General Cycling Discussion - Recycled Cycles

ive heard people talk of finding great used bikes/frames at certain shops in their towns/ctities. esp recycled cycles in chicago (i think, may be wrong). anyway, ive been wanting to create a budget SS commuter bike and was wondering if there are good places in the NoVA/DC area to find cheap old bikes/frames/parts etc.

WalMart. The ones outside and weather beaten. I saw a Mongoose for $65 bucks here in the south. :eek:

WalMart. The ones outside and weather beaten. I saw a Mongoose for $65 bucks here in the south. :eek:
LMAO. Thanks for the advice, I'll have to check out my LWM for the hotest cycling products :D

I've been to Recycled Cycles in Seattle. It's a really neat place to browse. They have tons of cool old parts. But from what I've seen, you wont find the best deals at these professional re-sellers. Ebay is hard to beat if you're looking for old cheap parts. The new parts on Ebay tend to go for about what you'd find in mail order. The old stuff can be had really cheaply if you know what your looking for. Also check out any local LBS. Ask if any of the employees might be selling older stuff they don't use anymore. That's worked for me. peace.

Try your Goodwill, Salvation Army Thrift stores, check the paper, check ebay, a pawn shop, and investigate local police auctions of unclaimed items (here they sell everything from bikes to kitchen sinks).

www.craigslist.org

In my area, Salvation Army thrift stores are the best bet. I looked at a pawn shop once and was disgusted at the high prices they had on absolute junk. I decided that I really didn't want to buy a likely stolen bike anyway so I go for the thrift stores.

Yep, Checkout the bikes that have been returned or those that have been sitting outside. A little fluff and buff here and there, good as new.

Check apartment complexes. Usually people are moving out in a hurry and need to get rid of stuff. The bikes you find won't be the best, but maybe you can piece something together from several finds.

You must have some form of classified ad magazine? Somewhere used bikes should be offered for sale. Just watch the ads for suitable bikes. Bikes from the 80's are a good bet.

I just picked up a 531 lugged steel framed Trek at the local DAV thrift store. It cost me $2.07 with tax. All it needed was air in the tires, but I did replace the cables, chain and bar tape.

Thrift stores are definitely the way to go, even if you have to buy 2 just to get the best parts and mix/match. I recenly had some friends come stay with me from out of town and they wanted to ride the American River Trail here in Sacramento. So we went to the thrift store and got 2 bikes for about $40. While they were nothing special, they did the job and we had a lot of fun with minimal cleanup/repair. After they were gone, I gave them to a few of the neighborhood kids I see without bikes.

If you're looking for something better, I'd try the classifieds, craigslist.org and/or the LBSs in the area, maybe put up a flyer or something.