Records broken at annual bike auction

This Monday saw the Union conduct a bike auction in Beit Quad, raising over £7000 for RAG; a new record. 106 bikes and one scooter were up for sale, having been left chained to railings and bike racks around campus, presumably abandoned by their owners.

This year, Sport Imperial had a hand in the proceedings, with head Neil Mosley acting as auctioneer. Armed with a megaphone, he ran a competitive auction, driving the prices up. There were a fair amount of decent bikes on offer, the star of the show being a Trek road bike going for £355. Two other bikes were also sold for over £300, and a quirky lime-green Fixie bike was sold for just under £200.

The auction was well attended by both staff and students, with attendance in Beit Quad reaching a peak at 12:30, when the best bikes were being sold. It wasn’t just shiny, barely used merchandise on offer though; some bargains were had towards the end of the auction, with a couple of mountain bikes going for barely £50. The cheapest item sold was a frame, for a mere £6.

The final total, in excess of £7000 (RAG were unable to give an exact number, as not all the money had been collected at the time of printing), is the highest ever for a bike auction and more than was raised by the whole of RAG in the 2008-09 academic year.

RAG would like to thank everyone who came along, as well as security and Union staff for their help. To the successful bidders: enjoy your new bike!