Not my catch, but does ANYone know what the heck this is? Or what a Yankee bike is for that matter?,,,,BD


http://houston.craigslist.org/bik/2760691325.html

Nope, but close - it's a Raleigh Record mixte - probably '75 - being ridden by my girlfriend in the DC Tweed Ride last month. Mixte framed bikes make great gifts for significant others.

Shogun Trail Breaker II. My wife bought it at the dump while I way away, (I’ve finally gotten her trained). I haven’t researched it, but my impression is that it is an early ‘90s TIB welded entry level cross/MTB.
http://i700.photobucket.com/albums/w...d/P1040636.jpg

That would be "TIG".

i'd guess mid-late 80s based on biopace, ubrake and geometry

Beautiful bike, but definitely a little later than 1983. The RACING USA logos are shown in 1985 but not 1983.

It happens at least once every year. I went to the Dump yesterday and guess what I go this time???

Nothing! Yup, this time of year few people in Thunder Bay throw bikes away. Guess they need a rest, too.

So how can you go to the dump and get free bikes? I think at our dump, or maybe I'm think of through metal scrap place, once you cross into their facility, its theory property.

It depends. If you know the people there (as randyjawa apparently does), they will let you in. I've done that exactly once. I got a 1973 Schwinn Varsity, which I still ride, from the city dump. I was dropping off something else and spotted the bike. I asked the guy there if I could take it and he replied, "You're not supposed to take stuff from the dump, but since you asked..... go ahead."

The local dump here has a large facility called “Last Chance” where people will drop off stuff to be resold, like Goodwill does. Most of the bikes there are not worth anything, but every once in a while, you will find a diamond-in-the-rough. The bikes usually sell for $25.

Oh man, Yankee bikes. I've repaired one up for a charity auction for the Sierra Nevada (beer company) Bike Fest in Davis. Yankees were made by an American company that went out of business years ago. They have an unique shifting system when you pedal backwards and it causes the chain to drop to a lower chain, and pedaling foward to get to a higher one, all done while pushing on his shifter on the right side of the handlebars. It's really hard to explain and must be seen to actually see how it works.

Also, its got a really horrible braking system. The back rim has his groove where a cable actually wraps into and goes all around the rim, and when you pull on the brake level, the cable tightens. The idea is that there is more surface area for a more efficient braking. Problem is, its loud and slows down the bike from its constant rubbing.

Fun bike though. A collectors from what I can tell.

Ummm....I should drop by there occasionally, not just to drop off, either. Don't worry, I won't be your competition! ;)

:lol:I don’t have competition; there is nobody like me, and I let serendipity take care of the rest.;)

:thumb:

Cool, thanks for sharing. Here's a few images: http://www.ustimes.com/Bicycle/

and an explanation of the transmission system (Popular Science '85): http://books.google.no/books?id=lQAA...page&q&f=false

and an article on the bike itself (Popular Science '91): http://books.google.no/books?id=l3Cx...page&q&f=false

You'll find info on Yankee cycles in our archives.

I need to hit the local Goodwills.

Just plan on hitting them continually, if you want to find bikes. Around here, the good bikes last 15 seconds, no joke. I grabbed a Bianchi a few weeks back, I just happened to be there when it rolled out. I put my hands on it immediately. You could see the pickers forming to grab it. I just lucked out.

There are ALWAYS pickers in our Goodwill, any time of day, they typically specialize on one area (not bikes), but they know enough about everything that when they spot a deal, they grab it. People are scrambling, and learning more and more about areas that were not their expertise, to make a buck. Shoes, toys, clothing, housewares, electronics, musical instruments, you name it, the savvy pickers are grabbing everything/anything. There's one picker at my favorite Goodwill, that sells 100 to 200 items PER WEEK on ebay, picked at GW. A lot of the items, she will only make a couple of dollars on, then there is the big hit, where she will make $50 or even $100 (on an item picked up for around $4). Every time I see her, she has a shopping cart full, sometimes TWO carts full. I can only imagine creating the listings, taking the pictures, packing the items, and hauling to the post office with that volume.

Three or four years ago, it was easy to find good bikes at Goodwill. The economy was pretty decent, there weren't that many pickers out there, etc. Decent bikes might last two or three days. Now there is a line forming out front 30 minutes before the store opens, and the crowd grabs a cart and RUNS to their favorite corner, and grabs, grabs, grabs.

Heck, even the XMart stuff is going pretty fast. I figure the pickers take that junk to the flea market, they pay $10 for a BSO, and sell it for $30.

Yep, it doesn't take much to get an insider there. It's worth taking the time to show a little love...

Splurged on a Miyata Triple Cross on eBay... been looking for a versatile cross/commuter/do-it-all bike and it looked to be in great condition. Never bought a complete bike on eBay though, hope it turns out OK.

I had a friend who found one of these in the trash, and i saw one on craigslist also. They both had ofmega cranks and everything else was suntour superbe(derailleurs, levels, calipers, pedals, and cages), i really want one of these the one on craigslist is being sold for $500 right now, nice buy

~1984 Centurion Elite GT touring bike. Typical flat tire discount. Great shape overall, but needs the regular stuff: bearings, grease, cables, tires, bar tape.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7011/6...7e31900d_b.jpg

Sweet!!!

What that Centurion NEEDS, is to be shipped to me ASAP!!!:) My size and looks to be in awesome condition! Nice find, and I am little jealous!,,,,BD