what's your greatest/cheapest score on bikes or parts?
- Thread starter bairdco
- Start date
weekend-fun
New Member
Venice Motor Bikes
Custom Builder / Dealer/Los Angeles
I scored the 1950 Schwinn for $100!! The girl said it belonged to her boyfriend who is in jail!!! 
weekend-fun
New Member
I scored the 1950 Schwinn for $100!! The girl said it belonged to her boyfriend who is in jail!!!
I hopr the thumbs up wasnt for the boyfriend in jail
How about a his and hers Schwinn Cruiser Sevens $o.oo. lady wanted them out of the garage so her tennet could park her car out of the weather. Coupled a $5.00 30cc John Deer brush motor scored on e-bay made by Mitsubishi to the girly bike with a friction drive from Livefastmotors and a 1 3/8" drive roller, that little girl will push my 200 lbs body down the road a 30 plus mph, saving the men's for a possible CVT coupled to a CAG motor.
fall_down_stand_up
New Member
BarelyAWake
New Member
Ya know - every time I see this thread I wanna say "My MB!" 
It's true I didn't get any deals, didn't have any special finds, in fact - I tend to spend w/e lil bit of "extra" cash on it or associated trinkets every week...
Yet the dollar/fun ratio is outta this world! Every penny spent has been returned tenfold in sheer amusement - I remember that and try not to resent you guys fer yer scrounging skillz lol
I have managed to score a coupla free junk bikes for the wheelsets mostly, haven't had to buy tires for a while lol - but nothin' "special" yet... I keep lookin' o.o
It's true I didn't get any deals, didn't have any special finds, in fact - I tend to spend w/e lil bit of "extra" cash on it or associated trinkets every week...
Yet the dollar/fun ratio is outta this world! Every penny spent has been returned tenfold in sheer amusement - I remember that and try not to resent you guys fer yer scrounging skillz lol
I have managed to score a coupla free junk bikes for the wheelsets mostly, haven't had to buy tires for a while lol - but nothin' "special" yet... I keep lookin' o.o
I have a garage literally PACKED with $3-$5 bikes picked up at flea markets. Probably 5-6 dozen in all. This includes aluminum Raleigh Techniums, Fujis, Tamayas, Treks, and other bikes worth thousands. Never paid more that $5. Some with free sign at the roadside.The people getting rid of them had no idea.
I still prefer the Target Magnas for new installs because of standard hardware and no surprises with worn bearings.
I still prefer the Target Magnas for new installs because of standard hardware and no surprises with worn bearings.
Ari Kohain
New Member
I bought a Schwin and a Jesse james choppers for ten bucks.
Board Track Racer
Member
Well, it seems like deals find me. I have had pretty good success without looking. Made a turn down a street one time just as a guy is walking out to the curb a Schwinn Jaguar. It had been sitting in a metal shed for some time and had a lot of surface rust on it, but it was complete. A neighbor shows up at my door with a 1970's Sportcrest? Department store 3 speed roadster he just picked up off the curb,.... it was dirty, but the kicker! it was like new. When I was looking for bikes Goodwill was a great place to shop about 10 years ago. Found alot of English lightwieghts for next to nothing. I would only pick up the bikes that were in better than average condition, nice paint, decals, and complete. '64 Huffy Sportsman $15, '63 Phillips $10, '64 Hercules $2, and have a real nice mid '60's Armstrong that is all original down to the innertubes for $20. Replied to a classified ad one time for some bike parts, when I got there she uncovered a Western Flyer X-53, not complete but worth the $10 bucks. Frame, tank, forks and fenders,.. no light , rear rack or chainguard. That leads to an Auction I was at about 8 or 9 years ago, long story short, it was an estate sale for a gentleman that had a bicycle shop that had closed back in the '50's. In the back of his garage was a small room that he kept what must have been the remainder of used parts from who knows what, repairs? After the big ticket items sold, NOS parts, rare and unusual bits and pieces, they auctioned off the remainder of this room for one money. There were about 50 bicycle frames ranging from the '30's to the '50's, Roadmaster, Hawthorn, Rollfast, Western Flyer, Elgin, Flying Ace, Goodyear, to name a few. Along with bins of used parts, New Departure hubs, Bendix, sprockets, cranks, Wald kickstands, stems, truss rods, cigar boxes of bicycle related nuts, axles, bent seat post etc..There was a 55 gallon drum of old rusted handle bars. Anyway here are some pictures the day I picked this stuff up, I had to rent a 15' truck to get it all home. Oh!... the deal? $400 +truck rental.
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bairdco
a guy who makes cool bikes
wow. that's a nice find right there.
some more stuff i've had over the years:
back before online auctions and classifieds, it was all about the "recycler" free ad newspaper. i got a 1970's Kawasaki BMX bike from some old guy who's son used to race MX for them. the bike was a prototype for the production ones. serial number was "proto12." all aluminum, swingarm frame banana seat, box handlebars... all complete but old and corroded for 50 bucks. i spent a week wet-sanding the nicks out of the frame, polishing it, restoring it to new. even called kawasaki and got an owners manual and new frame stickers. i rode that bike to the beach all the time, and ended up selling it for $600 on the spot to some guy that stopped me on my way to the liquor store.
found an old Mongoose Roger DeCoster at a swap meet for 20 bucks, and a month later found a set of motomags for 25. ebayed that one for $550.
working one night near a fencing company, and there was a pile of old farm equipment, and an old tandem. paid 80 for it, never found out what kind it was, but it was a skiptooth and had wooden wheels. that thing laid around in my backyard for awhile, till i decided to sell it. 1200 bucks!
had a worksman INB, orange, with "weapons ready" stenciled on the frame. i think it was from Camp Pendelton. found it in the back of a van of a "pic-a-part" auto salvage, and paid 20 for it. it was missing a chain and the seat. rode that thing for years, and sold it to a friend for 100. i miss that bike...
there's more, but that's enough for now.
some more stuff i've had over the years:
back before online auctions and classifieds, it was all about the "recycler" free ad newspaper. i got a 1970's Kawasaki BMX bike from some old guy who's son used to race MX for them. the bike was a prototype for the production ones. serial number was "proto12." all aluminum, swingarm frame banana seat, box handlebars... all complete but old and corroded for 50 bucks. i spent a week wet-sanding the nicks out of the frame, polishing it, restoring it to new. even called kawasaki and got an owners manual and new frame stickers. i rode that bike to the beach all the time, and ended up selling it for $600 on the spot to some guy that stopped me on my way to the liquor store.
found an old Mongoose Roger DeCoster at a swap meet for 20 bucks, and a month later found a set of motomags for 25. ebayed that one for $550.
working one night near a fencing company, and there was a pile of old farm equipment, and an old tandem. paid 80 for it, never found out what kind it was, but it was a skiptooth and had wooden wheels. that thing laid around in my backyard for awhile, till i decided to sell it. 1200 bucks!
had a worksman INB, orange, with "weapons ready" stenciled on the frame. i think it was from Camp Pendelton. found it in the back of a van of a "pic-a-part" auto salvage, and paid 20 for it. it was missing a chain and the seat. rode that thing for years, and sold it to a friend for 100. i miss that bike...
there's more, but that's enough for now.
fall_down_stand_up
New Member
You a sanford and son in the making....Good find....
Board Track Racer
Member
You a sanford and son in the making....Good find....
Funny you should say that. A friend of mine and I joke back and forth about who gets the better "G" (garbage) finds. Now I have the theme song stuck in my head, Thanks!....by the way my first name is Ed, it rymes with Fred, and my middle initial is G. ....and I own a Ford truck but its not redd.
FYI, .. Redd Foxx's real name was John Elroy Sanford.
freewheeling frank
New Member
yard sale a 1960 schwinn brass horn still in bov, atire rubbing gen set, turn signals that work a set of velocoraptor tires 3 specialized tubes mazzochi front forks, and some other stuff cant really remember would have to look, all for 15 bucks
Well, My neighbor gave me his old dual suspension mt bike with an aluminum frame, I goofed with it for a while and traded that even steven for a cranebrook with a tore up real wheel, that became the base of my current bike "idiot face." The kit on the bike is a 60cc thang I picked up on CG for 90.00.
freewheeling frank
New Member
het one thing i forgot was a set of west coast chopper pedals there kida coo ya know got thewcc logo and all a little bulky but if anyone wants em just pay shipping and there yours, frank, oh and would probably make the same deal on the genset
flybytaco
Metal Molding Madman
3 weeks ago I got a marin mountainbike and a proflex k2 2000 for free built the hardtail marin with all the components off the proflex including the noleen front end (girvin) all shimano stx components and today i got a full suspension giant frame that my starfire 50 will bolt right into just got the frame everything cost me 0$$$
mechanickid
New Member
i just found a nice Schwinn speedometer on a bike in the woods :]
BarelyAWake
New Member
I hates this thread o.o