The $50 mess
 

Tonight I picked up a truckload of bikes for $50. Five of them are real stinkers..used and abused no name mountain bikes not worth doing anything but scavenging/scrapping from. The other 4 have some possibilities and I can't wait to get to work on them.

The bunch :
[IMG]http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...s/IMG_2432.jpg[/IMG]

The Chicago headbadge branded Schwinn (1973 Schwinn Super Sport 24" in Sunset Orange per Metacortex..thanks! Confirmed by serial number) :
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...s/IMG_2441.jpg

The Raleigh LTD-3 (Not sure on year...having trouble finding serial number) :
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...s/IMG_2442.jpg

A Schwinn (Previous owner said it was a '58 Racer..can't confirm yet. SN # 347451...any ideas?):
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...s/IMG_2452.jpg

And yet another Schwinn (Sprint, not sure of year. Any ideas? SN # 5015143):
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...s/IMG_2459.jpg

Think I can save it?
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...s/IMG_2474.jpg

Just kidding.....scary bike. Looks like someone tried to hack off the top tube with a hatchet.

If they were horses, I'd turn them into glue.

That's a 24" frame '73 Super Sport in Sunset Orange. It's missing the original Brooks saddle but it's still worth the $50 all by itself.

With Bluemels Popular fenders? That's a nice little bonus as well.

:lol:

I had a couple drop off 4 bikes in that condition, ask me to "make 2 useable bikes out of them?" I should have declined but I learned a lot while building the one useable bike I could salvage (Trek 820). I sold one of them for enough to buy a cable/housing kit and a chain, then added a bike from my junk pile, and they ended up with a D'back Outlook and the Trek for net $100.

While I'd never do that again, I learned enough about non-C&V brakes MTB gearing, non-compatible parts that look alike, I think it was worth the $25 or so I lost on the deal (I paid $75 for the Outlook). I also picked up a set of aluminum 26" wheels to swap into my '88 Raleigh MTB and enough Shimano GS200 parts to fill a good size box.

You are a good guy to salvage something from those, and I admire what I now realize it takes to get some good out of a pile of old bikes.

Good on you.

Just out of curiosity - Raleigh "DL-3" or "LTD-3?"

-Kurt

Don't you realize that is a rare TT MTB? :roflmao2:

The DL-3 and the Bluemels fenders are worth the $50. The rest is scrap IMHO. A nickle a pound for steel these days.

Be nice.....that bike belonged to a guy that will never have kids of his own making.

I'd spend time on the SS and the DL, the others probably not worth the time investment (IMO).

That said, I have a similar Schwinn 3 speed that's a great beer hauler (looked worse than yours when I started on it). Mounted up an old fruit crate on the front. I use the frame to keep somebody from stealing my cable lock while I'm in the store.

Actually, I've always wanted one of those Schwinn Racers. They always show up when I'm flat broke. I put a lot of miles on a Super Sport like that. Nice. I've had piles of Raleigh 3 speeds and I can't stop bringing them home. My addiction.

Doh, you are 100% correct. I'm still not nearly as familiar with C&V bikes like you studs.....LTD-3 is on the frame. I misread it last night.

I was told by the previous owner that he thought the Raleigh was from the 1960s, but I'm thinking just at a quick glance that it is more early 70's. That would also place it more in the timeline of some of the other bikes here.

He had an amazing Cannondale MTB that I really wanted, but he wasn't about to give it up for cheap...wanted $350 for it and I don't have that kind of money to gamble on something I don't know well enough. That was the one bike he really knew and was the original owner I think. He said it was the third year offering from Cannondale in mountain bikes. All I know was that it looked perfect. Well-maintained, barely ridden, great shape. Looked completely original except for the saddle.

With some of those junk MTB frames I got, I might be a very wealthy man at those prices. They have some serious heft to them. It looks like a previous owner hated top tubes and hacked one of them off, and tried to take off the white one to make a step-through frame.

Those late 50s Racers are really cool bikes IMO...fender fin, wide bars, cool chainguard and decals...I'd put that back together and clearcoat the heck out of it...permanent patina!

Your $50 mess reminds me that my second annual Light YOUR World Extreme Makeover Bicycle Edition project is only 6 weeks away. Last year I led a team which cleaned and repaired 85 bikes for a local charity. We ended up scrapping about 10% of the frames we received, along with 20% of the wheels and 40% of the saddles.

About 12 years, ago, I bought one for $10.00. I pulled a few pieces that I needed and THREW IT AWAY! stoopidest think I've ever done with a bike. Damdamadamm............

I'd pay $50 for the Raleigh alone.

curious if there is even one thing on the whitehawk worth salvaging. front tire maybe?

And I think I see a crack in that. Could those front brake pads be kool-stops? Also, if the other junk MTBs are of the same era, look for metal thumb shifters, especially Shimano. They can be surprisingly nice sometimes.

Shifters, brake levers, handle bar grips, cables if they work, derailleur if it works and is in ok shape...and pedals if they spin.

Maybe its where I live, but bikes that work...any bike in any brand, fetch 40 bucks as a starting point. To make 40 bucks work, that means your cost has to be zero. Strip useless frames for everything and replace stuff that doesn't work on other bikes. If they tires aren't cracked, keep them too.

I'm starting off with the 4 bikes I'll be restoring, so for now I am checking out serial numbers and other info to try to figure out and verify information so I can get the right parts.

The 1973 Super Sport is exactly that, verified by the serial number. I'm not sure on the Racer and the Sprint yet. The Racer has a serial number of 347451 but has no letters in the beginning despite being stamped clearly. The Sprint is 5015143 but also has no letters in it. Both serials were found on the left rear axle hanger while the Super Sport was on the headtube next to the fork.

Any ideas on where to find the info to get the information? I have had much luck so far.