:lol:

Do thrift stores usually have bikes? I have never thought about looking there.

Usually? No
Sometimes? Yes - but even then most of the time it is junk. If there is something decent it gets scooped almost immediately.

I did a PIF to Iowegian of an 80s Univega mixte I got for a quarter and saved from the metal bin...ask him.

it depends on the area.. i'm sure suburban and rural areas might get the occasional good bike and it's not snapped up immediately. I've seen bikes at thift stores around here but it's all modern BSO stuff

About the best I've gotten from a thrift store is a GT Tequesta. Pawn Shops, on the other hand, can get some real gems

Guess what, others have.

Usually? Heck no. And when they do get bikes, they tend to be juvenile, Xmart, often both.

Around here, the pickers have gotten a lot sharper. So while they may specialize in shoes, electronics, or whatever, when they do see a decent bike, its gone in a second or less. Really. At the best thrift store in my area, a line forms 45 minutes BEFORE the store opens, and at least one picker, if not several, station themselves all day by the door to the backroom. So as soon as something is wheeled out, they grab it.

I go to thrift stores all the time, at least a thousand visits per year. Its to support my wife's hobby business. I found two bikes last year at a thrift store, both at the same time. Had I not stopped in that day, I would have been zero for one thousand on bikes.

Five years ago, I routinely found good bikes at thrift stores, one or two a week at least. Those days are long, long gone.

And at several of the thrift stores here, the nice stuff never makes it to the floor. One Salvation Army store closed for six months, fired all of their employees, and started over for this reason (items were going out the back door). And some pickers make deals with store employees. I watched a Goodwill employee come out and talk to her customer "friend". All of a sudden, the friend moved herself to be stationed by the backroom door. A couple of minutes later, her employee buddy came out with an item and handed it to her. It can get really disgusting.

I am pretty sure that started happening at my lucky thrift store in Houston. I would routinely find at least one decent bike a month, if not more. It went from that, to nothing but junk, in a month or less. Someone snagged them at the main distribution store, in another part of town, before they ever made it to my store. It was amazing how many nicer bikes would filter in there(sometimes even total garage queens with no brake marks on the rims!), and then....nothing. Kids Huffy's, Xmart bikes, and 70's bike boom stuff.,,,,BD

The prices were outstanding.. I found a 77 Schwinn Competition Scrambler (fillet brazed) for $5.25 once. This one!! My picture, snagged for someone else's photobucket....

http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/i...p/DSCN4013.jpg

In San Jose someone working for Goodwill is flipping bikes on CL.. I assume it's actually legit since they advertise shop hours on saturdays from 10am to 1pm, or by appointment during the week at what seems like a the distribution center. I went one time closing time but couldn't find where the bikes were. the way they list their ads it seems like they know at least a little about bikes

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/bid/3697105190.html

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/search/b...inAsk=&maxAsk=

Olympia Sport Junior
 

brought home this rough old Olympia Sport Junior with a 1990's Bianchi, it was basically a throw in. It needs a good cleaning, the lugs caught my eye along with the Campanolo dropouts, Nuovo Record rear derailluer & shifters, Huret Front derailluer, TA Cranks, and 3ttt stem.

http://i1266.photobucket.com/albums/...ps1ce39de3.jpg

http://i1266.photobucket.com/albums/...ps1c128b66.jpg

http://i1266.photobucket.com/albums/...ps6612d1cb.jpg

http://i1266.photobucket.com/albums/...psb55c0c0a.jpg

http://i1266.photobucket.com/albums/...ps9c262fce.jpg

http://i1266.photobucket.com/albums/...pse0c0cddd.jpg

The Olympia looks like a great "under the radar" score Vonruden, way to go!

like 2 years ago there were two bikes at the salvation army that i wanted sooooooooooo bad, they were too big for me, i think they were like 60cm, both. schwinn paramount and peugeot px-10, both with black leather brooks saddles, the schwinn had a small leather saddle bag too. they looked old, like 60s or 70s. i dont remember what parts were on them cause i didnt know much about bikes yet but they were in great condition. $20 for one, $25 for the other. i had $10 in my pocket and called everyone i could on the phone but no one could help me out :(

nowadays theyll have a jank huffy in there with a broke chain and want $50.... thank you.... american pickers....

I usually pick up 1 decent bike a year from Goodwill. This past year I got a Trek 520 for $19.99. The year before I picked up a Basso Gap for $14.99. Hope I have the same luck this year.

Mine does usually. Most of the scores I have came from there. If you go often then sometimes it's you doing the scooping. My thrift will put anything out. Doesn't have to run or even close so that helps. Small market here so I do ok.

Since we're apparently on the subject... of the one hundred and twenty three bikes I've bought in the past year and a half, I have gotten:

71 from Craigslist
22 from thrift stores
12 from garage sales
7 from flea markets
4 found alongside the road
3 as trades
2 at police auction
1 at a pawn shop (the '83 Trek 700 I posted a couple pages ago, actually)
and 1 from a bike shop, purchased as a mostly complete bike for parts that I ended up building and selling anyway.

As some others have posted, there are good deals to be found at thrift shops, you just have to constantly be on the lookout. It's very rare that I ever drive past a thrift store without stopping in (and I have to drive past two of them to get to my preferred LBS). My best thrift shop find has been an '87 Centurion Lemans RS that I purchased at about 4:00 one afternoon for $60, replaced one tube, waxed the paint, listed it on CL, and had a guy pick up for $200 at 7:00 the next morning.

Scored one of my grail bikes off CL last week.

When I got it
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c9...psf648e88d.jpg

Me dorking out after a little clean up and parts change on the bike

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c9...psf9292b41.jpg

Nice aluminum scores Chuckk & Zach, I love the Cannondale & the Klein!

Pulled this off the curb for free. Its a women's Schwinn Caliente. seems like its got a lot of the original parts. I must say it is heavy as hell and it has a massive large chain ring. Those women form the 1970's must have had strong legs.

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...pse217fb38.jpg

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...psd3321ba3.jpg

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps033018f5.jpg

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps37a2a865.jpg

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps9a694897.jpg

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps64077aca.jpg

It is amazing how the weight is not really a problem when you got these old Schwinns rolling! Really, unless you were picking it up, the weight is no problem! Riding bikes prior to this was good trainning for these lighter weight models! The gears helped you ignore the weight also! If you look at the tires, again on the prior bikes, these modern tires overcame a lot of the weight!

Grabbed this 1995 Diamondback Apex today off CL for cheap.. components are ok, nothing too exciting (Deore LX) but the frame is True Temper TT Lite, which is rebranded custom butted True Temper OXII. Bike is ~25.80 lbs

First time i've owned a bike with suspension.. I don't know how to tell if the fork is blown out though.. Bike looks like it's gotten heavy use, drivetrain is worn out -- gears were slipping all over the place on the test ride, even lose the chain off the big ring.. in my head I'm like, well this will make it easier to get the seller to come down on their price :lol:

Seller's pic
http://img541.imageshack.us/img541/2...k45j9d3i7b.jpg

Ridiculous ... this is the kind of story that makes you lose sleep! :)

Very true! I'm still haunted by a black face Fender Twin Reverb that I spotted at a thrift shop a number of years ago. I didn't have $40 at the time :cry:

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=308094Picked up this Norco 12 speed the other day. Was very pleased with the condition and happy until I tried to ride it and realized how big it was. Must be 60+ cm.

you didnt try to ride it until after you picked it up?

Now, I would seriously be tempted to join the local crowd of men on small bikes with THAT ONE.