Abandoned bikes

I know of a beautiful specialized langster which hasn't moved in 2 years, left notes on it and none of them have even been taken off never mind the owner actually reading them. Seriously considering just "liberating" it before the local pikeys do....

Is that Brother frame still lurking in london? Must have been over 6 months now its been dumped.

Have 1st hand had mates of mates had bits of bike stolen (front wheel, other one was saddle/seatpost) on reasonable bikes (stock charge type job) and just thrown hands up in air and said they might as well buy a new one, no joke. In some peoples minds, once one little part has gone, thats it, its dead to them, they abandon it.

It is, it's pretty abandon now.

Dredging an old thread somewhat but there's an abandoned Genesis Aether on Bethnal Green Road that's been there for weeks and is now slowly being stripped.

Locked well, and looks in as-new condition but sadly the bars/stem/forks have disappeared. Not sure on the legality of liberating it, but if I had an angle grinder I'd set it free and donate the remains to HBK or another open workshop type place

There is a lovely metallic Argos TT frame with teh sexy Reynolds aero forks seemingly abandoned in the New X area but locked with a massive chain and padlock. Left long enough for tyres to go flat now. Pls owner reclaim your bike!

There is a lovely metallic Argos TT frame with teh sexy Reynolds aero forks seemingly abandoned in the New X area but locked with a massive chain and padlock. Left long enough for tyres to go flat now. Pls owner reclaim your bike!

Back wheel has gone :(

So why do people abandon bikes anyway?

I remember a few years ago going to lock my bike up in Kings Cross station, but there was nowhere to put it as the platform bike racks was a solid mass of dust covered, flat tired, rusted to fuck bikes. This was summer too so not 'locked up for the winter' either.

Hundreds of them. Nice bikes some, Bromptons, modern road bikes, the lot.

Why do so many people just abandon decent bikes?

I noticed that Paddington station is having an abandoned bike cull very soon.

Why do so many people just abandon decent bikes?

Because they can afford to.

I noticed that Paddington station is having an abandoned bike cull very soon.

hmm could be an interesting auction / sale

The only abandoned bikes are the ones taken by the police/council and auctioned.
Everything else is not.
In my opinion.

Unless it's been CLEARLY abandoned, meaning NOT locked and rusting away on the side of the road. Stem was stuck, tyres flat, spokes broken.

I actually found one of these. Riding back home saw this bike all rusty and spidery webby lying on the side of the road clearly visible. Wasn't there in the morning, I would have noticed it.
There was one shop and private homes, asked at the shop and a rang the bells of few near-by houses.
No one ever saw that bike there before.

Left it there, maybe some one just left it there and went to take, dunno, a car or something.
Came back next morning, was still there (of course no thieves would take it).

So I took it.

That, again, in my opinion, is an abandoned bike (may be just because I took it? No idea, but to me that was as much as a properly abandoned bike as one can say)

Planning on cleaning, re-grease, true/fix spokes, new tubs/tyres and ride along that stretch of road, maybe the owner is still there and might want it back. It's an Elswick Hopper, no fancy tubing.

There is a lovely metallic Argos TT frame with teh sexy Reynolds aero forks seemingly abandoned in the New X area but locked with a massive chain and padlock. Left long enough for tyres to go flat now. Pls owner reclaim your bike!

Back wheel has gone :(

Praise be, it now has a back wheel on it and has been moved around on the bike rack so owner seems to have reappeared at some point in the last week.

DREDGE. There's a nice steel Spesh in Covent Garden that's being left to rot. Front wheel's already gone, and someone's had a terrible go at having the back one off. Chain's all rusted and paintwork has got patina'd to rat-thread-level DEFCON 5.

Do want.

One of these old Australia Post bikes has been locked out the front of my work for ~2 months, hasn't moved. It's just locked with a crappy d-lock on the top tube. I really want it, but I'd feel bad taking it. I'm tempted to leave a note with an email address on it.

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There's a Harry Quinn frame locked at my local supermarket with a flat tyre which has been there a few weeks. I might have a word with security and see if they know anything about it. The Ammaco hybrid next to it has been there for as long as I remember so I'm guessing the landowner isn't fussed about removing them.

I spotted a Rauler that has been abandoned for a lot of time in London. It is properly locked though, that is why everything has been taken except for the frame and a few components.
So much want...

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steal

That's the deal, its theft.

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The right way to do it, in my opinion, it is to contact the council, they'll put a warning sign that the bike will be removed from the rail within some time (usually a couple of weeks) unless the owner contacts them back. If no one gets back to them, they'll remove it from the rail and put it up in an auction I believe.
I think many council usually do that every couple of months.

Update: I did send them an e-mail regarding this. Let's see what happens.

Found this study (http://content.tfl.gov.uk/bicycle-recycling-schemes-London-scoping-study-april-2007.pdf) that states:

In London, the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) receive approximately 210 cycles per month, with roughly 40% being ‘crime related’ and 60% having been collected, presumed abandoned, from the streets.
These cycles are initially stored at local police stations whilst attempts are made through the website immobilise.com to trace the owners. This website now fulfils the function of a central property database for the MPS. The cycles are kept for 6 weeks, and then disposed of. As our research on projects around London has shown, many of these bikes are given to local recycling projects working in the community with young offenders etc. Those that are in very poor condition, rusty or badly damaged are disposed of at scrap yards. The remainder are sent to Central Property Services in Southwark.
Central Property Services hold regular auctions to dispose of bikes. In the last year, all but 7 of the bikes were sold, the average price being approximately £20. No analysis has been made of who purchases the bikes, although the MPS is aware that some dealers attend the auctions.

How does one go about getting rid of a bike that's been abandoned in a communal area by an ex-resident of the property? no contact details of the ex-resident. the bike has been in the same place for the 2 years i've lived here. it's taking up a bike space in a small hallway. It's currently D-locked (back wheel to frame. not to any other object). Can i just put it outside and hope the street fairies take it away/get the council to pick it up?

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nah, it's a ladies trek hybrid. I think it's barely been ridden as the protective plastic stuff is still on the frame in places.

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