The recession is improving my bike hobby. When I first started I planned on getting myself a few bikes and then calling it quits. That quickly changed. Especially now when people are forced to sell their bikes just to stay afloat due to the outrageous prices of houses and apartments around here. I'm starting to pick up nice bikes for less than the cost of a meal at McDonalds.

In addition to getting bikes cheaper, I'm also able to sell them quicker. Department store bikes are like hotcakes. I buy one for $5, put $6 of tubes in it, $1 of grease, sell it for $25 thus doubling my money. And that's for the cheapo huffys. Next and Mongoose bring even more. Roadmasters are gold. If I sold 1 roadmaster a week, I could buy a 70s high end raleigh every month. There's no way I could live on this, but I only do it as a hobby. I don't make much at work, but I always have the option of working 24 hours a day to make more money. Energy pills and Monster are my best friends. My organs hate me though

Selling mid-range bikes isn't doing as well...yet. You can pick up a running driving car for $300, so why spend $200 on a bike? However, those $300 cars are being grabbed up as fast as they appear now, so I think that bikes for under $250 will start selling very well.

The place where I work on/store/sell my bikes is right on a major bike trail, so I constantly have people asking if I do maintenance on them. As for now I say no, that's for the LBS. But if I ever need any more pocket change, that'll change quickly. I don't want to hurt their business though because they're the only place in town that I can buy 700c tubes and tires.