Grinding Gears

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Josef Bray-Ali said he’s breaking the law every time he sells a bike at Flying Pigeon LA, a bicycle shop he owns with his brother Adam in Highland Park.

That’s because state law requires cyclists to have licenses, and Los Angeles city law require that all bicycles be registered and that bike shop owners offer registration at the time of purchase. But Bray-Ali only learned of the law a few months ago, when some of his friends in Midnight Ridazz, a cycling group that makes late-night rides in large numbers, were fined while pedaling through downtown Los Angeles in late summer. The fine can range from $10 to $160, with a possible mandatory court appearance depending on the officer’s judgment.

Bike shop owners, bike messengers and other cyclists say enforcement of the law appears to be sporadic. But a buzz of protests has been building on the local cycling community’s blogs.

So Bray-Ali looked into the issue and found out that the Los Angeles Municipal Code states that no bicycle shall be sold by a retailer unless a valid license is attached to the bike. If no license is attached, then the bicycle shop owner must at least offer to sell a license to the buyer, the 1976 law states.

Bray-Ali, like a half-dozen other bike shop owners the Business Journal interviewed, said they were unaware of the law until recently, and some bike shop owners said they still don’t know where to buy the licenses.

“There is no uniform enforcement,” Bray-Ali said. “It appears to only be selective when officers feel the need to do so.”

Bray-Ali and the Los Angeles cycling community found out the licenses are blue and silver stickers issued only locally by police at $3 each and are valid for two years. Santa Monica and Long Beach also have similar regulations, but shop owners say those cities, like Los Angeles, rarely enforce the law.

The Los Angeles Police Department issues the licenses, but only for a few hours each week.

So Bray-Ali launched a campaign to make it easier to get the licenses. After two months of calls and e-mails to officials, he was referred to the California Department of Motor Vehicles in Sacramento. In late November, he faxed a request to buy 300 of the licenses to sell at his shop.

So far: no response.

Councilman Ed Reyes, in response to cycling community requests, has called for a review of the city’s bike licensing program, with the goal of smoothing out the registration process.

Until then, only outlaws are selling bicycles.

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