Howdy All!

My name is Frank and I am from North East Ohio (pretty close to Lake Erie). I biked a fair amount as a kid (as a means of travel for the most part). I bought a 2004 Trek 3700 when I was 12ish and I rode that until College. Best $250 I spent as a kid. I recall how expensive that bike seemed for a 12 year old who had limited cash reserves . Got my first road bike (Schwinn Tempo) and taste of road riding right before college and loved it! The peaceful back roads were a nice change of pace from suburban life. I took that bike to college and commuted most days. After graduation (fast forward to now) I still road ride casually and finally got an indoor trainer setup a few days ago.

My "pandemic hobby" has been buying vintage bikes and tearing them apart. Some I save, but most I recycle and sell the parts. Not to turn a profit, but to try to break even so I can continue the hobby. Its a fun little diversion from my desk job and has allowed me to learn quite a bit about how bikes are designed and built. Very excited to finally be posting here after lurking and using this forum for the past few years.

Welcome from a Texas Road rider.
Very nice Intro.

Greetings! I do the same as a pandemic hobby! I’ve found some cheap/free bikes that I’ve repaired and given away to teens who can’t afford a bike.

That's a great idea! I planned on volunteering at our local co-op, but they sadly closed to the public for volunteering. So I thought I would work on them myself haha.

Out of curiosity, where do you find most of your bikes that you work on? Do you work with an organization to donate to teens or just based on folks you know?

Just people I know; extended family and neighbours. I will usually get excited about finding a free/cheap bike online, then repairing it, then asking around to find out who needs one. That’s not my main purpose, however. I usually keep the best bikes because I become attached to them. It’s just great to spend time bringing the bikes back to life.

if there was a local co-op, I would be totally up for volunteer work. I may look in to it!

I agree! Its quite enjoyable to take a bike that look like it might be ready to retire and get it road ready again! I am finding it hard to find "cheap" bikes anymore. Everyone seems to think their bike is worth its weight in gold! Still, when I can find them its been a nice distraction from life haha.

Welcome from northwest PA. We can't be too far from each other. I'm north of I-90, about 3 miles from the Lake. I just recently gave away two vintage bikes to a friend who does what you do. He builds all different kinds of bikes from vintage frames and parts. One was a Schwinn World and the other a Bridgestone Kabuki.