Originally Posted by wrk101

At that price point, you WILL miss out on some great deals. Would you rather double your money on a $50 bike, or on a $500 bike?

Short on funds? Find deals on bikes that don't fit, clean them up, sell them, and repeat. In a few months, you will have a nice bankroll allowing you to move up price wise. My collection started with a $10 bike from a garage sale. Cleaned it up, sold it two days later for $100. The next weekend, I found another $10 bike, did the same, and sold that one for $125. The proceeds from those two transactions provided the seed money I have used ever since. I have not yet had to tap into family finances since that first $10 bike purchase.

Are there still decent $10 bikes out there (not great, but not Walmart crap either)? You bet. I went to a garage sale last year that listed two bikes for FREE. I was there before it opened, got the two bikes and bought a couple of other items they had (which were also good deals). The bikes were two step through Schwinn Collegiates. Not super awesome bikes, but cleaned one up and sold it for a nice profit. Still have to finish the second one (good reminder to get back on it). I've also sold a few of the "as is" bikes as barn finds. Not life altering money, but it added to my bike fund. Sometimes fixing up such barn finds can cost you more than the finished project is worth.