Originally Posted by
thumpism
I understand and appreciate that, but if a "good" bike winds up in something like this I'd be willing to bet that it was selected because it fit the available space and not because some damage had relegated it to non-cycling use and it fit.
I doubt that would happen often, if at all. The bikes are probably collected from the discard piles at co-ops (which have been removed from the Grade-A and -B stream and destined to be used as scrap metal) or found abandoned. My experience with such bikes is that the bikes you get for free are often worth exactly what you pay for them. There are too many pickers who would catch anything usable or valuable bike long before a sculptor/welder gets his grimy hands on it. At least I hope so
