'm guessing the brains of the operation - rolls up on the Trek. Deep dish carbon wheels, carbon bars, Dura Ace, with rolled up sweatpants and sneakers on clipless pedals. About $9k on the hoof. I think he wanted to do some bidness but I wasn't about to roll down the window, though I thought about asking him if he was going to be doing the DC Velo ride on Saturday AM. I also thought about trying to take the bike off the guy and hit up the local listserves to see who lost it, but you never know - if investment bankers are buying $200 track bike frames and building them into beater ass fixies, what's to stop low end street pimps from riding high end carbon road frames?

Oh yeah, that and I didn't want to get shot, or beat up at 5:00 AM by transvestite hookers in a fight over somebody else's bicycle. That would be tough to explain to my wife.

Anonymous said...

I think you let the first guy off easy by not mentioning offering a headset and fork, but of course not the ones pictured. How lame can you get?

Niki said...

Maybe the fixpocolypse will start not with a bang but with a whimper...

erik k said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Daddo said...

uh...that was me and I'm CAT 2, my friend.

It's just that it pays so little!

Anonymous said...

i think people are reticent of hotlinks because of prollygate

erik k said...

haHa yah that was kinda bad, but it was also pretty damn funny even thought it pissed me off, i still laughed at it

Anonymous said...

having lived with an oberlin grad and having met all her oberlin friends, i found the oberlin bit hillarious. i could see at least half of them purveying such bombast.

Anonymous said...

Bikesnob-just one question. Where would you be without FGG and Craigslist? Probably like Bob Hope without Vietnam, eh? I loved the bike in the kitchen shot. I think that's a can of Pam on the counter-makes great chain lube.

Anonymous said...

...an early days, old school post AND you referenced 'scrotal hematoma'...
...ouch...

Anonymous said...

so here in boston our pistadex (as far as craigslist goes) is ~$450, $100 less than most people's retail on the bike. maybe this is good news: the tide is turning. however, the sample of pistas on craigslist was pretty small--three bikes and a set of track drops i didn't include in my figuring. also, one is an '99, one an '02, the other an '07. what all this tells me is that the hipsters aren't selling, which means they're likely keeping their bikes until the end of next season at least--so we've got at least another year to go. on the upside, those on the market for a properly used bike with track ends will soon be able to find them abandoned by college students all over town, where previously were only ill-used, dual-suspension department store nags languishing in the snow and road salt for another winter.

Anonymous said...

I think it is worth noting that this bike can be had for $650, or the prospective buyer can have the frame for $300 and the wheels for $300. Talk about a deal!

Anonymous said...

I got a Suntour Superbe Pro crank. Anyone want to trade me their kidney for it?

Anonymous said...

Only trolls buy stolen bikes. don't give me the "I deserve it because it happened to me" excuse.

And if I see you riding a bike stolen from me, I aint asking any questions before I kick your ass because you are just as much of a scumbag and the crackhead that stole it in the first place.

Anonymous said...

The author of the "My New Bike May Be Your Old Bike" illustrates Dashiell Hammett's observation: "The cheaper the crook, the gaudier the patter."

It's still Accepting Stolen Property even if he tries to be witty on the internet.

And telling folks he paid the equivalent of a steak ain't gonna change a felony to a misdemeanor. It's the value of the bike -- which the poor sap trumpets -- that determines that.

Honestly, confessing to a felony on Craigslist. How dumb can you get?

I guess we should be lucky the crime wasn't worse.

Nabokov wrote "you can trust a murderer for a fancy prose style." (He wrote it in "Lolita," I was reading it for the dirty parts, but they were hard to find.)

Imagine having to slog through Grad Student Guy's justification for murder.

"Gentle Craigslist Reader -- I trust our hearts will beat in compleat sympathy when I share the consternation I experienced upon discovering that my paterfamilias' protests of decamping to Mexico for the winter holidays were less than a gossamer tissue of lies, yet still a veritable veil of deceit most foul. Well, what choice did I have?"

Yeesh, what a schmuck.

Here's a thought.

If he feels so guilty, he might see if someone filed a police report about the theft of an expensive bike.

Otherwise, I confess gentle reader, that I agree with Anon 3:09: "He's as much of a condom as the drug addicted fellow who first purloined said velocipede."

Or sumpthin' like that.

db said...

God, this made my Monday. Props to Snob, Leroy, Jim, Erik K, Manimal, and anonymous others. Thanks.

Anonymous said...

i'm not certain, but i imagine the guy could easily claim ignorance unless the seller/thief claimed outright he was offering stollen property - in which case the buyer could easily LIE and claim ingorance. just assuming the bike is stolen is not a crime, and neither is buying a grossly udnervalued bike. what's more, the buyer can't somehow correct the wrong done when the property was stollen. so by offering it on craigslist, a place most people check after they lose their bicycles, it seems like he's doing as much of a good service as anything. granted, he does deserve a health punch in the face for his prose.

Anonymous said...

to eric k @ 1:19

It's williamsburg, gotta be a fedora

Anonymous said...

This is the kind of thing a wistful captain might say about his ship's timbers before setting out to sea. I'm tempted to go see the bike if only to hear that description in person. "Aye, her drivetrain's straight and true, her saddle is high as the noonday sun, and her bars are lower than Larry David's testis."

Absolutely Brilliant!

Anonymous said...

While that IRO is definitely overpriced, you can't actually get two new ones for just a fraction more than $750. Let's not let hyperbole get the best of us here.

LK said...

I think the "NOS Sugino Gold 45T chainring" deserves some riffing. New old shit, "straight" from the disco error.

Those "straight" road bars look kinda bent too.

Pulling your gold chain-ring straight outa DUMBO.

As for the Art History 101 major, he's got The Bicycle Thief, Joe E Brown at the Six Day Racers and a late 1890's litho of a velocipede racing a horse and carriage, which may very have happened.

I have found his velocipede though, turns out it was a knock off:

http://tinyurl.com/28c896

Anonymous said...

If you see a bike out on the street, slumming, esp. one with clipless and underinflated presta stemmed tubes, odds are it was traded for an illicit substance.

Guys don't steal bikes they can't use or move cleanly.

Anonymous said...

Clayton -- it's a crime if he knew the bike he bought was stolen or if he should have known it was stolen.

His post announces that bought the bike from some guy on the street for peanuts and he thinks it was stolen! You can't get much closer to "should have known" then that.

Can you imagine the defense?

"Golly, I always do my Christmas shopping from crackheads on the corner of Bedford and Grand Streets. It's a zen thing."

He'll be fine though. No one is gonna think he's worth prosecuting.

Anonymous said...

So this guy walks into a bike shop in a with a peg leg, eye-patch, a parrot on his shoulder and a Pirate hat on his head.

Pretty standard stuff except he's got a set of modified bull horns down his pants.

He tells the clerk, "Arrgh, I be wanting to sell me Pista. The drive train be straight and true, but the handlebars be driving me nuts."

Sorry, couldn't resist.

BikeSnobNYC said...

Leroy,

Nice!

--BSNYC

Anonymous said...

Okay, Bike Snob, I want you to come out here to CT and explain to my IT guys why there are bits of semi-chewed sandwich stuck in my keyboard. I should know better than to eat while reading BSNYC, but I'm a slow learner. That Oberlin bit...too, too funny.

erik k said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
erik k said...

anonymous 3:57 PM.. I think you may be onto something. its seems that a profile is materializing I think culprit may look something like this. And honestly I don't want anyone joining my club who refers to bicycles as, "pedal vehicles" because then he might want to include unicyclists.

Anonymous said...

Leroy, "should have known" doesn't could for "knew," regardless of assumption.

should a judge sentence him based on his IQ? if forrest gump buys the bike, is will his punishment be less since he's less likely to assume the bike was stollen?

and so far as i can see, you can legally buy almost anything from a crackhead except for crack.

you see my point? i think assuming the bike is stollen doesn't make it a crime. i don't think it's a crime unless the guy says outright that he's selling a stollen bike. our justice system is built to avoid this sort of presumption. not saying our system is perfect, but such bold presumption would guarentee injustice.

Anonymous said...

Clayton

Anonymous said...

Clayton,

Stollen is a bread-like cake traditionally made in Germany.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stollen

Anonymous said...

mmm. bread like cake.

thanks for the info!

Anonymous said...

...leroy, awesome...you've been the epitome of eloquence all day...

...i'll buy the pista & the damn parrot but you can keep those bars, matey...i know where they've been...

Karl Rover said...

Leroy, sweet Pirate joke. Here is a more G rated joke you can tell your kids (if you have any):

Q) Why couldn't the Pista stand up on its own?

A) Because it was two tired.

Anonymous said...

"I bartered like a savy individual..."

Savy? Is that like frugal, as in "Why I wouldn't give you more than the cost of a reasonable steak entree, or a moderate bottle of wine." Or did the verbose good Samaritan mean "savvy"?

I'm not usually one for pointing out others' typos, but if you're going to go around flexing your big brain, at least run spell check. It would have also caught "reminent."

Also, I had a phone conversation last week with a new Oberlin grad who was applying for a job. My side of the phone interview went something like this:

"So I see you're interested in the position we have available. Just to clarify, though we are in Oregon, the job is not in the Portland metro area or easy commuting distance. Are you still interested?"

"Okay, well good luck in whatever else you pursue."

Anonymous said...

BSNYC must have visited the Oberlin campus or some of the Oberlin outpost nests in NYC. Very good chance of seller being an Obie. Does it take one to spot one?? Where did BSNYC go to school?

Anonymous said...

Recieving stolen property as an offense does not require actually knowing that the property is stolen. If it can be reasonably assumed that they item may be stolen is reason enough for conviction. Hence, why you should not purchase bicycles from crack fiends in the 'Burg!

Anonymous said...

Karl -- I like it! Next time my kids give me grief about doing anything around the apartment, I'm gonna threaten to walk them to school in my bike clothes and tell jokes like that in a really loud voice. They'll either toe the line or I will have given them something to discuss in therapy when they get older. It's a win-win situation.

Clayton -- trust me on this, "should have known" is just as bad as "actually knew" for the crime of receiving stolen property. Buying something from a guy on the street you just met for cash at a bargain basement price is the quintessential "should have known" situation.

The "pure heart, empty head" defense is a tough sell -- unless, of course, you were doing business with Tony Soprano and he assured you the goods just fell off the back of a truck. I mean hey, if you can't trust Tony ....

But as for receiving stollen property, I agree. Mmmmmm, bread-like cake: no crime. 'Specially this time of year.

(Sorry bout my typing, had my eyes dilated at the doctor's office and haven't been able to focus at work. No really, I can't hardly see. The only thing I'm riding tonight is the subway.)

Anonymous said...

It really is a shame that someone can't stick his/her neck out to get a stolen bike back in the hands of its rightful owner.

Anonymous said...

Ok so i looked it up, and the best i could gather (i could not find NY state law) NJ state and federal law only follow through with the presumption of knowledge if the receiver meets one of the following criteria:

(1) Is found in possession or control of two or more items of property stolen on two or more separate occasions; or

(2) Has received stolen property in another transaction within the year preceding the transaction charged; or

(3) Being a person in the business of buying or selling property of the sort received, acquires the property without having ascertained by reasonable inquiry that the person from whom he obtained it had a legal right to possess and dispose of it ;or

(4) Is found in possession of two or more defaced access devices.


it seems our obie here, though, has already admitted enough to be found guilty under federal laws, at least, of what would, by his description, likely be a felony. if he hadn't been so verbose, however, the the court would have to be able to prove the seller told him the property was stolen.

i also learned that in some states buying it with the intention of returning it to its owner negates the crime. seems weird.

Daniel said...

suc·cinct [suhk-singkt]
–adjective
1. expressed in few words; concise; terse.
2. characterized by conciseness or verbal brevity.


Think that's what he meant? Or does he just like the sound of it?

And why are you guys so fussy about recieving stolen property? Oberlin dude didn't steal the bike, he just got a good deal on it. So what? I'm more worried about how much he's spending on "steak entrees" and wine.

What if he'd gotten a great deal on Craigslist? Maybe the guy who sold the bike got it as a gift from his parents. Who knows? Many rich New Yorkers attempt to cultivate the look of poor people from other places--perhaps this one decided bicycling wasn't for him and went back to graduate school or being in a grindcore band, or whatever other bullshit rich, lazy postadolescents do. It's unlikely, but hardly impossible.

I'm saying, the dude is obviously full of himself and a dickhead. His writing says all that. The story, and its dubious moral connations, aren't nearly as interesting as dissing him for being who he is.

And how're ya'll going to diss Clayton for his spelling? It's a blog comment section for Christ's sake! Fussy, fussy...

Anonymous said...

...bikesnob...waiting for yer take on the trackstar X dqm bmx/fix gear fashion accessory bikes...

...if paris hilton wanted to walk around w/ a sharp 'whip', she'd own a couple a' these...

Anonymous said...

i'm a loyal and satisfied bsnyc reader, lo! these several months now. and i'm an oberlin grad. (did the "lo!" give it away?)

keep on keepin' on, bike snob.

Anonymous said...

Clayton --

Some NY Law:

People v. Derrell, 6 A.D.3d 625, 774 N.Y.S.2d 805 (App. Div. 2d Dep't 2004) (evidence of criminal possession of stolen property was sufficient where defendant purchased a $65,000 Lincoln Navigator for $16,000 from a person known to him only as “Craig,” did not obtain a bill of sale or title from the putative seller, and had no way of contacting seller).

Hey, maybe the defendant meant to say "Craigslist" instead of "Craig" and the Court just misunderstood him.

Yeesh, did I get us off on this tangent?

Sorry!

Bluenoser said...

This is the kind of thing a wistful captain might say about his ship's timbers before setting out to sea. I'm tempted to go see the bike if only to hear that description in person. "Aye, her drivetrain's straight and true, her saddle is high as the noonday sun, and her bars are lower than Larry David's testis."

Snob,
Being from the land of "Wooden Ships and Iron Men". N.S. Tourism's quote not mine, I guess I resemble that remark.

-B

jmill said...

Whats the deal with being the first to post a comment?

Anonymous said...

hahaha, is it only my computer that doesn't link to erik k's how to hyperlink link?

Anonymous said...

Ahh, I'm hooked. I'm back here again . . . laughing out loud. You know, not everyone is funny and can write well, but these people DO exist. But to laugh about something as way inside baseball as a SunTour Superbe Pro crank? That's special.

Anonymous said...

Holy crap. When did this turn into FelonySnobNYC?

Anonymous said...

no, i think this tangent is my fault, leroy, but it's something i'm genuinely interested in, so sorry if i've become a troll, and i appreciate your patience.

ok, that settles it. while it's not as clear as the navigator, he clearly knew he was receiving an unlikely deal and he sought no bill of sale and bought it on a street corner, etc. etc.

you a lawyer, leroy?

the jinji said...

Universal law 125.943.98. If you're a moron who willingly buys stuff you think might be stolen and then thinks you're Honest Abe for posting an anonymous ad to give it back to the person it might have been stolen from, you should still be whacked in the nuts . . . preferably with the item you bought.

Anonymous said...

To the authors of the "Comments Section", I love this section as much as the original posts sometimes. "The Riddle" and other contenttious posts are some of the fond memories of BSNYC's blog. However, its STOLEN Goddammit!

Thank You!

Anonymous said...

with apologies to anon 5:30 and clayton. who wouldn't like tasty bread as opposed to hot property from some iced scumbag.

Anonymous said...

regardless of the legal outcome, said samaritan (or duke of savoy possibly?), the appropriate punishmentwould be a blanket party.

blanket party (n). whereas the recipient is held down under a blanket to prevent said recipient from seeing his punishers who beat him senseless with bars of soap suspended inside a long sock.

Philip Williamson said...

They don't grade for spelling at Oberlin? That's the giveaway, right?
(So... Chad... what kind of job is it?)

Jim, it's not being beaten to death by transexual hookers over someone else's bicycle that hurts. Or explaining the incident to your wife. The real grief is smiling politely while she tells that story at every dinner party you ever attend.

Hobgoblin - unplug your keyboard and swap with a co-worker who actually eats lunch away from the desk.
Q: "Hey, who spewed Coke in my keyboard?!"
A: "It's Pepsi. I mean - 'who knows?'"

I think if you choose "frame and wheels for $50 less, please", you don't get to keep the other parts.

"Learn to link" guy... 404 Not Found: Irony in HTML. They don't teach you that at Oberlin!

The Great White Hype said...

I live in trepidation of the PistaDex spreading.

Like a certain musical of the late 1990's, I see "Pista! The Musical" springing forth.

People are suddenly shocked when the Pista fraternity, usually close-knit and somewhat underground, is afflicted with a Pista-only blight, which causes the welds to dissolve, slowly seeing their helpless frames expire from an unrelenting end. At first it is dismissed as an anomoly, but it soon becomes terribly apparent that it goes further than first thought.

All across New York, people who rode a Pista once in 2006 cause a buddy said they "should try it, it's fun" are finding their current bikes falling foul of the same problem. Innocent bikes are succumbing to the weld-destroying problem, as it becomes apparent that this is now something the wider community must deal with. Across several states, people are 'outed' via their current bicycle, their Pista-past shamefully rearing its head.

Much wailing and gnashing of teeth ensues, curtains.

Jim (The GWH)

Jim said...

or the duke of savoy possibly

Which one Duke of Savoy do you think he is? There was a French Duchy of Savoy that was eventually absorbed into the Piedmont. Good riding, good food, good grapes. Bad airline. Since the missive is not in French, I'll assume you're speakign of the other Duchy of Savoy.

That Duchy of Savoy was like an embassy in London, a district carved out for the Duke of Lancaster, who kept a noble house there (like a castle). Perhaps this is the Duke you're referring to, since Samuel Pepys tells us the Duchy was used as a refuge from process servers. Ah, yes, that must be it - you must be thinking that this gentleman in possession of stolen goods is the Duke of Lancaster, who would naturally retire to Savoy to avoid the process servers seeking to recover the lost bike and imprison his person. Since the Duchy of Lancaster was reabsorbed into the monarchy when Duke of Lancaster Harry Monmouth (Henry V) ("we happy few, we band of brothers") ascended to the throne. In other words, the Duke of Savoy is the Duke of Lancaster, is Queen Elizabeth II.

How lucky one must be, to have one's stolen bike fenced to the Queen of Fricking England.

Ps. Oberlin my ass. SUNY Oswego representin', bitches!

Anonymous said...

i think that same guy tried to sell me that bike. however, it was nothing like the poster said. gross old trek mtn bike. dude offered it to me for $20.

guy must not pay much for his usual steak and bottle of wine...

Anonymous said...

Clayton -- I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

Anonymous said...

Bob Roll!


Lanterne Rouge?

oh, wait, this'll never work...

Anonymous said...

I think it was supposed to be "Duke of Saveloy"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saveloy

mmmm.... sausage

Anonymous said...

Straight, like not a peter puffing cocksucking pickle smooching homosexual.
There's a reason I stay off craigslist....the sellers are assholes and morons.

Anonymous said...


............Nice..^_^v................