To liberate or not to liberate?

where I work there's been a raleigh ladies bike that's been locked to a pole for 6 months now dying in the rain and weather, uncared for and left to rust through. How long should I leave it there before it's considered fair game to liberate it and convert it for my lady?

at the bike racks at uni someone has removed a bike but left a laminated note to the owner...maybe you could do that.

Leave a note on it (in a plastic bag with your number on) asking if the owner still wants it. If it's still there in a couple of weeks - I think the amount of time you have to hold a bike that you have found is two weeks? - then think about liberating it. Its still illegal though even if you feel as though - and probably are - you are rescuing it. That said the council can get away with it so maybe speak to them?

good idea, now all I have to do its break the lock and get it off site without security catching me, arresting me and then losing my job......

As far as I know there is a legal procedure were you can report the bike as (this is the bit I can't remember - something like 'salvage' or 'reclamation' ??) and if the bike has not been claimed a certain amount of time after your report you can take the bike (legally).

Sorry for the absolute vagueness. !!!

That's probably what the council do.

i have a big hacksaw for this very purpose.

if the security guards do quiz you as to what you are doing.
just tell them that its your girlfriends bike and she foolishly lost the keys to the lock..

and then say something like " well you know what birds are like mate, would loose their tits if they weren't attached " then he would reply with some equally chauvanist comment and forget you are stealing a bike.

well i've made a massive a4 spoke card with my intentions and email on it, if it's still there in a month i'll have it and just leave my phone number on the post. i told the security what i was doing so it's all clear with them (i work for 'the man' on a m.o.d. site, so stealing is frowned upon more so than if i was at my old job) so it a month hopefully no one will have gotten hold of me and it shall be mine! mine! mine!

Similar thing happened to me, except it was a man's Peugeot....

Was locked up outside my girlfiends flat since before she had moved in. I took a photo, put up a poster saying IS THIS YOUR BIKE? IF SO CALL ME ON ... I got a call from the building supervisor who owned up to it being his. I had to promise to help him fix another of his bikes - which I seem to have neglected to do yet...

Took me about a hour to saw through the shitty lock on the peugoet, and i got a few dodgy looks from the respectable residents of the apartment block (in Hoxton, so not that respectable). Wheels fucked, brakes fucked, bars rusted through. Took the rest of it home across the river on the bus, and so far I've got the forks, stem and headset off. The right arm is just a wee bit bent so I'm on the look out for some new ones (1&1/8" threaded I do believe...hint hint!). Also need a socket wrench in order to get the cranks off, so am waiting for a 'friend' to lend me his. He's taking his time, but it's not like I can afford to buy my own... The stem is a keeper, nice old quill, but the headset would be worth replacing I reckon. I did have to use a hammer to knock the forks straight in the threads after all. I expect it's had some form of collision in its life, but the rest of the frame looks straight and solid.

So now all I need is a shiny wheelset, seatpost, saddle (got my eye on a brooks b17 special, £28 on wiggle), forks, bars, chainwheel and cog. I've got a 1/8" chain in the cupboard, getting restless. A bit of interweb research tells me this model may have a 113mm bottom bracket (not sure about the threading tho), which allegedly my scott speedster has too, so if the bike gods are with me I'll be able to use the bb and cranks off that. Big old "if" I reckon tho.

Any advice/tips/offers of spare parts very welcome!

Peugeot's can be a nightmare. Lots of french standards, so on mine the headset and stem had to be french (bit of a nightmare to find). Most serious tends to be the seatpost though; on some old peugeots they were a really weird size which you can't get for love nor money.

I'm still waiting on confirmation from a site manager that I can liberate an old cruiser that's been locked up since god knows when.
He's left a not saying for the owner to take it by 07/11/07 or it will be disposed of.

The thing that's pissing me off is that if he doesn't give it to me it's just going in a skip. A shabby waste.
If it wasn't for the gated access and the CCTV I'd have already taken it.

.

Sounds like it's more trouble than it's worth. Frames aren't all that expensive, especially if you factor in what your own time is worth. My two cents anyway...

fc9k Peugeot's can be a nightmare. Lots of french standards, so on mine the headset and stem had to be french (bit of a nightmare to find). Most serious tends to be the seatpost though; on some old peugeots they were a really weird size which you can't get for love nor money.

Good thing I've salvaged the stem then. The headset isn't completely dead, so I might try giving it a good clean, new bearings and a regrease and see if that works. I guess it's a part of the bike that takes a fair bit of stress so you want it to be in good condition though.
The seatpost is in similarly bad nick, and it's a bit small too, but if it's too much of a bitch to replace then beggars can't be choosers...

Object: Sadly I understand that a site manager's job description includes "being a cunt". You could always pretend to be the owner if all else fails tho.

Rusty Ladies Dawes (guess cheap hi-ten steel) quite recent, locked to a house near me - E9 just off Mere St. Not sure what type of drops. I can put a sign on it if anyone is looking for a hack.

jonlubi [quote]fc9k Peugeot's can be a nightmare. Lots of french standards, so on mine the headset and stem had to be french (bit of a nightmare to find). Most serious tends to be the seatpost though; on some old peugeots they were a really weird size which you can't get for love nor money.

Good thing I've salvaged the stem then. The headset isn't completely dead, so I might try giving it a good clean, new bearings and a regrease and see if that works. I guess it's a part of the bike that takes a fair bit of stress so you want it to be in good condition though.
The seatpost is in similarly bad nick, and it's a bit small too, but if it's too much of a bitch to replace then beggars can't be choosers...

Object: Sadly I understand that a site manager's job description includes "being a cunt". You could always pretend to be the owner if all else fails tho.[/quote]

Unfortunately I work there and he knows it isn't mine as I've already asked him about it. Crying shame, it's a stunning cruiser, coaster brake, ridiculous bars.
Needs some paint, some love and a damned good clean - all of these things I'd happily provide :[

There's two bikes outside my office on Store street which are slowing being picked apart, if anyone needs some bits ;) Been there for months!

Store street you say?!? I might walk past on my way home.

picky picky picky, trash rat's here we go.

Heh heh... theres a peugeot, a dawes and there was a red raleigh there too the other day, think there's only two left though now. One has the old exage kit the other i'm not sure, both rear wheels have been nicked from them, theres a d-lock attached so unless you make a racket, you can't get the frames easily. free pickings though, the students from UCL/College of law leave them when they go home, the council remove them eventually so thieve away :)

lost property (techinically), report it to the police, they will give you a paper copy of the record of its loss/find, the loser has 28 days to claim it, after that the finder has 14 days to claim it for themselves.

this is seen as due diligence towards finding the rightful owner. after the 28 days its yours.

without doing this it's 'theft by finding' unfortunately. even if its blatantly obvious the owner can't be arse for various reasons, like one of the wheels being nicked.

saying that, if you phone the local station and explain you've seen it there everyday for so long a time and have made efforts to find the owner they may turn round and say you've done enough and can have it. just check with them to make sure.

liberate.

+1

the note's been up for a week now and i've heard nothing, i'm off the week after next if i've heard nothing by then it'll be coming home with me.

I'm all in favour of liberating abandoned bikes. Leave a note though.
To be honest, I wouldn't bother with the official channels, it's a bit long winded and I bet you get caught up in a complicated maze of bureaucracy.
I'd be careful though. A mate of mine got arrested for theft by finding after he tried to take a vacuum cleaner from a back lane.
Ridiculous!