Originally Posted by auchencrow

I was just perusing London's Craigslist - and I see what you mean.

I would suggest distributing "Wanted To Buy- Old British Bicycles" flyers to your neighbors.
(- An older, more established neighborhood preferably, where folks may have a beautiful old Raleigh, Dawes or Mercian hanging from their attic rafters. )

Originally Posted by wrk101

Another place is ebay, preferably bikes for sale with local pickup option, or local pickup only. C/L is very active in the US, but not in England. Find out where people are advertising their stuff.

As always, word of mouth (let everyone know you are looking for a bike) works best. Network, network, network.

Did a quick check of ebay UK. Lots of potential local pickup only bikes there. Over 1200 racing bikes for sale alone. I looked at a couple of pages of them, saw 30 to 40 I would be bidding on if I lived in the UK.

Originally Posted by robbied196

Hi PoorStudent, I'm in the UK as well If your looking far a vintage racer I'd start with your local paper or newsagent windows, its suprising what can turn up. Unless your really lucky, Ebay tend to command top prices for anything vintage, but occasionally a bargain slips through the net. If your looking for vintage though, be prepared to do some mechanical work especially if your looking not to spend much. The cheaper bikes tend to have been in a shed for 20 years and usually need new tyres, gear adjusting and lubrication. These sort of bikes you should be looking around £20 - £30, I bought a nice 30 year old Dawes for £30 last year, popped two new tyres on and used it with no problems for 6 months. You should be able to track down a good roadworthy, mid market vintage with a budget of £80. Good luck with your search.