Found bike, outside The Lexington, 16th May

it wasn't a white folding bike - like a shopper? if so it's the barmaids with the 80's bowl cut hair cut - not being rude, but well that's her haircut

Good work, papercrate, it's always difficult when you take on a function like that--it should really be carried out by a dedicated warehouse somewhere where lost bikes or bikes known to be stolen could be stored and reunited with enquiring owners. That's one of the LCC's suggestions as part of our 'Beat the Thief' campaign, but it hasn't been implemented yet, as it's a difficult one to fund.

I think it's quite possible that the bike may have been moved before you found it--perhaps it was in the process of being stolen. If you don't manage to find the owner, you should take the bike to the nearest police station. Good luck.

I went back today with new posters, put one on the wall near the area, one on the bike stand and one in The Lexington door.

your kharma bank balance is looking good :p

could be that it was a stolen bike and person using it couldn't care less or wanted it gone?
leaving details with local station + poster at bike stand + gumtree are the most sensible things, well done.

I was thinking that exact thing. Just seems to have been left there. It definitely isn't the nicest looking thing. Maybe somebody rode it as far as they needed and just ditched it?

it wasn't a white folding bike - like a shopper? if so it's the barmaids with the 80's bowl cut hair cut - not being rude, but well that's her haircut

Nope.

Good work, papercrate, it's always difficult when you take on a function like that--it should really be carried out by a dedicated warehouse somewhere where lost bikes or bikes known to be stolen could be stored and reunited with enquiring owners. That's one of the LCC's suggestions as part of our 'Beat the Thief' campaign, but it hasn't been implemented yet, as it's a difficult one to fund.

I think it's quite possible that the bike may have been moved before you found it--perhaps it was in the process of being stolen. If you don't manage to find the owner, you should take the bike to the nearest police station. Good luck.

Yup, like I said above, I've been thinking that.

I live in a giant warehouse (8000 sq. feet) that is mostly empty. I have about 950 sq. feet in the corner as my live/work studio. I could talk to guy who rents the whole space to see if he'd be up for something like that, maybe he'd donate an area for bike storage or lease it out really cheap?

As far as the police goes I'd really rather not. For a couple reasons– in my experience cops don't really help in matters like these, most the time that can't even be bothered. Sad but true. Another reason is that I've done this before living in the States. Tried to do the good thing by turning it in but the cops just ended up junking the bike a week later. :( I'd much rather give the bike to a charity in the end, or build a bike using the good parts for a broke friend who really needs a ride.

I have reported it to the local police and given them the description of the bike and its serial number, so if somebody ends up reporting it hopefully they will match them up.

Which warehouses?

whats the rent like?

Warehouse off Holloway Road, just near Arsenal stadium.

Alas, I am to be the only live/work unit so don't get any ideas on your own live/work space! Now he's only looking for others to rent spaces simply as work space. I believe it is £11 or £12 sq. foot, inclusive.

I could ask him about using a bit of the space for free though– somewhere to store found/recovered bikes if a group of people are serious about that. Is there a forum thread already started about those ideas from LCC/"Beat the Thief" initiative? If so, point me in the right direction as we are going a bit off topic here.

I'll take 3 sq feet. Can move in this afternoon.

Sorry, papercrate, I completely forgot about this and just found the open tab.

The warehouse would have to be a police operation, pooling all the recovered bikes that clutter up police stations around London and simply creating a single point of call for people to look for their bikes.

The situation with regard to bike theft in London is changing, partly thanks to the excellent efforts of the Cycle Task Force and the Hackney Cycle Crime Unit. It is to be hoped that these initiatives will be kept up.

Any luck with the found bike yet?

If you haven't had any luck yet you could try asking Delia Sparrow to put something out on Facebook etc... she works at the Lexington and seems to know everyone who's ever been there - http://www.facebook.com/#!/deliasparrow

http://www.bikeregister.com/howitworks.htm

Those considering purchasing a secondhand bike can also check a frame number with the bikeregister.com database to confirm it hasn’t been reported stolen.

might have some form of contact details if its stolen

atb

Sorry, papercrate, I completely forgot about this and just found the open tab.

The warehouse would have to be a police operation, pooling all the recovered bikes that clutter up police stations around London and simply creating a single point of call for people to look for their bikes.

The situation with regard to bike theft in London is changing, partly thanks to the excellent efforts of the Cycle Task Force and the Hackney Cycle Crime Unit. It is to be hoped that these initiatives will be kept up.

Any luck with the found bike yet?

Thanks for the info Oliver. I understand about the warehouse now. There is a surprising amount of empty industrial property even within zone 1... Property that doesn't have any development plans for up to 7 years. While they might not be permanent, it is a shame those places can be utilized for something like this for the time being.

If you haven't had any luck yet you could try asking Delia Sparrow to put something out on Facebook etc... she works at the Lexington and seems to know everyone who's ever been there - http://www.facebook.com/#!/deliasparrow

I'm actually not on Facebook (shocking, I know), would somebody else be keen to send her a message?

Thanks for the info Oliver. I understand about the warehouse now. There is a surprising amount of empty industrial property even within zone 1... Property that doesn't have any development plans for up to 7 years. While they might not be permanent, it is a shame those places can be utilized for something like this for the time being.

I agree completely--property speculation continues to be at scandalous levels in London.

I'm actually not on Facebook (shocking, I know), would somebody else be keen to send her a message?

Wise. Done.