Cycle Salvage - A Moral Question

thehungrycyclist

I nearly got nicked today but got off with a caution. I was salvaging bits from a well abandoned cycle. Was I right or wrong?

Read the full story here:

http://www.thehungrycyclist.com/blog/20 ... stion.html

roger_merriman

sorry no you where wrong, many a negected bikes are still used or are maybe are just left etc, doesn't mean one has the right to nick bits off them how ever tempting it is.

tardington

I think if you reported it as abandoned, after a certain amount of time you get to just HAVE it...

There was a nice (wheel-less and buckled) Orange frame near my work. The one day I remembered my spanners to lift the pedals it was gone! Same with a nice old roadie frame outside John Lewis'.

I like the sturmey archer three speed gear doofer though! Not so sure about the cast iron leg though. 8)

Quick Answer: But next time wear one a big hi-vis jacket, and look offical! OR don't get caught!

thehungrycyclist

i knew that donkey jacket and high vis vest would come in handy.

biondino

Ultimately it's not yours, and bike theft is a real and prolific crime so I think it worked out about right - you got a warning but nothing worse, and the police were actually doing their job. You might thank them for it one day!

(it is a shame though. What do councils do with abandoned bikes, and is there any way of cycling enthusiasts getting their hands on bikes/parts for pennies that will go into council coffers?)

cjcp

biondino wrote:

(it is a shame though. What do councils do with abandoned bikes, and is there any way of cycling enthusiasts getting their hands on bikes/parts for pennies that will go into council coffers?)

The council tip by me sells frames off for 10 quid. Always worth a look if you want something really cheap.

biondino

Nah, you know me, I'd rather spend hundreds and hundreds

lost_in_thought

Having read your blog entry, don't spend half an hour taking bits in broad daylight!

If it's genuinely abandoned, I don't see an ethical problem with it.

However clearly it is illegal so I do understand why the police were less than happy and it's good that they were vigilant enough to stop and talk to someone ostensibly nicking a bike!

Also, I'd have had to monitor it for far more than 3 weeks for my conscience to allow me to salvage...

itboffin

cjcp wrote:

biondino wrote:

(it is a shame though. What do councils do with abandoned bikes, and is there any way of cycling enthusiasts getting their hands on bikes/parts for pennies that will go into council coffers?)

The council tip by me sells frames off for 10 quid. Always worth a look if you want something really cheap.

My local council tip refuses to sell old bikes in case someone is hurt on one therefore they claim they're all scrapped.

Likely story

roger_merriman

cjcp wrote:

biondino wrote:

(it is a shame though. What do councils do with abandoned bikes, and is there any way of cycling enthusiasts getting their hands on bikes/parts for pennies that will go into council coffers?)

The council tip by me sells frames off for 10 quid. Always worth a look if you want something really cheap.

which one is that? could be useful for pub bike etc

cjcp

Villiers Road. They're stacked up on the right of the ramp up to the main disposal area.

cjcp

itboffin wrote:

cjcp wrote:

biondino wrote:

(it is a shame though. What do councils do with abandoned bikes, and is there any way of cycling enthusiasts getting their hands on bikes/parts for pennies that will go into council coffers?)

The council tip by me sells frames off for 10 quid. Always worth a look if you want something really cheap.

My local council tip refuses to sell old bikes in case someone is hurt on one therefore they claim they're all scrapped.

Likely story

They're giving someone else in Wiltshire the opportunity to own a bike, that's all. :P

nwallace

Yes it's a bit crap, but it's still theft, which is a crime.

And RLJ'ing is still a road traffic offence, which is a crime.

And breaking into an empty house is house breaking, which is a crime.
At least down there if the house could be walked into you can claim squatters rights.

marchant

This is sonething I've wondered about before, on my way to work there's at least three bikes that have been locked up vandalised and now sit there rusting. A few parts have taken already but my conscience, the CCTV camera above the bikes and the police station that's 100 yards away conspire to stop me...

roger_merriman

cjcp wrote:

Villiers Road. They're stacked up on the right of the ramp up to the main disposal area.

cheers.

woodyonthebeach

Bolt cutters and take the whole thing. Then It will look like you have lost your key.

My Friend lost his key and walked into a train station with an extension lead and an angle grinder not a word said.

biondino

woodyonthebeach wrote:

Bolt cutters and take the whole thing. Then It will look like you have lost your key.

My Friend lost his key and walked into a train station with an extension lead and an angle grinder not a word said.

Yes, when I see young men relieving railings of bicycles with bolt cutters the first thing I think is "poor guy, what a pain to have lost his keys" :roll:

dilemna

hi, i'm new here.
this a tricky one.
1st taking what is not yours is theft what ever it is and in what ever condition it appears.
2nd some one's rubbish is some else's jewel, but it is still theft unless you have their permission.
3rd I frequently see abandoned bikes hanging onto railings for dear life and helpless skeleton frames teathered forlornly to bike hoops. This saddens me as a dead or dying bike is potentially one less person cycling. Ok you say but some people have 7 bikes or people acquire a wreck for commuting and when something fails just dump it. Cyclists need to be reminded just like anyone else they can't just abandon their old and worn out property in effect fly tipping. These bikes need to removed by local councils quickly as they create a bad image for cycling firstly that your own pride and joy is likely to suffer a similar fate and secondly that if teathered to a hoop they are taking up valuable parking space that another bike could use.

For most abandoned bikes the start of the end is when they have their wheels kicked in by morons on a fridy or saturday night. The owners then return and decide they cannot be be bothered to repair as the cost is uneconomic against buying another second hand jallopy or new for £250. Or it is an indication that many more cyclists are dishonest and will steal parts from perfectly good bikes to the point where these bikes become unrideable and therefore the owner abandons them.

If you dumped your car the authorities would chase you for payment for collection and disposal.

The police were only doing their job. It is a pity though none showed the remotest bit of interest when my Brompton was stolen from outside London University HQ in Mallet Street right under the gaze of a security camera and a Kryptonite D-lock to secure it. The thieves didn't get the saddle as I took it off.

Alex

the_hundredth_idiot

I don't see it is a problem if the bike is abandoned. Problem is, determining whether it is genuinely abandoned or just left for what might be considered (by us) to be a surprisingly cavalier length of time.

In the basement car park at work are a number of bikes which have apparently been abandoned. They are without exception cheap bikes, covered in dust and with a security notice stuck on them advising the owner to remove the notice within two weeks or the bike will be removed. The notices have been on them since last summer - we can safely say that the owner isn't coming back for them. I suspect the owners have moved on to a different employer.

Sooner or later the security guards will get around to removing the bikes. They will (presumably) get thrown in a skip. Seems a waste so why not salvage something off them before they become more landfill? Some of the bikes have already lost a few bits - tyres, mudguards, racks, lights, brake levers - where do you draw the line?

But, stripping a bike in a public place? There's an old MTB locked to railings outside my local park. Been there ages now. Rusted and with a few bits missing. Fit for nothing but landfill, except that it has a couple of decent tyres on it ... . But there's no way I'd take the tyres - I'd be mortified if I got challenged. And arrested - eek!

jedster

I'm slightly confused by my reaaction to this.

On the one hand, I get hacked off with seeing the same beaten-up hulks of bikes - eyesores which take scarce bike parking space up. I reckon people who leave bikes around in that condition should be fined. I don't have a moral problem with people harvesting spares from these bikes (although it would be nice if they actually removed the whoel bie at the same time).

On the other hand, from a practical/legal point of view, I don't think it would be sensible to allow a free for all.

J

always_tyred

The cylinder head gasket on my neighbour's BMW has blown. Its about 15 years old so its never going to be worth replacing. I think its SORN and is just rusting on his parking space. Besides, he's got a flat tyre as well now. I reckon the wind mirrors are the same as mine, and the rear view mirror.

Is it wrong to salvage them?

nickthetrick

I once bought a cool orange (colour not brand) bike from an Oxford based (one-man) company called BackOnTrax. It turned out I think that he had a contract with the city council to go around and remove bikes from railings, especially around the station area. Not sure if he was supposed to remove all the abandoned bikes, or just the ones he liked, or whether he actually got paid for removing them, but he obviously made a wee bit of money out of reconditioning the nice ones and selling them on.

There's a business opportunity there for anyone worried about their current job!!

nickthetrick

ride_whenever

Back on trax are quite good normally.

The thing to do is remove it with bolt croppers, and hand it to the police saying it was abandoned, then pick it up 4 weeks later.



Might be worth buying a PAYG cheap mobile with cash to give as contact details.

the_hundredth_idiot

Always Tyred wrote:

The cylinder head gasket on my neighbour's BMW has blown. Its about 15 years old so its never going to be worth replacing. I think its SORN and is just rusting on his parking space. Besides, he's got a flat tyre as well now. I reckon the wind mirrors are the same as mine, and the rear view mirror.

Is it wrong to salvage them?

You know who the owner is. It might be an eyesore. It might never run again. But it's not been abandoned. That's true whether it is a car, a bike, or whatever. So not the point being made here. If you wanted the wing mirrors, you know who to ask.

If the car was on bricks, smashed windscreen, no registration plates, no tax disc, been left on the street for several months, I'd feel the same way as I do about the bike chained to the railings outside my local park. And probably just as unlikely to salvage bits but more likely to call the local council and ask them to remove it.

itboffin

Always Tyred wrote:

The cylinder head gasket on my neighbour's BMW has blown. Its about 15 years old so its never going to be worth replacing. I think its SORN and is just rusting on his parking space. Besides, he's got a flat tyre as well now. I reckon the wind mirrors are the same as mine, and the rear view mirror.

Is it wrong to salvage them?

Can I have the glass from the left one :P

If you have the time tools n space BMW parts are worth a packet.

Mr Sworld

woodyonthebeach wrote:

Bolt cutters and take the whole thing. Then It will look like you have lost your key.

My Friend lost his key and walked into a train station with an extension lead and an angle grinder not a word said.

I'm surprised the station staff actually let him plug it in!

What did he do? Unplug a vending machine or use a cleaners socket?

TopSpin

Where I park my bike (racks on a busy central London street) has a few abandoned bikes. End of last year there was an OK looking hybrid (except one of the cranks was broken), locked up with a tube wire a bit like a drinking straw. I reckon I could have cut it with a nail scissors. It was there for weeks like that taking up space. Finally one morning the lock was broken and lay on the ground next to the bike which now had nothing at all securing it. Took nearly a further week for this bike to go!

Something like that you're almost doing a public service if you do take it.

woodyonthebeach

Mr Sworld wrote:

woodyonthebeach wrote:

Bolt cutters and take the whole thing. Then It will look like you have lost your key.

My Friend lost his key and walked into a train station with an extension lead and an angle grinder not a word said.

I'm surprised the station staff actually let him plug it in!

What did he do? Unplug a vending machine or use a cleaners socket?

Used a cleaners socket I think. It was a main line station going towards London.

What Had happened is that he had left it there over night and when he came back in the morning after losing his key some body had taken the effort to cut his spokes so they could nick the hub. Talk about quiet main line station

TRADESIZE

I use to be into old volkswagens,9 years ago I saw this 1963 bug on the side of the road for about 9 months, tax disc expired, so I knocked on all doors, who's car is that - dunno.
So I took it, applied for the reg doc, which came back in my name, fixed it up spent about £300 I used it for a year then sold it for £1300! I actually told the police I was taking it, they called me the day after 'thats stealing' ....but the council said if its not taken it would be crushed.....so said i could take it....'thats not stealing then sir?????!!!!'
They didn't actually say take it but as far I concerned 'if its not taken it will be crushed' is kind of telling me to take it-ish!

Seen this bike abandoned in bristol, been there 4 months, but has a D lock, how do I get thru that? They look like a bitch to pick, which is probably easist way?

Might have a go in daylight with a high vis on

wantaway

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/ ... 3000_bikes

Go Oscar!!!

Perhaps this is the sort of thing that should be done with old bikes. Rather than existing cyclists helping themselves to yet another part for yet another bike, these bikes could be used to do something really positive.

Given the money that Bristol is getting for bike related activity, you'd think a formal scheme (rather than some kind hearted should doing it for free) which cuts down on landfill, could create work and promote cycling would be high on the list. Having something to do with the old bikes (other than chuck them) would give them a value and make it worthwhile for the council to collect them.

There may also be an argument that giving away bikes would help to partly undermine the market which makes bike theft profitable / attractive .

always_tyred

itboffin wrote:

Always Tyred wrote:

The cylinder head gasket on my neighbour's BMW has blown. Its about 15 years old so its never going to be worth replacing. I think its SORN and is just rusting on his parking space. Besides, he's got a flat tyre as well now. I reckon the wind mirrors are the same as mine, and the rear view mirror.

Is it wrong to salvage them?

Can I have the glass from the left one :P

If you have the time tools n space BMW parts are worth a packet.

The guy is infuriating. Aside from the eyesore issue, the number plate has "WWW" in it. I suggested that he sell it on ebay for more than the value of the vehicle (surely there are a myriad of web developers and IT geeks out there who would jump at that) and count himself lucky.

Instead he's bought a rusting Skoda.

My other neighbour had an extension and, whilst drunk most likely (he is literally a drunken professor), forgot that it wasn't a garage any more and drove into his own house. At least he hasn't run over any of my cats again recently.

God I have to move house this year.