Check out what i got for $25 at a garage sale

[Ben18]

This is a raleigh bmx from the 80's (i think). it has relatively new tires, seat, grips, pedals, and pegs. Everything else looks original. Do you guys think i got a good deal?

[rndmrdr88]

I think you got ripped of...

but what do i know...

[Ben18]

i should add that it was $25 canadian, so that's like $20 usd

[MadMan2k]

Looks good, except for those huge handlebars. If it rides nicely, you got a deal.

[rndmrdr88]

i should add that it was $25 canadian, so that's like $20 usd

OOOOoohhhh Then it's different.... You Canucks...

[PrototypeFC3S]

LOL, that thing looks like a death trap.

[Brian]

Those bars were big in the 1980's. Now they're just big. I think you scored a deal, but it actually depends on your age. If you're 28 or older, you should be stoked. If you're under 20, your peers will think you bought a piece of crap.

[lunchbox]

Not ad for a garge sale bike, but still it looks gross. You got a deal though.

[Ben18]

I am soon to be 19 so i guess i got a load of crap...

[lunchbox]

I am soon to be 19 so i guess i got a load of crap...

If you that old by a bike from a mail oreder, or a dealer, you should have a job, or are older enough to get one i am guesing?

[Ben18]

Money isn't the problem...I'm not even into bmx actually(i prefer mtb),i just saw this bike at a garage sale and i thought why the hell not for 25 bucks. I was simply asking for opinions to see if this bike might be worth anything since it is old and still in good condition and rides like new.

[rndmrdr88]

That things rad... ride it with pride!

[Ben18]

here's a pic from a different angle

[sxe fbm rider]

Man, you got a deal. $20-$25? I'de pay that for that bike. That's a nice looking old bike and its in really good condition. That pad alone rocks socks. Any bike in that good of condition is worth at least $20. I wouldnt run pegs on that bike, they really take away from it. If you put a pait of old school 3-piece race cranks on there, wow, you'll have one hot vehicle. Like the ones below, only in crome.

[Ben18]

What's the difference between the race cranks in your pic and the ones that are on it now? I'm a real noob when it comes to bmx. Good idea about the pegs - they sure dont seem right.

[BMXTRIX]

I wouldn't trust that bike with an 8 year old kid. It's in good shape, but really isn't better than $50.00 Wal-Mart bikes today I hate to say. There is nothing on the bike really that is 'collectable' or worth anything. Old frame, old stem, old bars, etc., etc.

Some stuff is definitely a bit vintage - like the pads. But, it is either really cheap, or came before bmx designs started getting serious - away from being 'kids' bike and started actually being well built and track ready.

Check the stuff on www.vintagebmx.com and you may find something similar.

Definitely old stuff - probably worth it just to tool around on, but not worth one penny more than you paid. Most people here could snap that frame in an hour or two of riding.

[Brian]

I am soon to be 19 so i guess i got a load of crap...

Hey, I said your peers will think you got a piece of crap. I find most kids (the ones not yet driving, or just starting to) on this forum to be a bit obnoxious and rude. Apparently if you don't have a signature trick bike, it's crap. Most of the older guys would appreciate an old school bargain. MTB riders generally pay a lot more for their bikes, and take better care of them. These kids will tell you "I can break every part on that bike in an hour", as though that's some kind of honorable thing to trash your bike. Ride it, have fun, and don't worry about what it's worth. Cheers.

[queensrider86]

Hey, I said your peers will think you got a piece of crap. I find most kids (the ones not yet driving, or just starting to) on this forum to be a bit obnoxious and rude. Apparently if you don't have a signature trick bike, it's crap. Most of the older guys would appreciate an old school bargain. MTB riders generally pay a lot more for their bikes, and take better care of them. These kids will tell you "I can break every part on that bike in an hour", as though that's some kind of honorable thing to trash your bike. Ride it, have fun, and don't worry about what it's worth. Cheers.


word.

kids think they are hardcore just because they break their bike. it's really because they don't know how to grind/land correctly yet

[BMXTRIX]

Hey, I said your peers will think you got a piece of crap. I find most kids (the ones not yet driving, or just starting to) on this forum to be a bit obnoxious and rude. Apparently if you don't have a signature trick bike, it's crap. Most of the older guys would appreciate an old school bargain. MTB riders generally pay a lot more for their bikes, and take better care of them. These kids will tell you "I can break every part on that bike in an hour", as though that's some kind of honorable thing to trash your bike. Ride it, have fun, and don't worry about what it's worth. Cheers.
Actually, I'm 34 and have been riding seriously since I was 15. That particular bike doesn't have a lot going for it. It isn't a classic Mongoose or GT, but is one of the older dept. store bikes. If it were a classic Schwinn, that would be something - but it isn't even that.

I'm not dissin' the bike because it's old OR because I'm 'to cool' for it. The bike was never a 'top notch' bike, even in its day. Now it is hopelessly outclassed by Wal-Mart type bikes and an entry level bike simply is in a different world quality-wise. The problem with snapping it has nothing to do with 'trying'. If someone were to jump that to hard, or try to gap 5 or 6 stairs, that bike could pretty easily fold. I've seen a 12 year old go to the hospital because their old, cheap bike folded on them unexpectedly. It would be irresponsible for me as a rider to go 'cool' when that is simply NOT a safe bike.

As I said - at 25 bucks - the price was accurate. Not worth a penny more in my opinion though, and I would only put a kid on it who meant to tool around the neighborhood. Even then, I would keep an eye on it.

[lunchbox]

Hey, I said your peers will think you got a piece of crap. I find most kids (the ones not yet driving, or just starting to) on this forum to be a bit obnoxious and rude. Apparently if you don't have a signature trick bike, it's crap. Most of the older guys would appreciate an old school bargain. MTB riders generally pay a lot more for their bikes, and take better care of them. These kids will tell you "I can break every part on that bike in an hour", as though that's some kind of honorable thing to trash your bike. Ride it, have fun, and don't worry about what it's worth. Cheers.


Hey by me, saying that i'm only telling the truth, i ran an old school chain ring form the 80's tried a sprocket stall on wood with it only to have the thing fold on me, As for Dyno zones/ airs are concerned that might have been decent back 10 years ago in there hay day, but the stuff that is on them right now i can break easily, not saying i havn't broken any new skool bmx **** i have, I'm the only person i know of who ran a pig head set an broke it in less then a month.

[Brian]

Hey by me, saying that i'm only telling the truth, i ran an old school chain ring form the 80's tried a sprocket stall on wood with it only to have the thing fold on me, As for Dyno zones/ airs are concerned that might have been decent back 10 years ago in there hay day, but the stuff that is on them right now i can break easily, not saying i havn't broken any new skool bmx **** i have, I'm the only person i know of who ran a pig head set an broke it in less then a month.

In the 80's we didn't grind or sprocket stall. We rode to school, rode on BMX tracks, and a few of us started doing freestyle/ramp tricks. Most were happy to smoke some pot and hang out at the track. Doing tricks on an old school bike is like jumping an XC MTB - bad idea.

I'll agree with Queensrider that a lot of kids break stuff due to lack of skill. In nearly 30 years of riding and abusing bikes, I've broken very little gear.


As I said - at 25 bucks - the price was accurate. Not worth a penny more in my opinion though, and I would only put a kid on it who meant to tool around the neighborhood. Even then, I would keep an eye on it.


I know, it's nothing we had when were young and stupid. But for tooling around, maybe hopping a few curbs, or doing wheelies in front of the house, it's not going to self-destruct under him.

[CMcMahon]

In the 80's we didn't grind or sprocket stall.

If only my scanner worked, I'd put up more than a few photos from magazines to prove this incorrect.

[BMXTRIX]

In the 80's we didn't grind or sprocket stall. We rode to school, rode on BMX tracks, and a few of us started doing freestyle/ramp tricks. Most were happy to smoke some pot and hang out at the track. Doing tricks on an old school bike is like jumping an XC MTB - bad idea.

I'll agree with Queensrider that a lot of kids break stuff due to lack of skill. In nearly 30 years of riding and abusing bikes, I've broken very little gear.

I know, it's nothing we had when were young and stupid. But for tooling around, maybe hopping a few curbs, or doing wheelies in front of the house, it's not going to self-destruct under him.
I realize what you are trying to say, but it's not geared to the person who asked.

1. He is 19, which means that if he rides it, it likely won't be 'tooling around' or 'doing wheelies'. Within a month or two he will be coming down hard from landings all cockeyed, he will try some grinds, and that bike will fold and hurt him terribly bad.

2. He asked about it 'being a deal' or 'worth anything'. Which it wasn't and isn't. A deal implies that he got his hands on a classic Team Mongoose or an original GT. This is simply an old department store bike of no reputation. The fact that I liked and rode my Huffy of 20 years ago, doesn't make it worth anything today, or even a whole lot back then.

3. People most definitely were doing some tricks and big jumps by the early 80's and stuff got a lot bigger, much quicker, by the late 80's. The people who were serious about trying a big jump, were definitely NOT on a bike like that. They were on bikes like the Team Mongoose and other bikes that actually had a lot of thought and design engineering in them.

4. In almost 19 years of riding pretty much flatland only, I have broken half a dozen frames. Gone through many wheels axles, and everything else. During the 80's I would break parts almost weekly from riding flatland! I would not recommend anyone who is 19, and near his full height and with any weight above 100 pounds, riding, let alone trying tricks or jumping, on a bike like that.

It is good for a 6-10 year old in the neighborhood only. Keep it away from a bmx track, keep it away from jumps, and keep it well maintained if someone does ride it. At 19, for 200 bucks, a bike like the DK Cincinnatti is 10 times + the bike that is for pure design, build quality, performance, reliability, and safety.

[sxe fbm rider]

I wasnt saying it's a good bike for riding bmx, I was saying its sweet for riding around on. I would ride around on it, but I wouldnt do tricks.

[lunchbox]

In the 80's we didn't grind or sprocket stall. We rode to school, rode on BMX tracks, and a few of us started doing freestyle/ramp tricks. Most were happy to smoke some pot and hang out at the track. Doing tricks on an old school bike is like jumping an XC MTB - bad idea.

I'll agree with Queensrider that a lot of kids break stuff due to lack of skill. In nearly 30 years of riding and abusing bikes, I've broken very little gear.





I know, it's nothing we had when were young and stupid. But for tooling around, maybe hopping a few curbs, or doing wheelies in front of the house, it's not going to self-destruct under him.

I never said anything about spocket stalls in the 80's what i said was i had a sprocket that was from the 80's.... and i did i sprocket stall with that sprocket on wood and it folded this happend back in 2002, next time read the whole post before you make a response....

[Brian]

I never said anything about spocket stalls in the 80's what i said was i had a sprocket that was from the 80's.... and i did i sprocket stall with that sprocket on wood and it folded this happend back in 2002, next time read the whole post before you make a response....

Don't be so quick to think I didn't read correctly. I said that we didn't grind or do sprocket stalls in the 80's. At least not in the early 80's. The parts we had were not designed for that, which is why the one you used failed so easily. If you break stuff, it's most likely due to abuse, lack of skill, or not using it for its intended purpose. In this case, you used something in a manner it was never meant to be used.

[lunchbox]

Don't be so quick to think I didn't read correctly. I said that we didn't grind or do sprocket stalls in the 80's. At least not in the early 80's. The parts we had were not designed for that, which is why the one you used failed so easily. If you break stuff, it's most likely due to abuse, lack of skill, or not using it for its intended purpose. In this case, you used something in a manner it was never meant to be used.

Oh.. my mistake, when it happend, it happend on wood, and i didn't expect something punched out of steel to fold like it did.

[Brian]

It was never envisioned that a lowly sprocket might do anything more than connect the chain to the freewheel. Designs have changed. Anyone remeber the Huffy with the square seat and rear shocks like a motorcycle? Every 10 year old needed a 50lb bike.