Originally Posted by
cyccommute
We don't know where "here" is [...] I don't mean to put you off the idea of doing a bike frame swap...it's a lot of fun to do...but just realize that there are some pitfalls and try to avoid them.
Here is a southern U.S. city in the process of getting big and techy after being mostly agricultural. There's just no pool of good used bikes to buy, it's really paltry, but with the boom we'll have plenty of bikes in a few years. I watch Craigslist every day, and what I see is 70% BSO/department store bike, 10% antique/classic/vintage, 10% kids bikes, 5% high quality road/full suspension MTB, and the rest is farm equipment (in the bikes category). Nobody sells used bike tools or gear on our CL. The bike parts category is mostly trailer hitch bike racks and kid-hauling trailers.
Thanks for the advice, especially about being careful around the BB, and for sharing your experience.