Originally Posted by
sonatageek
I struggle with the thought of fixing up department store Huffy and Murray 10 speeds ('road' bikes) from the 70's and 80's. They always need tires and tubes, which means $20-30 and then another $5-10 for cables and brake shoes. That would put things at $40 for the parts, so to make it even worth the trouble, I would need to charge $75-80 for the bike. That seems like too much for that quality of a bike, even if it has been completely serviced.
Do others bother with these kinds of bikes and if so, what do you list and sell them for? These seem to be the only kind of bikes I find for free.
They are an absolute waste of time. I don't bother with any bikes from a department store. For free I might grab it just to take to the scrap yard or rob a few misc parts from it, but never to fix up and resell. My basic standard for a bike to buy has to have three piece cotterless cranks and a straight frame/fork. So yes, I pass up every Varsity, Continental, and three speed crusier bike I generally come across. For me it is mostly road bikes with a few older MTB/hybrids as well.