Manhattan Bike Lifecycle

Posted on January 20, 2012 by .
Pin It submit to reddit

Get a bike. Lock it to a post in Manhattan. Take a pic every day for a year and watch how long it lasts.

Last year, Red Peak Branding conducted a unique urban experiment for Hudson Urban Bicycles. On January 1, 2011 they chained a fully loaded bike – bells, basket, lights and more – to a post along a busy Soho street. They took a picture of the bike everyday for 365 days, watching it slowly vanish. This video is the time lapse video of this disappearing bike.

Given New York’s reputation for bike theft, I’m surprised the water bottle lasted for over five months. The Kryptonite New York Fahgettaboudit U lock on the front wheel disappeared after 7 months on day 211 at the same time the front basket is taken. They also seem to move the Krytonite chain from around the back wheel to just around the bottom of the front triangle. The saddle disappears on day 231. The rack is stripped on day 240; the front wheel at 250, and the handlebar grips at 252. The entire bike is gone by day 270.

H/T to Michael Franken.



See also:

  1. Orange bikes take Manhattan
  2. Torker Cargo-T bicycle headset lock
  3. Bike polo steering wheel
  4. Gary Fisher commuter bike


  • Justin Winokur

    What I don’t understand is that the lock was cut (or manually removed) and the bike wasn’t taken at the same time. Who would go through the effort to cut a lock and then leave the bike. And, where did the lock go? They cut it and took the lock with them?

    And, with it no longer locked up on 211 why did it take so long for the frame to disappear. If I were going to steel a rear rack and the entire bike weren’t locked, why not just take the entire bike? And, to undo a rack, the bike will have to have been moved more than we see.

    This all seems fishy to me.

  • http://www.cyclelicio.us/ Cyclelicious

    Like you, I suspect the front lock was removed deliberately to encourage some activity.

  • http://profiles.google.com/waynemyer Wayne Myer

    “New York, New York,
    I won’t go back.
    An indelible reminder of the steel I lack.
    I gave you seven years.
    What did you give me back?
    A jaw-grind disposition to a panic attack.”

    The high theft/burglary/car-prowl rate is definitely not missed.

  • Pingback: Lifecycle « Talking Treads