turtle jesus

Where can I find old junk bikes? Beside hitting up goodwil every other day and the lbs has anyone found any good bikes at junkyards?

hairnet

yard sales?

rustybrown

Bikes direct? Bahhhhhaha.

spcialzdspksman

Craigslist

rustybrown

Flea markets and/or swap meets.

iolas

I always head out to the suburbs and find lots of good stuff, it's impossible to find anything good under $100 downtown.

I use craigslist (check their "free" section, lots of people throw out old bikes), garage sales, curbs, thrift stores, etc. A while back I got a mint puch for $20ish, last month I got a nishiki custom sport mixte from the trash, and last week I got a fuji espree from craigslist for $30. you just gotta be on the prowl, you'll find something! I check CL pretty much every day for new stuff.

Scrodzilla

Try scrap yards or the trash.

Pooptet

I knew someone would post something like that. And it was Scrod, haha!

Scrodzilla

Doohickie

Places I have found older bikes:

Free:
. Dumpsters
. Piles at the curb on trash night
. The city dump
. Word of mouth
. The LBS

Inexpensive:
. Craigslist
. Thrift stores
. Garage sales
. Word of mouth
. Automotive salvage yard (that also does metal recycling)

I know of one place where there is a literal pile of old bikes, probably a couple dump-truck-fuls. I even have the name and number of the guy who supposedly owns them. They are locked up in the lot of an industrial building. I've peeked through the fence, though, and haven't seen even one that I really would want.


Don't underestimate word of mouth. If people know you are into bikes, they will occasionally say, "I've got this old bike I don't ride anymore..."

NinetiesKid

One of my friends found a really nice steel Trek road bike outside a dumpster days after her bike was stolen.
After looking it over, the only thing wrong with it appears to be bad tires, and it is the right size frame for her. What luck!

ichitz

nyc is hard.. as any big city i guess.
The only time I found something for free is a old Ross frame. Everything was unusable except the frame. Was gonna fix it up but figure it wasn't worth it and I dont' really have the space.

Brian

I've considered asking the local dump to set aside a spot for bikes. Anything worthwhile could be sent to our local co-op for salvage.

Noir Lethal

Well played.

elemental

You would not believe how many nice 35mm cameras I have gotten for nothing or next to nothing this way. I've had people offer me cameras even when I'm just walking around with a nice old 35mm SLR around my neck. People like to see their old things put back to use.


I read this thread an hour ago and scoffed at the "Craigslist" recommendations, then went on just to check it out and, lo and behold, found a very nice ten speed cruiser at what could be a good price. I am hoping to go check it out tomorrow or Tuesday, and with any luck take it home, tear it down to a singlespeed, and cruise my hood for under $100. It'd be the perfect lazy evening summer bike for picking up groceries or just idly cruising. I could probably even commute on it. It has painted metal fenders!

elemental

And I just realized I could probably slip the old XT/Delgado 'Cross back wheel I have on my commuter in, get a disc-mount cog, and run it fixed! Craigslist really deserves more credit from me.

Squirrelli

Same, I check craiglist pretty much everyday for various parts or frames..craiglist is a great source for used frames.

Flying Merkel

I"ve gotten three free bikes by keeping my eyes open on trash day. One was a gorgeous Univega Gran Rally with full Shimano 600. Wheelset was trashed from exposure to the elements. Takes patience and tenacity to score free or cheap bikes. Had kind soul on Bike forums posted about a free frameset and assorted components for the picking up. Haunted C-list & swap meets until all the parts lined up. Cheap low-end department store ca-ca bike, but made a decent single speed. Rode it a lot around town and got compliments on it. Decent enough to be passed on to a worthy college student.

Bought a Pegasus off Craigslist for $35.00. Another low-end bike 70's era bike boom piece, but it was complete. Prolly paid too much, but the lugs looked cool & cottered cranks give it a vintage look. Bought a fixed gear wheelset from a rich kid for $50.00. Innocent types are told it's a racing bike from the '20's that was ridden by Charles Lindbergh under an assumed name to raise funds for his transcontinental flight.

Keep looking. They are out there, hiding in garages & basements.

And tonight I saw the pickador's truck coming down the alley with two bikes in the load. These guys will sell you stuff if you flag them down.

turtle jesus

Yeah I'm always on craigslist in my local area and the only place other then that is the flea market there's a Russian guy who has tons of bikes that are amazing but older and rusted up fuji's, specialized etc and he won't tell me where he gets them > and he wants like 80 for each. But where I live theres only one bike shop and they only sell tri bikes and se lites, so their used bike line up is just for tri or made of hi-ten (and he's still very pricey)

filtersweep

I ran a "wanted to buy" ad-- looking for junk wheels. I ended up paying $5 - 10 for old Record hubs, FIR rims, all sorts of cool parts. I also encountered someone who used tubular glue on their clinchers, and other assorted craziness, but it was well worth my effort. You would expect to pay a little something at a "junkyard" as well.

BTW, there is no bicycle junkyard like the one in the basement of One on One in Minneapolis. I miss that place. It is like a bicycle parking lot outside a Dutch train station--- except it is a bicycle boneyard.

rustybrown

I could really use a crankset from that bicycle hospice.

ianjk

We have this set up @ our local dump/reuse center. Sometimes you can find gold, but usually there are regulars who go every day and grab anything that could possibly be resold.

filtersweep

I picked up an NOS Shimano 600 with ring and BB for $30 (in the box). They also had a full NOS Sante group that was glowing white. On one hand, they know the value of what they are selling, and on the other, they are happy to get rid of it at a fair price.

bkowa092

Today I was working at a disobedient children's school and while in one of the basements checking the signal levels (I'm a communication technician) I saw a huge room filled with bikes. If I had to guess, I would say there were probably about 100-150 bikes. I didn't see anything too nice (closest was a Schwinn and a Giant) and a lot were on the small side. I am almost positive if I would have asked the groundskeeper who was escorting me if I could have a few, he would have gladly gave them to me.

turtle jesus

i think i just turtled my pants........