Dumpster Diving-Best Place?
 

So I'm cheap. Where are the best places to dumpster dive for bikes? Where have you been most successful? I have seen one bike in a dump behind Walmart, but that is it? Help a guy out, please!

I am sorry, but I cannot help you. We cannot all frequent the same dumpsters. Chances are, you and I have never been in the same dumpster. The only way to find good stuff in dumpsters is to look in every one, every time you pass one. Good luck, though! People throw away some great stuff.

I have the best luck in apartment complexes.

The only bike I've found in such a fashion was by pure mistake. Angry the thrift store had no bikes worth purchasing, I took the alley to leave their establishment. In the garbage was a department store MTB with a ratty saddle. I put a saddle on it and sold it for $75.

Theres a couple of dumpsters in the alley between Main street and Cary street that are good

Behind the Chinese buffets

I have a lot of lazy neighbors, and they tend to curb stuff rather than donate or sell it. Unfortunately, they are really cheap too. So the bikes I have seen curbed were worn Walmart crap. Best thing I picked up was an electric (battery powered) kids jeep. I take all of that stuff directly to my favorite thrift store. I can't see filling the landfill with stuff that can be resold and reused.

As far as thrift store finds, anything decent around here lasts about 10 seconds (no joke). There are a dozen or more people that camp out there, waiting for stuff to appear. And they grab just about anything that appears to have ANY resale value: kids toys, bikes, golf clubs, womens clothes, shoes, housewares, electronics, tools, books, etc. So to find something there, either you have to camp out with them, or get really, really lucky. Heck on bikes, I see them grab crap I wouldn't touch. Many of them are the flea market/swap meet sellers, and if they can make $10 on a bike, they'll grab it. Of course, they sell stuff as found.

All in all, garage sales continue to be my best source, but most sales don't have decent bikes, and when they do, they often don't list them in the ad. If you just go to the sales that list bikes, you are going to miss most of them. So that means a lot of running around to garage sales and finding nothing. I found one good bike last weekend, and two the weekend before. That's really good for me, typically I'll find a bike or two, and then won't find a bike for a couple of months or more. Fortunately, in my case, I am looking for other stuff too, which makes the search more worthwhile. If I was just looking for bikes, I would have given up on garage sales long ago. And of course, none of them are my size, so if you are looking for a specific size, you can just about forget it.

As far as dumpster finds, the best place around here is a transfer station. They really don't want pickers, so you need to show up with stuff to discard, drive up to the metal pile, and see if there are any bikes. Sometimes they'll set bikes to the side, so they don't mind you taking one. But they won't let you in to the place just to look around, need to bring some garbage with you.

Sweet! Thanks for the ideas!

Dumpsters behind your LBS

I tried to hit the dumpster at Ellsworth's fab shop but it was locked :(

I sooo wanted to find a scratch and dent one of these in there:

http://www.ellsworthbikes.com/bike-f...ruth_large.png

I get a funny feeling when I think about hitting my LBS dumpster so I never try. Anther shop around town I hate the guy so I do not feel bad about jumping in his, although it has been a long time, and I never find anything but boxes and old tubes/tires :(

Dumpsters are not the only place to get bikes cheap. I use about ten procedures for Finding Vintage Bicycles and I find lots. Just got a Bianchi, something or other, mountain bicycle today and in very good condition. The vintage mountain bikes are starting to pile up.

This simple flyer, delivered by me by hand, is a very effective bike finding tool...
http://www.mytenspeeds.com/My_TenSpe...ed_Picture.jpg

And almost every bicycle featured on MY "TEN SPEEDS" was found using one or more of the above procedures.

One of the LBS' near my place is constantly throwing out perfectly usable (just old) gear (tires, tubes, pedals the like) I've never dumpster dived their but wouldn't have any qualms about doing so.

The number of times Randy and Bill have repeated their advice on how to find vintage bikes, which usually also contains a reference to Randy's site, tells me there should be a sticky pointing there also. Unless there is one already.

Just saw a sign this morning while out riding: "No Loitering or Dumpster Diving". (followed by the municipal code number)....lol......never seen a sign like that before and didn't know dumpster diving was illegal.

But back to your question, I did recover a semi-decent Schwinn next to a dumpster at an apartment building I once lived in.

I found a dandy Raleigh Marathon in a dumpster in the parking lot of a credit union, which happened to be right next to an apartment complex. Also, look in dumpsters behind bike shops, look at thrift stores, pawn shops, garage sales and cruise around on trash night. And talk to people you know; you never know when they might offer up an old bike collecting dust in the garage.

Get a dog. Treat dog well. Walk dog in alleys. You will sometimes find stuff. I've found a Bianchi, a Urago, and some very nice parts in this fashion. Every now and then you find another dog someone has thrown out, as well.

:lol::lol::lol:

Check your local towns for their garbage policies. Mine is extremely complicated. We have no way to dispose of bulky items except for about four times a year. We have a special day when we are allowed to go to the recycling center.

This past Saturday was one of those days. In recent bulk dropoff days, they were enforcing a new policy of no dumpster diving. But this time, there was a new guy, and he let me pick. I got a 1976 Raleigh Grand Prix in good condition plus a Burly trailer, worth hundreds, in almost new condition. Also, the guy said he wants my advice, so I gave him my card. Really nice guy.

+1 I have adopted many of Randy's great ideas, and added them to my arsenal. One that has worked well for me is the neighborhood newsletter. There are people in my neighborhood that don't want to be bothered with placing ads on C/L, and don't want the hassle of meeting potential buyers (or even worse, having them come to their home). But when they see someone that lives in the neighborhood is looking for bikes, they call.

Another source not on Randy's list is trade-ins. I have taken some sweet bikes in as a trade. Usually its a project bike (one the prior owner took apart but doesn't have the time/energy/knowledge to reassemble), or its a bike the wrong size. I contacted a guy once about an 18 inch Trek 400T for sale. His response: "Hey, I recognize that email address, aren't you the guy with the 21 inch Cannondale for sale?" So he ended up giving me the Trek (that needed some work) as a partial payment on the Cannondale. Win/win.

I don't advertise trade-ins on my C/L postings, but if the person brings it up, I always say, bring it with you".

My other piece of advice is do not limit your search to bikes that are your size. Instead, be open to ANY size. Let the profits from the bikes that don't fit you fund the purchase of the bikes that do fit. Flip three or four bikes, and you should have enough $$ to buy a really, really, terrific bike. Too many people pass on deals because its not their size, then don't have the funds to pay full market for one that is their size. In their case, even if their dream bike comes up for sale, if its over their budget, they pass. Myself, I can buy that dream bike at full market.

Over here we don't use dumpsters. We use canals. Bring a sturdy fishing rod.

http://212.187.39.181/odd/fietswrak.jpg

Wow! That's awesome. Wish I had a handy canal like that in south Georgia.

College campuses on move out day is another good bet. When the students are discovering that everything won't fit into the car, a lot of stuff goes into the nearest dumpster or to the curb. Bikes in racks are sometimes just left there and the campus police collect them and have an auction later.

drive around on trash day. Get to know your local scrap guy, they come up with a surprising number of bikes. Bicycle shops often take in bikes or have people donate used bikes that they are willing to sell cheap, especially if you will take several off their hands. I had one guy sell me 20 for 10 bucks apiece so he could have his storage room back.

recycling center is awesome resource for me - picked up my letour there as well as many parts,etc over time - but yes - its not legal per se - so i try to be respectful and usually ask quietly if its ok in removing an item if there is someone nearby - and - of course - you need a ticket (i.e. - some metal) to get in

in fact - i'm headed there this morning before work - yesterday i sighted a super crushed peugeot - shame shame - buried under a pile of god knows what :(