A beater bike of mine is locked to a rack overnight and weekends on the work end of my bike-bus-bike commute. If it disappears or gets maliciously wrecked, no biggie. It looks like crap, mish-mosh of very used parts. Flaking paint, at least two layers of spray-bomb. Actually a pretty cool bike, C'dale M800 "Beast of the East" from the early 90s, U-brake underneath the chainstays, steel fork...
Of course that's the beauty of a beater--less likely to get stolen, especially if you have it secured with a BFL.
All my beaters have a price tag on them in my head. Someone offers that much, it is gone and I'm on to the next beater, money in my pocket, put your hands up if tonight you're gonna rock it.
Another mongrel Trek 830 lived at the shop with a Wald basket on the front. Sat out on the sales floor with a ridiculous $250 price tag on it. That was our shop bike for the summer and it was rad. Finally, someone recognized how rad it was and bought it, manager who used the bike regularly didn't budge on the sale price.
That money will be used for various bits and pieces needed to get a reclaimed Bianchi Volpe up and going as The Next Beater... And I have another pile of non-functional beater, a c'dale SM400 from the later 90s set aside for if/when the Volpe leaves the fleet.
Sell both beaters, score the basis for the next one with the proceeds, and the beater reclamation saga continues.
Last edited by mconlonx; 12-24-13 at 03:24 PM.