If it came to it, I'd have no problem registering my two commuters. These bikes would have the highest chance of 1) being stolen and/or 2) being involved in an accident with a car.

The others though....what others?

If we have to pay for registration just like cars does that mean the cops have to care when a bike gets stolen? (like a car)

What makes you think they care about stolen cars? ;-) I recall reading that the recovery rate for stolen vehicles in my part of NY is less than 20 percent.

I'd find somewhere else to live.

But not until I tried to register my homebuilt cargo bike. The bike has two serial numbers on it.

Instead of looking for ways to squeeze more money from us, state governments should be doing everything in their power to encourage cycling as recreation and transport. All vehicles that burn fossil fuels should have their fees increased, with the proceeds used to fund cycling-related stuff. Every cyclo-commuter should receive some sort of financial "stimulus", a couple hundred bucks a month or so.

The passion for cutting taxes means revenue must be regained in some other fashion. Fees such as this are the popular remedy. Pretty soon everything we do will be monetized in some fashion, either as fees paid to government to replace tax revenue, or fees paid to private concerns that have taken over what used to be public resources.

Cyclists are bad.

We don't use as much gas, so we pay less gas TAXES.
We don't use toll booths on highways, so we pay less highway TAXES.
We generally don't smoke, so we don't pay cigarette TAXES.
We can throw our tires away, so we don't pay disposal fees, er, TAXES.
We don't have old engine oil to dispose of so we don't pay recycling fees, er, TAXES.
We are basically more fit than the general population, so we don't pay EXORBITANT HEALTH CARE COSTS that go to pay for those that don't.

Cyclists are good.
We often drink beer, and we pay our share of alcohol TAXES.

So leave us alone.

I think I'll write to that idiot in Albany.

I would just ignore it like I already do

Depends on how the legislation was written. If they tried to include inactive bikes and race bikes then there'd be an issue because in one case my track/velodrome bike isn't allowed to have brakes and lights and reflectors on it. If the legislation didn't include race bikes then most of mine would be reclassified as such since a USCF license would be cheaper than a bike license.

It would also depend on if the licensing also included a state-wide pass to any bike paths currently requiring user fees.

But if nuts came to bolts I'd probably register just one, all the rest would become part of my private museum and heritage collection. And if they really got rude I'd be the owner of nothing but parts stored away to help maintain my sole licensed bike. And, yes, a frame is a spare part.

But since our state Democrat senators are currently residing outside of the state any legislation like this won't pass due to the fiscal content of it.

(Politics in three, two, one, ... )

Some topics can never be confined to a simple answer.

This reminds me of the Johnny Cash song "One Piece at a Time." Some of our frankenbikes could be quite entertaining to register!

Be careful with Frankenbikes, law enforcement has used that as a tool against motorcycle groups where a bike owner would nearly have to prove that component parts are not stolen. The assumption is that if the parts aren't original then they might be held until ownership can be proven.

As to bicycle registration, I'm always curious how visitors are handled.

Good point. New York has done a great job of building out cross-state bike routes popular for tours. But we all know that those 50-something guys on their recumbents are trouble-makers, each and every one. Got to have a way of keeping track of them.

Another point to consider, if the "license" takes the form of a sticker and if the legislation where it is to be placed on the bike, then they won't care if it will cover up your Vitus or Reynolds tubing decal.

Food for thought.

They just repealed the license requirement in Long Beach mainly because it was almost impossible to get them registered. You had to go to a fire station between 11 and 1 on the weekend. So if you showed up and they were on a call, tough luck. Fee was only $3.

Guess it will force me to switch over my interests to skateboarding. BTW, can you imagine a patrol car, sirens and flashing lights and all, pulling over your grandma for riding an unregistered adult trike? Man, make up for those tax breaks for the uber rich some other way. Hey, Albany, leave us cyclists alone...now Pink Floyd will probably sue me for copyright infringement

Heh, sorta appropriate. Really just two bikes and some excess racks I had sitting around. A skykomish MTB and the rear triangle from some walmart full suspension BSO.

Eh, I've never tried to register it. I'd really like to see how this would work with bicycles though. I bought the skykomish bike @ a thrift store - who knows whose it was before hand? I found the BSO in a dumpster - who had it and then threw it away? I mean - really I haven't bought any "brand new" bicycle since a huffy when i was 14.

In his mouth?

It's a playful twist of how the NYC mobsters would handle such a troublemaker. The Hudson is the very large river flowing North-South in New York and empties into New York Harbor in NYC. The Zefal is to let all know why when they pull his body out of the river.

In his mouth?

I'd think getting beaten, then hanged with a Kryptonite NYFU lock would be more appropriate.

Seriously, that bill's going to have a long uphill battle to get passed. There is just so many problems associated with it that it'll end up in the shredder along with all the others. Do they really want to deal with thousands of calls reporting a stolen tag when they could be dealing with more important issues?

Can't ask visitors to register. Runs up against the interstate commerce clause.

Otherwise, I'd have to license my car in Maryland when I drive over the Maryland/Virginia border.

Similar cases have gone to the Supreme court, involving taxi registration in North Carolina towns.

Personally, I'd find a local small business/independantly talented individual who's of the same mind as I am and have them produce fake reg plates/stickers for me. It may end up costing more than legit registration, but at least the money would be going to someone who actually deserves/needs it. If they misused my tax money the first time, why would I give them more?

Throw another horror at you: The only way registration would conceivably work is to use those un-removable stickers that we occasionally find on the bikes we restore. Which means, can you see putting one of those on your absolutely perfect Hetchins restoration? Or Cinelli, Masi, Mercian, etc.

I'd probably put one on the AMF Hercules I commute with in the city. As to the rest of the stable, they can piss off.