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| Just one row of the bikes on offer |
It happens once every two months and, if you are a fan of bikes, it is absolute must see - the Polizei auction in Berlin.
After a winter break, there were even more bikes on offer this time - nearly 300 in total.
Met Mylene, Andrew and Patrick there and there was an excited buzz among us. Always curious and on the look out for a cheap bike that can enter service with BikeSurfBerlin, I am practically a veteran of these auctions at this point.
The clientele mostly consists of the hearty bike traders in winter, as opposed to the inquisitive hipster population that frequents such events in summer.
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| Ihr habt gewonnen! |
After a perusal of the available bikes from 8:00 to 10:00, the bidding starts, thankfully indoors. We are all here with different missions: Mylene, a kickass trekking bike that will be reliant enough to complete 2000km without flinching, eagle eyes Patrick ever eager to snap up a bargain with resale value and me with my more meagre BikeSurfBerlin budget of 10€ maximum per bike.
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| Snagged this puppy for a song. |
And we're off! Over a nice picnic, we bid on our lots, with the hope of snagging our bargains. Patrick finds his diamond in the rough, in the form of a Rocky Mountain, that looks due for its 20th birthday any day now, for 25€. Mylene has here eyes on a modern trekking bike, Steppenwolf, which she valiantly wins for 270€. And the very last lot of the morning, a trekking/ city bike, goes to yours truly for 70€ - a tad outside the BSB budget, but bought it for someone else.
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| The tiger versus the Steppenwolf. |
The bidding for the available bikes lasts until midday and in the end, as they say, "everyone's a winner!"
The next auction is in approximately 2 months - see the calendar in "
Things to do" for exact details of future events.
Definitely, the best way to buy a bike in Berlin; cheap, fun and the bikes are not stolen.
