Picked up a $40 UE-18M to rebuild for my niece - she liked the mixte I did for her mother so thought I'd surprise her with her own. I removed a ton of crud to reveal a pretty nice paint job, some rust but not bad at all. The decals say 80's to me and I didn't think they made these (or the Delrin derailleurs) after the 70's, nor have I ever seen one with a fully chromed fork. That RD also has a long cage, something I haven't run across on the plastic Simplex RD's yet - lots of novelty here for me. The gentleman who sold me the bike said he got it in Europe for his wife when he was in the Air Force. Should be a fun project when I get around to it.

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Another C&V book find! From 1972, a Petersen Publishing guide for the "average Joe" with a $3.95 cover price.From a cyclist's point of view, most of the bikes in it are junk., Sloane's bookhttps://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...44f2e09846.jpg
had the good stuff.

I bought that issue when it came out! I was a Junior in HS riding the wheels off my Raleigh Grand Prix I had just got for my 16th birthday. As I recall I was fairly disappointed in it, the book not the bike, but cycling magazines were very rare on the magazine rack of the corner drug store in small Midwest farm towns so I grabbed everything I could get my hands on.

That might be the easiest to identify Peugeot bike I've ever seen. :)

I had Eugene Sloane's book back then, which I actually still have. Remembering the time period, I get a kick out of this one. Petersen pushed out a schlocky book to make a quick buck. I can just picture guys in loud plaid sport jackets approving the project. The "catalog" section is a real "hoot". ..AMF, Columbia, Murray, Huffman, Rollfast, Royce-Union, Sears, and Hedstrom kid's bikes!! They did also have Schwinn, Raleigh, Peugeot, Cinelli, and Atala. I did like the photos of Ray Reese's Raleigh, which he rode around the world in 1971. His bar-end shifters look custom made. The nice looking woman on the cover has got to be around 70 now!!! BTW, I was riding the wheels off my Schwinn Varsity back then. The Raleigh Grand Prix was somewhat of an exotic, high-end import to the average guy in 1972!

Saved from the alley.
 

I've been told I probably overpaid at $40 for this 72' Super Course. It's the rustiest frame I've had so far, but my good buddy 9volt is helping me get things sorted out. I hope it rides better than it looks!

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Well, I'm not far behind her so she may still be a "fox" LOL. One of my friend's had a Varsity at the same time and another had a Nishiki, we rode all over the place. Yeah, to a 16 year old kid in a small Midwest farm town the Grand Prix was a pretty fancy piece of equipment, I'd love to have another one just for old time sake but the prices they are asking for them are INSANE!!! I'm sorry but they weren't that good to bring that kind of money, I bought a pretty nice '85 Prestige for less than what they want for an early 70's GP in the same condition. Don't remember much about my one friend's Nishiki except it was a cool metallic green and had aluminum wheels vs. the steel wheels on my Grand Prix. He was a year younger than me and he got a '67 VW convertible for his 16th birthday the next year, we never saw the Nishiki again and I'm pretty sure it's the last bike he ever rode.

The prices are insane, I remember being able to find nice used Mustangs, Camaros, Chevelles and Firebirds for $200 to $300. Some cars could be had for $25, $50, $75.... and they were still running and driveable. I might have paid $500 for my 6 year old VW bug. They were in demand!

I have a very ugly Super Course, from the same series (1971-1972). I love it.

Dumpster Dive: Lotus with Shimano 600 Arabesque
 

I was watching a dumpster that a home owner (along my daily riding route) was filling over the past week. Yesterday, I saw it; a bike seat sticking out of the top of the dumpster. I approached the house, spoke with the owner; he said, "go right ahead, the dumpster is being picked up tomorrow." I just saved this bike from the trash heap. Its a Lotus Excelle; Shimano Arabesque; Sugino Super Mighty cranks; The real score was the long cage RD. I cannot ID the exact year; I thinks its a 1981 or 1983. Drop outs are Shimano. https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...21d06f7750.jpg
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My wife got there before the scrappers yesterday. Needs a new hitch which seems like a standard, affordable part. Might make our Xtracycle Free Radical superfluous (we have no kids or grandkids young enough for it).

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I need to find better Dumpsters, that is an excellent find, I would love to find an Arabesque group free for the taking

I had a stroke of luck today....no complaints. I am just hoping next time it could be a Colnago, a Paramount, maybe a Alex Singer or Rene Herse........

i misspoke. I hooked it up to my Schwinn Speedster after work and rode it to the end of the alley and back. It's also got the rain/sun cover. I think this can replace our Xtracycle...

:) Unusual for certain. I was scratching my head at the string under the model ID. The non-matching serial is stamped into the frame so no idea what that is, maybe something required at the time by in Germany where the seller got the bike. No clue, but however it got there it's held up better than the bike.

1984 Schwinn Tempo?
 

I guess I saved it, on CL for $60 badge had 0834 which to my lousy calculations is March 23rd, 1984. Cool 63.5cm frame is what originally caught my eye. Wrong stem and rear derailleur and not sure what else as I have just got it home. Araya rims which is always nice to see cheapo tires unfortunately. Suicide shifters relocated to stem, nicely done. Modern seat and post and a cool gadget on the down tube to lock the tire straight for hanging the bike from a hook I imagine. As I look at it I continue to see things I did not see when haggling for price but it's mine now. I suppose it's Japanese I've done zero research as of yet just liked it's looks and made an impulse buy. Anybody who knows anything about this bike feel free to chime in. It has a long cage Deore derailleur on it now any idea what original equipment was? Paint is good decals are so-so not not bad for a 34 year old. I only have the one picture from cell phone. Opinions?https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...99be404320.jpg

Stem makes it look like a steer!

Lump of coal.
 

Picked this up after work today, 1984 Schwinn LeTour Luxe. It's missing the original rear rack but I happen to have one. Not sure what I'll do with it yet but I couldn't pass it up.

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[MENTION=345195]Murray Missile[/MENTION] don't you ride a 25" frame? Finding a bike with center mounted Suntour shifters is on my want to find list, nice score on the Luxe

Thats a big frame.. but a cool bike, i personally like these mid-late 80's Schwinn.

Yes I do but as soon as I saw the center mounted shifters and triple crankset I knew I was bringing it home regardless of it's diminutive size. I had it narrowed down to a '84 LeTour or LeTour Luxe by the color, graphics and shifters but I wasn't 100% sure what it was until I actually laid my hands on it. For $20 and a couple gallons of gas how could I pass it up?

Kind of an odd coincidence that the rack I bought off Ebay is the same rack this bike is missing. The rack was from a local seller too, who knows, maybe it originally came off this bike?

I love this stem cap! I found one a few years ago at the bike church in Santa Cruz and use it to keep the fork from falling off my touring bike. I'd always wondered where it came from... but not hard enough to bother looking it up :P