Used, Lost, Stolen & Abandoned

The world of bikes has its gray and dark areas. Today you cannot escape seeing a questionable bike.

QUESTION 1.  What is bicycle pollution?

Hint: The answer is underground and upscale.

QUESTION 2.  When I buy a used bike how can I tell if it’s not legit? What are signs of a stolen bike?

1. A fanny pack with someone’s club membership card.
2. A cousin, former roommate, or ex-lover is the previous owner.
3. There’s a Huffy sticker on a Serotta that’s an ex-racers bike for sale on the web.
4. There’s no keys to the locks with the bike, including the skewers and seat fastener.
5. There’s no name or number that identifies the bike’s previous owner, along the frame and components, or inside the seatpost, handlebar, or steering column.

QUESTION 3.   When I see my friend’s bike at my bike shop, what am I not supposed to do?

1. geek out about it.
2. accuse the bike shop of stealing my friend’s bike.
3. give it up to my friend for bringing it to this bike shop.
4. ask the bike shop folks why my friend’s bike is in their shop.
5. text my friend’s friend to ask when my friend brought their bike to this shop.

BONUS QUESTION:  Bicycle license plates are loved by collectors.  Bicycle registration is a proven way to recover stolen bikes.  Yet not many cyclists actually register their bikes.

What prevents New Yorkers from legislating uniform bicycle licensing?

1. the police state
2. the mayor’s libertarian lobby
3. GPS location system patent dispute
4. a nascent NYC vigilante anti-theft bicycle brigade
5. too many bikes parked in garages with flat fat tires
6. it’s cool to watch the abandoned bike locked-up nearby as it’s stripped