willibrord

Australia is one of the safest countries in the world to travel, with respect to crime.
So probably some kind of natural misadventure. From the map and where the bike was found (approximately), it doesnt look like there would be any body of water big enough for salties, which would be one of the more plausible natural dangers. I would say poisonous snake or spider. The remains wouldn't last long in the tropical heat, so if they haven't been found by now, likely never will.

jitenshajin

Even abducted.

indyfabz

Hoax?

jitenshajin

What reasons do you have to back up a hoax?

saddlesores

or heavens to mergutroyd -- probed!

indyfabz

Did you not see the question mark accompanying my comment?<----Looks like this one.

Paul Barnard

It's almost as if you were questioning if it were a possibility, rather than making a declaration.

indyfabz

Posing the possibility.

jitenshajin

If you are questioning if it was a hoax, you must have some reason for believing that this may be the case.

I will ask again.

Why might it be a hoax?

indyfabz

I was positing whether it is a hoax. That was pretty obvious. I have no idea whether it is or isn't. Don't have a belief one way or another. Why might it be a hoax? The answer is simple: Because people pull hoaxes, especially in this day an age when people crave Internet attention and also like to use on line communication to try to rile people. Just look at this place. Plenty of that goes on here..

I really cannot explain things to you any more clearly. Buh-bye.

ksryder

If you are questioning his question as to whether it's a hoax, then you must have some reason for believing that his question as to whether it was a hoax is not actually based on a bona fide question as to whether it is a hoax.

I will ask

Why might you question his question as to whether it is a hoax?

(See how that works? Anyone can do this! It's fun!)

CliffordK

Another possibility is that the bike was stolen and dumped. Although, it wouldn't necessarily match all of one's expectations. However, thieves can do the strangest of things if they don't actually have anything invested in their spoils.

Hopefully the Australian authorities have taken this mystery seriously, rather than just dumping the bike in a back storage room.

A careful analysis of everything that was found with the bike, and precisely where it was found might indicate whether the owner was simply heading to the water hole, or on a day hike, or perhaps fishing.

Apparently being unlocked is odd if the bike was intended to be left there for some time, but the authorities seem to think that nobody touched the bike for 2 weeks, so perhaps there was no reason to lock it at that location.

I.E. Where was the FOOD (or wrappers left by animals)? Do water bottle cages match the water bottles found? Can one account for the rear rack? Tent or Hammock?

Is the river navigable? One might also stage a shuttle bike, then head out boating.

And, of course, analysis of the bike computer. Even knowing the route the person was taking could help locate additional witnesses, assuming the computer is GPS enabled.

jitenshajin

OK, so why not stop playing Sherlock Holmes, by putting forward unlikely theories like little green men and pranksters.

The Australian outback has enough things which can seriously spoil your day, without resorting to wild speculatiion.

We don't have the facts to make any conclusions as to what actually happened.

Why not leave it to the police. It's their job.

No doubt they will be gathering as many facts as they can to try an solve this mystery.

CliffordK

I'm doubting we will hear much more about the case, but who knows.

I think part of the reason the OP posted this here was to ask if anybody knew of someone touring in Northern Australia.

It would probably be good to get in touch with Australian cycling clubs and groups, but a "tourist" could be from anywhere.

Rob_E

Sorry, this whole thread is nothing but speculation about what might have happened, including your comment implying that something in the Australian outback is responsible. It's all speculation. Maybe this was meant to be a "do you know who this bike belongs to" thread, and no other replies are acceptable, but why single out one comment and call them out?

I'm not saying this is a hoax, but here are some things that strike me as odd: The post about recovering the bike is almost two weeks old. The bike is said to have been sitting for possibly two weeks prior. That's nearly a month, possibly, that a person has been missing, and presumably no person who can be matched with the bike has been reported missing. There are many reasons this could be, but one of them is that no person is missing. There are also scenarios where no person is missing, but it's not a hoax.

I don't know what happened. I hope the person who left the bike there is okay, but I don't know the reason for the angry reaction to other's responses.

jitenshajin

OK, so maybe you consider the alien abduction theory to have merit?

saddlesores

hard to resist a good mystery. we'll search for some clues, scarf down a few scooby snacks, and pretty soon we'll find it was old man smithers who exclaimed being led away in cuffs "....and i'd've gotten away with it if, too, it weren't for those meddling forum members.....and their stupid dog!"

Rob_E

No, but I'm not the one policing this thread for which comments are valid. It's also not the comment you took issue with, so maybe you consider alien abduction more likely than it being a hoax?

John N

If the "tracker" is a SPOT or InReach type device, I would think it would be pretty easy to check with the respective company and request the owner's info. The tracker should have a serial number so SPOT/InReach/??? could provide that info.

I have never heard of a Momentum bike but that doesn't mean much. Is that a touring bike, mass market (Walmart type) bike, or what?

willibrord

Is Momentum an Australian brand or German or what? I cannot remember hearing of it before. An analysis of the cyclist's gear that was found with the bike would go along way to identifying where they were from. Certain brands are more popular in particular markets. If the person was camping or staying in hostels other travellers may remember encountering them, although it was a while ago and those people would have moved on.


It seems unlikely to be a hoax, it is a lot of money to waste leaving a bike and gear by the side of the road for someone to find.

Paul Barnard

This about Momentum bikes.

https://www.urbanbicyclegallery.com/...cles-pg326.htm

Paul Barnard

Looks like there may be two different momentum brands.

https://fixiecycles.com/shop/bikes-b...-release-hubs/

This is the one.

willibrord

Looks like a low end Ozzie brand then. So it could be a local or perhaps a budget traveller from overseas who decided to gear up and see Oz by bicycle.
Maybe it dosn't tell us as much as I had thought. I wonder if you could trace where the bike was purchased? If it wasn't bought in Darwin, then somebody likely pedalled a long way to get there, somebody must have seen and talked with them.

CliffordK

I was thinking that it looked like a pretty cheap bike, similar to some of the Pacific Cycles and Kent bikes.

Perhaps another clue would be to determine if it was a new 2018 bike, or a used 2010 bike, and how much actual customization it has on it.

The foreign cycle tourist would be more inclined to head to the bike shop, scoop up a $200 bike, add a rack, and head out the door.

While the local cycle tourist might be inclined to change up a few things to get it just right.

Nonetheless, a budget oriented cyclist might still be inclined to purchase used.

The serial number thing might be a good start. The company should know at least which store or region got each serial number batch. And, with the potential for recalls, perhaps would even know the original buyers.

CliffordK

This may well end up as one of those unsolved mysteries. Even if they are able to identify a person, it may well end up on a mystery as "vanished without a trace".