General Cycling Discussion - Fess Up! Who rifles thru neighborhood garbage for bikes? List your BEST bike find too

I must admit I did for quite along time. As of the last few years I haven't since my parts are overtaking the room in the garage. It was alot of fun, hoping to find decent aluminim components and what not. I have been able to salvage several bikes and turn a small profit from them.

My best find was a Gitane Tour de France tossed out by none other than my neighbor across the street!!!! She didn't have a clue to it's worth and handcrafting. I did inform her that is was a very worthy vintage bike from France but she said to take it anyways. I cleaned it up and rode it for a bit then sold it!

Presently, I am s-l-o-w-l-y building a hybrid out of a woman's Gitane mixtie frame for the wife. Found that in the trash too.... the frame not the wife!:rolleyes: ;)

It really is amazing how ignorant (I don't mean that in a mean way,) the general population is about good bikes.

They let them rust away in the backyard, or simply chuck them out.

(Check out garage sales and thrift shops. Save the whales! Oops, I mean, bikes! :o )

I hope they stay clueless, let's not do anything to wise 'em up. ;)

My best find is a mid 80's Nishiki Sport at Goodwill for $6, as mentioned on another post.

I have a hard time finding someone to hold me by the ankles as I root through the trash hoppers. :p

I need some pointers on this scavager hunt. I seem to be paying alot for junk bike part. Help! Grasshopper is calling.

Retro Lung

Try visiting bike shop dumpsters but be careful of the uneaten pizza slices!! I have found many easily patched tubes that I will use for neighborhood kids bike repairs. They get to ride again and save money too. Afterall they'll blow that tube in a couple weeks too! I approached 2 shops and they agreed to set aside anything with some promise to it outside the dumpster for sanitary reasons. I picked up a Cannondale Road frame with crushed bottom bracket. I unbolted the replaceable derailleur hanger and kept it for myself as a spare. Got dozens of wheels and out of that pile made about 3 working sets of medium quality parts. Numerous other stuff too.

Once I had this guy tell me to stop by as he had a pile of bikes I could rummage thru. In his back yard was literally a 6' high, lengthy pile of intertwined bikes. Mostly junk but a couple decent ones worth taking. I did take a Schwinn Sting Ray chopper "knock off" and resold that.

When I walked thru Sears wharehouse once I couldn't believe all the bike parts lying about. I inquired and they were from incomplete shipments and returns and such. One MTB caught my eye and the dept. mgr. sold it to me as "scrap" (actually it wasn't but he didn't care anyways) for $40. It was a special one time model made for them using reynolds tubing, front suspension, Araya rims, Shimano gruoppo, etc. I just added a seat & post and a cog + chain + pedals. I still have the MTB today and am into it for less than $80!!!:D It even came with a frame pump and shouldering bag. That works for me!

Man, The best thing I ever got was A Peugeot Versailles for $150 bucks man I got to be more aggressive with it. Saddle Bags hell if their decent they are worth $40 alone.

It even came with a frame pump and shouldering bag. still worth more then $40

My best find was a Schwinn Paramount . It was complete except for a front wheel, which was mangled and lay beside the bike. Got a new rim, built the wheel and sold the bike. It was a 25" frame which is way to big for me.

Most bikes I pick up are junkers, but I fix them and donate to the Salvation Army or other charities.

My sister-in-law can't believe all of the bikes that Hillary and I keep in the living room. But, hey, my Peugeot came from the Salvation Army for $20 and was perfectly ridable once I replaced an inner tube. My Shogun cost me $45 bucks; I only had to replace a bent rear wheel to make it servicable. Ironically, my Peugeot and my Shogun both look like much more impressive than my hybrid, which I paid full retail for. Of course, when you live in a big metropolitan area, you don't want the bike that you use most often to look all that impressive.

All my bikes (but one) were destined for the boneyard. My latest is a 1970's Atala. It's in the worst condition off all of them I picked up. The paint is fried and nothing is usable except the frame and the wheels.

But the frame, lads, lemme tell you about the frame: Beautifully straight with Campy lugs and no braze-ons whatsoever. Long chainstays for a smooth road ride. Chrome in abundance - headlugs, forks and stays.

And the wheels - Campy high flange hubs and aluminum Weinmann rims that are skinny enough for 23mm tires.

Looks like a paint job is in my future! Dark blue?

Originally posted by Oscar
But the frame, lads, lemme tell you about the frame: Beautifully straight with Campy lugs and no braze-ons whatsoever. Long chainstays for a smooth road ride. Chrome in abundance - headlugs, forks and stays.

And the wheels - Campy high flange hubs and aluminum Weinmann rims that are skinny enough for 23mm tires.


Oscar,

To me that bad boy is just crying to be a single speed. Dark blue and chrome along with the natural beauty of skinny wheels, drop bars and a "pure" chainline. Can't go too wrong there IMO.

I twice have found old English frames one with Campy dropouts. Light enough to be Reynolds but no positive ID was possible. Didn't hold onto either for very long:( Though I did build them and ride them for awhile.

Once I saved a large pile of Schwinn Varsinental parts from the dump. Enough to build a bike or 2 anyways. Never got around to it and when I left for college they ended up in the dump anyways. This was a while ago when you could buy a new Schwinn so building old ones wasn't such a big deal. Nothing at all lately but I don't spend alot of time looking.

:beer:

I tossed out a Canondale frame once. It deserved to be tossed, since it was crash damaged and steered like a drunkard, but I stripped off all the useful parts first.
The 'dale was donated to my brother years ago by club members, and he took it to France on his sabbatical, but there was little point dragging a heap of junk all the way back to Utah.
Within an hour, someon had rescued the frame, and I presume its still being ridden around the mountains of Grenoble. I just pity the rider on the fast hairpin descents.

My best scores were the full Reynolds 531 Capos ($0 for the first one, which was a repainted frame and crankset only; $20 for the current one, because it had been repainted and lacked the original Campy wheelset) and a quad-butted CrMo mid-1980s Team Fuji ($10, possibly because of the very small frame size). A friend once gave me a complete 1973 Peugeot UO-8 and a relative gave me a Varsity of the same vintage; these lesser bikes served me well as commuters.

OSCAR:

I worked at a shop back then that sold Atala and Teledyne. Almost bought an Atala Competizione.


Amen to some of those old custom framesets being turned into single speeds. I have some no-name frame that's going to be a candidate for such a project. All I know is it's Columbus tubing and Campy dropouts. I always wanted to build a track bike for the heck of it.

Kurahara touring bike -$5 at a garage sale. Its still my commuter after three years. Ditched the 27" wheels and replaced with the ones below.

Daccordi (hand-lugged steel italian bike) that was given to me by a co-worker who had just purchased his dream ride, a $5400 Colnago. Sold the frame after several years, and put the mavic ceramic wheels on the Kurahara for commuting.

Raleigh 3-speed I dug out of the neibors trash in MINT condition. Included the original rack and frame pump. Rode it for awhile and gave it away.

I used to work at a shop and would keep an eye on the dumpster throughout the day. I'd be back a few hours after close and...

Walter and ED:

Since my Atala is so bare of brazes, it's gonna be a fixie. Not a true track bike like ED wants because its geometry is so...untracklike. Track bikes are quick on the move with steep angles and short wheelbases.

I already have a Le Tour set up as a fixed gear, but I'm going to make it into an ersatz cyclocross bike. Doncha have a fixed Le Tour, Walter? Check out the high bottom bracket and you'll see what I mean. I'll use Mafac Racers for fake cantilever brakes.

I am developing a sinister lust.

The dark side is calling...

:cry:

my find was a Centurian Le Mans RS. Complete and almost never used. The chain was rusted but overall great condition.

It was leaning next to our apartment complex's trash compactor. The unwritten rule there was that if you had something that someone else could use, leave it beside the compactor and let someone else pick it up. when I moved last year after getting married, I donated a 25" TV, Doc Martins, and a lot of other stuff to the pile. A neighbor of mine was watching and would pick up things as quickly as they were left. I invited him to my apartment and gave him first dibs on everything i was not taking with me. That made packing so much easier :).

that bike became my beater/experimental bike for about 4 years. I stripped and repainted it 3 times, even had it covered with faux zebra skin for a while. (great response from Critical Mass riders and drivers, but it got dirty very quicky).

Originally posted by Oscar
I'll use Mafac Racers for fake cantilever brakes.



LMAO!! Been there! Done that! Used them on my first pseudo mtb. Took a Schwinn Super Sport and made an off-road hybrid from it. Still have it to this day. Guys in the club were laughing yet amazed as I kept right up with them and their Fat Chances, Treks, Klein mtb. Best of all the tires are skinny 27"ers. I attributed it to good bike handling from my days of motocross racing.

Oscar:

Indeed I do. I run a centerpull up front myself. Came off of a Viscount and is badged Viscount. I'd guess it's a Weinmann. Don't use a rear as there are no hills where I live so no need to scrub off speed on the decline.

Haven't ridden it much. I put it together with the gearing I had on hand and it's a little tall. No hills but an ocean breeze that's often a steady unending 15-20mph. As soon as I can rationalize the need for enough other things to justify shipping expense I'll order another cog from Harris.

Your bike will look sharp.

:beer:

The most boring thing in the world is sanding paint. I could have taken in to a blaster, but I was afraid for the chrome. Chemical goo strippers are nasty. Almost done, but I've learned that the paint is easy to sand off. It's the primer that's the bear.

I found an old Gitane at the university yesterday. It was a mixtie with a broken downtube. My haul: Normandy high flange hubs (garbage but pretty), Simplex METAL shifters with plastic hoods and....Mafac Racers! More parts than bikes forever!

I notice that a lot of commuters ride older road bikes.

Keeping a bike running EVERY DAY, means needing a lot of replacement parts.

Scavaging old parts from dumpsters, yard sales, or whatever is what makes bicycle commuting affordable.

If you had to buy all new replacement parts - and especially wheels - at retail prices from the LBS, it would certainly impact the economic advantage of bicycle commuting.

To me, the best part of using old parts or old bikes that were heading for the landfill is that it is the ultimate in recycling.

Reclaiming a bike from the dumpster, and riding it instead of driving a car is close to the zenith of environmental stewardship.

Originally posted by mike
I notice that a lot of commuters ride older road bikes.

Reclaiming a bike from the dumpster, and riding it instead of driving a car is close to the zenith of environmental stewardship.
Mike, you should be the Czar of Bike Commuting.

12,000 miles per year logged.

Ice bike qualified.

(Telemark skier? Well, let's keep to bikes...)

Several dozen bikes resurrected, some even saved from being "put to sleep." :eek:

Sub-zero die-hard.

Rescuer of old Japanese motorcylists.

Finder of mint-condition Sachs hub shifters.

Pioneer of home-repair techniques.

Do I exaggerate? ;)

Say, did you steal that "Huffy" EDucator left in NYC?

:D

Originally posted by Pete Clark

Say, did you steal that "Huffy" EDucator left in NYC?

:D

Well ya, but I couldn't get the damned stickers off - even with ammonia and a hair dryer!

I haven't found anything myself, but on a BMX forum I went to, a guy found a PK Ripper BMX in a dumpster...

It just goes to show you how rewarding fessing can be!!!

Rich

:rolleyes:

I found two 20" Trek Mountain Lion bicycles in a garage sale (a swanky gated community), one boys frame and the other a girls frame. The girls bike looked like it had been ridden very little. The boys was in good shape but needed a new shift cable (SRAM six speed). Seeing that the sale was over and the brand new Gary Fisher bikes the owner had just purchased for her kids, I offered her $20 to take away both bikes. She was asking $80 each. My 5 year old daughter is riding her "new" Trek now - it gave her an extra motivation to get out and ride. My 2 year old son is dying to get off the Huffy I rescued from a curb and pushes the "new" Trek all over the place!:D

This is my first post. I like the way this is set up!

Tree Trunk

I have also picked up a lot of nice components my friends were going to let collect dust. Last year I picked up a set of Spinergy Rev X wheels with Shimano 9-Speed cassette and Syntace aero bars. Several years ago I picked up a Trek 2300 that is now my favorite road bike. When I picked up the Spinergy wheels I added those to the Trek 2300 and upgraded the Ultegra down tube shifters to 9 speed STI. The bike is pretty hot now!

Savengering is like treasure hunting, my wife and co-workers are constantly breaking them when I slow down and look.
The best place for great deals is auctions. Police Departments and municipal auctions have loads of bikes especially near large municipalities. Parents buy their kids fancy bikes they get stolen and the parents just right it off never suppling the PD with the serial #. After six months to a year they have an auction, it's great for parts but sometimes you can get real good bargains. My best buy was a mongoose and diamondback BMX for three dollars

Not from dumpster diving, but was given a 1958 Ideor road bike by a guy who used to own a bike store in my town. It's a great fixed gear, a customer getting ready to move didn't want to shlep one other bike and gave it to him, and it was too old and weird for his taste! Makes an excellent fixed gear with clearance for 28c's and fenders, and has old Mafac Dural Forge brakes--real brakes so I don't have to back pedal too much with my creaky knees.

Last night I just picked out of the trash a Panasonic mtb. with Deore XT derailleurs and rapid fire shifters. Everything is complete, minus a chain. Paint is not so good but frame is solid for a repaint. I can't wait to see this baby stripped and hanging from the basement ceiling next to the other frames of worth!! The Deore will make it to my mtb. eventually this Spring during it's rebuild.

Hey ED,

You could set up your own little Fess Up bike shop.

It's great to know that bikes can get a second chance...all power to you mate!

Rich :beer:

I've found countless English 3-speeds at the dump and at curbside on trash collection day. These are PARTS MINES!!

Hi,
I saw Luis's post regarding his best find being a mid-80s Nishiki Sport. I think I just scored one for 25 bucks at a thrift store (the urbanites garage sale). I was hoping he, or someone else, could tell me a little about it so I can hopefully figure out if I have one, or even better post a pic (I don't have a digital camera to post a pic). I haven't been able to find any thing about older Nishikis and don't know enough about bikes to acurately describe the features for any kind of bike database.
This is the best I can do:
Cruiser handlebars
Step-through frame with a "split" (?) top tube that extends to the rear axle
by split I mean the top tube is 2 metal rods connected with 3 small horizontal rods which widen toward the rear axle

Thanks for baring with me. Any tips would be greatly appreciated

.:beer:

A friend of mine picked up a bike from a rubbish tip. It wasn't the greatest bike in the world but he didn't want anything special.

All it needed was a couple of new tubes so he wheeled it in to the local bike shop where one of the guys gave him a strange look. It was him who had dumped the bike.

Hi einsamRocker, and welcome to the forums.

In answer to your question about the Nishiki Sport, the one I have seems to be quite different than what you have described.

Mine is a standard diamond frame road bike. From what you describe, your frame is a "mixte". Mine has drop style handlebars, as do all "road" bikes. The cruiser bars you mentioned, suggest it probably is a "hybrid".
Also, the dead giveaway: mine says "Sport" on the top tube.

I may be wrong, but unless Nishiki reused the name "Sport" for other bike models, I'm guessing you have something other than a Sport.

Sorry I cannot post a picture :(

Once again welcome, and hope you enjoy the forums

Louis

Sounds like the Nishiki Sport is the
mixte version.

Marty

Thanks for all the welcome messages and responses to my post. And sorry, Louis, for spelling your name wrong.

As for my bike, it definitely says Sport on the top tube, but it does sound like a hybrid from what others have told me. I don't know. To my uneducated eyes it does look like a cross between a cruiser and 10 speed road bike. It looks great for getting around this city and I really liked the design. I am looking forward to refurbishing it. It really doesn't need much work other than removing the thick layer of dust and some rust on the handlebars and wheels. The breaks and gears seem to be in excellent shape. I think I must have gotten a decent deal. Someday I'll get a pic and post it.

Thanks again, everyone.
:beer:
einsamRocker

Evidently Nishiki made the Sport in a mixte frame model as well as the diamond frame.

I'm sure you will enjoy many miles of fun and good health. The more you ride the better it gets, until it becomes a way of life.

Suggestion - If you are not mechanically inclined, take your bike to a good bike shop and have them clean and re-grease the wheel hubs, bottom bracket assembly and headset. Also a good inspection by a mechanic as well as some adjustments would be in order.

It would be money well spent in the long run. Enjoy. :thumbup:

Louis