Good snag. I gotta wonder how many decent bikes wind up crushed and on the boat back to China? I also wonder if some bikes accidentally left out back by a kid get picked up by scrappers when they shouldn't be? I see lots of bikes on the backs of the trucks.

I wonder about that as well. I took the pictures after I cleaned it up a bit and took off the old tires. It was not ridable when I snagged it. All original components. No seat or post. Front wheel had a broken spoke and needed a long time on the truing stand. Has a dent on the top tube. Not a collector bike, but the components all work. I am not sure if I will build it up or strip it down? LOL

nope, south bay. it was only up for a day

I never found anything much better than a Murray single speed in the trash before.

I've seen abandon bikes along the bike paths and near residential areas. I also have a grandson that has "lost" a few bicycles. I have always assumed that many bicycles were never bicycles that spent much time being cared for. Maybe they started life as a birthday or Christmas present... only to be stole, abandon, found, sold, stolen, abandon.............

I know of an apartment manager that says bicycles are regularly found in their dumpsters. She does not believe they are bicycles owned by the apartment residences. She believes people pitch the bicycles their children "brought home". Maybe the kids found the abandon bikes... or maybe the bikes just weren't locked up (and they took them).

Ether way... dumpster divers usually pull the bicycles out and take them away.

I drive a truck in the city of Chicago, my area happens to be close to some major scrap yards. So far I have gotten this Schwinn Cross point, a Raleigh Professional Track Frame with Campagnolo Headset and BB, a small 650 wheel Cannondale and a Miyata 912 off of the scrap trucks. All without trying. I bet if I sat there all day, 5 days a week and really tried, I could come up with lots of great bikes for $20 each.

Edit: I just came up with a retirement plan.

Pardon the long story on this one. I'm a senior English major, I can't help writing voluminously.

Two weeks ago, on a beautiful Sunday morning, I rode my bike up a random dead-end street I'd never been on before, for no reason. I found a perfectly good acoustic guitar in the trash, grabbed it, threw a set of strings on it and have been playing it every day.

I was hoping for the same luck today, and whaddaya know, lightning does strike twice.

On my leisurely morning stroll, just down the street, I spot a guy looking like he's cleaning out his garage. And, lo and behold, a bicycle next to said garage. They guy catches me looking and immediately makes a disclaimer. "That bike is trash, no good at all," or something like that. Nonplussed, I ask if I can take a look at it. The guy remains convinced it's worthless, though he does point to the kickstand and say, "It does have that beautiful kickstand." (Amazing what people put value on, isn't it?) The guy (his name is Mario, I find out) says he was "gonna have to leave it at the curb tomorrow morning."

So Mario, gentleman that he is, lets me walk off with the bike. I eagerly head home with my prize. It's a Lotus Challenger, 1987/88 as far as I can tell from a quick internet search. Didn't have a seat on it, but Thank the Lord, the seat post wasn't stuck and I had a spare saddle I'd just taken off another bike that fit perfectly.

And so at the end of the day, this is a perfectly good bike, nothing wrong with it at all, absolutely rideable (the old tires even hold air) for less than nothing. Wheels are true, shifting works great, brakes are firm. It's way too small for me, but I've been looking for a nice older steel roadie for my Mom and I think this is just the ticket....Mother's Day is around the corner, too.

So, here's before:


And after:


Dork disk and all

Amazing what you can do with a few sunny hours on a Sunday afternoon.

Nice pick up.

Make sure to overhaul it all, maybe throw some new tires on there, and Mom will be all set!

Thanks! It'll get the full treatment, don't worry. I just cleaned it up and straightened it out for now.

Nice +2

Keep me posted not he after pics. Great project man.

"but Thank the Lord, the seat post wasn't stuck" Thank the Lord indeed! Getting a stuck seatpost out is an agonizing ordeal, you've been richly blessed!

Oh boy, tell me about it. I've been working on a stuck seatpost in a Centurion Ironman frame for over a year now. I try to get it out, get frustrated when it won't budge, and give up, till 3 months later I try again.

So far, to no avail.

Picked this up off the local CL, which is usually pretty slim when it comes to cool or interesting. 1985 Kamra Triathlee. I will do a before and after thread on this one as soon as it's done. I really like this thing and there is a lot to like. Suntour Cyclone derailleurs (3 pulley rear Yes) Hattaswan headset, 700c wheels. It's a 62cm frame in Tange 900 which I know isn't high end, but the entire thing only weigh 25 1/2 pounds as it sits right now.

Looks cool!
Interesting. My catch of the day was also outfitted with Tange 900. I am a firm believer in synchronicity; it has been happening to me like crazy lately (even here on BF)

And bike license for Subic Bay, Philippines. You don't see one of those very day. I wonder why Nishiki decided they needed a second brand for this model? The geometry and the 900 tubing (and even the design of the headbadge) looks like my '83 landau, only in red.

Could be a trademark issue. That's the reason the company that controlled Centurion road bikes and Diamond Back mountain bikes decided to combine both types under the DB brand. They could not sell the road bikes under the Centurion label in Europe because of an existing brand name there while they could sell the very same bike as a DB.

So, I picked up this quite tastefully done KHS Triathlete Pro the other day. Looks all original, except maybe the tires, right?

Nice polo pony!

A couple of Steyr Austrian-made Sears bikes from the mid-1960s; picked up cheap from the original owner, no less. (Note the two owners manuals in the foreground) The little black one is earmarked as a going away gift for an employee of mine who leaves for college this fall, and the bigger one will probably go to her boyfriend.

Those two kids are both 20-something artistic hipsters who positively dote on obsolete technology, so I'm confident they'll be pleased with these bikes, which will be getting new brake pads, cables and housings; possibly tires. Those tires are in pretty good shape for 50 years old, however.

A few months ago, one of the guys at my LBS told me about a customer who wandered in with this as trade fodder. He gave the dude $50 with the intent of keeping it for himself and making it runnable. I went in to get some bits and he saw me for the sucker I am... gave it to me for the $50 he had in it.

1989 Cannondale Black Lightning, 54cm (way too small for me), Campagnolo Athena drivetrain, brakes/levers, hubs laced to matrix rims, tange headset, seatpost unmarked, Modolo stem/bars, Sante 7 speed freewheel. Haven't got into the bottom bracket yet as the cranks have that funny little dustcap with the two little holes. Trying to preserve those little bits as I like the way they look. It was nighttime when I brought it home and didn't get any photos before pulling it apart.

Some pictures here. Just put it on the for trade thread as well (minus the campy).

Even though I'm a guy, between them I prefer the vintage gal's 3-speed (the black one). However, the green one is interesting in that it uses a traditional chain guard with its derailer gearing. And, they both have fenders, which I also like.
:-)

No harm in that. I have 23" Raleigh Sports in both men's and ladies' frames. Keeping the step-through stashed away for the inevitable day when I can no longer swing a leg over a tall diamond frame.

I sent an email asking about the bike in the background. Hopefully they will answer in a timely fashion. It appears to be a Voyageur 11.8 in chrome.,,,,BD

schwinn sprint


(EDIT)They came back with $250. I offered $200, judging by the rusty sagging chain, etc.. We'll see..

(Edit again) No deal. They're stuck on $250. They said they were offered $300. I told them they should have taken it.

I am restoring a old bike so I was at the LBS the other day searcing for a downtube shifter for it. I didn´t find anything but the old guy there got my phonenumber if he should stumble on something. Two hours later he phoned and said that somone had brought an old road bike and asked if he could throw it away for him. He asked if I would take a look at it and see if I could use some parts for my project.

To make a long story short I found a Giant roadbike that looked very dirty but with all the parts intact so we decided that I would just take the whole pile, take what I could use and throw the rest away. As you should never look a gift horse in the mouth, I was quick to thank him and put the bike in my car. When home, I removed some illfitting mudgards away, pumped some air in the tyres and found that everything worked! What is more, the frame is my size so now I am one very happy Giant owner. A new saddle, new bartape, new tyres and some adjustments here and there and the bike will be as new. Sometimes life is good



Greetings from the arctic circle,
Árni H