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Day laborer bikes

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Old 02-23-06 | 07:44 PM
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From: northern California

Bikes: Bruce Gordon BLT, Cannondale parts bike, Ecodyne recumbent trike, Counterpoint Opus 2, miyata 1000

Day laborer bikes

I spotted a MTB abandoned on the roadside during a commute. Went back with a car to check it out. It was a Walmart $57.75 18 speed mens bike. Rear shifter had fallen off and the rusty chain was stuck in the lowest combo. I'll oil the chain. put the chain on a usable cog, fix the flat tire and drop the hideous monster off with the day workers that hang out in Fulton. Anyone else out there who salvages bikes for use by needy people?
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Old 02-23-06 | 08:16 PM
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i took a walmart mongoose bmx bike, fixed it up, but now parting it out.lol. my friend, most of his bikes are either bought cheap(like meximum of 10 bucks) or he found them on the road
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Old 02-23-06 | 08:25 PM
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I make a habit of kidnapping college students' bikes that are left around on campus. I take them home, make them ridable/safe, and put them back where i found them.
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Old 02-23-06 | 08:29 PM
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I work for a campus law enforcement department, and we always collect a bunch of abandoned bikes. Last year, we had about 20, and gave them all to the mostly-Hispanic grounds workers. I still see these guys riding in to work on them.
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Old 02-23-06 | 09:04 PM
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I rebuild bike for my granpda, he then donates them to a local thrift store (near Thousand Oaks), and marks the price way low. We'll usually put around $60 of upgrades on the bike, then mark them at like $29.99. He says it's awesome when he sees a day worker riding around on one of the bikes he built
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Old 02-23-06 | 09:12 PM
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If you're looking for an old lugged steel mtb frame with a looong wheelbase for your next tour bike project, just ask a day laborer if he wants to sell his bike.
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Old 02-23-06 | 09:17 PM
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I used to work in small rural communities, border towns, etc, and I would look for cheap bikes at thrift shops, like $5 or 10, and ride them while I was on the job and then give them away once work was finished up. I have a part-time job now managing some storage rentals and I have come across several abandoned bikes and I usually donate them to a community non-profit that gives them to the needy.

My son just started college in Denver area and within the first month or so his bike, a Kona, was ripped from racks at dormitory which is a real pisser. Just sent him another bike a few weeks ago but he's keeping in his room, I hope, lol!
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