Salvaging

I'm guessing this would count as theft though. Have any of you ever
done this? What would be your thoughts on me doing this? All these
bikes have been there a while so I know they are abandoned.

No need to guess. It is theft. I wouldn't dream of doing it. Does it
really matter what posters of ukrc think? The bikes might have been there a
while but there's no explicit permission being given by any of their owners
for people to help themselves to components.

vernon said:

No need to guess. It is theft. I wouldn't dream of doing it.

Agreed. It is TWOCKing.

Morally however it would surely be better to get rid of abandoned junk
(a council job surely?) and free up the bike stand for other users?

If councils DO go round and remove wrecks (as they do with abandoned
cars for example) it's possible they could be reused somehow, rather
than go off to landfill. Although I would suggest the chances of
realising a communal scrap yard where one could rummage are zero; can
you imagine the insurance/H&S/legal guff that would be involved?

Unless you work at a refuse amenity of course, in which case you would
have unlimited access to the very best scrap going.

If you want to get an old bike going (and learn a bit of spannering in
the process) maybe you could try the Ride Manchester cop-op (if they are
still active):

http://www.ridemanchester.org.uk/home.html

As Vern said though - if you help yourself you'll be stealing.

bfn,

Tony B

Madcap said:

I have just got a brand new courier bike but before this, I mainly
used an old dual suspension MTB I've had for years. Not having much
money for spares, replacements and just being down right lazy I have
run it into the ground. I have decided to make it my mission to get it
road worthy again.

First off, I know next to nothing about bike maintenace other than the
usual stuff (inner tubes, brake pads, deuraillier adjustments etc.)
and so am mainly doing this for educational puposes, as the bike brand
new was worth about £200 and the frame is a bit on the weighty side.

On one side the front forks seem fine, as do the font gears. On the
other the rear suspension needs alot of tinkering and my rear breaks,
freewheel mech, cassette, deuraillier are pretty much wrecked.

So, in summary, you have a wreck of a cheap full suspension bike, with all
the components worn out. General consensus on the group is that full
suspension is a complete waste of money if the bike new cost much under
£1000.

Spending money on this bike would seem a complete waste of time; buying
parts at a shop would cost you into far more money than is sensible
considering what a rubbishy bike it (probably) is.
At a minimum you will need bits to sort the rear suspension (probably
unobtainable for an old cheap full suspension model), new rear cassette, new
chain rings, new chain. Possibly new rear derraileur. Front derrailuer
should work unless massively bent. Brakes is probably just new pads. Might
need new cables (gear and brake) throughout. Wheels depends on how true
they run (after tweaking) and how much brake surface is left (probably lots,
as I suspect a cheap full suspension hasn't been on big mountains with a
mixture of grit and peat to grind the rims away).

Cheapest legal way of fixing it up ? Another s/hand bike for donor parts.
Try either the local paper or the police auctions. Trouble is you may well
find that the s/hand bike is better than the £200 full suspension thing.

On your idea of "salvaging" from "abandoned" bikes in bike stands. Its
theft. You could try approaching the owners of the stands and suggest that
they come up with a scheme to remove and reuse apparently abandoned bikes.
Where I work there is such an arrangement, apparently abandoned bikes have
notices attached, and if not reclaimed within a reasonable time, are donated
to a bike recycling charity.

- Nigel

--
Nigel Cliffe,
Webmaster at http://www.2mm.org.uk/

Tony B said:

If you want to get an old bike going (and learn a bit of spannering in
the process) maybe you could try the Ride Manchester cop-op (if they are
still active):

You could try Freecycle

In article <[email hidden]>,
Madcap
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

I have just got a brand new courier bike but before this, I mainly
used an old dual suspension MTB I've had for years. Not having much
money for spares, replacements and just being down right lazy I have
run it into the ground. I have decided to make it my mission to get it
road worthy again.

<snip lots of stuff>

The bike isn't worth spending any more money on.

Helping yourself to 'abandoned' bikes is still theft.

Your council, rail station or whoever should be able to tell you what
their policy is on removing abandoned bikes, and maybe how you can get
hold of them for minimal outlay.

If you have a local bike recycling scheme see if they will accept
volunteers to be trained by their experienced mechanics.

Rob Morley said:

In article <[email hidden]>,
Madcap
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

I have just got a brand new courier bike but before this, I mainly
used an old dual suspension MTB I've had for years. Not having much
money for spares, replacements and just being down right lazy I have
run it into the ground. I have decided to make it my mission to get it
road worthy again.

<snip lots of stuff>

The bike isn't worth spending any more money on.

true but then that goes for lots of things, spending money fitting road
tires and new cassette, and assorted cables and such by the local bike
shop when my bike has spent the last 10 + years being used on the hills
i grew up on. (i rather suspect i'll be paying to have the wheels trued
at some point as well)

Quoted message said:

Helping yourself to 'abandoned' bikes is still theft.

heh yes though nice idea!

Quoted message said:

Your council, rail station or whoever should be able to tell you what
their policy is on removing abandoned bikes, and maybe how you can get
hold of them for minimal outlay.

If you have a local bike recycling scheme see if they will accept
volunteers to be trained by their experienced mechanics.

roger

Madcap said:

I have just got a brand new courier bike but before this, I mainly
used an old dual suspension MTB I've had for years. Not having much
money for spares, replacements and just being down right lazy I have
run it into the ground. I have decided to make it my mission to get it
road worthy again.

First off, I know next to nothing about bike maintenace other than the
usual stuff (inner tubes, brake pads, deuraillier adjustments etc.)
and so am mainly doing this for educational puposes, as the bike brand
new was worth about £200 and the frame is a bit on the weighty side.

On one side the front forks seem fine, as do the font gears. On the
other the rear suspension needs alot of tinkering and my rear breaks,
freewheel mech, cassette, deuraillier are pretty much wrecked.

Replaced so far are the chain, cables, grips, and a well and truly
threaded ahead stem. All easy stuff. Now for the stuff I know nothing
about. Apart from that most half decent stuff will set me back a few
quid (not much I know but I'm skint).

if your doing it your self, personaly i find it boring so one of the
delights is a good local bike shop.

this said if your patching up the bike are you sure you've bust all
those parts? try cheap stuff like cables first. a clean and fettle may
well revive some dead things, if not most bike stuff is fairly cheap, if
your doing your self it will probably take you a while and thus spread
out the cost.

snip theft idea

roger