How long before a bike is 'Abandoned?'

[Brandane]

Well, Multipoo.

The bike has gone. Hopefully to a good home and hopefully before the rain yesterday which could have damaged it.

Ah, well, I'll keep looking.

That's what you get for advertising it on a public forum . As well as your location. @SkipdiverJohn might be back from a trip to Esslingen am Neckar with "a lovely old red touring bike with drop handlebars"!

 

[Globalti]

Bikes, cars, boats, all kinds of things get abandoned when they become BER or Beyond Economic Repair or their owners lose interest, move, get sick, die, go to prison or simply forget where they left the thing. Go to any marina and you'll see that about a third of the boats look neglected and even abandoned. Some people live chaotic lives and attach little importance to things they acquired in a different part of their lives. The bike I found dumped off a bridge in 2009 was a 2006 Roubaix in brand new condition but with a broken rear wheel. My best guess is that it was bought, not used then given away to or stolen by somebody who smashed the wheel and chucked the bike off the bridge to get rid of it.

 

[Archie_tect]

Well, Multipoo.

The bike has gone. Hopefully to a good home and hopefully before the rain yesterday which could have damaged it.

Ah, well, I'll keep looking.

You weren't the only one keeping an eye on it!

 

[Globalti]

Warming to my theme... I bet half the bikes stashed in bike parks in cities like Amserdam are abandoned or forgotten.

 

[Andy in Germany]

Warming to my theme... I bet half the bikes stashed in bike parks in cities like Amserdam are abandoned or forgotten.

This is a problem, so there is a system in most cities with lots of bikes where the local government do a sweep every few months: bikes that look like they have taken root get a big orange sticker warning the owner to remove it within a set time. If it isbn't removed than the bikke vanishes to be auctioned off or similar

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

Could be a Mobike.

The best thing to do with a Mobike if found in a skip is to leave it in there, where it belongs. They are horrible things that manage to be both nasty and plasticky yet heavy at the same time. I'd sooner walk than ride one of those, and I'm no bike snob - but there are limits!

 

[Lonestar]

The best thing to do with a Mobike if found in a skip is to leave it in there, where it belongs. They are horrible things that manage to be both nasty and plasticky yet heavy at the same time. I'd sooner walk than ride one of those, and I'm no bike snob - but there are limits!

I saw some guy cycling one handed while towing a mobike (which was missing a seat) up Leyton High Road last week.He irritated a few motorists as he jumped the junction lights also.I saw the glares he was getting.....Just made me wonder if one of those drunken idiots would throw any old junk in a skip...like if they found a mobike or any old bike...though generally they just go in for vandalism from what I see....If it's an abandoned bike I generally leave well alone...If I want a bike I will save up for it then go out and buy it.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

.If it's an abandoned bike I generally leave well alone...If I want a bike I will save up for it then go out and buy it.

I'm always on the lookout for anything dumped that's either worth having as is, or worth stripping for useful parts even if the leftovers end up going back in the skip. Cycling on a shoestring has much to recommend it, not least the fact that if your bikes cost bugger all, you lose bugger all if one gets nicked. I don't have to worry about insuring mine or carrying expensive heavy D-locks around with me.

 

[Andy in Germany]

.If it's an abandoned bike I generally leave well alone...If I want a bike I will save up for it then go out and buy it.

I can see the logic of this, but I get a kick out of taking something dismissed as 'junk' and giving it a new lease on life. The Elder Son and I really want to build a drop handlebar tourer from junk and take it to Japan to ride. Just because we think that's a cool idea. I thought this may be a suitable starting point...

 

[Andy in Germany]

I'm always on the lookout for anything dumped that's either worth having as is, or worth stripping for useful parts even if the leftovers end up going back in the skip. Cycling on a shoestring has much to recommend it, not least the fact that if your bikes cost bugger all, you lose bugger all if one gets nicked. I don't have to worry about insuring mine or carrying expensive heavy D-locks around with me.

That's my thinking too. There's something very cool about riding something you built. I dibs the local bikes though...

 

[Lonestar]

That's my thinking too. There's something very cool about riding something you built. I dibs the local bikes though...

Look mate if you built it from washing machine parts I'd think it was cool as well.

 

[Andy in Germany]

Look mate if you built it from washing machine parts I'd think it was cool as well.

Hmm... We've got the remains of a cannibalised washing machine in the cellar at work... I wonder...

 

[Illaveago]

I did put an abandoned Raleigh Pioneer back on the road earlier this year. It had sat chained up outside the library with vandalised wheels all winter. I knew it was a decent frame and in good enough condition so worth of bothering with so I phoned and emailed the boys in blue and the council on several occasions to see what the procedure for claiming it was but I am still waiting for a call back/reply to my emails!

Eventually I asked the library staff who told me to take it with me and I'd be doing them a huge favour as they had been waiting for the past 6 months for the council to come and remove it.

Last month, I spotted 4 bikes (including an '80s 501 framed Raleigh in decent condition) lying on top of a skip and I knocked on the door and politely enquired and offered to buy them but the woman was incredibly rude and refused my offer so I guess they are in landfill now ).

What a p*****r ! It would have helped towards the cost of the skip .

 

[Illaveago]

This is a problem, so there is a system in most cities with lots of bikes where the local government do a sweep every few months: bikes that look like they have taken root get a big orange sticker warning the owner to remove it within a set time. If it isbn't removed than the bikke vanishes to be auctioned off or similar

I noticed a similar thing in York . Some of the cycles had warning stickers on them .
It would be a bit unfortunate if it was your regular parking spot !

 

[Andy in Germany]

I noticed a similar thing in York . Some of the cycles had warning stickers on them .
It would be a bit unfortunate if it was your regular parking spot !

It's easily solved: Take the bike home and take the sticker off, then the councoil won't lift it.

Even of you do, the note says clearly that you've a couple more months to claim it back for free. I wish I'd translated the note actually as it was written in a very charming style...