AITA for not giving back a bike my cousin gave me for free because he thought it was trash?

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The original was posted on /r/bestofredditorupdates by /u/swtogirl on 2024-04-05 20:45:26.

I am not the Original Poster. Posted by u/Significant_Mud2084 on r/AmItheAsshole and r/EntitledPeople

Trigger Warning: Physical violence

AITA for not giving back a bike my cousin gave me for free because he thought it was trash? May 1, 2023

About a month ago I got a free bike off my cousin. An old red beach cruiser of unknown make. I needed a bike because my last one was stolen and I’m too broke to buy a new one. My cousin then told me he had an old beat up bike in his parents’ back yard, and I could have it if I wanted it. When I picked it up, it looked a mess. Covered in mud, rusty chain, nicked paint, dry cracking on the white sidewalls of the tires. There was even moss on it. But I took it anyway and thanked them.

I got it home, cleaned it up, touched up the paint with nail polish, lubed the chain with WD40, put new $7 grips on it, tightened the rear gear, cleaned most of the rust off any chrome, put on an aluminum kickstand that the bike shop tossed out as garbage, and it became my daily rider. The tubes and tires are still good, and I got it back on the road for less than $10. And honestly I like it. Rides a little bouncy, but the coaster brake is fun and it’s simple and reliable.

The problem is my cousin saw me riding it last week, and at first didn’t recognize it as the same bike. It was so covered in mud previously that he’d thought it was rusted over. And now he says that I scammed him, and that he wants $60 for the bike, or to give it back so he can sell it. I’ve refused and said he didn’t want it in the first place. And I like riding it. He’s calling me a jerk and telling his friends and the family I’ve robbed him. The family are all on my side, including his parents. But his friends think I’m a jerk. But I’m the one who put the work into fixing this bike he gave me free as trash. And I’m the one who actually uses it, unlike my cousin.

So I’m here for an unbiased opinion. AITA for not giving the bike back or giving money for it?

Edit: Yes I know WD-40 wasn’t a permanent solution for the bike chain. And I will get a proper lube for it later. I only used it for the moment because I already had it on hand, and it loosens rust well because it’s made for that. I needed the chain working right away as I was already using the bike to go to work a day later. WD-40 is a stated penetrating lubricant, among other things. It’s just not a steady lubricant because it dries out. The chain is working fine for the moment. And I’ll get the right kind of grease/lube soon.

Link to OOP’s Bike May 9, 2023

My cousin punched me over the bike and got arrested May 10, 2023

This is such a mess. Many people here commented about what my cousin would probably do in retaliation. And I was naive about it, because they were exactly right. I last posted on Reddit about my cousin who gave me a junk beach cruiser bike out of his parents’ back yard when my mountain bike got stolen. I cleaned up and fixed up the beach cruiser, and then suddenly my cousin wanted me to either pay him $60 for it, or give it back because he wanted to sell it after I made it purdy. But the rest of the family (Including his parents) basically told him to grow up when he tried to get them involved. Then he found out about my AITA post. One of his friends apparently saw it and told him. Either here or on a podcast or something, I don’t know. But word spread around. The whole family found out because my cousin ranted to them. But none of them are angry with me. They actually sympathized with me for even feeling like I had to make the AITA post to begin with when my cousin was so clearly in the wrong. My cousin ended up freaking out over it, and confronting me on my way home from work. This time he demanded even more money for the bike. He said that since I love Reddit so much, he was taking an A-Hole tax for humiliating him. And the cost of the bike was now $80.

He ranted about how paying him $80 for the bike was the least I could do after I humiliated him. I refused and said that he was acting like a grifter, and the bike was hardly worth anything. I put in effort to make it rideable, while he let it rot in his parents’ back yard for years. It was junk when I started, and I made it work. Then I listed all the things I did to fix it, and how much it would have costed the bike shop to fix it instead. He somehow still didn’t see my point and still stated he wanted the money now, or he’d be taking the bike back whether I liked it or not. I told him I was done with this and tried to ride off. But he grabbed me and pulled both me and the bike over before I could ride away. I said “What the hell man!” while I was getting up, and then he actually slugged me in the face. It didn’t break my nose, but really freaking hurt! And it made me bleed! Then he took my bike and rode off with it. I’m older than my cousin by two years, and taller too. But he’s built way sturdier than me since his father is a bit of a husky and strong guy, and he inherited that body type. So he had no problem knocking me down and robbing me.

Someone came over to help me up, and then I called the cops. Family or no family, I wasn’t about to just let him get away with doing that to me. And the altercation happened right in front of a shop with CCTV. Which the cops later got video from. I got taken to the hospital to have my face checked, and my cousin was arrested by police at his apartment. He had the bike there too, and had even already listed it for sale online. But took it down later. Thanks to something someone commented on my last post, I documented the serial numbers of the bike by photographing them and writing them down at home. So I got my bike back from the police without much issue. My cousin tried to tell police the bike was still his. But I had texts on my phone from back when he said I could have it. And lots of other text evidence of the harassment that followed. Plus his parents were there when he gave the bike to me, and the whole family knew he’d tried to grift me. So he surrendered it and the bike was returned to me at the station. My boss gave me a couple days off work to recover. The injury to my nose was thankfully minor. So I’m doing fine.

My cousin didn’t get off easy though. After he was arrested, he was found to have been drinking. So now he’s been charged for theft, assault, and underage drinking since he’s not 21 yet. He called his parents to come bail him out, but they refused after finding out what he did to me. They came to see me after a couple days and were extremely apologetic. They said they had no idea he’d do such a jerk move to me. They also said he’d been asking for money a lot lately. And likely was spending that all on his habits. None of us have any idea where he got the alcohol, or what kind of long term punishment he’s in for. But I doubt he’s going to get off very lightly from this when he goes to court. I did get questioned about whether or not I can press charges. But the police already have the video of the assault and theft. And my cousin is still getting charged for under age drinking. So no one is really asking me to try and speak on his behalf. I don’t really want to either.

And since I waited a few days longer to post this, my cousin is now out of jail, and his parents have learned from him that he was also behind on rent, and is now facing eviction since his lease was month to month. He was also fired from his job for being a no show since he was stuck in jail for a few days. One of my friends works in that same place too, and my cousin had already been on thin ice for bad behavior, a lot of tardiness, and repeatedly not showing up for work. So getting arrested was the last straw for his boss and he was fired. So now he’s looking at misdemeanor charges, has no job, and is getting evicted. All because he had to be a jerk and a grifter. From what my parents and his parents tell me, he acted like everything was all my fault. But his parents have shut that down and chewed him out over the fact that he beat me up and stole from me. And this is karma for that. Then they made him promise to leave me alone from here on out. I’ve heard his parents aren’t going to be letting him move back into his old room either. Instead they plan on putting him up in the loft above their garage. Which isn’t exactly roomy, has plywood walls, and there’s no AC up there for the summer heat.

I went back to my routine of riding the bike to and from work, and I haven’t been bothered about it anymore by any of my cousin’s jerk friends. In fact, they seem to have completely distanced themselves from me and anyone else I know. So none of them made any attempt to apologize. But I don’t care since I don’t really know them. It’s just insane that all this was over a used beach cruiser. It’s not even an expensive one! I’d like to ask my cousin one day if it was worth it. But I don’t want to see his face again any time soon!

My cousin showed up at my door May 12, 2023

I …

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