Found bike

Last night I noticed what looked like an abandoned bike near Houghall
Woods in Durham. At the time I wasn't able to consider doing anything like
moving it. This morning I took a walk and it was still there. It looks
like it has been abandoned rather than stolen and dumped. The saddle is
shot, the jockey wheels have separated from the rest of the derailleur,
the bar foam is in bits, the back wheel is warped, the brakes don't work,
the tyres are flat,...

So, I've wheeled it back to my work place and locked it up for now. It's a
Peugeot 12 speed (Carbolite 103 frame) with downtube shifters and drop
bars. The forks and stays look a bit roughened up, as if they've been
scraped against a wall, but the frame looks in reasonable condition. It
has minimal guards front and back, not sure if that makes it a road bike
or an audax bike. It's also my size.

First the technical dilemma. Is it worth salvaging something from it? I
guess the frame could form the basis of a hack bike or a fixie? (It has
forward facing near horizontal drop outs.)

Second the moral dilemma. This may be someone else's bike that's been
nicked, ridden into the ground and then dumped. However, if I wheel what
looks like a wreck into Durham police station what are they likely to do
with it? I guess I could read off the frame number and take that in in the
first instance.

What would anyone else do?

Colin

Colin Blackburn said:

First the technical dilemma. Is it worth salvaging something from it? I
guess the frame could form the basis of a hack bike or a fixie? (It has
forward facing near horizontal drop outs.)

Fixie! You know you want to.

Quoted message said:

Second the moral dilemma. This may be someone else's bike that's been
nicked, ridden into the ground and then dumped. However, if I wheel what
looks like a wreck into Durham police station what are they likely to do
with it? I guess I could read off the frame number and take that in in the
first instance.

I'd take it to the police as Lost Property. Then, if nobody claims it,
they'll give it back to you eventually and you *still* get to feel all
virtuous.

Regards,

-david

On 29 Jul 2004 10:58:54 GMT, in
<[email hidden]>, David Nutter

Quoted message said:

I'd take it to the police as Lost Property. Then, if nobody claims it,
they'll give it back to you eventually and you *still* get to feel all
virtuous.

Does this happen with bicycles? I thought they got auctioned off if
nobody claimed them.

--
"Any accidents or injuries in the last two years, sir"?

"Yes. I broke my hand last month, punching a no-win-no-fee lawyer
in the mouth".

Colin Blackburn said:

First the technical dilemma. Is it worth salvaging something from it?

Probably not, apart from the frame.

Quoted message said:

Second the moral dilemma. This may be someone else's bike that's been
nicked, ridden into the ground and then dumped. However, if I wheel
what looks like a wreck into Durham police station what are they
likely to do with it? I guess I could read off the frame number and
take that in in the first instance.

What would anyone else do?

If in doubt, I would leave it where it was for a few days to give the
owner an opportunity to retrieve it.

~PB

Richard Bates said:

Does this happen with bicycles? I thought they got auctioned off if
nobody claimed them.

I thought that was only if they're recovered stolen goods or similar. Are
there any of URC's resident police officers around who can clarify this?

Regards,

-david

On 29 Jul 2004 11:38:02 GMT, David Nutter <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Richard Bates said:

Does this happen with bicycles? I thought they got auctioned off if
nobody claimed them.

I thought that was only if they're recovered stolen goods or similar. Are
there any of URC's resident police officers around who can clarify this?

And if there are I would like to point out that I am posting under an
assumed name from a fictional university. You ain't seen me, right.

Colin

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Richard Bates said:

Does this happen with bicycles? I thought they got auctioned off if
nobody claimed them.

Here's the gen from Durham police. I report the bike as found and register
a description of it and my details. I retain the bike. If it isn't claimed
in 14 days I keep the bike.

Colin

Richard Bates said:

Does this happen with bicycles? I thought they got auctioned off if
nobody claimed them.

I think thats if the police raid a premises and find stolen property rather than being reoprted found by a member of the public.

On 29/7/04 12:38 pm, in article
[email hidden], "David Nutter"

Quoted message said:

Richard Bates said:

Does this happen with bicycles? I thought they got auctioned off if
nobody claimed them.

I thought that was only if they're recovered stolen goods or similar. Are
there any of URC's resident police officers around who can clarify this?

My dad took one to kingston police station. He now has it as nobody claimed
it.

I presume that they'd let you keep it if no one claimed it rather than go
through the hassle of auctioning it off..

...d

"Colin Blackburn" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Last night I noticed what looked like an abandoned bike near Houghall
Woods in Durham. At the time I wasn't able to consider doing anything like
moving it. This morning I took a walk and it was still there. It looks
like it has been abandoned rather than stolen and dumped. The saddle is
shot, the jockey wheels have separated from the rest of the derailleur,
the bar foam is in bits, the back wheel is warped, the brakes don't work,
the tyres are flat,...

So, I've wheeled it back to my work place and locked it up for now. It's a
Peugeot 12 speed (Carbolite 103 frame) with downtube shifters and drop
bars. The forks and stays look a bit roughened up, as if they've been
scraped against a wall, but the frame looks in reasonable condition. It
has minimal guards front and back, not sure if that makes it a road bike
or an audax bike. It's also my size.

First the technical dilemma. Is it worth salvaging something from it? I
guess the frame could form the basis of a hack bike or a fixie? (It has
forward facing near horizontal drop outs.)

Second the moral dilemma. This may be someone else's bike that's been
nicked, ridden into the ground and then dumped. However, if I wheel what
looks like a wreck into Durham police station what are they likely to do
with it? I guess I could read off the frame number and take that in in the
first instance.

What would anyone else do?

Colin

Thats my bike!!! Or same model at least. Sounds like its in slightly worse
state than mine but just normal wear and tear.

Maybe mine is worth £20 tops in the local supermarket ads, that bike sounds
like its worthless, personally I'd take it back where you found it, or the
local dump. If its been nicked the insurance value is almost certainly more
than the bike is worth so I would doubt the owner wants it back anyway. When
I was doing my round the Isle Of Wight a few weeks ago, and near the end and
completely knackered, I decided that if it punctured I'd just leave it where
it 'fell' and get a taxi back to the ferry!

OTOH if you want mine to try and put something together from both bikes
(saddle good, new tape on the drops,wheels only slightly warped, derailleur
mostly works, brakes not much cop) , you are welcome to come and collect it
for no charge around mid Oct when I should have my new bike (otherwise you
could have had it now). Obviously you'd need to be passing near me
sometime(Reading) to make it worthwhile as I suppose the postage would cost
more than the bike is worth, but again I'm willing to post if you are
desperate and willing to pay the postage cost!

--
Tumbleweed

email replies not necessary but to contact use;
tumbleweednews at hotmail dot com

Jeremy Collins said:

I have a vague idea about what I'd do if I saw someone riding
my stolen bike, so some degree of disguise might be in order if
you decide to overhaul it!

Presumably, though, you would have reported it stolen and would thus have
recovered it due to my reporting it found.

Colin

Jeremy Collins said:

Colin Blackburn wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Presumably, though, you would have reported it stolen and would thus
have recovered it due to my reporting it found.

Yes, I did, and yes I would. But how would I know that you
weren't the person that nicked it?[1]

At what point would you think that? I'm not going to ride it unless and
until it is my property. (Although realistically I'm not going to ride it
as it is at all.) If someone has reported it stolen it will be reunited
with them by arrangement through the police.

Quoted message said:

The police naturally
advised me to call them if I saw someone with my bike,

Yes, but in that case it hadn't been found and (virtually) handed in so
the thief would be likely to be riding it, if it was being ridden. In this
case it has been reported found so the police are unlikely to tell the
owner to keep an eye out for it since the police know exactly where it is.

Quoted message said:

and
I wouldn't actually physically assualt anyone, so I'm just
speaking hypothetically.

Of course.

Quoted message said:

I was simply wondering if riding someone else's stolen
bike might have a small probability of a confrontation
with the orginal owner.

When and if I'm riding it, it will be *my* bike and I will have police
paperwork to prove that.

Quoted message said:

[1] No character slur intended!

None taken.

Colin

"Colin Blackburn" <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

Yes, but in that case it hadn't been found and (virtually) handed in
so the thief would be likely to be riding it, if it was being ridden.
In this case it has been reported found so the police are unlikely to
tell the owner to keep an eye out for it since the police know
exactly where it is.

Does that not work on the assumption that one police station talks to the
other? I know they almost certainly do not on an inter-force basis, but
even on an intra-force basis I wouldn't be too certain that they'd bother
putting too much effort into checking about a stolen bicycle. They may send
you to a central station (HQ?) as they do in Edinburgh, I think all found
property goes to Fettes.

Graeme

On Thu, 29 Jul 2004 14:05:43 GMT, Graeme <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Does that not work on the assumption that one police station talks to the
other?

Jeez, I'm beginning to wish I hadn't bothered now. I should have left it
in the woods.

Colin

"Colin Blackburn" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On Thu, 29 Jul 2004 14:05:43 GMT, Graeme <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Does that not work on the assumption that one police station talks to

the

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

other?

Jeez, I'm beginning to wish I hadn't bothered now. I should have left it
in the woods.

Colin

LOL ...

--
Tumbleweed

email replies not necessary but to contact use;
tumbleweednews at hotmail dot com

Colin Blackburn said:

Graeme said:

Does that not work on the assumption that one police station talks to the
other?

Jeez, I'm beginning to wish I hadn't bothered now. I should have left
it in the woods.

I reckon you'd be extremely unlikely to get spotted by the original
owner, but I wouldn't be 100% confident that the police all clear that
it's not been reported stolen to them is correct.

You'll be fine. All you've done's provided some space for
speculation and let some people pass the time. Nothing to worry about.

A

Colin Blackburn said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Richard Bates <[email hidden]> said:

> Does this happen with bicycles? I thought they got auctioned off if
> nobody claimed them.

Here's the gen from Durham police. I report the bike as found and
register a description of it and my details. I retain the bike. If it
isn't claimed in 14 days I keep the bike.

I have a vague idea about what I'd do if I saw someone riding
my stolen bike, so some degree of disguise might be in order if
you decide to overhaul it!

--
jc

Remove the -not from email

Tumbleweed said:

"Colin Blackburn" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On Thu, 29 Jul 2004 14:05:43 GMT, Graeme <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Does that not work on the assumption that one police station talks to

the

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

other?

Jeez, I'm beginning to wish I hadn't bothered now. I should have left it
in the woods.

Colin

LOL ...

Well, at the moment I am living in fear of being dragged off a bike built
around a 1980's Peugeot low-end frame by someone who thinks I nicked his
bike because he reported it stolen in Spennymoor while I found it in
Durham. And, despite being worth less than the insurance money, he was
really attached to that scruffy old twelve speed with those cute fall-off
jockey wheels.

I think a tin of hammerite might be in order.

Colin

Colin Blackburn said:

Jeremy Collins said:

I have a vague idea about what I'd do if I saw someone riding
my stolen bike, so some degree of disguise might be in order if
you decide to overhaul it!

Presumably, though, you would have reported it stolen and would thus
have recovered it due to my reporting it found.

Yes, I did, and yes I would. But how would I know that you
weren't the person that nicked it?[1] The police naturally
advised me to call them if I saw someone with my bike, and
I wouldn't actually physically assualt anyone, so I'm just
speaking hypothetically.

I was simply wondering if riding someone else's stolen
bike might have a small probability of a confrontation
with the orginal owner.

Of course it's equally likely that this bike was flytipped
(if that's a word), in which case you're doing a good
service to the environment and getting a free bike too!

[1] No character slur intended!

--
jc

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