I missed our yearly police bike auction this weekend as they held it almost a month early and we had already made plans to be out of town at another town wide yard sale:mad:
I picked up a few bikes but nothing great, last year I filled my truck and went back with my brothers truck in the late afternoon and filled that but this year was totally different.

The best bike I got was a well used Bianchi Europa and I think I over paid for the condition it is in at $50. I got a very rusty Schwinn Varsity for $5 from a family friend that I haven't seen in 10yrs when we ran into him there. I had a funky 3spd given to me a Mark Workman designer series and for $5 a Haro bmx bike. I will NOT miss next years bike auction.
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I was thinking of taking it down to the EBC on Wednesday to show it a little love. It definitely needs new cables, and could stand some new bar tape, but after that, I'd probably be willing to get rid of it, since it's far too big for me. I just barely fit on it with the seat as low as it goes.

Anywhere around town to get white cables?

Raleigh Sceptre back on the road.
 

This one was pretty messed up when I got it. Now it is a bike that can be admired and enjoyed.

Black SKS Commuter fenders, rear rack, bell & we're talking real nice! :thumb:

I like the bike, but shouldn't you move the brake levers down, so they sit below the grips? I have a bar with levers like yours but I like mine with the brakes below the grips, so i can slow down or stop by pulling UP rather than pulling IN. Seems a lot more natural and comfortable to me.

Edit:

i.e. -

http://velospace.org/files/analbumcover4.jpg

Sceptre
 

I actually swapped out the bars for the original drops. You're right those brake levers did not work well with those handlebars.

The bike, with the drop bars was picked up this morning by a guy who really seems to love it. I love it when someone enjoys my handiwork and a discarded bike starts being enjoyed again..

From the same vein as the Ross Mt. Hood, this is the Raleigh Teton Mountain Tour. '85. Picked it up in pretty sad shape at the thrift for $2.50. I saw them compared in an old mtn bike review. I have an '83 Raleigh
Olympian with similar accents, i.e. the stamped "Raleigh" into the seat stays and the insignia stamped into the fork crown. Pretty cool. Having trouble finding
newish 24" tires. I've got it all torn down and cleaned up. Probably build it up for a daughter or nephew/niece someday.
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I just scored (as I thought) a perfect vintage set of wheels on eBay: Module E rims and Maillard 700 hubs. Outstripping even my expectations, they appear to be virtually unused -- hubs smooth as silk, and the rims with virtually no brake wear; even Simplex skewers with the plastic/chrome QR nuts that don't appear to have any dings on them. Then I noticed something really odd: the spokes (replaced according to the auction description) were not interlaced at the outermost cross (3-cross). So I'll have to rebuild them!

http://auctionsound.s3.amazonaws.com...500&height=375 http://auctionsound.s3.amazonaws.com...500&height=375

Picked up a Paramount PDG 3 for $100 the other day. Did some researches and found out the bike was built in 1991 from Asia (China/Taiwan/Japan). It has full Shimano RX-100 components. The cobalt blue frame has scratches here and there but overall it is in fairly good condition. Haven't got a chance to take a good ride the bike yet because of the rain.
I will probably replace the RX-100 with Campy 9 speed to keep it updated.

I am not sure where this goes but... on American Pickers the other night they found an old Motobecane Record (?) the pretty black and red one. it looked to have a great TA crankset Nouvo Rec with barends and I think centerpull brakes. despite being outside for who knows how long it was in great condition $30 took it away

It was a Grand Record, and they practically stole it for $30. That's one reason I cannot stand
watching that show. They make a joke (though cleverly disguised) of taking valuables for pennies,
from people that don't know any better. I find it rather repulsive. You can do that all day long, but
once it becomes entertainment, it loses something in my eyes.,,,,BD

How about the episode where Mike paid $60 for a totally rusted out old bike, and he had to use a backhoe to dig it out from where it was buried. The guy he bought it from got a chuckle out of it.

i dunno...i see them pay a fair price basically (higher than I would have guessed often) for stuff that's just stored up, half-buried and not marketed. They have a standing market and they're investing in travel/transport/etc....I find the show interesting, but I have a hard time seeing how they actually make any money. Just 'cause you can sell it for a profit if you know the market does not mean that the bike is inherently "worth more" in every sense. To someone with barns of junk who picked it up off a junk pile 25 years ago or to someone who just wants to clean out their garage, $30 is great instead of having to deal with figuring out the market, handling inquiries from buyers, and dealing with the logistics of meeting people or shipping. My $0.02

Felt like I was trapped in an episode of pickers this afternoon when I followed thru on a CL ad..................looks like the fork is noodled on the cottered Raleigh, but otherwise a pretty decent pick.

Overpaid, but picked up this tiny Schwinn Sprint from the Salvation army for my little sister. $35 its really clean, 1970's i believe and shifts through all gears, tires held air. Brakes are fine. I towed it home tonight after traffic died down with my track bike with no brakes a ****load of heavy groceries in my bag and BMX Platform pedals. Going downhill was interesting to say the least, and towing uphill was sloooowww. I Love it. It has 24" tires on it.
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Nice finds! Seems like your seller liked his DUI bars...

But those are great bikes for flipping/restoring. The mixte will fetch a good price, as will the Miyata (anything with "Miyata" seems hot right now).

IMO, The towing ride home was worth the $35!!!:thumb:

Your find is an '85 http://www.trfindley.com/flschwinn_1...985Ltwt23.html
Seems like a decent price for Chicago.

That Schwinn Fastback 5 speed with the Stick Shift should get a prettty penny. Check with the guys at the Schwinn forum. http://www.schwinnbike.com/usa/eng/forums/

Thrift store find:

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The downtube sticker says it came from Fishers Cyclery; I worked at Fishers from 94 thru 96; this being a 94 model means it may have been sold when I worked there.
Funny thing, I found it at my local thrift store probably 60 miles away from Fishers.

Paid 15 dollars; its like brand new. Bone stock except for some Continental Town & Country tires that may have been swapped out at purchase. I think I did ok on this one.....

Have to thank Finn as he brought the Sekine to my shop when I mentioned that I knew a fellow who was a little hard up who needed a solid ride to get him mobile and needed a really tall bike as he's six four with a 36 inch leg.

The frame is 24 inches at the seat tube and 22 inches on the top tube and has a stand over of 35 inches which made for a perfect fit as this rather tall fellow does not have an extensive reach.

Gave the bike a little love this morning and replaced the shifter cables (and will do the brakes cables) and went over the bike to find it in really beautiful condition. The cables and housings are in pristine shape with 0 corrosion so changing them will be an aesthetic thing while removing te suicide levers was a functional modification as they provided no stopping power.

Best thing is that there's a guy riding around the neighbourhood with a big assed smile on his face. that you could not knock off with a baseball bat... he waxed on (oin a very heavy French accent) about how he loved to ride his road bike when he lived back east and said the bike was perfect

He lives close by so can bring the bike back and will get some lessons in how to overhaul hubs and bottom brackets and will also re-tape those bars... my back was killing me so I only spent an hour on things today.

She's a pretty and nearly perfect bit of Canadian history bike... and thanks again to Finn for being such a community minded fellow... I owe him one now.

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikepics/1979sekine1.JPG

Yeah if I were in Chicago, this was downstate in Peoria Il, I was hoping for like $10-15

Finn wanted to see his catch of the day and was feeling better after lunch so... here's a few more shots of a really nice catch. All this bike needs is decent alloy wheels to bring it up quite a few levels.

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Shinier...

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I don't know if this qualifies as a "catch", but I came across this Moto Mirage yesterday.

There's mininmal rust on the frame. The brakes/levers, headset and BB seem to be ok, the chainrings, derailleurs, pedals are shot. Think it's worth building it back up? It's a bit heavy for sure, but maybe as a SS/FG it won't be so bad.

Based on all the catalogs I could find online, and random pics of other Motos, this would have to be a pre-73 model. Beyond that I have no clue.

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"It's a bit heavy for sure, but maybe as a SS/FG it won't be so bad."

Easy "C&V" rehab (Nashbar and Niagara have the parts & supplies for it at great prices), but OMG....the "F-bomb" (fixie)?