Comments on: Bicycle Salvage – A Moral Question

By: Matt Berens

Matt Berens — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 14:40:40 +0000

Interesting dilemma. I have personally rescued 5 bicycles I’ve found abandoned – 1 out of a swamp – and felt no remorse or ethical challenge for refurbishing them and then donating them to a bicycle charity. My feeling is that the bicycle you removed the parts from may have been stolen and left by the thief. Or, the original owner became sidetracked and his circumstances didn’t allow him to recover the bike. In that case, I not have any problems rescuing that bike. You should have just brought a pair of bolt cutters and cut the chain so you could much more quickly remove the whole bike to work on at your convenience. Any bike that is left for weeks or months becomes public property and a hazard and eyesore. In my mind, you were being a helpful public citizen. Keep up the good work. Keep recycling bikes whenever possible.

By: richard

richard — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 12:42:18 +0000

Hey Tom, Harboiled2006 off Twitter here. I think its fair game. If its been there while, take it. As an example. a friend of ours was attending college and work placements whilst doing her teaching degree. She doesn’t drive. So, my cycling bud and me, went around York and salvaged from skips(skipratting) a number of bikes. we stripped them down and rebuilt one perfectly servicable bike for her. With a basket,mudguards and lights. She loves it and still uses it. I think there should be room for a carbon neutral company salvaging old bikes and building up good bikes for chartiable organisations or for profit.

By: Dottie

Dottie — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 03:11:09 +0000

Yikes, that’s a scary situation! Glad it turned out okay. I wouldn’t feel bad about the original owner, as he or she clearly abandoned the poor bicycle.

By: The Hungry Cyclist

The Hungry Cyclist — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 08:13:58 +0000

Hi Anna
I could bot agree more! Breaks my heart to see such waste. Especially as these long forgotten bikes would be greatly received by so many. I’m sure there’s a solution to all this… I have visions of a charity that salvages forgotten bikes, salvages bits and sells them on giving money to causes that need it.
Thinking on it….
Tom Kevill-Davies
The Hungry Cyclist – Pedalling The World For The Perfect Meal

By: anna

anna — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 19:05:13 +0000

Hey! Lynn has just linked me to your blog cause I also wrote about abandoned bikes. It really hurts to see such bikes. There’s one at the bike rack in front of my office building that I really like (old Puch Clubman). Have to see it every day and watch how it gets destroyed by the weather. Still can’t have it. Maybe I should leave a note that I want to have it. But I’m sure, the owner forgot about it already. And I don’t want to buy if it gets stolen by somebody else.. There should be a legal way of removing bikes that are abandoned. Otherwise they only block bike racks and scrapyards anyway.

By: harrie

harrie — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 02:23:15 +0000

hehe yeah, you’re the next martin luther king
seriously i think i agree that leaving a bike chained up and clearly not going back for it is leaving it open to being salvaged.
but of course the law isn’t always sensible – i think what might’ve been the best way to approach it would be to go to the police station or council and ask if anyone’s claiming the bike that’s been there ages.
i don’t know if it’s still true that if you hand something into a police station and it goes unclaimed after a certain time you get to keep it (remember that watch i found in saffron walden years ago?) but i would imagine that a similar ethic would apply, you’d have to declare the bike as abandoned/lost to the authorities and say if no one claims it you will.
i think a point would come where any council would realise a bike had sat in a spot for a long time and would be about to take it to the tip by force and i think *that* would be the time to intervene – maybe you could mention your project to the council and say if htey happen to have any abandoned bikes maybe they could contact you?

By: The Hungry Cyclist

The Hungry Cyclist — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 23:45:08 +0000

not sure i agree with the justified liberation argument. what about france?
no just kidding about the french. but on a serious note surely there has to be a point where public opinion and action forces the law to change.
suffragette, rosa parks – not that i’m suggesting my “illegal” actions are on a par with these heroines of the 20th century…

By: Nick

Nick — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 15:44:53 +0000

I suppose the answer has to be that if it’s not yours you have no right to ‘liberate’ it, or bits of it. Full stop. (Unless, of course, you’re the law or a local authority with the power to reclassify it as ‘a nuisance’ or something like that.)

By: Rich in Toronto

Rich in Toronto — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 05:45:42 +0000

Not a question of morality, but of the law. The law didn’t always make sense.
Don’t let it bother you. My neighbour wants to relieve a bike that’s been out in front of a retail location here in Toronto. It’s been there for a year apparently.