An older gentelman in my area called me to ask if I was the guy who fixed up bikes and sometimes donated them to area charities. I said "yes" and asked him if he had a bike to sell/donate. His answer "About 100". I went out to his place and he wasn't kidding, there are easily 100 bikes, all stored outdoors in rows between his buildings. He collected them in hopes of fixing many of them up to donate but got to the point that he can't do it anymore. He bascially gave me the run of the place if I helped him clean it up and "fixed up a couple that the grandkids can ride when they visit". While there is a lot of just plain crap, I can see some Raliegh, Fuji, and a whole lot of vintage Schwinns in there among the Huffys and Coast Kings. The sad part is that they have been sitting on the ground for years and most of the wheels are shot along with chains and there is a lot of rusty chrome.

While I'm enthused about being able to find a few gems in the pile, it saddens me to realize how many once good bikes I'm going to have to help him trash just due to neglect, mostly before he got them. I'm running out there this afternoon to pull the first few out of the pile. Hoping to find some good restoration candidates so this gentleman knows his efforts in collecting these bikes wasn't in vain.

I live in Atlantic Canada, with rough weather, salt air, and not a big bicycle culture. If I ever find anything it's almost always got rust issues. It's real sad.

I admire your attitude in this situation.

Try to find out if there is an organization in your area that salvages and shares bicycle, such as Bicycles for Humanity. Or look for other groups who are sending items to Africa. Such groups are always looking for useful items to share with people who could truly benefit from the, and bicycles are one of those incredibly useful items.

If you do find such an organization, you could help them collect the bicycles, saving most, if not all for a useful future. The ones you like you can still purchase from the old fellow if you and he wish it. There are no losers in this scenario - in my opinion.

I would at least check for any possible rare or high-end parts, as these sometimes turn up on cheaper used bikes.

One silly example is those slender, stainless-steel bottle cage clamps that Blackburn used to sell. I actually paid $6 for a Huffy just to get those clamps and the Shimano freewheel. The rest went to the dump.

He might just have to sell most of them for scrap metal if they are in really bad shape and then just donate the money for similar causes.
That will save you the burden of even trying to fix them up, an effort that could be overwhelming.

Chombi

Sounds like a guy around here. He passed away and his son had no interest in the bikes. He held a sale and sold them off. I stopped in the day before and talked to them briefly. Frankly I was disappointed with the selection, which was primarily 1950s-1970s cruisers. Lots of bikes were stored out in the weather, some were in a warehouse. I don't know if they sold all the bikes off or if there were any that were simply scrapped, but the warehouse and lot are empty now (it's on one of my riding routes).

Maybe you could suggest something similar to get the bikes out to many hands instead of just yours if it looks like an overwhelming task.