I saw the following CL ad today, posted by some enterprising person North of Detroit….

*BARN COLLECTION OLD BIKES* - $500 )
Date: 2010-06-17, 2:01PM EDT
Reply to: xxxxxxxxxxx@craigslist.org [Errors when replying to ads?]

BICYCLES THAT HAS BEEN COLLECTED THRU OUT THE YEARS. THEY MUST GO ALL AT ONCE WILL NOT PIECE OUT. PLEASE RESPOND IF INTERESTED IN ALL OF THEM






Did you ever notice that junk becomes more valuable if it’s found in a BARN? - It’s no longer the plebeian, run of the mill stuff that you or I might have collected, but rather by mere association with a barn, it becomes something infinitely more valuable and desirable - like the lost treasure of some Egyptian Pharaoh.

It seems, that in popular American culture (and maybe even some more sensible cultures) the mere suggestion that something was found in a barn implies that it is an object of extraordinary worth, a virtual miracle of preservation, put there by some forgotten (but historically significant) person, no matter what its age or condition: Fine eighteenth century American furniture, discarded Formica cabinets from the ‘70’s, a pristine Lamborghini Countach, and a burned-out Yugo on blocks - all elicit that same visceral reaction. “Gotta have it! Gotta have it!”

You know, with the abysmal state of the economy in Michigan, I’ve had some extra time to think, and a new business plan has just occurred to me: Why not sell all of our junk out of barns? The world will beat a path to our door, and we will all become rich. -I’ll even be able to afford my Grail Bike!

…Unless of course, some son of a gun is selling it out of a barn.

I'll take mine with a little less rust . Please & Thanks.

When I find a bike or whatever in a barn I always mention that fact in my CL listing. It always makes the item sell faster... no doubt about it!

What if its an Italian barn?
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I am totally about to buy a barn and fill it with UO-8's and Varsities.

All I know is this: my Raleigh Sports came out of an old dairy (is that close enough to a barn?) and it was coated in pigeon poo. Barn find does not = awesome in my experience.

Looks like they were in a field for 30 years, then moved to the barn to sell them.
Is there a lug in the bunch?

The pictures aren't great so it is possible that some of the rust is just caked on dirt from years of being in the barn. Some bikes are so dirty that once cleaned it's almost as if the grime has preserved them hahaha

In the realm of barn finds, pigeon stuff is called "patina". It commands its own premium.

When in Rome!

I have read somewhere that the phenomenon of the fantastic rare old car 'found in a barn' is often staged. Doubtless we are getting to that point with old bikes.

it's amazing how dirty stuff gets just sitting in a barn. Never really figured out the mechanism by which that happens. The kind of bike I want wouldn't be found in a barn, basement is more like it. I suppose a barn is good for certain kinds of bikes.

Old paintings in the attic.
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There is an auction house in my area whose whole building is styled like barn. I guess they are trying to tap into this power subconsciously.

I have yet to see any cool sport bikes when I check into these kinds of ads. Mostly I just see old Huffy, Columbia, etc heavyweaight bikes.

I'd go to look. If you see a bunch of English 3's, you could Ebay them, and if you saw some old heavyweights, those can command LOTS of money!

I'm sure there could be some value there, I just have no enthusiasm for those bikes.

The problem I see with that group is that while some show collectibility (i.e. the sheetmetal rack in the second or third photo), 99% of them appear to be step-throughs, which drop the price by probably half, in the American balloon market.

BTW, does that pink bike in the first photo have a dynohub?

I have seen a steady uptick for ladies bikes in my area.... I see a lot of young gals buying these cheaper single and three speeds and willing to spend a bit more than they used to on them. I have sold a number and vintage low to mid quality is Ok as long as they are clean, ready to ride and perfect finish is not seeming to be a priority
I'm sure the season has some to do with it but I was able to sell a few through the fall and winter so.....

Reminds me of the double level barn I visited in francea few years ago.
With 100 bikes for sale for 400ish euros, buyer must take all.







There were no 'keepers' so I decided not to make a full time job of selling mafac racers, solida cranks and trips to the recycling center

I get a lot of my bikes from a place like that. The ratio is much better than cruising alleys but here is what I have found out of 300 bikes

20% Raleigh made
5% old chinese/finnish/greek/eastern european
20% Schwinn chicago (split evenly between ladies S7 and boom 10 speeds)
5% mixte
25% french/italian boom bikes
10% very old and either ladies/juvi or too far gone to tell
15% worth grabbing for $50-$75.00
25% too low in the food chain for right now.

all are somewhat rusty. So far from my "barn" I have grabbed '83 fuji team, '45 rudge roadster, 65 Rudge deluxe, '73 ladies sports, a pretty old Hercules with a brooks narrow professional, CLD brakes and Omelenchuk wheels. I also have from the barn a Schwinn Corvette and a ladies S7 bike with a kick-back hub. I am allowed to remove bikes and examine and shuffle parts / clean and offer for sale and/or bring them back as long as I share any rewards with the owner and be honest. (I don't "unoriginal" anything, I just take parts from "lost cause" bikes).

Once I had a good source of bikes, I quickly ran out of everything else like time and space.

Yes, go on...

"It seems, that in popular American culture (and maybe even some more sensible cultures) the mere suggestion that something was found in a barn implies that it is an object of extraordinary worth, ..."

Here's my question, why would any fashionable woman want to buy a dress from a "barn"?

I wouldn't go in there...

Is it not a well known farmer's trick to detail and polish an old clunker, then let it sit in a dusty barn for a month or two before selling it? The city folk get all excited about the diamond in the rough. Great Aunt Edna just used that Paramount to cycle to church on Sundays.