I've parted with a LOT of bikes the past couple years. Sold, donated, parted out or just plain scrapped. The queue for the ones I'm going to revive has gotten a lot shorter, its time is near.

Good for you......As I said, I have started to par everything down....donating was the best for me because it's a lot easier, no shipping/packing and no missed appointments, just pack and go.
Best, Ben

Not on your life, cold dead hands.

In a bout of temporary insanity I brought this home. "Composite is Real!" just doesn't sound right Not saved from the dump, just opportunistic acquisition. Most likely a catch and release, or donor to some other projects. Has no friends in my stable, all my other bikes keep giving it dirty looks. As bought, a bit scrappier than it looks in this photo. Right brifter is frozen, so I did not get a much of a shakedown run. Felt noticeably lighter than what I am used to. I need to take some measurements but also felt long? Smaller size frame than I usually ride so I am wondering if it is the setback on the post?

I like the USPS sticker...

A box o’ crap sticker would blend in perfect.

Yes it would! Not sure if I could stay within the letter/spirit of the rules adding the sticker (which I have). My haul, when I played, was a T-shirt, a couple of stickers and a thumb shifter. I have been meaning to post a pic of me wrenching in the T-shirt to fufill my pic requirement of "Parts on Bike" To add the B.O.C. sticker that says, "this bike built with parts from the box o' crap" seems like it would require me to install the thumbshifter on the Trek? Would it have to be functional? Could it be dummy rigged like the Stumpy thumbshifters at Cino? maybe I can rig it to control something else? I think I will need to check-in with the Crapmaster for guidance Mad Honkm

Edit: I would have to be able to find the sticker first! Another victim of "I put it somewhere safe". If I do find it I could put it on this bike legitimately, I forgot my other take from the Box o' Crap was a couple of cables, I could throw one on the Trek, making the "built with" part true.

Thrift store was good to me today - a 1993? Giant CFR-2 in 57cm size. Looks to be all original as far as I can tell:


As harvested

Kinda expensive if you ask me….


Should be an easy flip. Or maybe this will be the one that makes me like drop bars?

There is a frame similar to yours for sale on ebay New-Old-Stock Bertin 3000 (58 cm) w/Butted Steel Tubes...Bright Yellow Finish with a weight of 1,8 kilos, it must be a columbus nemo tubing but not a columbus thron. How much does the whole bike weight as is ?

Nice find Back in the day , most all road bike racers used to ride with drop bars. I still ride with drop bars.

A Cannondale is found at the local

This will probably get a makeover from aero bars

Yard sale find:



2011 (?) Trek 7.3 FX. Looks like it spent a lot of time out in the yard leaned up against a wall. Rear wheel was all de-tensioned with 4 spokes missing their nipples. A quick spin of the wheel revealed the nipples were banging around inside the rim. Fun!

If I see cycling gear for sale at yard sales I always ask "Where's the bike?" This came out from the back of the garage.

Funny; they usually shed those after rutting season. Nice bike, like the purple.

If nothing else, that is a fantastic parts bike. Lots of quality components there ... cant speak for the aero extensions ;-)

Classic Schwinn Suburban, early 70s?, found on the curb. Rides great. Originally from the Schwinn Grand Blanc Bike shop in the suburbs of Flint, Michigan, according to the bike shop sticker. I love those stickers.

Late 70's, early had the spaghetti script logos, nice get.

Those are "Spinaci Bars!"

Thanks, you learn something new (or old in this case) everyday. I went down the Spinaci rabbit hole. Fun trip. I guess this makes it an even better "parts" bike.

He we go, I feel better

Oh, much better. How's she ride?

I haven’t tried it yet, I did find some loose pedals though. I’m out in a moment, just another safety check before I go…

This isn't as crazy as a catch as a lot of the other ones out here, but it does have a story.

In November 2023, I see a bike pop up on marketplace. It's an old Mercier, which is cool, but what model? I wonder if those are remnants of 531 decals, so I check it out.

Sure enough, it's a Mercier 300, full 531. A size too small for me, and I was not in need of any projects and I was about to go on a trip out of the country for a week.

Fast forward, I'm looking for a bike for my sister-in-law. Lol and behold, this ad pops up on marketplace again. It can't possibly be the same bike, can it?

I go to message and it's the same seller. Still just sitting on this bike after two years. I say it might take some work and he says "lowball me." I still give him $80.

How was this bike just sitting there for over two years, you ask? Probably from the excellent marketing work the seller did. Listed as "bicycle/bike."

A coworker knows of my problem, uh gift for saving bike and grabbed these two for me. Not sure about the fate of the 20” Mongoose but the Trek definitely has possibilities or lots of good parts.

If the Mongoose is savable, I have an extra STX takeoff RD and a replacement gripshift but will first need to figure out if the seatpost is free. Looks like it will also need a new chain, brake pads, and handgrips. Tires are surprisingly soft.



As for the Trek, the fork appears to be stuck but I have a couple options that might work. The 3x8 Alivio is a surprise and the paint looks like it will clean up well. Wheels turn free and are surprisingly smooth.







I didn't expect to see RF Chesters on it.