I found an old abandoned Schwinn frame tonight!! Free!
I went for a run at about 11 tonight, and while I was out I found an old Schwinn frame locked to a pole - missing everything (even the pedals) except for the bent front tire and handbars/stem. I live in the Bronx, so this sort of thing isn't that unusual. I went back to my place, got a gigantic pair of bolt cutters and borrowed my friend's bike, and headed back to the bike (182nd and Webster Ave., if anyone cares, haha). On my way there some undercover cops asked me what I was doing with those huge bolt cutters, and I explained, and they said 'uhh, you can't do that.. but we didn't see you tonight if anyone asks' and left me alone. So I continued back and cut the bike off the pole.
The frame looks pretty straight, and the bottom bracket doesn't look stripped. The paint is in terrible condition but now I've got a old steel frame with a story behind it, and since I'm broke, this is kinda perfect for me right now. It isn't a track frame (it has vertical dropouts), but I can improvise (Sheldon Brown suggests various fixes).
Also, thanks for all the great advice, guys. I'm definitely going to take advantage of all the pro/shop discounts that I can get, which I may have done with the frame, too. But now I have at least $200 more to spend on the other components, which I could swap onto a better, lighter frame one day. I like the IRO frames, the Pake, and the Soma Rush a lot.
My only question now is I'm not sure if a 700c wheel will fit on the bike well. I have a 700c wheel here and I put it up to the crappy, old bent wheel that was on the bike and it seems to be a bit bigger (the old tire is too worn to read the size). What size do you guys think it is?
Thoughts, comments, etc. apprecaited.
I will post a pic of the frame if you are interested!