Ask your local police department if they hold auctions. In this part of the country, they hold them once a year. There are a lot of impounded and abandoned bicycles. The original owners rarely come to claim them. Most auction bikes are junk. Of those that are not junk, half of them are in terrible shape. If you have a keen eye, you can get a nice bike worth fixing. If you are very lucky, you'll get a bike that doesn't need much or any work to get it working.

The prices you can get are amazing. I think the most I've paid for a bike at an auction is $50. And I've gotten some bikes that retailed for several hundred dollars.

At the last auction, last summer, they moved it from a Saturday morning to a Wednesday morning. There was no one there to bid against me. The officer told me to show him what I wanted and make an offer. I picked out SIX bikes and gave him $100. I think retail value of the collection was $1000 or $2000. I love the fact that cops don't know anything about bikes!