Still a ridiculous price for a frame, no matter whose name is on it.

How about "Miss of the Day". I went into town to take a computer certification test, it's right next to a thrift store. As I was walking by, I see a BIG Schwinn World Tour Luxe or some such, reasonable looking condition, nice handlebar bag, but they want $40.00. Yikes, seemed a bit steep. So I go take the test, pass, (Barely, but who cares?), feeling good, think maybe I deserve a 26" Schwinn. Come back to take a look, and it's gone! Damn! I don't know, maybe it was Kismet or whatever. Last Tuesdday I did get an Old Peugeot, really nice shape, classic white, with the cool old graphics, normandy hubs, Mafac racer brakes, the parts I actually wanted, even though the frame's way too small, for $6.00. Well, that was the quoted price, it was "Bust a deal, spin the wheel" Tuesday, almost landed on "Gulag", but just caught the "50% off" pie slice, so I got it for $3.00. Don't know what to do with it once I salvage the parts I want, I did see an old yellow Peugeot of the same era (Weinmann brakes though, and stored a while outside) at another thrift store, that I think I could put one Super cool retro French biciclette together for my sister, who could use a few cool points despite her protestations, au contraire.

Jackpot at the city dump!

56cm Guerciotti pulled from the metal bin, full Shimano DA8 group,
Cinelli bars and stem. I couldn't locate the front rim in the dumpster.
Look pedals and a nice Selle Italia Flite Ti saddle as well.

Some rust here and there, but nothing to cry about.
This will be my next fixie project. Any ideas on the date?



detail pics

Middle to late '80s. Crap! Masis, Guerciottis in the dumpster! I look in a dumpster and all I see is s**t! you all live in bicycle heaven or what?

I'm gonna take some time off in the next couple of years and build a new house. Well, that's what
my wife thinks. In reality I'm gonna build a gigantic garage with some bedrooms attached. Just
gotta keep the blueprints hidden for a little while longer...

sh**t all I found this weekend were a couple of
murray and huffy muscle bkes
need to find a new dumpster

I made the rounds today and besides the usual throng of mart-bike MTBs, all I could find was a two-ton Chinese 3-speed, a Taiwanese Collegiate, and a Schwinn so-called lightweight -- of some Asian pedigree -- that featured a Shimano 333 3-speed hub and a 27" frame.

I decided to spend my money on alcohol instead.

Excellent choice.

Hmmmm...... I've been enjoying a lucky streak of sorts. Latest four for your perusal and enjoyment are:

1) Nishiki Nuovo Sport 12 speed mixte. 1983, essentially new (came with owner's manual), with less than 50 miles on it. Computer, rack, all Suntour. Had to pay $45.00

2) Peugeot Super Sport, excellent shape, all original, date codes of 1979 on most components (although it looks newer than that to me). Even the Simplex derailluers work. $30.00

3) Nishiki Semi Pro. Unknown vintage, but in excellent shape. 54 tooth big ring!! Some Knob put semi-ape hanger bars and thumbshifters up front, but I can fix that. $25.00

4) Smallish Windsor Carrera. Japanese bike of unknown vintage in excellent shape with Shimano 600 group and chromed head tube lugs. $25.00

5) (not pictured) Giant Rincon, excellent shape except the rear rapid fire shifter is inoperable. Luckily I'm 100% on fixing them. $13.00

My wife is complaining about how full the garage is.........

John D.

4) Smallish Windsor Carrera. Japanese bike of unknown vintage in excellent shape with Shimano 600 group and chromed head tube lugs. $25.00

Hey, Rand McNally -- that's Windsor's Mexican, not Japanese.

Viva la Raza, gringo.

I didn't think that Windsors were Japanese...I thought they were hecho en Mexico. Nonetheless it looks like a beauty. Looks like you are about ready to open a shop...my wife sends condolences to your wife. BTW, I got some white decal paper in the mail yesterday. I am outta here 'til tomorrow evening, but I'll try to get some decals printed and tested then. Seeyaluker

You and mswantak are correct - Japanese parts all over, but it is indeed made in Mexico.

My wife thanks your wife for her sympathies, but as it happens 7 more bikes followed me home last night. Of the seven, one is a stunning Bianchi, one is a cosmetically rough but mechanically sound Bridgestone, one is a solid Bianchi mtb, one is an "on the bubble" Novara mtb frame with all components save the wheels, and the other three are junkers to be stripped and trashed. I only wanted the Bianchi and Bridgestone, but the guy wanted all of it out of his garage so it was all or nothing.

We came to an accord.....

Of the four bikes listed in the previous post, the Nishiki mixte and the Peugeot have already found new homes, and the other two are slated for release into the wild as soon as I can go over them.

John D.

OK - here's one of the seven I picked up last night..... A 85/86 Bianchi Sport SX, all original, almost no wear. 12 speed indexed shifting, brand new Hutchinson tires. $50.00....ouch!! I'm not used to paying so much!! Stunning metallic blue. CroMo Tange tubeset. Can anyone tell me where this sat in the Bianchio lineup? I'm guessing mid-level sport bike.....

Bianchi 1
Bianchi 2
Bianchi 3

John D.

I love the paint job. Looks great.

Thanks - it shined up really well, and I love that shade of blue. In fact, I'm having my Mondia painted that color. Sadly, the Peugeot is long gone. After I cleaned it up, someone made me an offer I couldn't refuse.....

John D.

Ebay Score: Schwinn Traveler and Nishiki Sport for $10.

These will be my first clean up / restore projects and appear to be of late 70 / early 80's era bikes. The Nishiki needs a new stem and possibly a headset as well. Both will need tires and a good lube and tune. Considering repainting which ever frame I like more and decide to keep. I looked at both last week, though didn't give the Nishiki as much of a look as it wasn't till later that the guy offered to throw that bike in on the deal if I won the Schwinn auction.

Right now off for a victory ride on the mountain bike. Oh, and a victory ride too since I got my acceptance letter from the University of Texas at Dallas for a MSCS degree! Wooohoooo!

P.S. - not sure what I'm more excited about. Getting a master's or scoring these bikes.

Isn't it wierd how many bikes you find that were purchased and obviously never even ridden?

You know, I was just telling that to the wife last night. The last four bikes I picked up were almost unused. After I cleaned the dirt and grime off, they were like new. Even the freewheel teeth showed no signs of wear.

John D.

Hi, was helping a friend move and found this Shimano rear wheel in a dumpster outside his building. Is it worth putting into service (it needs 2 new spokes and trueing):

Looks like one of those oddball newfangled wheels with the nipple at the hub... you could probably get it up and running for about $5 in materials, I would think. I'd probably give it a whirl, as a hack (I wouldn't commute on a wheel like that...).

I'm pretty sure it requires some special spokes. They're a very flexy wheel from what I've read.

I can't tell by looking which one, but m-535 is the 105 version, and there's an ultegra and a dura ace version as well. People either love 'em or hate 'em, but there are plenty of the former who will bid it up on eBay. Good score.

I'm a little new here, let me introduce myself by adding my latest purchase to the list. Today I drove cross town and picked up a Fuji Gran Tourer SE with a 441 chr-moly, lugged, mixte frame. There's some rust, the derailleur cables need replacing, and the front wheel is slightly out of true. It should be ridable after a couple hours clean up. If I really get motivated I'll overhaul the thing - but not today.

I'm hoping to use it for light commuting to and from school. It's nicked and old looking, I hope that $40. wasn't too much to spend. I think I did okay, as I was leaving the seller mentioned that she'd had a lot of calls - I replied to her craigslist add literally 10 minutes after she posted it.

Being by nature a true devotee of Sturmey Archer, it will take me a while to get used to the gearing. The shifters are a bit awkward as the handlebars are upright, but it's not upsetting enough to make it fixed - although right now it is.

Spokes cost about 4$ each, including nipples. Make sure you get the 280mm version, the model right above the 535 uses a longer spoke, so I've been sold the wrong ones before.

I actually found an identical wheel in a dumpster last week with one broken spoke. Its already listed on ebay, and I've had a lot of questions, and a lot of people are watching it with only a few days to go. Should sell for more than the 4$ it cost to refurbish, so I'm happy.

They aren't bad wheels. In general I think these low spoke count wheels are a bit silly, but they sure look neat, and can be very strong. If you have a road bike w/ 8 or 9 speed group you could put it into use, or refurb and sell like I'm doing.

peace,
sam

Picked up this Cilo Swiss yesterday. It's kind of interesting, with a mix of features.


The frame (decals are kind of buggered) says:
"Tubi Speciali in Aelle"
"Carbono Manganese"
and
"Columbus"

Another on the main tube says, "Cilo Swiss Handmade". It appears to be of lugged construction, with some detailing on the lugs.

The cable guide under the BB is stamped, "Modele Vitus Depose"

It has Shimano 600 components for the headset, DRs, and brake levers, but the brakes are Weinmann dual-pivot with no QR.

No QR on the wheels either. These are Maillard hubs laced to Weinmann rims, the older, wider 700c. Though they are stamped "20mm", the actual width is about 25mm. Someone has put too-small Hutchinson tires on them, which actually sit inside the rims! Hope I can find proper tires...
Axles are undersized compared to modern hollow axles, and the hubs need rebuilding. Ditto for the old-style BB.

It's a ten-speed, downtube friction shifters, (Shimano 600) and the frame appears to be about 23 1/2 inches.
Paint and decals are, unfortunately, not in very good shape. Looks like the pedals have been replaced with cheap plastic rattraps. Probably had old-style steel toe-clips at one time. Saddle is a well-weathered "Serfas", probably a replacement as well.
Looks ultimately rebuildable...I've been unable to find much info on these bikes on the web.



Check out the headset detail: