I helped a friend tidy up his warehouse and he gave me THIS bike for free !http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q...dsbikes001.jpg

Sort of a catch.
My dorm has a bike co op of sorts. It is mostly just a room with some old crap bikes that people have SSed and then a bunch of random stuff that came off of said low end bikes. There is also a bin with frames that people have cannibalized for the parts and discarded the skeletons. This is basically free for the taking.
I found a early 90s Gt Vertigo sans wheels and crank. It is going to need a new fork and stem but other than that it should make a cool toy.
I also found a Raleigh Record Ace.

Cut in half. I was pretty pissed at first because it is (was) my size. But upon closer inspection it had been in a front end collision with something apparently more sturdy. There is a ripple in the TT and DT. I am going to use the tubes for brazing practice I think. I am going to save the head tube though. It just looks cool.

^^^ Even what appears to be junk, can become a piece of bike sculpture if you're inventive and handy.
:thumb:

thnk you!! i actually think it's the "classique" it doesn't have the wrap around seat stays like the legend & the rest of the componants match up to the classique better. (700x25 wheels, shimano 600 ex group, etc.) :

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3507/...a036b1e0_o.jpg

thanks for the help jake!

Thanks for the info! I haven't ridden it yet. I'm incredibly busy right now and the tires are flat anyway. I look forward to getting it back on the road this spring.

That mail box is great

That is, indeed, one oddball bike. The frameset is absolutely beautiful. The component choice is a bit odd, though, isn't it? I know I've seen that same distinctive crank on some rather nice looking Canadian Sekine's from the same era, with half-chromed forks and stays, and it always struck me as unusual. The stem shifters and safety levers seem at odds with the rest of the package.

The whole package seems like a contradiction of markets: People who aren't self conscious about brands, understand the beauty of a high-quality European hand-made frameset, constantly get their trousers caught in the chainset and like stem shifters? :thumb:

Great steal, though. I'd probably have driven all the way to KC for it, myself...

My catch / curse of the day. A 1958 Phillips 3 speed, super dirty, smells strongly like cat pee, and has the super cursed sturmey archer SW hub. Too bad I have a weakness for old 3 speeds.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3440/...2e73f5a5_o.jpg

I just saved a bike from the junk today for $5. A 1990 14 speed Diamondback Centurion Interval. Not a high dollar bike, but it's my perfect size. I absolutely love the way it feels when I sit on it. Most of the components are no good tho, so I'm gunna use it for my first builder bike. It's got the chromoly frame/fork, plus cool aesthetics. Needs repainted, but I can get that done fairly cheap.

Well who in there right mind would not buy a bike that smells like cat pee. :p Of course based upon how nicely you clean things up, that will soon be a fading memory. This might be the first bike that needs oxalic acid and Febreze.

I did, and the pic doesn't do it justice! I was there picking up a '80 Raleigh Reliant from erb898. What a cool dude! Not only did he GIVE me the frame and various parts to go with it, he was trying to send me home with half of his shop as well. A true gent in the purest definition of the word. Thanks again ERin and if I can ever help out in any way, just holler.

You don't see too many Diamondback road bikes. If I'm correct, Diamondback mountain bikes and Centurion road bikes were the same company, but they only marketed their road bikes with the Diamondback name for a few years. Eventually, they quit making road bikes and just produced the MTBS. Interesting that they changed the name of the road bikes to Diamondback but left the Centurion name on the handlebars. I have a Centurion road bike, and the handle bars say Sakae.

And now for something completely different...

Today's curb finds:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3452/...c7a6908447.jpg

I did an out-and-back ride on the last third of Stage 4 of the Tour of California, and spotted a couple of souvenirs on the side of the road. Found a Rock Racing team water bottle and a number plate from Jelly Belly rider Kiel Reignen's bike on the roadside while climbing what for the racers going the other way was a 50mph+ downhill. They'll find a place decorating the man-cave/shop/garage.

Nominal C&V content-I rode my modern bike today, and it has a 1970's sticker picker on the rear end:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3490/...c208504478.jpg

...

Not really a catch, but I went to the UK vs LSU basketball game yesterday and on the way to Rupp Arena I saw an Eddy Mercx (spelling?) sitting just inside a set of double doors to a big office building. It wasn't locked up, just leaning against the window for everyone who passed by to see. And for the heck of it, and really the safety in my own right mind, I pulled the door and thank goodness it was locked! It was beautiful red, green, and white...in pristine condition.

I need to move closer to better dumps.

I was tempted to rescue a couple of larger framed MTBs from craigslist yesterday but the brand were low end Wally & Kmart bikes. Spring yard sales can't come soon enough.

I bought 3 bikes on Subday.

Two touring bikes; a Kuwahara SuperTour and a Velosport Alpin.

I also purchased a Vitus 979 with a full Mavic SSC group. The propreitary Headset wrenches , the original brake levers and the original bill were also included. This bike was purchased for $2120 in 1987 !

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3598/...1537b22c_b.jpg

I pulled an older Huffy Santa Fe beach cruiser out of a dumpster the other day. It's in nearly mint condition, but it's a Huffy. When I saw it from a distance I was hoping it was something cool, but oh well. Not a very good catch, but it didn't deserve to go to the dump just yet. I took it riding all afternoon today, and it's really not all that bad.

Huffy cruisers are cool. They're cruisers, after all. Brand isn't nearly as important as with other bikes. Honestly, the quality is about the same on all of them, in my experience; excepting higher-end Electras and Felts, of course.

As I recall, Vitus was probably considered cutting edge stuff in 1987. $2100 was top bucks for a bike in those days!

That's a damn nice bike for FREE!!!!!!

Today I finally got to pick up a 1984 Trek 520 that Robbietunes had a helping hand in acquiring for me.
It's going to need a little work as it has some surface rust, but I think it was a pretty good deal for $40. I plan on giving it an acid bath and frame saving. Might powdercoat depending on what it looks like after the oxalic acid.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3404/...c747dfc6_b.jpg

I also scored a Schwinn Cimarron (1988ish?) frame with crankset for a nice price off the local CL today. I have a chrome 1" fork that should look OK with it. Too bad it didn't have the stock red fork with it. Any information on this model would be appreciated.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3358/...4a074727_b.jpg

During this trip home, I also grabbed a brand new alloy 700c wheelset, 2 new tires, shimano 8 speed cassette, sora STi brifters, sora front and rear derailers, in-line cross levers, an adjustable stem, and a pair of shimano shoes in my size. With the 520, Cimarron and all of the extras, I spent less than $150. I consider it a pretty successful trip.

Great finds! The Cimarron looks like my '87 (the '88 is the same color or black, but I can't remember is the decals stayed the same -- check the headbadge stamping or serial number). Here is the catalog page. Go to the "overview" to see the price sheet ...

http://www.geocities.com/sldbconsumer/1987/87atb04.html

Bob

^Yep, it's an 87 per the headbadge. It will probably get drops and be a do-it-all cyclocross/touring type bike for me (if it fits, of course). It's got some paint scrapes but really no rust at all.

[QUOTE=mainducoyote;8455199]I bought 3 bikes on Subday.

Two touring bikes; a Kuwahara SuperTour and a Velosport Alpin.

QUOTE]


Everybody loves the vitus, me included, would like to see the Kuwa since I have an '85 and they didn't produce many roadbikes.

I used to have that year Cimarron. That thing had some huge clearances, I would run 2.5" Specialized Ground Controls without any problems. Also had really nice fillet brazing at the head tube. If I remember correctly, the stock fork on that frame (at least on mine) was a full chrome one.

Pete