All of my jerseys have either come from thrift stores or garage sales. Ditto jackets, and some shorts. I see more bikes than riding gear, but when I do see gear, its cheap. But thrifting is just about a full time job around here. I would try to identify the thrift stores in your area that tend to get bike stuff. And then look in all of the departments. My wife's last jersey was in the kids department.

Here is an instructable that might help you with your carbon bike.
https://www.instructables.com/id/How-...ome-and-a-bam/

Check the serial numbers and you can determine the year. Looks awesome. Love the black & silver.

Cook Brothers Racing compact double in really nice condition. The rings are "Real" with shop wear. Truly special

Never seen a crank like that. I really, really like it.

Those Cooks are truly rare, indeed. Those are the "E" model I believe, early to mid 90's.
VERY COOL Catch!

Was given a '76 Raleigh Sports men's frame today... it needs wheels, a chain, and some grips but other than that it is in splendid condition and is a lovely shade of blue.

Thinking of building up some alloy 650A wheels for it... not sure if I will go with a 3 speed (original drive) or a single speed drive to make it a simple loaner.

Pics in a bit.

hey also got a nice paramount!!

cobrabyte - Sansin made those Sunshine hubs and used "Sunshine" as a brand name before marketing their hubs under their own name... Sansin also made Suntour's hubs.

They are beautifully made and of very good quality.

This is my best find ever, just got it yesterday, and I thought it was pretty neat I got it on Earth Day. I had never even heard of Mercian. I think those are track bars; I never thought the first time I'd see track bars they'd be in a commuter setup.





One brake lever is held on with electrical tape



Funky seat post that I think is backwards?



It has the prerequisite lock with no key too



Definitely not the original derailleur, and for some reason the rear skewer lever is Suntour but somebody at least saved the Campy nut



The Avocet cranks are beautiful



And the best part of all, it's my size! There's no way I could purchase a frame like this for full price anytime in the near future, so this is a wonderful find for me.

I'm sure a lot of purists cringe to see a handmade bike like this in this kind of shape, but I love it. Instead of being left in a garage or on a wall the previous owner adapted the bike to their needs and actually used it for what it was meant to be used for, getting from point A to point B. I plan to do the same thing. I'm thinking of a Brooks saddle and some Wald 867 cruiser bars, single speed to the farmer's market. The seller did their research and knew what these retailed for, yet only asked $20. Thanks Tim, I will cherish it, maybe even for the rest of my life.

Anybody have any tips for how to clean the frame without hurting the paint or decals?

Great find ColoRyan, it's going to be superb when you clean it up and right the wrongs - congratulations!!

That's the kind of bike I have never been able to find. Wow, what a sweet set of lugs. Congratulations on the find!!,,,,BD

Saved from the crusher... the frame and fork are in find shape, headset and bb are smooth, and I think I can do something with this.

ryan - The Mercian is beautiful...

After saving many Schwinns and Raleighs from the landfill, I finally hit aluminum.

The Klein has some damage and needs wheels and work but too good to throw away.
I dove into a large dumpster for the 97 Cannondale. Some dents and needs total refurb, but still workable.

klein..jpg

cannondale..jpg

Great finds! even if a magnet wont stick to them.

If your dad was the original owner- as in, he bought it new from a shop- you should be able to get a warranty replacement from specialized. They have a lifetime warranty on their frames. Last year, we had a customer warranty a bike just like this one.

Coloryan,

Nice catch on that Mercian! Stunning lugwork, I must say. As far as cleaning, I'm of the old school mechanic mindset that uses lemon furniture polish on everything. I've never seen it affect any decals or paintwork on any bicycle I've used it on. Leaves a nice, almost waxed, appearance. Smells nice, too, and will cut through about any grease/oil you'd normally find on a bicycle.

I love the color of that Sports. I don't remember ever seeing it on a Sports, though I've seen a similar color on a Rudge, the one English 3-speed I like more than Raleigh.

What do they give you in exchange for it though? I'd hate to see the horrible 2010 allez they try to dump on you, or do they go ahead and re_glue em for you?

Despite the suspicion that this is a dept store pos, I'll probably try to get it back on the road.

ColoRyan, that Mercian is one special frame. As for the rest of it...personally, I would pull the parts and toss them in your spares bin, and find a suitable set of SR/Suntour parts to go on it if you're on a budget, or Campy NR if you're not, and set it up as a sports tourer, which is what it originally was.

The seatpost looks like an Avocet. Be careful with the Avocet cranks, I broke a number of them back in the day. You're missing a chainring bolt anyway.

Trek 510 with full Campy. Bought from fellow bike enthusiast for full asking price.<br>

*TWO* chainring bolts. Check the inner chainring, too.

Anything they give him will be a step up from the alternative, provided it's not as unsafe as using a couple sheet metal screws to fix the bike that he has.