Abandoned Bikes

jeeff: 15th Sep 2005 - 21:15 GMT

the 3rd one is nice. i love the phenomenon of abandoned bikes seeming to melt down onto the sidewalk over time.

JayEastsider: 16th Sep 2005 - 01:14 GMT

I never really never thought of it like that, but your right they do seem to melt and disappear after time. I wonder if the city has a special department for this

JayEastsider: 16th Sep 2005 - 01:41 GMT

Jeeff you see the 4th picture the one where you can see my legs that was taken in front on New City Hall.

jeeff: 16th Sep 2005 - 01:52 GMT

this is probably a good place to mention the toronto public space committee's (www.publicspace.ca) 'pedals & paint' campaign. they paint abandoned bikes bright colours. here's a write-up:

biketoronto.ca/topic/show/397.htm

JayEastsider: 16th Sep 2005 - 02:07 GMT

Thanks for the links Jeeff I recall seeing some of these bikes before

jeeff: 16th Sep 2005 - 05:08 GMT

unfortunately there was a bit of controversy. they staked out the seemingly abandoned bikes for about a month beforehand to make sure that they were fully abandoned. nevertheless, after the first round of painting they received an angry email claiming one of the bikes. the guy said that he'd been planning to fix it up and that the bike had special sentimental value. yeah, cry me a river. anyone who lives in toronto knows that you don't leave a bike out in public for a month and expect anything to remain after that. still, the public space committee shelled out the money for a replacement bicycle for the whiner. so i guess everyone wins.

JayEastsider: 16th Sep 2005 - 07:18 GMT

I am surprised to read that the city would shell out and buy this person a new bike. It's like the bike in the third picture you can obvoiusly tell the person has just said fxxk it and left the bike to rot in urban hell

Peter: 16th Sep 2005 - 13:43 GMT

abandoned bicycles of new york:

jschumacher.typepad.com/photos/abandoned_bikes

jeeff: 16th Sep 2005 - 15:30 GMT

it's not the city. the public space committee is a private group. some people say they're "vigilantes". they definitely have the diy spirit.

JayEastsider: 16th Sep 2005 - 15:58 GMT

thanks for the link peter i really enjoyed the photos, jeeff i think it would be cool to have like an art exibition filled wih photos of abandoned bikes i always look at them and think that somebody bought it! that drove it! loved it! and just walked away for it! i know i would never abandoned my sweet betty (thats what i call my bike)

Dutchman: 22nd Oct 2005 - 15:09 GMT

You should check the bikes in amsterdam, thats quite a strange sight. There are more Bikes then Cars here

Peter: 24th Oct 2005 - 18:59 GMT

id love to see some pictures of that... bikes in amsterdam... especialyl if you see any kronans!

torrence: 25th Oct 2005 - 20:09 GMT

does anyone know if it's illegal to strip these bikes down? (the ones that are clearly abandoned and half stripped already.) does it count as bike theft, i wonder?

Peter: 25th Oct 2005 - 20:18 GMT

im not sure its technically legal, but there are a handfull of groups here in nyc that go around "harvesting" clearly abandoned bikes... they take the parts and frames, clean them, rebuild them up into working bikes, and donate them to inner-city kids.

you cant hate such well-intentioned charity.

im not sure why people abandon bikes. id never leave mine out like that, and certainly never locked up for long enoug hthat it could get stripped, forgotten, harvested, etc. makes you ownder what people are thinking sometimes.

stan: 25th Oct 2006 - 17:23 GMT

i live in norwich in england and as i walk in the city i often find clearly abandoned bikes. i used to be a bit shy when it came to stripping them but now i just get on with it and people just walk past you and don't take no notice.

Tyfoid Kid: 25th Oct 2006 - 20:36 GMT

The third one with the mangled wheel, that's what happens to most abandoned bikes here at the U of Minnesota. Every year the Facilities guys cut hundreds of bikes loose from where they've been left and twice a year they sell them. $30 first come first serve, all cash. If you need parts it's a good deal. If you know which dumpsters to hang around that's where they pitch the really bad ones. Some belong to kids whose parents buy them a bike for school, they lose track of it, forget where they locked it up etc. or just don't give a shit and leave them.