Brick Lane Critical Mass?

[Tricky Skills]

I had a really unpleasant experience at Brick Lane ‘market’ on Sunday morning. Many of you might know that the sleazy street corners around Brick Lane on a Sunday is the hot spot for bike thief scum to offload their weeks work.

I was approached by one bloke asking if I knew anything about cycles as he was considering handing over £50 to one of the chavs flogging his latest hot property. He must have asked for my opinion as I looked the part – decent bike, helmet, other biking gear etc.

I told him that yes, £50 was a decent price for a nearly new Marin (!!!!), but of course you should never buy a bike without obtaining a receipt and some ID from the seller. Don’t want to be stopped by a copper now, asking why you are riding a stolen bike and where did you buy it from.

This generated a crowd of bike thief scum circling around me and all of a sudden the Marin was no longer for sale. Luckily I was still mounted on my bike and managed to make the getaway.

Having been the victim of bike theft myself on a number of occasions, I really despise the way that these criminals can carry out their dirty business in public and with no shame. By being allowed to trade at Brick Lane on a Sunday morning, they are justifying the London bike theft economy. Likewise each person that buys a bike from the arseholes is also giving a thumbs up to their criminal activity and fuelling their economy.

For every bargain Brick Lane bike sold (and there were some GREAT bargains), there is a heartbroken bike owner.

What I am proposing is a highly visible Brick Lane Critical Mass one Sunday where as a group, we can collectively offer our ‘advice’ to people thinking of buying a bike. Let them know about the importance of a receipt etc.

This obviously has the potential to turn nasty, something which I would not want. It would only work if we turned out in numbers. Assistance from out friends, the Met Boys on Bikes would also be nice ;-)

Thoughts?

 

[JWH]

I agree with you but fuckin'ell, *I* would be really hesitant about going along, not being the type who's that comfortable getting physical with dodgy thieves and the like. Maybe a bit of flyposting/flyering on a Saturday night might be a safer way to do it?

 

[mains]

I may be up for this. Are you a regular CM'er TS? Do you think it would generate much support from CM regulars?

I think its a great idea though - as long as there were more than 15 I think it'd be a goer. But I don't think plod is remotely bothered about these people, but if it was a CM they would have to be bothered (and in attendance).

I will be vocal and peaceful - but none of those thieving fuckers down there are intimidating me. It could be quite a buzz, they won't be expecting it thats for sure.

 

[the B]

Funny thing is...I know people who were (and may still be) regular on CM who got bikes from Brick Lane market on a Sunday morning knowing full well the bikes they got were going to have been nicked off someone...

 

[rubbershoes]

They should know better

 

[t0bytoo]

I would have happily bought a bike there..

Until I watched a friend get 4 bike stolen in as many months.

We were at Columbia road one sunday morning. Two bikes parked up next to each other. Hers got pinched and mine (an oversize trek) didn't.

So we went down to Bethnal Green Road, and her bike was locked up to the railings with another one. Calling the police didn't help.

"If you still haven't managed to unlock it in an hour or so, call us back". Or words to that effect.

So I stay by the bike while my friend gos ff in search of tools. And then the kids come up on their - 'scuse me how the f*did you afford to buy that 500 pound canondale - making cracks at each other. In my direction. "It's only a five pound D lock. I could have that off in 10 seconds."

And when my friend comes back with tools and I have a hacksaw in one hand and a jemmy in the other, the kids are nowhere to be seen. We liberate the bike attracting a lot of attention.

Giving back the tools to the market stall guy he goes: "We sell all the tools to the kids who nick the bikes. It's only fair to lend them to you."

What exactly can the police do on Bethnal Green Road? How do you prove you own the bike you're riding or some dodgy guy is trying to sell? Identification seems to be the problem.

Definitely up for the CM. When I get a new bike ;-(

 

[moon]

Ok this is slightly off topic but I was the victim of another bike scam over the weekend, let me recount the story to you

I went out in Islington to spin some tunes with a mate, and left my bike (vespa scooter) parked in a side street overnight cos I was too fucked to drive it home

When I went to pick it up the following evening, some one had stolen the helmet from under the seat (they can now do this without even breaking the lock as the catches are so flimsy you can slide a screw driver inside the seat and lift the catch.) so I bought a new helmet at great expense, but when I went back to the bike someone had put their own lock around the wheel...grrrrrr

After many phone calls to the police and fire brigade I finally managed to get the lock broken but was told that this was a 'new' scam, bikes are locked up by the criminal filth then taken away in the back of a van.

Be careful people, the police wont break the lock for you, even if they say they will, your best bet is to speak to a friendly fire officer who may help you out.

 

[wonko the sane]

Obviously the way to stop people buying stolen bikes is to stop making bikes so expensive

The police cant stop people stealing bikes nor selling them. As long as bikes are expensive people will steal and sell them.

While a CM might be a nice gesture, symbolicly i dont think it will actually have any effect. Maybe as part of a larger campaign against the sale of stolen bikes in brick lane but not on its own.

But if you are interested in organising it why not suggest it on the critical mass discussion list - details of which are at http://cmlondon.enrager.net im sure some people may be up for it

 

[Tricky Skills]

I like the flyposting idea – it certainly seems safer. There is NO WAY that I want this to become a violent confrontation and unfortunately I think the only way to avoid this is to (a) have NUMBERS (30 plus?) or (b) the Cops on bikes with us.

I’m not naïve enough to think that it will stop bike theft. It’s just that I was so annoyed at the weekend seeing such blatant selling of nicked bikes by some real fucking horrid thieving little scum.

Mentioning Columbia Road… This was my next destination and I thought it was safe around there? I locked my bike against the railings and thankfully it was still there half an hour later.

I am a regular CMer btw. I did also post a copy of my original mssg to the CM list but it hasn’t got through. Will try again.

Sorry to hear about your weekend Moon - it wouldn't have happened at Essex Uni you know (whoops, private joke)

 

[mains]

Obviously the way to stop people buying stolen bikes is to stop making bikes so expensive

The police cant stop people stealing bikes nor selling them. As long as bikes are expensive people will steal and sell them.

sorry wonko, but I think thats bollocks.

Bikes have never been cheaper. 95% are made in Taiwanese and Vietnamese sweat shops ffs! Decathlon sports superstore in canada water sells a 21 speed MTB with 7005 Alu frame for £64.95. I'd call that pretty affordable. In fact if you look around you'll see that bottom of the range bikes everywhere for under £100.

But why should people buy one of these when they can buy a cannondale for the same money? Face it, its greed and laziness not poverty that drives the purchase of a brick lane special. People want the cudos of a flash bike but would rather not spend a realistic amount of money getting it.

Anyway, shops make next to nothing on new bike sales - talk to my mate who runs a bike shop. Servicing and accessories is what keeps the bike trade going, not sales.

 

[JWH]

What exactly can the police do on Bethnal Green Road? How do you prove you own the bike you're riding or some dodgy guy is trying to sell? Identification seems to be the problem.(

every bike has a number stamped on its frame, usually on the underside between the pedals. if you've got it written down somewhere and quote it on a crime report when you get it stolen, you'd have a pretty convincing case against some scally. the cops distrbute cards that you stick a photo of your bike (your actual bike, not a photo from the catalogue!) and write down your frame number etc, then keep it somewhere safe.

of course, then you have to get a look at the frame number of the bike you think is yours - and that isn't too easy when someone's on it.

 

[Bristly Pioneer]

A friend of mine, angry after both her and her boyfriends bikes had been stolen outside of Spitalfields market one Sunday is thinking of setting up a similar thing.

It is a second idea after we persuaded her out of the vigilante style

"leave an expensive bike locked up with a shite lock and then wait around the corner (with 30 mates) for some theiving oiks to come and try stealing it"

I don't know whether it was common sense or (now) lack of expensive bike to lock up that changed her mind?

Post something up if you do get it sorted I am sure i could russle up a few angry anti-bike theif wheelers.

 

[moon]

Sorry to hear about your weekend Moon - it wouldn't have happened at Essex Uni you know (whoops, private joke)

Hehe Tricky Hows it going by the way...I've not seen you in ages...go on send us a pm!!!

 

[wonko the sane]

Mains:

Yeah but who wants a shite 70$ bike when you can get a stolen one worth 500 for the same price? Of course its about greed, of course its about getting the power trip of having a kick ass bike, but what makes it even better is you got it for fuck all money. Im sure there is no way to proove this, but i'd put my money on the fact that people with less money are more likely to ride stolen bikes. Not only because its a form of material escapism but also the psychological liberation.

But i wouldnt expect anything else, greedy is what we are meant to be - look at the adverts everywhere telling is to buy more of this shit and buy more of that crap.

I dont doubt that bike shops dont make that much money, but somewhere along the line, someone is!

Yeah i think its a worthwhile thing to take on people selling stolen bikes, but i think you have to relate it to the bigger picture and understand where and why people would buy a stolen bike first.

Simply riding in there and telling someone they are cunt for doing what essentialy they are being made to do (no of course no one has to do anything but real life aint that simple) by a seriers of systems, isnt gunna work.

I think if someone put series effort into raising awareness around the subject, regular leafletting, flypostering, symbolic action like CM etc. they could make a really good difference.

But i think it would be very easy to make it all go wrong as well, especially using the divide and rule tactics enforced by institutions like the state.

Tricky:

Yeah i saw it went out on the list just now, hopefully some ppl will respond, even tho theres loads of ppl on that list they arent very good at getting their message across

 

[Tricky Skills]

Getting a fair few replies on the CM list now. Going to take stock.

I know CM has no 'leadership' and I certainly don't want to be seen as some kind of figurehead for a Brick Lane mass. It was just an idea that I thought I would put forward.

I may suggest a date soon (perhaps in a months time?) so that we can hopefully work towards something.

My main concern though is numbers. Great to say, yeah, count me in. Very different on the day when 10 people turn up. We NEED numbers for this to work.

 

[GarfieldLeChat]

i have to say it's a bad idea.

at least atm you know where to go and look for your bkie if it's nicked. but after your rah rah fuck em demo has then moved them on, to a different or less visable area what you gonna do then?

see moving them on does fuck all good it's not like the crims are gonna think fuck we'd better stop nicking bikes or CM will protest at us, cos i can assure you they won't give a hoot and in the best traditions of these things will prolly try and assert some kind of dominence of the situation.

the question really is what do you do once you have moved them on? do this for on week and they will be back the next bold as brass might even have a few extra bikes for sale. do it for two weeks and they'll start to get fucked off or just ignore you, do it for 3 weeks and it's likely that they will suddenly aquire big dogs or tendencies to lash out...what they won't do is stop nicking bikes. they need the cash, cleary they wouldn't be doing it other wise this is not after all orgainsied crime (in most cases it seems bloody disorganised if you ask me) so what do you do to tackle the root of the problem?

cause shifting it else where like say bethnal green high street ain't gonna do it either...you'll still have your bikes nicked you just won't know where to goto look for em...

 

[Sunray]

the unfortunate thing is that the crims have discovered an easy way of breaking locks that no matter how much you spend on the lock is infallible.

Buy a shit looking bike, mines never been even touched since I bought it 4 years ago.

 

[mains]

Not only because its a form of material escapism but also the psychological liberation.

No, I think its just pure greed. I doubt if any of those motherfuckers down there are sitting around feeling good about selling 'material escapism'.

And I don't like your assertion that poorer people are more likely to ride stolen bikes - besides being midly insulting its untrue; there wouldn't be a market for low priced new bikes then because if money was tight you would just go visit your friendly local bike thieving syndiacte. Halfords would stick to selling bass bins for novas. Besides, you can buy a £59.95 bike on the drip - and people do believe it or not.

I've actually been down to brick lane and sold my (legitimate) GT. I got to see close up how the whole game works and what sort of people are buying and selling. There are the local kids that sell the bikes (have money), the vendors themselves who buy the bikes of the thieves (don't tend to make much, maybe £5 -£25 per bike) and the punters. The punters to a man all looked to me like they could afford to buy from a shop. I kept telling the bloke who bought my GT that I'd bought this bike from new and it was legitimate - he told me of course, he'd never buy a stolen bike. I wasn't convinced. His parting shot was that he wanted the GT to be his knockabout bike while he saved his Giant OCR ONCE replica for best (£1600 of roadbike).

psychological liberation my arse.

 

[citydreams]

Is the Critical Mass link working? I can't get to it?

Why are people allowed to sell bikes without the reciept? Perhaps it might be worth getting an MP to sponsor a law change?
As far as I know, when you buy a bike you have to give your name and address, so it should be easy to obtain this in case you've lost it.

 

[wonko the sane]

Mains:

I think we'll have to agree to disagree on that one Yeah i do see where you are coming from, i just think there is more to it than that. (And yeah i did express myself pretty badly in my lost past )

GLC:

I think you make some good points in there!

Citydreams:

Sorry, CM link should be working now but use http://www.criticalmasslondon.org.uk instead cos that should always work.

 

[GarfieldLeChat]

it happens wonko ...

in a room of a thousand monkeys innit

 

[mains]

Mains:

I think we'll have to agree to disagree on that one Yeah i do see where you are coming from, i just think there is more to it than that. (And yeah i did express myself pretty badly in my lost past )

No worries , I may have been getting a little heavy handed there.

Garfield - I think you're right in that the defacto act/marketplace for hot bikes is unlikely to cease. However, in the same way that a regular CM meet does not cause an instantaneous permanent change in Londons traffic habits, it is more a question of the importance of the act itself; if a brick lane thing happens it will highlight the trade in stolen property quite brazenly taking place in the street as well as the lack of effective action being taken by the police to stop this happening under their noses.

If CM can bring attention, any attention to this then that action will have been a success. Sundays are notoriously quiet news days for local tv news, even in London. If you prime the media properly you can get some decent exposure.

 

[GarfieldLeChat]

and do what with it.

I'm not against the plan but i do have to say you need mor ethan media exposure to sort this out. or you will just move the problem elsewhere.

 

[mains]

and do what with it.

I'm not against the plan but i do have to say you need mor ethan media exposure to sort this out. or you will just move the problem elsewhere.

yes of course the problem won't be solved by media exposure alone. But it may force the police to actually do something down there instead of impersonate ostriches.

As for moving them elsewhere, they need to be near large numbers of people and Brick Lane is the historical place in London to buy bikes, going back to pre WW2 years. I don't think they're going anywhere - nobody buys from the loot anymore and ebay is too much exposure and therefore too risky.

 

[GarfieldLeChat]

the thing is if it has been going on pre ww2 then it's likely that many things have been tried before to stop it.

On the other side of things the redevelopment that is currently going on round their many render it extinct by virtue of I'm sure the gentrified remodelled reconstituted socialites who are going to frequent the trendy wine bars and kitch chain stores soon to be put up in place of the olden timie Victorian streets and the new spitlefields redevelopment (read bastardisation) will remove them via social cleansing anyways. but till then i think it need more than just a rally. Build a website I'll host it on lucid if you want petition or summit and buy second hand bike advice, lost and found (stolen and recovered?) sections, maybe gang marching the fuckers with people who can id their stolen bikes being resold down to Liverpool street(broad street) cop shop or summit... post pics of known bike crims or summit, wanted for bike rustling or summit that kinda thing get press attention and so on draw them to the site publicise it maybe get ken to do a bit for it as part of his reelection campain.... there are loads of things you could do...if your series like

 

[citydreams]

I spoke to the Centre of Cycling Excellence at Transport for London.
They are currently without a cycling project manager as the last one has gone back to Sweden, but they expect the post to be filled shortly. It has been suggested that TfL have a stall in Brick Lane warning people of the illegality of buying stolen bikes. The girl I spoke to said she will speak to the "police on bikes" (if you know what I mean) as they are already keen cyclists, but real action will only happen when the post is filled.

 

[Isla]

Advice

I had my bike nicked on Sunday on Upper St Islington in broad daylight, I only left it for an hour and I'm so gutted. It was a birthday present from my boyfriend who has gone travelling for two years and I'm so sentimental about it. Its really distinctive as its a vintage purple Moulton Midi with flat tyres- I had just ordered it new ones! Its so shabby I can't think it would be worth anything to anyone except me. I've put up reward posters all round Islington.

I know I could spot it a mile off, I'm going to check out the bike shop in chapel st market, Berkley bikes in dalston junction, and Brick lane arches this sunday morning. I've been told to go at 8 am and if I spot it and hassle enough they'll just give it back to me to get rid of me. Thing is, I'm a bit scared after your story about the nasty types hanging round there, I'm a 5"2 girl, do you still think I should go down there on my own. Not sure I can persuade anyone to go with me at that time.

I'm so desperate to get it back.

 

[Tricky Skills]

Ahhh

Really sorry to hear about your bike. It's a horrid feeling to return to where you left it and find it's no longer there.

I'd forgotten all about this thread!

My advice would be to yes, get there EARLY! Lurk around where the scum are, looking at other stalls etc. Last time I was there (over a year ago) there was a couple of really friendly coppers around. I asked them if they had any problems with me taking photos of all the bikes for sale and the 'sellers.' The police loved the idea and encouraged it! I've never seen a 'market' clear so quickly.

If you spot your bike, mmm, tricky. As an average build bloke I wouldn't hesitate steaming in, probably with a bike lock as well. I've done it before in Brixton, remarakably finding my nicked bike and laying out the scum that took it. Not a boast - it's the only violence I've ever been involved in.

Have you a friend you can persuade to accompnay you? Male or female. Has the theft been reported to the police? If so, how about calling the police if you spot it, tell them that it has been a reported crime and demand some back up. You could always play for time by telling the scum that you need to go and withdraw some cash, possibly even *spit* handing over a poxy deposit.

Good luck.

As for the original idea of the Brick Lane Mass... that kind of fizzled out. After a lot of correspondance, I came to the conclusion that I personally didn't want to instigate it as I now belive that an 'organised' protest would only antagonise an already dodgy situation.

I did write to Oona King, the then MP for Tower Hamlets. She was very supportive and copied me in on a letter to the local Commander asking why stolen goods are being openly sold on his patch. No reply from the Commander.

I'm no New Labour flag waver, but I wonder if Gorgeous George would be so supportive of local issues?

 

[Sigmund Fraud]

sorry to hear about you bike being nicked Isla.

But I once saw a 5'5" lady robustly walk up to a stolen bike seller and say quite loudly "that is my bike and you just stole it in Columbia Road - I'm taking it back" - she put two hands on it and after drawing an initial crowd of 'gentlemen' vendors they backed off and she walked off with her bike.

fair play to her, she got her bike back.

good luck

 

[Isla]

Thanks for the tips guys.

I am pretty determined that I'm going to get it back. Me and that bike have a great many more years together I can feel it!! I will let you know how I get on.