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Abandoned GT Pulse

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Abandoned GT Pulse

Old 06-18-19, 11:46 PM
  #1  
PeopleAreIdiots
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[Update: Rescued!] Abandoned GT Pulse

[UPDATE 10/11/20]
At long last, my patience has paid off and I was able to rescue this poor bike (legally) and give it a loving home! See my post from 10/11/20 on page 2 (post #37 ) to read more.

There's this sweet GT Pulse with dura-ace hubs and cranks in the indoor lockup area of my apartment building (looks to be about my size). Poor thing has been sitting there for at least a year completely untouched and collecting dust. I've been checking on it periodically since I moved in a year ago and it hasn't budged. At this point I'm fairly sure its been abandoned. I asked the management about it and they told me that they don't keep track of the bikes in there, they just provide the space. They don't even remove abandoned bikes.

Now, obviously I'm not about to just take somebody's bike. But I'm wondering what I should do here to rescue this poor bike.

Anybody have any ideas? Thoughts?

On a more general note: At what point is abandoned bike 'up for grabs'? Is it ever? Discuss...

Edit: Again, just to clarify, I'm absolutely not going to just take this bike and assume its abandoned. Thats out of the question.

Here are some pics:



Last edited by PeopleAreIdiots; 10-11-20 at 04:55 PM. Reason: Update
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Old 06-19-19, 06:40 AM
  #2  
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I'm shocked that anyone who would outfit a bike with Dura Ace would not come back for it. Maybe something untoward happened to the owner? It happens.
Regarding the ethics of "acquiring" it, I'm not going to take a stand on that but I will suggest that there might be a law or ordinance where items that are left for a certain period of time are subject to claim. The area where the bike is stored is a community area and as such is under control of the owner who has certain rights. Find out what those rights are. Perhaps items left there for a year are subject to removal by the building owner?

edit: By community area I mean an area for use by all of the tenants.
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Old 06-19-19, 07:12 AM
  #3  
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it's also locked up, right?
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Old 06-19-19, 07:16 AM
  #4  
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Originally Posted by rumrunn6
it's also locked up, right?
Good catch. I just noticed that not only is it locked, it is locked to at least one other bike.
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Old 06-19-19, 07:39 AM
  #5  
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You can't ever assume something is abandoned in an indoor storage space.
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Old 06-19-19, 07:55 AM
  #6  
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Coveting other people's stuff is a recipe for misery. Forget the bike, it's not yours.
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Old 06-19-19, 08:15 AM
  #7  
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You could put something up to see if the owner wants to sell it. Someone probably just bought it thinking they'd ride, and turns out they never do. Happens all the time.

I'd put a tag on the bike with my contact info. I've done that before on the campus where I work and it all turned out fine.
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Old 06-19-19, 08:26 AM
  #8  
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Just because someone has not used it doesn’t mean someone else can just take it.
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Old 06-19-19, 09:09 AM
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Originally Posted by TimothyH
Just because someone has not used it doesn’t mean someone else can just take it.
You are correct. What I think the original poster is wondering is were these bikes left by a previous tenant. Shame that there was no name and phone number on the bikes themselves so that they could be contacted. If the bikes are truly abandoned with no forwarding information then eventually "something" needs to happen to them. Sounds like the building owner would be content to trash them. They don't care. That would of course be a shame.
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Old 06-19-19, 10:21 AM
  #10  
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To clarify my original post, I'm not looking for reasons to take it. I figure its quite possible it belongs to a current tennant who just never uses it and I'm not about to just nab it, no way. I'm more wondering if theres anything I can do to figure out if its truly abandoned or just neglected. And if it is abandoned, what I may be able to do to rescue it and either keep it or find it a more loving home. I just think its such a shame to see a nice bike like that sitting there collecting dust when somebody could be enjoying it.

Originally Posted by rumrunn6
it's also locked up, right?
Yeah I forgot to mention that. Its locked to another bike that looks equally disused and has also not budged for a year.

Last edited by PeopleAreIdiots; 06-19-19 at 11:24 AM.
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Old 06-19-19, 11:58 AM
  #11  
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If I were the property owner I would tell my tenants that any bike stored in that area would have to have some form of identification on it. If they don't want to put a name and number, maybe their apartment number? Some way to determine who owns what.
College kids notoriously leave bikes when they drop out or graduate. My son is in college and there are no less than 20 bicycles at his frat house with no owners.

It is not unrealistic for a landlord to ask that there be a way to tell who owns what.
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Old 06-19-19, 03:03 PM
  #12  
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Ok well obviously I'm not just gonna take it guys, that'd be stealing. @TugaDude is right, I mainly want to find out if it has truly been abandoned by a previous tennant or if its just neglected and the owner still lives here. Yeah, maybe its none of my business and I should just ignore it and ride my own bike, but it just kills me to see such a nice bike going to waste.

@Gotcha38 I think I may try this. I've thought about leaving a note with an offer to buy it before but it really looks like this bike hasn't been touched in ages. I'm afraid if I left a note with the bike, the owner would never see it, even if they still live in the building. Do you guys think posting something in the elevator is too tacky? Its a big building so I can't just ask around.

If I was able to make contact with the owner, that would be ideal. Maybe I'd be able to get a good deal on it since it looks like they don't use it.

If not, then we start having a discussion about claiming abandoned bikes. I think this is an interesting situation to talk about (hence the reason I posted this thread) because, like @seau grateau pointed out, determining whether a bike is truly abandoned in a private lockup is difficult, if not impossible, without any info on the bike's owner. If you ask me, its ultimately going to come down to my management company to determine what bikes are abandoned because the racks will eventually get so crowded that they need to start removing the abandoned ones.

I'd be interested to hear if anyone has experience legally claiming abandoned property. I'll probably look into it but due to the nature of this lockup, I don't think I would feel comfortable laying claim to this bike, even through the proper channels, unless the management company was already removing and disposing of it anyway.
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Old 06-19-19, 03:06 PM
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Note in the elevator might be a good idea actually. Looks like there's a ton of bikes in there, and if the owner isn't checking up on it regularly, they might not see a note on the bike.
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Old 06-19-19, 03:09 PM
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Print up a LARGE font 8x12 notice on your bldg's bulletin board w/ pics and location, description. Give it a month, file a police report w/ the serial # of the bike IF you can find it. After a month its yours. Life moves fast, 1yr+ is abandoned I'd say.
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Old 06-20-19, 08:02 AM
  #15  
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Bike is amazing. Are those tubular wheels?
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Old 06-20-19, 08:11 AM
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I don't think that an abandoned bike is ever "up for grabs". I think it can be removed by an individual if it's obstructing use of a common area, or on someone's private property. People store bikes for years in their garage, without abandoning it. They may store it in the lockup area without abandoning it - if they live there they have the right and it's nobody's business whether they ever ride it or not.
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Old 06-20-19, 10:11 AM
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you must live in a very low crime area. i had my motorcycle chained to a concrete pillar in a gated parking deck and it was stolen during the 9 hour period i was at work. must be nice to leave your stuff locked up in a public area for a year and still have it be there!
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Old 06-20-19, 02:35 PM
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Lots of people buy bikes and then never ride them. Some bikes sit in peoples garages for 20 years, I wouldn't try to acquire it through some loophole of being abandoned.
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Old 06-20-19, 03:13 PM
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I'd be a little weirded out if someone was taking photos of my abandoned bike and posting it on the internet.

Maybe it should just go into the "Seen on the Street" thread.


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Old 06-20-19, 03:30 PM
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how crowded is that bike rack? if it's hogging up space that others might want to use i don't see any issue asking to have it removed. it's not a place to just abandon your stuff since you don't feel like properly storing it.
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Old 06-20-19, 06:41 PM
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Interesting how everybody's got a different perspective on this. Seems to me like we are pretty split between "dude, mind your own business" and "who the heck abandons a bike like that, something must be done." Maybe I'm just being a busybody but I'd say I'm in the latter camp. Its like this, imagine you're at a restaurant and you notice somebody order this huge meal, lets say a huge plate if fries, and then just picks at them, eats maybe a third and leaves. Doesn't a small part of you just wanna go grab that plate? Now, I've never actually 'taken the fries' but come on, tell me on not the only one here. (Idk maybe I'm just super weird...)

Originally Posted by TimothyH
I'd be a little weirded out if someone was taking photos of my abandoned bike and posting it on the internet.
Well, I'd just be flattered.
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Old 06-20-19, 06:49 PM
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Wondering why the pedals were removed from the GT but not the trek its locked to. Also that’s clearly a true track bike. Not just the wolber tubular rims, but it has a full 7600 groupset, including the headset. You don’t see a 7600 headset everyday. That would have been anything but cheap to put together. It’s practically a crime against humanity that bike is just collecting dust. It’s also shocking that it hasn’t yet been stolen.

Last edited by seamuis; 06-20-19 at 06:56 PM.
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Old 06-20-19, 07:47 PM
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Originally Posted by seamuis
Wondering why the pedals were removed from the GT but not the trek its locked to. Also that’s clearly a true track bike. Not just the wolber tubular rims, but it has a full 7600 groupset, including the headset. You don’t see a 7600 headset everyday. That would have been anything but cheap to put together. It’s practically a crime against humanity that bike is just collecting dust. It’s also shocking that it hasn’t yet been stolen.
The most perplexing part of it to me is the ghetto bar tape. Makes me wonder whether it was originally stolen and/or sold by someone who didn't know how valuable it is. I'd say the current/most recent owner likely doesn't know the bikes value either.
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Old 06-20-19, 07:54 PM
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I've known more than a few track cyclists who were completely inept at wrapping their handlebars.
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Old 06-20-19, 08:51 PM
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Originally Posted by seamuis
Wondering why the pedals were removed from the GT but not the trek its locked to. Also that’s clearly a true track bike. Not just the wolber tubular rims, but it has a full 7600 groupset, including the headset. You don’t see a 7600 headset everyday. That would have been anything but cheap to put together. It’s practically a crime against humanity that bike is just collecting dust. It’s also shocking that it hasn’t yet been stolen.
I noticed the same thing.

I thought "race bike" as soon as I saw no brakes and Wolber.


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