One for people living in Hackney near mare street - the squat that has appeared

yes it could be that about 7 kids owned twenty plus bikes, and that they kept them all inside their squat. they probably bought bikes all of different kinds and different sizes as they enjoyed a bit of variety. it could also be that they had bought the numerous different tellys, sets of speakers, hi fi's, computer equipment, power tools etc. you never know when you might need a 15 tellys at the same time.

Having squatted a few years back, knowing a lot of squatters, and having done serious academic research on squatting cultures and politics, you're jumping to huge, huge conclusions with little or no evidence.

A lot of squatters fix stuff up. A lot of squatters fix other people's stuff up for free or food, including bikes. A lot of squatters, because they don't always have jobs, scrounge things left in skips, on road-sides etc and make them usable again for themselves or others. A lot of squatters are very arty and make installations with the stuff they find (e.g. TVs that don't work any more). A lot of squatters actually own expensive stuff (e.g. sound systems) that they shift from squat to squat. I could go on all day.

Don't make assumptions about a group of people who you clearly have no knowledge of whatsoever. There is a tiny chance that they are horrible scumbag bike thieves, but to assume that they are is just really shoddy.