stillanimal

So here's the skinny, a little over a week ago I noticed a nice looking 80's mtb leaned up against the back of a building in the ally way behind my apartment. I share an ally with a bunch of bar's and nightclubs & I'm pretty sure some drunk either lifted the bike and cruised it over to the bar then left it there or someone abandoned it (flat front tire and busted front brake). In my city unless its registered the traffic pigs will pick up, impound & auction off any abandoned bikes. Even if you have the receipt and a picture of yourself riding the bike as far as the city is concerned, if its not registered its not yours.
My dilemma, do I take the bike & alter it to serve my purposes (the frame is almost exactly what I was wanting for my next build) or do I just let it sit there until the next Joe Shmo who needs a bike spots it?

Cyclist0383

So you want to be that Joe Shmo who needs a bike......

Dr. Banzai

Finders keepers.

But think that the person who owns/owned it might be cruising CL looking for it. Make an effort to restore ownership, try for a week. After that it's yours.

illdthedj

i dunno, its been there for a week...
if someone (previous owner) wanted it, they wouldn't leave it outside unlocked for a week+...

and its very possible previous owner was bike inept, got a flat tire and brake was broken, said "f$&#k this bike", thought it was beyond their mental and/or financial means to fix, and just left it in the alleyway.

lets just say if you took it i wouldn't think you were a horrible person.


i mean, worst case scenario i can think of it was stolen and thief got a flat and just left it in the alleyway. whats going to happen to it? someone else takes it or it gets thrown in the dumpster or bike police pick it up. it might as well go to good use....

lol i bet someone is going to call me immoral now

James1:17

aye

xavier853

There was a Level, pretty beat up and kind of rusted that had been sitting in a bike rack for a few months. Through rain and terrible weather. I would eye it everyday and would think, if nobody moves this bike by winter (which at the time was a month after the two months perviously stated) I would adopt it. It was locked with a cable lock, easily taken.

Turns out someone wanted it after all because it was gone when I came back a few days later. dunno if someone had my idea, or someone was riding it. I would have felt bad stealing it anyway. But it deserves better

TheBikeRollsOn 

I'm in a similar predicament as xavier853. There is a Specialized Allez at the rack in my apartment complex. I know for a fact that the only time it's moved is when I picked it up off of the ground. Only the front wheel is actually locked to the rack. I could very easily just undo the quick release and take the bike. It has pretty low end components (tiagra and sora) but it's a decent alu frame that I think would fit me pretty well. It's been there for like 3 months, has flat tires, and has been sitting in the rain the entire time. It also has a wireless cateye computer I've been looking at. I don't want to be a ****ty person and be a bike thief, but the person clearly has no intention of riding it or caring about it at all. For all I know they have probably forgotten that it's there.

derek.fulmer

Property is theft. If something has been sitting around for more than a week or two, take it. Definitely doesn't make you a horrible person.

stillanimal

here's my plan. if its still there tonight, I'm gonna go grab it, put up a vague description on CL with my phone number, then give it a week, no-one calls & its mine.

illdthedj

i would just describe the exact location, and the two things wrong with it, and that its a mountain bike. they would need to know the color and make, and some other detail.

squeegeesunny 

In my apartment storage room there is a Medici Gran Turismo with all campy parts, that hasn't been touched for 5 years+. ALL original parts down to the waterbottle, and the tires. I left my name on the bike(postit) and waited a month. Went to my landlady and asked her if I could have it, she said lets wait it out. It's been 3 months since I asked her, and I am really tempted to just take it but whatever... stealing is stealing. I'm not going to do it unless I get 100% approval that I can take it.

calv

Dude squeeg, just ask again since its been that long, and whatever the answer, take it!!

riot2003

This thread again? ...

TheBikeRollsOn 

So about the bike I posted about earlier. My friend is moving to a city and doesn't have any money or transportation, I told him about the bike and told him nobody would miss it if it went missing. We'll see what happens I guess. I wouldn't feel bad about it but I also wouldn't be the one taking the bike.

fuji86

Unlocked after a week, take it & like others suggested do the CL thing. Even tack up a Lost & Found flyer where the bike was located when you adopted the stray bike. Just put up that you found the bike with a contact and let the responder identify everything. If you build it up, keep track of what you repaired and upgraded. I'm pretty sure, that you can recover that thru a mechanics lien or similar. With cars, a shop can take possession/title if the owner doesn't claim the vehicle, this often happens when the car needs repairs and the owner can't pay for them. In essence the police dept. bike auction is this too.

jimmytango

if it were me it would be getting a nice rub down in my apartment right now. There's a kilo tt in that situation in my building. Do I need 2 bikes? Why yes. N+1 right?

FastJake

I say steal it before the police department does. Then just put a "found" ad on craigslist for its owner. If no one responds, the way I see it the bike belongs to you.

rustybrown

Don't steal bikes, bro.