I stopped by the local thrift store bike pen last Saturday and was glad I did. I found a brand new (packing grease still attached) pair of specialized spd clipless pedals attached to a raleigh marathon (almost perfect condition and just my size). I put it on the ground and continued looking. I then found an older peugot that would fit my father perfectly (he loves peugots but is 5'6" and is riding a 58cm frame). Did I mention that the peugot had full front and rear touring racks? I put that on the pile. I then found a schwinn world sport with the most perfect pair of shiny brown vintage fenders attached. That went on the pile and went to negotiate price. THE GUY CHARGED ME $9.00 FOR ALL THREE BIKES!!!

When I got home and worked on the tubes, all three of the bikes ran and shifted flawlessly.

The peugot was stripped of its racks and was given to my dad, who then gave me his 58cm bike which will now be given to my neighbor as his first road bike.
The schwinn was stripped of the fenders and given to a friend who has a "vision" for fixing it up.
I kept the raleigh and am riding it 20 miles round trip to work. I have ordered new bars/tape/stem/brake levers for it. I am also thinking of a pair of club roost cross terras for snow conditions as the brakes/clearance would allow that. It is a heavy pig but its comfort and versatility is worth the extra weight for commuting.

For $9.00, I made four people very happy!

Even though I own a very nice road racer, I almost prefer riding the Raleigh right now. There is no comparison in ride comfort (steel is sweet!) and for commuting purposes, I find it the perfect solution.

I just had to share my thrift store success. Anyone else out there had similar success lately?

My thrift store sells dirty old schwinn le tours for $49.99. Not so thifty if you ask me.

I've got a couple thrift stores I check on a regular basis. I also buy a quick-pick lottery ticket when the pot gets really big. The odds of either paying off time are probably about the same, as I think most thrift stores are getting wise about checking out incoming items. Still, it's nice to hear the ocassional success story.

DanO

A long time ago I found an old bronze green 3-speed in a scrap metal yard. I paid $3, took her home, fixed her up. The leather saddle was rotten so I replaced the leather but I didn't do too good a job of it (wrong kind of leather). I believe it was a brooks too. When I left town I gave it away.

I liked that bike.

man thats awesome!

That reminds me of the time when my bro and I were teenagers, just getting into serious riding, and we found a pile of Bellweather (sp?) overstock clothing supercheap. Kept us in decent gear for years!

I picked up an old Marin mountain bike in a yard sale for $15 (I felt bad giving the man the $5 he asked.) He said it cost him $600 new.

After some minor maintenance, I rode it with my daughter as she rode her old Mongoose (not from Wally World, this is labeled with a California bike shop sticker) that I got from Goodwill several years ago.

rides nice

If you meant "rusty," probably not a good deal, but "dirty" can be cleaned, so that's really not a bad price.

Way to go Sawtooth. Good deed, good price.

I never got that lucky at the thrift stores, but this past year I did pretty well at some year sales. One Giant Cadex Carbon frame fully outfitted with 105 in mint condition. and an Older Giant MTB 970 with all LX. Sold them both to friends in need of the bikes more than I was.

The Philly thrift stores suck for bikes, unless you are in the market for a $25 Magna. I want to try some main line garage sales this spring though.

Found them both in Upper Dublin

Lucky fart....in a town like Portland you don't find bikes like that in thrift stores. This city is too smart.

Same here in Sacramento. Seems like the only thing I see in thrift stores came from Target a month earlier.

My two favorite bikes came from thrift stores. You have to check regularly to find the good deals, but every now and then someone cleans out their garage. I suspect that Saturday afternoon or Monday morning are the best times to go.

Great find!!!

The best I have been able to do at a thrift store is to find a couple of parts bikes. One with a set of 27" alloy rims and tires I will use as spares. the other had a crank and stem I wanted... correct to the period (only 1 year off) and usable brakes too.

I still check, just hoping to find that special bike that someone didn't recognize as such before they donated. If I had a purpose for 20" wheeled kid's bikes, I would be set for life.

I don't have that good of luck in thrift stores. I just bought an old hardtail mountain bike for $30 as a backup, but my stepson "stole" it. I bought my Specialize Hardrock in brand-new condition or $100 and I've commute hard on it or 3 years now. But I got it in a pawn shop, not a thrift store. My classic Fuji 10 speed was given to me, so that was a pretty good deal.

I buy gear in a thrift store. I love the Brooks Bros. cashmere sweater I bought many years ago for $3. I wore it for dressup for a while, then to work. Now it's a little ripped in one seam so I wear it as a base layer in cool and cold weather. It's light, warm, wicking and very soft on the skin. I also buy warmup pants and wear them over cycling shorts in cool weather. They don't last long, but at $3/pair they are practically disposable.

^^ yeah.. pawnshops seem to be good with stuff - I've never even been to a pawn shop, but my grandfather used to work in one and brought home a lot of stuff...

I haven't had much luck with thrift shops. I've seen better bikes during big pick up trash days. I agree with Bottom Feeder, it's just like winning a lottery... or we're just too dang tall.

Yard sales deserve a mention too. My stepson bought a nice Trek mountain bike for $6 this summer. All it needed was a new bottom bracket.

I've had a few thrift store bikes in the past, but ebay resalers check the ones near me every day, so all the good bikes last one day maybe.

I have found good sweaters for riding there, like Roody. I've also bought light rain jackets for $5. Once a got a super cool Red Army hockey helmet there, but some drunken frat boys swiped from me at a party.