idk what to say

IDK about where you live but, some places have police selling bikes. Did you ever buy from something like that?

jpescatore

Yes, many years ago when I was a kid and my father knew one of the officers. Pretty much all the good bikes were sold before the official sale, so I got a a pretty good bike for $25.

Today, maybe there is more control around the "early" sale of the bikes, but YMMV>

AlmostTrick

I have a few times. Most are low end big box store bikes, and by the end of the auction they were selling them at $5-10 for a group of 3. I have bought a few bike store brands and Chicago built Schwinns for cheap though. It can't hurt to look, but yeah, get there early!

Phil_gretz

I watched my county police auctions for a while, but never saw anything worth taking action. I don't recall the logistics of it, but there was both on-line and in-person selling going on simultaneously during monthly increments of time. I didn't sense that this buying method gave me enough control or convenience, really. So, I've never gone back to look again.

I would say that if you had ready (neighborhood) access to the sale site, and you had free time when the bikes were available to look at and/or bid, then this method could work out for you. For me, no.

VegasTriker

I haven't been to a police auction in a very long time. You are not likely to find a recumbent there and I have no desire for a DF bike. I did buy at least two bikes at our local police auctions. You couldn't get close enough to them to figure out frame sizes and I need a small frame which is nearly as rare as recumbents. One of the two I bought had a bent frame so I used it for parts. The other was a very good bike that subsequently got stolen again. Most bidders had no idea what constitute a decent bike so would bid up bikes with familiar names (e.g., Schwinn) to near the price for a new one and leave the odd bike that was actually worth something. They sold items as they came to them instead of selling like items all at once so you could waste an entire day waiting for a bike that looked good.

UniChris

Bought a pair of steel road bikes for something like $2 and $3 at the campus police auction where I worked y2k era, thinking I'd try to get one rideable as alternative to the mtb I was commuting on.

Never got around to it and gave them away on the curb when moving.

Would have been a good project last summer if I still had them.

If they're open to the public a campus auction could be good. This one they lined them up in a parking lot and walked down the row taking bids, I think someone following the "auctioneer" collected cash payments.

Iride01 

Some places have police selling or auctioning cars too that were impounded and never claimed. And all sorts of other stuff. Most have quit selling the guns they've confiscated.

So if you have police departments selling such bikes, I imagine it's just like any other used bike you might want to buy. Cars are pretty torn up though from what I've seen.

cbrstar

Back when I was a kid Police auctions was where half the kids would get their bikes every year. But I lived in a rural area and farmers around there absolutely loved auctions and never missed them. Now the Police auctions are full of bike flippers and you can't find anything decently priced.

bbbean 

I bought a set of rollers from a cop once. I have logged thousands of miles on them and improved my technique. Highly recommended.

thumpism 

This was a thing in my college days ('70s) and several friends got bikes at police auctions. I attended once and was struck by one guy who looked extremely off-duty-coppish acting as a shill to bid up prices. I wound up working on one friend's purchase, a Falcon, I think, and the steerer tube was held into the fork crown with about a 120-degree arc of braze that left the rest of the circle free of attachment. Nice. That bike turned out to be no bargain at all for Timothy.

Milton Keynes

When a bicycle cop arrests someone, do they take them to jail riding on the handlebars?

idk what to say

i dont think so, i think they just do trafic and if anything happens they call the cops with cars --- just guessing

indyfabz

Incorrect guess. I have actually seen bike cops chase and apprehend someone.

idk what to say

but did they make him walk to the police station? or did they wait until someone with a car came?

leob1

Yes, my kids always had the latest new to them bike from the sheriff sale. They rode Giant, Gary fisher, Bianchi, and Trek. And I got a bunch for parts, gave away and sold a few. Lots of them had evidence tags still attached.

257 roberts

call a zone car and they transport, but you get to do all the paperwork.

Bald Paul

I wonder what would happen if you purchased a bike from a police auction, and later, the person who had the bike stolen from them saw you riding it. If they had documented the bike (color, equipment, serial number) and could prove the bike had been stolen, would the police then arrest you for receiving stolen property? Let's face it, the police don't put a lot of time or effort into checking "recovered" bikes against stolen bike reports.

Phil_gretz

Paddy Wagon

indyfabz

What do you think? lol

Chandne

I have not. I think all the police departments here now use e-bikes, which is probably quite smart.

tomato coupe

Yes, but I recommend meeting them in a well-lit public setting -- not at their "station."

skidder

In my area they just sell them in-bulk to a dealer, recycler, or something like that. Most of what they collect are rusty beach cruisers, and anything of significant value is usually set aside and checked on the California database for the registered owner (bicycles stores have to enter new bikes in it). Not worth the hassle.

Chandne

Yeah, generally I have seen them on cruiser type bikes I'd have no interest in. They still use those but mostly cruiser-ish e-bikes here. Comfy and easy to bike around the congested areas and look for perps.

Riveting

Yes, in the early 90's my grandfather and I (late teens at the time) picked up a steal (pun intended) Diamondback rigid mtb (what we now call hybrid?) for chump change at a police auction. It worked great until one day when the front cantilever brake boss stud broke off the fork during some hard braking causing me to slam into something at slow speed (forget exactly what it was). Good times.

idk what to say

That seems interesting, to say the least.