Is it ever ok to steal a bike?

[Cyclopathic]

Occasionaly I see a bike (usualy just a bso) that has been left locked to a lamp post for days and days and days until eventualy. bit by bit it gets kicked, buckled, bent and buggered and I think that under those circumstances its ok to pop along with a hacksaw and salvage what is only going to be destroyed. A notice could be left on a sticker at the site to inform the owner that the bike had been taken for its own protection and where to find it. Then if after a reasonable period has elapsed and there are no enquiries then one could sort of adopt the bike.
I think this is an acceptable thing to do as long as whatever you do even after a reasonable period that you are willing to return the bike to the owner should they ever show up.
Although I haven't gone this far I have "adopted" a bit of a clunky mtb from a nearby pub. The landlord offered it to me because it was in his way and I left my details so that it could be reclaimed if necessary. After about 6 months I had heard nothing so fixed it up and began to ride it, although not much because it weighs several tons.
Every now and then though there is a not too bad at all bike abandoned to a lamp post in the area and it invariably just gets destroyed by late night revelers who start by stoving in the wheels and continue from there. I am sorely tempted to intervene the next time I see an abandoned bike as soon as I see that it has started to be damaged. Would it be wrong?

 

[Alun]

I don't think it's a very good idea, besides what do you want with a battered bike, are you setting up some sort of sanctuary?

 

[middleagecyclist]

Maybe they are abondoned for a reason. Why go to the trouble?

 

[Milo]

Annoys me that half the bikes on racks at Victoria have been abandoned making it hard to find a place at times.

 

[Night Train]

I suppose that not only could you get in trouble for removing the bike but also for placing the sticker there.

Reporting to the local authority would be the appropriate route I think.

 

[HLaB]

When I went to uni earlier this year, its pretty obvious that certain bikes have been dumped, there uncycable (is that a word?) and they had been in that state slowly degrading over the year but security doesn't want to touch them. As obvious as it is however, I'd recommend that the OP doesn't either. They might be able to report it to the correct authority and if they still want to scavenge the bits from them and recycle

 

[Chris S]

Under English law you can't be convicted of theft by removing property that has been abandoned by its owner. The trouble is showing that it has been abandoned.

 

[MontyVeda]

years ago a friend of mine had his eye on a Marin frame locked up by the local library. It'd been there for months and everything bar the frame and forks had been stripped. He asked the police if he could take it, they had no problem as it's essential locked up litter, and they even stood by him as he took to the lock with a hack saw.

 

[stoofer]

Apparently you can notify the local council, informing them it's been abandoned. They will place a notice on it for the owner should they ever come back giving them a deadline to remove their property. After this set time passes you are then legally allowed to remove it yourself as you have given the appropriate notice. I'd go down that route rather than going straight in with the bolt cutters myself.

 

[Mugshot]

Hmmmmmm, I've spotted some nice ones in my LBS that have been there for months, wonder if the council would put a sticker on a couple of those for me?

 

[400bhp]

The notifying the council seems logical.

 

[coffeejo]

Hmmmmmm, I've spotted some nice ones in my LBS that have been there for months, wonder if the council would put a sticker on a couple of those for me?

 

[scotty110788]

Good Q this, i work as a ranger/cleaner in city centre and abandened bikes are an eye sore, especially after weekend when they have bent wheels, corroded chains etc... we can call for them to get removed if we notice they have been there a while. I'd love to take few parts from them as I've noticed a bike same as my last 1 which got totalled nearly, its been there bout 2 months with bent front wheel, on my old bike, i need back wheel and crank system, so tempted tbh lol

 

[Hip Priest]

Do you work in Newcastle city centre Scotty? I used to park my bike up in town everyday, and it's so knackered it probably looked abandoned.

 

[scotty110788]

yup