The local councils offer a trash pick up day a couple of times a year. From what I've seen given away, brown is a common color. Rusting hulks kerbside.

Today let's start with the least cool of my finds. Here is a 62cm Nottingham made Raleigh, constructed of Reynolds 501 and equiped with full shimano exage. In my mind the index shifting means it ain't vintage yet, but it's not a bad little bike. My size, but likely heading to a co-worker's boyfriend.

Next we have a seventies Motobecane Grand Jubile. Personally, I wish this one were 62 cm and the Raleigh were 53cm, but you can't win them all. 531 in the three main tubes, Suntour GS rear drops, Huret front dops. Nervex lugs with nice pinstriping. Stronglight competition Headset. Sunshine Pro-am hubs (Campy knock-off with oil clips) laced to 700c Rigida rims. Suntour syclone derailleurs and SR Apex triple crankset, weinmann brakes. Incredibly super-cool lyotard platform pedals which are going to find their way to one of my bikes.

Last, we have a front wheel, Campagnolo Record high flange hub laced to Mavic MA40 rim, 36 hole/3x lacing.

OK; what are we swapping for? I want the Moto.

The pedals are the same Berthet models I just put on my Laing; I love 'em. They're so easy to flip into, they make you look like a pro when you can stick your foot in 'em faster than the guys using clipless...!

Hmmm. I'm not really looking for anything, that way I keep finding stuff. I do have a weakness for older French stuff. My thinking on the moto was I was gonna knock out the headset (old Stronglight Comps are hard to find), replace it with another french threaded one from the parts pile, keep the pedals, and sell most of the rest, but I could be dissuaded from this heretical course of action (except for the part about the pedals, when the inquisition comes they'll have me on that one) with the proper inducements. For instance, if you have a 62cm Stella, I'd probably trade straight up. Or for that matter, a 62cm Motobecane of like quality. Or just PM me and let me know your thinking on this subject.

White man ride with forked kickstand. Pletscher center stand -- $5.00

http://home.comcast.net/~mswantak/ws...7/site1364.jpg

Now that is a kickstand of unsurpassed funky coolness.

pssst. Don't tell him it isn't a motorcycle he has that thing mounted on. :p

I get pretty good TV reception with it, too.

1972 Raleigh Grand Prix, $15. And no, that's not the saddle that came with it.

http://home.comcast.net/~mswantak/ws...7/site1365.jpg

Nice Catch. What was your bait?

C'mon.....inquiring Trek owners (see my sig) want to know!!

Now you got me all worked up. We're heading into garage sale season and I'm getting my piggy bank ready. Picked up my Trek 460 in excellent condition for 35clams. I'm still looking for that mystical Bianchi with Campy components. This might be my year.



Olds

Dunelt chum. :p

A few years back I did some chumming with a Windsor Carerra Sport Mixte; caught myself an early '60s Olmo Special that way. (a trade really; a local guy wanted the mixte for his wife)

That must have been some mixte! :eek:

Ahh, looking at the pristine white and black Raliegh Grand Prix reminded of a love found and lost. Eighteen years ago I scored a red with black panels grand prix of identical vintage at the local library red tag sale. I then messed around and converted it to a fix gear ride employing the bomb proof weinmann concave rims and a dynohub for the front hub wired to sturmey head and tail lights. I removed the dropped bars for an alloy "northroad" bar. Chromoplast fenders and a blackburn rack completed the commuter bike special.

I rode that bike everyday to and from law school in Boston. (there was an informal competition to see who would ride the most number of days, and I am afraid that I lost because I missed one miserable sleety windy february school day.) I shod the bike with tri-cross tires for the winter. I remember driving hard across the long Mass Ave bridge on another wet, cold and windy day. I remember another ride in the absolute silence of riding a fixed gear home at midnight in winter when there was an electrical black out. The newfallen snow absorbed all of the sound. Nobody was out, there was no traffic. It was like Boston became an empty city.

Then my younger brother needed a bike, so I converted the Grand Prix back to its former glory, Simplex and all.

Other "catches" included a Raliegh Twenty off ebay presently being rebuilt. Another is a Fuji 24 inch wheel tenspeed save from the bulk trash pick up. An another is a Raleigh Marathon with 24 inch front wheel (a la mode de "Terry").

It actually was pretty cool. Chromed Nervex Pro style lugs, bar-con shifters, sew-ups, and decent Japanese parts.
Light lavender-metallic paint, and unknown, but light tubing. Nice mixte.... Given to me by my mom, who bought it new around '80... The Olmo I took in trade was in parts, and I sold it on eBay just as I received it for some decent $$. Here's a pic of that Olmo:

It's most likely to be Columbus tubing. Gorgeous lugs though, what size was it?

The Olmo may have been Columbus; not sure. I think it was a 54ctc; my size, but I've got too many bikes, and it had to go... Lugs were pretty cool on it though; in some ways more interesting than those used on the top model then. Here's a pic of the Olmo's lugs:

picked up a rear rim today-free at the landfill
Shimano deore hub with 7speed hyperglide cassette laced to a mavic ma2.
hope the bike shows up too!
ps. still true as can be
http://home.comcast.net/~sjdoo/bike/mavic.jpg

Rubbish, I say!

Didn't your mother teach you, if you don't have anything nice to say????

If we all thought like this, there would be a lot more trash on this earth.

If more people thought like that, I'd have more bikes! :D

Generally, it seems the Mavic MA 2 and Mavic MA 40 rims have a reputation for great strength and durabilty.

I like the MA2s I have on my Raleigh International that I ride the most (of 3 Internationals). They seem like a really good rim...no problems yet.
A friend who lives around the corner, swears by the MA 40 rims... He weighs around 240 pounds (he's 6'5"), and says they're one of the few that really hold up well for him.

1972ish Raleigh Gran Prix, dutch made. Complete with brooks saddle in good condition and a Bramptom flip-flop track hub. My size, but likely not a keeper. Keeping the Brooks, though.

Just scored some Gran-Compe centerpulls at the Bike Church - $7 for the pair.

Cool; they should work well. Did you find your derailleur(s)?

No (check out my "Schwinn Approved" post).