This morning, a messenger-looking thief was photographed stealing the front wheel off a bike in Chelsea. An observant cyclist reports he noticed the man â€looking a little sketchy†by the bike rack outside a Starbucks at 6th Avenue and 27th Street. And though the witness didn’t stop him, he was able to shoot a photo of the thief with his iPhone camera before the guy rode off on his carbon fiber road bike.
43 Responses to “iPhone Captures Chelsea Bike Thief In Action”
ta says: I don't get this statement: "its your fault for not locking your wheel." Do car owners lock their wheels up every time they park? The wheel in question was BOLTED on people, just like a car's wheel. why are people blaming the bike owner for acts of theft/vandalism? if shit like this keeps happening its going to completely void cycling as a legitimate form of transportation. I'm sure if a car was being disassembled in the middle of the city the police would care and use our tax money to respond to the incident.
Chen says: I see this guy on the Manhattan Bridge sometimes. He rides a rode bike, and often stands & pedals the whole way.
Jimmy Mootzarella says: damn the dude stole a tire, not committed murder. some of yall need to chill….the picture is here, if this gets out enough im sure dude will get hemmed up. street justice.
Poop pants 
Dr. Dick says: Can someone post pictures of the guy who stood by and did nothing, I'd be angrier at him than the thief if it were my wheel. It's also worth noting that this modern day batman made sure everyone knew it was an Iphone.
Yeah I'm so mad that the photographer only risked his ass taking pictures of a crook in action. What he should have done is challenged the criminal to a fight. Then he could have become one of cyclings greatest martyrs after being stabbed to death. What a pansy, he's clearly not Internet Tough! Hauagh!!
Not sure why some of you are so down on the photographer. He did his part. While it certainly would have been more dramatic had he confronted the dude, that's not his duty. Who cares? The real asshole is in the photos. Know his mug and mete out your own bit of vigilante justice when you see him. The city, as you cyclists know, is a small world. Have a good weekend all!
Sam says: Earlier this week, someone tried to steal my unlocked front wheel in Echo Park, Los Angeles. Fortunately for me a witness got involved and confronted the thief, who ran off. I guess there is not an i-phone app for that, so this dude was helpless. I am shocked by some of the comments above–don't call the cops, it's your fault for not locking, etc. I am moving to NY next month, maybe I should buy a "no radio" sign for my car and start a petition drive to bring Dinkins back as mayor.
capateto says: Those of you who recognize the suspect in these photos should try tracking his movements to see where he goes with his loot and whether he's alone or has accomplices. I for one am thinking about leaving my bike out in the open as bait, then watching it from a concealed but close location and sneaking up and then Tazering the son of a bitch when he's busy trying to steal my wheel.
Would it be going overboard to then gag him and tie him to the bumper of a UPS truck?
capateto says: @Liam: Methinks this perp will be taking his life in his hands if he dares to show up at the NYC century this year. Lots of frontier justice is dispensed in the peloton.
yeo says: yeah the guy rides torelli carbon fiber frame with shimano dura ace parts if you see his bike steel it or brake it
Dardaq says: I work in a bike shop in the neighborhood and see that guy in the shop every few weeks. Always seems sketchy. Good to know my intuition is probably right.
WTF happened to New York?
I've met a bunch of cool people from out of town- who quite frankly shit on proverbial stereotype.
But these feeble twats are everything annoying with transplants.
Blogging about how 'justice was served. For whom exactly? We see a guy next to a couple of bikes- NOTHING more. But it's cool- snap away. Just know that one day you'll pick the wrong person, who will not shy from your iphone- but commandeer it and proceed to beat you senseless with it.
Just saying-
Adam says: Looks like someone stole the seat and seat post before this guy arrived (at least judging by the before and after pics). Is this bike abandoned or someone's property? If it is abandoned, I think a U-lock to the head might be a bit harsh of a punishment. Has the owner come forward or is this bike owner-less?
ta says: the owner of the bike took the seat/seatpost into her office that day. the bike was parked there for no more than 5 hours.
phil says: Look closely. There is a guy stealing a hot dog in the background and I am pretty sure there is someone stealing a pizza across the street.
It's F'ing New York, people.. You don't leave shit lying around.
Liam says: So we should let this guy off the hook, right Phil? Just because somebody forgot to lock one of their wheels doesn't make it OK to steal it. Sure it was stupid but this guy is still a dick and a criminal.
johnson says: Looks like some one stole the brakes off that bike too.
Plus the reflectors and the bell.
arg says: Glassbike send me an email i think i know what happened to your wheels thedudecycolist@gmail.com
loin says: Just coming back to make sure that asshole photographer (Who I’m sure still checks this and considers himself a knight in shining armor) knows that he is a coward and should be locked up.
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I wonder if the thief saw the observant cyclist taking the pics. That guy needs a good whackin on the head (minus helmet) with a bike lock.
please don't waste my tax dollars by calling the cops for a bicycle wheel. if you're not smart enough to make sure your bike is locked up, then to be quite honest, you deserve to have it stolen. ergo, don't take away valuable resources for your stupidity.
@ umm: do you also believe that women who wear short skirts DESERVE to be raped? I agree that people should lock up their wheels and that it's pretty stupid not to, but I don't go around saying people deserve bad things to happen to them!
yeah, valuable resources. for instance, the cops could be ticketing people for riding on the sidewalk as they come off the williamsburg bridge bike path.
"don't waste my tax dollars trying to prevent crime"
I don't think forgetting to lock the front wheel of a bike up one day out of the years that I've had it means that I'm an idiot or stupid, maybe I was just in a hurry and forgot my second lock (gotta be on time to work, don't you?).
That doesn't mean that I deserve to have my bike wheel stolen, or for you to tell me I'm wasting your tax dollars.
What if that guy makes a living stealing bike wheels? I could be doing someone a favor and saving someone else some money that they could use to pay their taxes.
ppl need to stop being feeble and cowardly.
If you see something happening which is presumably wrong- based on speculation alone- be man/woman enough to confront the situation based on your presumption.
Before the witty chime in with left field comments. If a woman is being raped- the need to presume is almost no existent and thus acting in any way to help is encouraged.
What i'm getting at, is ppl who assume others are doing wrong- decide to take matters into their own hands- and snap pictures?
New York is turning into some petty place filled not only with douche bags but little tattle-tale one's ducking behind a log-in.
You pick battles.
You don't take a lick to the face and a ulock beatdown based on someone elses wheel when a couple of pictures and a rally call to every fellow cyclist you know is something that will do the trick.
If a you think paramount crime such as a violent beating or woman being raped is on the same level as a wheel being stolen, you have a serious priority judging impairment. The consequences of interfering with something like a bike or car being stolen can become violently provocative, especially here.
People have been alerted. This had been on the internet all day before it found it's way to Gothamist. This guy is marked now. Because people in the bike community actually know WHO THIS GUY IS, he will not be fencing parts at shops and financing his endeavors as easily as he once did, because this individual did the smart thing.
Mark my words:
The protag is smart, wheras the perp is MARKED.
I hope these pictures spread wide and far!
And everyone else chill the hell out!
This still would've been better if he had gotten a u-lock to the face.
There was a thing on Craigslist about a week ago by a guy who busted a guy who was trying to steal his bike. Based on the description it sounds like this is the very same dude.
Would a slight attempt to understand the rhetoric before one retorts be too much to ask? I think that in real life- as on here one should carefully survey the field before they act or speak. [or type]
The rape reference was continuous to the statement prior to my own and nothing more. Try not to reach.
Interfering in almost any situation that is of no concern to you can become hostile & violently provocative. The point is- If shit's going down and it some how affects you so much so, that you are willing to take a camera out and snap pictures. Than gather some courage and do something to stop it from completion. Taking pictures is cool- but don't act like cowardly acts are any better than what this thief did.
Blogging about it- on some high pegs with an almost despot tone while conveniently sheltered by anonymity says very little. Perhaps, there's a reason douches pick on other douche bags for sport.
I don't really see him taking the wheel in those pictures…. am I missing something?
i think that its the same guy that stole my wheels!!!
i was on locked on bway btwn 21 and 22 at 3 in the afternoon…i locked next to a deli and an office building walked away for a minute then came back he was standing there with his road bike leaning against my bike (on a scaffolding) there are plenty of other places to lock…i think he is just getting ready to get on his bike, go in the deli get a drink come out he is still there, walk past him he stares then i go up to a meeting for an hour and both wheels are gone.
he was wearing a helmet and jersey as well and had a road bike…
i wish i would've said something to him i had a gut feeling, oh well dude…hope you get hit by a bus
"Would a slight attempt to understand the rhetoric before one retorts be too much to ask? I think that in real life- as on here one should carefully survey the field before they act or speak. [or type]"
What I'm getting at is, it's not worth a broken nose to try and stop someone who is stealing a 100 dollar wheel, when justice can be served with some careful photography and a use of the tool of the internet- and naysayers like you are generally the people wasting their time replying to things in a douchey manner, picking on 'douches'.
Who ever said it was illegal to ride off the Wburg bridge via the sidewalk needs to pay closer attention to the little details. You know, the bicycle signs ON the sidewalk, directing cyclists onto the bridge.
The bottom line is, no one deserves to get their wheels stolen. People forget what it's like to be the victim and are always more likely to make snarky, undeserving comments. The "girl in a skirt" analogy is a little extreme, but it's safe to say, if you ride a bike in this City, you're going to mess up and forget to lock your front wheel.
Also, the guy who took the pics is about 1/2 the size of the thief. He did the right thing. Taking pictures is a lot better than doing nothing, which is what most people do everyday in this City.
I recognize him. He rides a too-small road bike, harasses random women when he's riding. He rides the NYC century in September too. Regular dickhead.
funny to see a fellow biker stealing from one of his own. while most of you are correct in saying that no one deserves to lose a wheel, its really not that difficult to lock it up. two locks is quite unnecessary anyways, the fixed gear community seems to think that the only locks out there are two inches long and fit in your back pocket.
I think I recognize this guy. AMD logo on should was a dead give-away!
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