..........

Sometimes it's just the neighborhood. Have you gone over the hill to Santa Clarita, or over to Ventura?

I know where there is an old 23" Rampar for $13.00......

John D.

Don't you have a bike you're supposed to be working on, troublemaker?

It's right where you live; I just get there first...

I'm in the Valley right next to you, and I go through dry spells too... and then I'll stumble over several at once. Hit the thrift stores on a regular basis, do yard sales on weekends, hit all the local bike shops. Some shops take old bikes in trade, especially if they know customers want cool old bikes. I found three great bikes hanging in a shop out in Newhall... bought all three at once. The shop owner had taken 'em in trade on a couple of new (probably junky) bikes, and didn't really know much about the used ones I bought... I still have all 3.

Go 'round back of thrift stores early in the morning, and you'll probably find bikes that people drop because the store was closed. Even after the store opens, hand the dock guy a fiver and he'll look the other way, or have you arrested for stealing, one or the other.

I dropped into Goodwill last week (cold and rainy day here in midwest) and saw a traditional geometry steel road bike. It was blue with yellow decals. It looked similar to what I had only seen in pictures. Yes it was a vintage Masi from early 80's, minus the handlebars and brake calipers. The frame was in great shape - just a few scratches on chain stay. decals were pretty much excellent This one cost me $10.60. Now I need handlebars, stem, brake levels, and some cool bar wrap and I've got an amazing bike...................

Naw - just dreamin'. But I do need to start checking out Thrift stores and pawn shops - a lot of nice bikes must float threw them every now and then.

I haven't scored it yet, but found this,
yes ANOTHER Zieleman. This one is newer (mid 80's?) than the
one I've been waiting for. price? 35Euro.

Marty

You're not alone on this one. I've scowered almost every thrift store in the San Jose area and almost every craigslist ad looking for a very good bike that fits me. Bad thing about the Thrift Store/Goodwill is that you have to be there early in the morning. If I could do that, I would. As for the garage sales, I've driven around to quite a few in my area but still no bikes. I guess the phrase "Good things come to those who wait" is my plan.

Hi! You can try the "E," auction site. They seem to have numerous vintage type bikes, similar to what you are talking about. The problem, of course, is that you may find a bike at what you consider a bargain, but then, unless it's a local bike, you have to pay shipping, which increases your cost. But, if you get a good enough deal, it might be worth it!

I waited about 20 years to get a Zieleman (a bit excessive yah but they are pretty rare here in states)
and found 2 in the last month. So yes good things do come to those that wait.
I've also got a lead on a Joco brochure from 1937, that will be something.

Marty

Ebay? Really?



..............sorry.............

Try finding something in NYC. It's nearly impossible. If I was able to find a nice steel 51cm Bianchi/Zielman/DeRosa in a thrift shop it'd make my decade.

I've heard there are thousands of great bikes in NYC - free for the taking... by anyone with large bolt-cutters, a lot of nerve, and no conscience.

What about Pawn Shops?

The secret is this: never look for anything, and then you will find it. Actually, it's to live in someplace where no one else knows where to look for older bikes... I've a couple local pipelines that require no bolt cutters anywhere in the ownership history. I find some pretty good stuff, but I really try to never actually search for anything in particular and always be open to the possibilities that exist around me. With that attitude, I find stuff like the legendary Vello Kombi, which in its way is cooler than a Masi.

I've been on this topic before, but I think I'd hate living in some place like Cali or NYC or Seattle, where the vintage stuff is harder to find at reasonable (okay, cheap) prices.

Obviously, I do have my wants. I'd like an old Stella, maybe a SInger and a Rene Herse, but I'm not going to limit my searches to them, and I really couldn't afford them anyway unless I found them cheap. The only one of these three that might go for a price in my range on ebay is the Stella.

Pricing here is nuts. The other day, I pulled a Bianchi and an old Raleigh, with vintage track hubs and a nice Brooks saddle, out of a pile of six bikes at an auction, and bid on them seperately. I paid a fiver apiece. The remaining four bikes, all of the Huffy beach cruiser and Roadmaster Mountain bike variety, went for a combined sixty-five dollars. Go figure.

....just trying to help....

Yeah, sorry again. Seller's best friend = Ebay.

Oh I don't know about that. I have seen some ridiculously low prices
on e-bay, depends on when you hit it. Look for auctions that end on
weeknights they tend to attract less attention for some reason.

Marty

True, there're examples for both arguements. I've sold stuff that went higher than it should have more often than not, and I get outbid on almost everything.

Garage sales have been the best for me. Typical seller is 35-55, male, richer than me (that ain't hard) and less active. Some time ago they bought a bike, hung it up, and then the wife rides them to clean up the garage.

This thread should be replaced by a string of "look what I found"s soon, don't worry y'all.

Oh yeah; pawn shops! I found a cool Merckx funny bike at a pawn shop.... First year C-Record (4 in a circle dated cranks!), with the Campagnolo freewheel, and Cobalto brakes. It wasn't give-away cheap, but I sold the frame for a decent $, and kept the group... It's going on a Tesch 101 frame I pulled off eBay.

Uhh, you're kidding, I just know it.

My local PS has nothing but Magnas and the odd Specialized, starting at $250.

I keep hoping I stumble onto a yard sale in some of the
high dollar neighborhoods here where some woman is selling
her husbands Masi or Pogliaghi for $25 or less. . .

Marty

I'm not kidding... The bike looked to be NOS as well; tires weren't even glued... If anyone wants to see it, I took pics & can post 'em in the COTD section.. The Merckx wasn't from a "local" PS though; found it at one down in Chino about 3-4 years ago!

My favorite are the rich suburban neighborhoods. When I lived in the bay area, I went to Palo Alto/Sunnyvale for garage sales. The stuff I got cheap! Carbon wheels, a mint, mint, mint Paramount P-15, a Moulton (Sir Alec, not Dave). Here in LA there is too much competition, and I never find anything good at garage sales. Small older bike shops away from the beach sometimes have cool stuff. There are a few in the ghetto that I check out once in a while. Bought a Trek 531 from one, but with working full-time I just don't have the free time to cruise the good spots.

Right on! When my son was a baby my wife and I would go to the garage sales in the tony areas for baby needs. Wealthy people, unless they're just blinded by greed, would want to just get rid of it. The poorer people think they really have something special and charge you almost what it would cost new!