Beatsalad

In the past year i have found alot of bikes that look like they had been stolen and trashed. none of them up untill now look like someone was seriously riding them anyway, so i fix them up and give them to friends with out bikes... this one is a exception, i would be pissed if someone stole this bike from me. It's a Cannondale XC bike... if you want it back your going to have to describe it to me... .
Also does anyone else find bikes? if you do (or did) what would you do with them?

swifferman

I'm not really sure about the right procedure but shouldn't they be turned into the police first? Just to be safe and all?

Sounds like you're doing something good though, so continue!

PanPanX

wait..how did you find it? how do you know some poor guy (thinking its a safe neighborhood) didnt just leave it there for a second so he could drop off the mail? and then when he came back out a few minutes later, its missing, but then here you are thinking you found it... i say that because a lot of people here, including myself would leave their bikes outside the post office, unlocked, and just leaned against the wall or laying on the floor or something..

Beatsalad

Um well it was under a bridge in the sand look purposefully beat up and in a foot of water... I feel bad now though cause i wasn't really the one to find it, and the person who did wants to keep it... oh well. if i found it i would keep trying for the owner... but he doesn't want to.

sorry

PWRDbyTRD

If you're not going to do the right thing, just go put it back where you found it. People like him give cyclists a bad name

Beatsalad

He took it already... and no i would rather know someone rides it then let it sit and rust in the water.

cryogenic

now the only argument is whether you or the guy who really found it should get to keep it.. flip a coin?

RoadKill

If you arent going to report it to the police you can at least take out a couple "lost & found" ads in various local media. If the owner comes forward ask them to pay the ad fee, otherwise at least you can feel good about trying.

Maelstrom 

I am moving this to advocacy. Definately fits in there more than here.

you should have turned it into the police. Not even a question in my mind, if the owner didn't want it police (at least in my town) keep it for 90 days then sign it over to the founder.

nocoins

I find, fix, and redistribute bikes all the time. It makes the world go round. Of course, all the bikes that I find are beat up beyond recognition and are given to people who have had their bikes stolen in the city. Anyway, keep up the good work.

Ebbtide

I "find" bikes all the time. I often fix them and give them to friends/kids. The Police will not do anything in my area. Bike theft is not a priority in the least. Karmically speaking, I think you are covered.

bluejack

Why is "find" in quotation marks? Where do you find these bikes? Karmically speaking, I am pretty suspicious about "finding" bikes ... even in Philadelphia where police don't care about bike theft, and where bikes are auctioned off periodically rather than returned to those who turned them in, there is at least the chance that the person whose bike was stolen reported it stolen. In that scenario the *computer* the police use would at least make the connection between the serial numbers, and the police would have to get it back to the original owner.

Ebbtide

Because I am quoting Beatsalad, next time I'll capitalize so there is less confusion.. And "all the time" is about one or two decent ones a year. I could pick up Magnas and Huffy's all day long in the summer.

Our police (Cleveland nor Suburban) do not have the capability track bikes' serial numbers via computer, let alone respond to the call in person. And rest assure, the bikes in question are abandoned/stolen/beat to hell and back and usually require a significant financial investment to bring them up to safe riding conditions.

powers2b

Ebbtide,
Bring your "Finds" down to the Ohio City Bike Co-op. The co-op will use the bike to educate inner-city kids about bike maintenance and road safety.
You will help the community and you won't have to worry about getting caught with a garage full of questionable bikes.

Better yet, if you are a capable mechanic come to the co-op, volunteer your time and help build bikes for the whole city.
Enjoy

Ebbtide

Thanks, I've been threatening to bring them down for about six months but have not gotten off my butt to do anything about it. I have a GT Telera, a Japanese Bianchi road bike, and some Giant comfort frames (with shocks and cranks) taking up space.

bluejack

Ok, well you have set my mind at ease, but I would double check to make sure about the tracking. I know city police can't make house calls for stolen bikes, but victims have been known to go into the station to make a report -- it's required for insurance purposes. The report generally includes a serial number. Similarly, most police forces have to log all "found" or abandoned items for internal tracking purposes, and generally a serial number or other prominent identifying id is required. I believe most police computers these days can do a simple string search in the database to see if there's a hit. I don't know Cleveland, so I don't know for sure, but it's worth double checking; particularly if you ever find a bike that, like the OP's, is actually a pretty good one.

swifferman

HOW are you finding the bikes is the question?

Are they in front of people's houses? In ditches? How?

You should really be turning them into the police still. They'll just auction them off but at least the guy looking for his bike would have at least a chance of finding it.