How long before a bike is 'Abandoned?'

[Brandane]

Be careful about removing abandoned bikes, you cold be charged with 'theft by finding':
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theft_by_finding

That would be the way it works in Scotland. You can't just help yourself to "abandoned" property.
You can't even help yourself to a bike (or anything else) that has been thrown in a skip, as that would be classed as theft here. @SkipdiverJohn would have to BUY his bikes if he lived north of the border!

 

[mick1836]

Well poo.

There is a lost property, but if the bike isn't claimed they'll auction it off. That defeats the object of the exercise.

ONLY, if the finder isn't know, doesn't want the item they found or didn't claim it in accordance with the Found Property rules.

 

[Vapin' Joe]

That would be the way it works in Scotland. You can't just help yourself to "abandoned" property.
You can't even help yourself to a bike (or anything else) that has been thrown in a skip, as that would be classed as theft here. @SkipdiverJohn would have to BUY his bikes if he lived north of the border!

Same in the rest of GB.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

I'd leave it alone or hand to police and hope for it not to be claimed.
There might be an unwell owner somewhere who's not been able to secure his bike while he's incapacitated.

 

[ColinJ]

@Globalti found a rather nice carbon fibre Specialized road bike in a river once. He did the decent thing and took it down to his local police station. He waited the required period of time and nobody had claimed it so the police gave it back to him. Very nice it was too!

 

[Globalti]

It's true, and better still it happened just at the time when, after 21 years, I was losing my mountain biking mojo so it kick-started my move over to the faster, cleaner, fitter, subtler joys of road cycling.

 

[tyred]

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 ).

 

[Brains]

A thread here about one of us who rescued a Thorn XTC from a skip
https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/thorn-xtc.226065/

 

[steveindenmark]

Be careful about removing abandoned bikes, you cold be charged with 'theft by finding':
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theft_by_finding

It would not be theft by finding if the op leaves a note where the bike is and knocked on a couple of doors. It sounds like the bike is abandoned and the op only has to go through the motions.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

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 ).

As far as I'm concerned, anything dumped in a skip or abandoned on the street is fair game, and if I fancy it. I'll help myself. Couldn't care less about the technicalities of the law, the cops aren't going to be interested in investigating a ratty old bike being pulled out of a bin! So, to answer the OP, just take the thing, and if you don't want to be seen by nosey neighbours etc, do it late at night when there's no-one around.

 

[Globalti]

Agreed; if it's been dumped in a skip it's not wanted.

 

[FishFright]

As far as I'm concerned, anything dumped in a skip or abandoned on the street is fair game, and if I fancy it. I'll help myself. Couldn't care less about the technicalities of the law, the cops aren't going to be interested in investigating a ratty old bike being pulled out of a bin! So, to answer the OP, just take the thing, and if you don't want to be seen by nosey neighbours etc, do it late at night when there's no-one around.

As far as the law is concerned it's theft.
I know that demolition people take a really dim view of people rifling their skips as there a quite lucrative trade in architectural salvage and other finds.

Of the two I'd be much happier to be arrested.

 

[Tim Hall]

As far as I'm concerned, anything dumped in a skip or abandoned on the street is fair game, and if I fancy it. I'll help myself. Couldn't care less about the technicalities of the law,

That's nice.

 

[Lonestar]

Agreed; if it's been dumped in a skip it's not wanted.

Could be a Mobike.

 

[Andy in Germany]

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.