Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Thrifty idea...

Has anyone here ever gone as far as to check the dumpsters behind bike shops on their rides?? I have been recently tempted but my wife is giving me a hard time about it. Yay or nay?

Has anyone here ever gone as far as to check the dumpsters behind bike shops on their rides?? I have been recently tempted but my wife is giving me a hard time about it. Yay or nay?

why the hell not? do it when your wife isn't looking!

HAHA!!!! I have been tempted to grab my new CamelBak Motherlode and my messenger bag and go for a ride around hitting all the LBS while they're closed so no one says anything...I just might have to do that now.

HAHA!!!! I have been tempted to grab my new CamelBak Motherlode and my messenger bag and go for a ride around hitting all the LBS while they're closed so no one says anything...I just might have to do that now.

I did that once but didn't find anything. Some old tires that still had a little life, if you're flat out broke and need "new" tires you could try it.

damn, I was hoping to hear about some grand finds, maybe at the bike shops that cater a bit more to the yuppie crowd???

yesh, they probably throw their campy wheels in the trash after one ride

what I usually see:
1. old steel rims
2. taco'd rims from drunk-damaged students' trek 800s
3. dry-rotted tires
4. punctured tubes.

I suppose if you're looking for a patchable tube...

Since we've got 40,000-odd students here, it's a lot easier to watch for abandoned bikes on campus. Trash night usually has a few pieces. The week around moving day (aug 15th) is best. Got my fixie's frame there, cheap Bianchi frame and decent araya wheelset intact.

hmmm....maybe its time to check the dumpsters around the university here as well. We're two weeks away from moving day and I'm two blocks from the university, maybe its time to go scope some things out!!!

hmmm....maybe its time to check the dumpsters around the university here as well. We're two weeks away from moving day and I'm two blocks from the university, maybe its time to go scope some things out!!!

I've furnished a house from moving day dumpster diving at Georgetown, never got a bike, tho.

i've done that in the past.

i've never found anything besides tubes, bubble wrap, and boxes.


but there's always hope. ;)

I did it. But it was after a bike shop had closed down and the management company was cleaning out the store of what was remianing after the LBS lwft. I was able to rummage through all the stuff that was still in the store, basement and all. I was able to pick up four mountain frames, one with almost everything except wheels, a bunch of older steel rims in 26" and 27" sizes, and about 3 or 4 milk crates full of misc. parts! I also got a Brooks B-17 saddles and another Fizik saddle too. There were a bunch of older road bikes, but I wasn't able to fit anything else on/in my Civic. I wish I had my van at the time...there were some older Schwinns and Fujis...:(

I would have started strapping bikes to the roof. No lie. GREAT FIND!!!

i asked about a "recyling" or used program in this area to no avail, and the employee of the bike shop TOLD me to check the dumpsters after they close... i haven't yet, it was only a week ago and it's 30 minutes away.. in a car...but sometime

You're the reason we have to mangle stuff so that nobody would want to take it then try to sue because it broke. Thanks for the extra work :rolleyes:

I would say no. At the store I worked at in Paris, we used the dumpster as a pissoir, because it was closer.

Employees get anything thats decent... anything else we have to cut up/destroy so no one uses it and sues us.

Wow, people sue for that kind of stuff? This really is a sick sad world.

Wow, people sue for that kind of stuff? This really is a sick sad world.

Yup, people will sue for anything now. Say they stole a bike from a store and then as they were riding away, fell and broke there arm or leg or whatever. Even thoughtey stole the bike they could and probably will sue the store for compensation because there wasn't ample warning that they could injure themsevles on the bike...even if THEY STOLE IT!

That's why there are no more monkey bars in parks anymore and no more sand to fall on. It's being replaced by those soft rubber mats.

It never hurts to look! I've scored some good stuff from the dumpsters, usually hardware type itmes. However I'v noticed that shops that won't deal in used items will typically leave older trade-ins behind the store hoping they magicly disapear. Hell my buddy scored an 87 Trek Elance 400 complete behind the local Fu Fu bike shop. Also check aprtment complexes where students live, tyey leave all types of stuff behind.

Well, as mentioned above, if its going to hurt a fellow biker in the long run, I'll steer clear, if not, though, I'll be checking often!!

Has anyone here ever gone as far as to check the dumpsters behind bike shops on their rides?? I have been recently tempted but my wife is giving me a hard time about it. Yay or nay?

It is a great idea, until you realize that you've got no way to get your new find home other than throwing it over your shoulder for the next five miles...

thats definately not a problem, I ride with huge loads often on my commute!!

thats definately not a problem, I ride with huge loads often on my commute!!

Totally not a problem, I "found" a raleigh record team frame in the"recycling" bin once, took it straight home., hung it round my back and rode away.

damn, I was hoping to hear about some grand finds, maybe at the bike shops that cater a bit more to the yuppie crowd???

i'm not sure this counts as a great find, maybe one of you guys could tell me...
i found a Ron Kitching road frame in a skip (dumpster) on the south coast of england, its from the 1970's made from butted 531 tubes.

there's a beautiful cinelli frame on the fixedgeargallery.com site that is supposedly from a dumpster...so it happens.

with any kind of dumpstering, patience is key. you have to be consistent and look as often as you can, eventually things turn up. don't underestimate the level of waste in capitalism. people throw everything away.

mildly related question --

Has anyone ever tried a police evidence room auction? What's the chance of something decent showing up there? We've got one on saturday, its closing in on the end of the summer, maybe it's worth a shot? Anyone else tried it? Columbus isn't a huge city, but maybe a nice piece will show up. Though i'd be a little scared the former owner might run into me somewhere and ask about it.

mildly related question --

Has anyone ever tried a police evidence room auction? What's the chance of something decent showing up there?

A few years ago, a friend of mine got a pretty decent Specialized, I don't remember the type, it was before I knew anything about bikes, I think it even had straight bars, but it was a brand new, several hundred dollar bike, for about 80 or 90 bucks. Worth checking out, but probably not garunteed. I haven't seen too many people selling coke off the back of a Bianchi.

I have bought a few bikes at auctions, you will be disgusted in the ubiquity of xmart bikes though. If the auctions in columbus are anything like those here in Minneapolis (we had one today but I missed it on purpose) wait to bid on a bike till after the first 30 or so have sold. The first couple of bikes seem to go for larger sums of money no matter the quality. I remember once seeing a huffy used but still shiny and full suspension going for about 130!! I got a nice azuki once for 10 dollars which was item 70 or so. After a while they pretty much are giving the bikes away.

Phil

speaking of police auctions, check this out. talk about a lucky break... :http://www.dccourier.com/messengers/messenger_list_2004/msg01216.html

mildly related question --

Has anyone ever tried a police evidence room auction? What's the chance of something decent showing up there? We've got one on saturday, its closing in on the end of the summer, maybe it's worth a shot? Anyone else tried it? Columbus isn't a huge city, but maybe a nice piece will show up. Though i'd be a little scared the former owner might run into me somewhere and ask about it.

Huge enough for their own hockey team!

speaking of police auctions, check this out. talk about a lucky break... :http://www.dccourier.com/messengers/messenger_list_2004/msg01216.html

stealitback.com ...that's funny