Abandoned bicycles

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I recently noticed that of the thousands of bicycles parked (locked)
on the streets of Munich (D), about 25% have not been moved in about a
year, judging from the solid clump of rust that was once a chain.
That city needs a towed vehicle ordnance to clean things up. Some of
these bicycles have major damage and/or missing parts.

Of course Munich is a university town but even the nearby university
here doesn't have such a collection.

[David L. Johnson]

On Mon, 16 May 2005 21:40:57 +0000, jobst.brandt wrote:

> I recently noticed that of the thousands of bicycles parked (locked)
> on the streets of Munich (D), about 25% have not been moved in about a
> year, judging from the solid clump of rust that was once a chain.
> That city needs a towed vehicle ordnance to clean things up. Some of
> these bicycles have major damage and/or missing parts.
>
> Of course Munich is a university town but even the nearby university
> here doesn't have such a collection.

When I was in Paris in March I noticed much the same thing. Many of them
looked like they belonged on a Dali canvas, with taco'd wheels and bent
frames. Those were probably locked up after an accident and never even
retrieved.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | "It doesn't get any easier, you just go faster." --Greg LeMond
_`\(,_ |
(_)/ (_) |

[Graham Dean]

> wrote in message
...
>I recently noticed that of the thousands of bicycles parked (locked)
> on the streets of Munich (D), about 25% have not been moved in about a
> year, judging from the solid clump of rust that was once a chain.
> That city needs a towed vehicle ordnance to clean things up. Some of
> these bicycles have major damage and/or missing parts.
>
> Of course Munich is a university town but even the nearby university
> here doesn't have such a collection.
>
>

Maybe, but that's for the people of Munich to decide I would have thought.

Graham

[gds]

David L. Johnson wrote:
>>
> When I was in Paris in March I noticed much the same thing. Many of
them
> looked like they belonged on a Dali canvas, with taco'd wheels and
bent
> frames. Those were probably locked up after an accident and never
even
> retrieved.
>
> --
>
> David L. Johnson
>
> __o | "It doesn't get any easier, you just go faster." --Greg
LeMond
> _`\(,_ |
> (_)/ (_) |

My guess is that lots of the damage ocurrs post lock up via vandalism.
I have seen this many times and even apprehended culprits who had
"standards" in that they checked out the bike racks near campus daily
and only stole or vandalized bikes that they documented as being there
over 24 hours. Interesting moral code- huh!

[catzz66]

You see a lot of derelict bikes on college campuses, too. By late
April, there might be bikes that look like they have been locked up for
months. Flat tires, no seats, etc.

[Andrew Price]

catzz66 wrote -

> You see a lot of derelict bikes on college campuses, too. By late
> April, there might be bikes that look like they have been locked up for
> months. Flat tires, no seats, etc.

Watch the much greater waste of space as really cheap imported cars (sub
$5000 new) start to become a world wide throw away phenomenon.

Part of the annual registration fee or initial purchase price will perhaps
have to be allocated to disposal/recycling cost because they will quickly
become throwaway items - cheaper to buy a new one that pay the unpaid fines,
parking, repair costs et al.

It will become increasingly easy to have the cost of your bike exceed the
cost of your car - and the bike will last a hell of a lot longer.

Interestingly, starting to see good quality carbon and ti road bikes out of
mainland China in quantity the high end bike shops here.

best, Andrew

[Peter Cole]

Andrew Price wrote:
> catzz66 wrote -
>
>
>>You see a lot of derelict bikes on college campuses, too. By late
>>April, there might be bikes that look like they have been locked up for
>>months. Flat tires, no seats, etc.
>
>
> Watch the much greater waste of space as really cheap imported cars (sub
> $5000 new) start to become a world wide throw away phenomenon.

At the large east coast (US) campus my wife works at, this week is
departure week for the students. They leave loads of bikes behind.
Almost every one is a $100 Wal-goose. It's not even worth attending the
auctions.

[Bob Dole]

Could this indicate one or more of the following:

1. Bicycle theft is less of a problem in Munich?

2. Students in Munich are more likely to be sent off to college with a
bike than they are at your nearby university? American teens often
abandon biking when they get a drivers licence, and may not buy a bike
until they need it at campus (or, may get their parental units to pony
up for a car).

3. Nearby university is aggressive on beautifying the campus by
clearing it of abandoned bicycles?

[Robert Perkins]

Reason 1: Ich kann mein Schlüssel nicht mehr finden! = I can't find
my key.
Reason 2: Kein luft im Reifen = No air in tire, can't ride that.
Reason 3: Kettenpanne = My chain fell off.
followed by:
Gehen wir ins Café? = Let's go to a cafe.

This newsgroup is full of people who don't abandon possesions for
trivial reasons, I would guess, so the whole mentality is foreign enough
to spark Jobst's questions.


Bob Dole wrote:
> Could this indicate one or more of the following:
>
> 1. Bicycle theft is less of a problem in Munich?
>
> 2. Students in Munich are more likely to be sent off to college with a
> bike than they are at your nearby university? American teens often
> abandon biking when they get a drivers licence, and may not buy a bike
> until they need it at campus (or, may get their parental units to pony
> up for a car).
>
> 3. Nearby university is aggressive on beautifying the campus by
> clearing it of abandoned bicycles?
>