I have been looking at recent rat rod finds. Alot of them are at factories as it seems. How could i find a factory near me that has some decent retired bicycles?
Finding Bikes
- Thread starter chronos275
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run a ad on craigslist and hope for the best, also watch the newspaper for auction ads and bike ads, a lot of times they auction off the old bikes around me , police auctions are great too. you can pick up nice formerly stolen bikes cheap and legal.
I found some of my best bikes on Swap Shop on the radio. It's on here Sat. morn. from 7 to 9. You call in an tell them on the air what you want.(or what you have to sell) Lots of old people listen to these programs. My phone would usually start ringing within minutes. B607
i know this isnt factory related but.....
got any old timers around youre area? if you see some ask if they have any bikes theyd want to sell......and try thrift stores,garage sales,lbs,auctions,swap meets,car shows,word of mouth,craigslist,college bike auctions,police auctions,scrap yards,ebay,classifieds here and other bike related sites,antique stores and anything else you can think of....
good luck
got any old timers around youre area? if you see some ask if they have any bikes theyd want to sell......and try thrift stores,garage sales,lbs,auctions,swap meets,car shows,word of mouth,craigslist,college bike auctions,police auctions,scrap yards,ebay,classifieds here and other bike related sites,antique stores and anything else you can think of....
good luck
Factory bikes are usually industrial-grade work bikes. An advantage of these are that they were built to last and might have things like heavy duty rims and spokes. The downside is the sizes might not be standardized compared to regular bikes, so spokes will be a thicker gauge and harder to find a replacement for. That doesn't mean it's impossible, just something to be ready for when the time comes to buy spare part.
I did a build on a '74 Schwinn Sidewinder over a year ago that I recently decided to give my nephew for college. I put on a new pair of heavy duty rims from the LBS because I figured that the heavier style rim would take the punishment he could give them over a 4 year period and not need any maintenance. I was surprised to find out the wider rims and thicker spokes also gave it a big "bling" factor. The visual impact of them next to a standard set of rims with galvanized spokes was readily apparent. The rims were wider too, which added to the visual effect, but caused some fit issues with the tires. It had 2.25 tires on a standard rim, but with the wider heavy duty rims, the frame would only accommodate a smaller 1.95 tire.
Another disadvantage is that factory bikes are usually in pretty rough shape-not that such a thing bothers a rat rodder. But they are often used by 3 shifts a day, with no one person being accountable for them. I found a trike that was used at the local Ford plant, but out of about 50-60 bikes at the Ford factory, only a handful of them were in good condition. Then again, getting a trike for $50, who can complain?
One more thing about factory bikes-it's boom or bust. A big plant tends to liquidate their old stock at once, no matter how many bikes are involved. Perhaps with the current economic difficulties, it might be easy to catch a company going out of business, or maybe there won't be as many industrial bikes on the market because the companies are hanging on to their bike inventory rather than upgrading them. I would think your best bet would be to PM MonsterMetal, who has access to a current stock of industrial bikes and who would most likely help you get the best value for the money.
http://ratrodbikes.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=12546&p=128336&hilit=worksman#p128336
I did a build on a '74 Schwinn Sidewinder over a year ago that I recently decided to give my nephew for college. I put on a new pair of heavy duty rims from the LBS because I figured that the heavier style rim would take the punishment he could give them over a 4 year period and not need any maintenance. I was surprised to find out the wider rims and thicker spokes also gave it a big "bling" factor. The visual impact of them next to a standard set of rims with galvanized spokes was readily apparent. The rims were wider too, which added to the visual effect, but caused some fit issues with the tires. It had 2.25 tires on a standard rim, but with the wider heavy duty rims, the frame would only accommodate a smaller 1.95 tire.
Another disadvantage is that factory bikes are usually in pretty rough shape-not that such a thing bothers a rat rodder. But they are often used by 3 shifts a day, with no one person being accountable for them. I found a trike that was used at the local Ford plant, but out of about 50-60 bikes at the Ford factory, only a handful of them were in good condition. Then again, getting a trike for $50, who can complain?
One more thing about factory bikes-it's boom or bust. A big plant tends to liquidate their old stock at once, no matter how many bikes are involved. Perhaps with the current economic difficulties, it might be easy to catch a company going out of business, or maybe there won't be as many industrial bikes on the market because the companies are hanging on to their bike inventory rather than upgrading them. I would think your best bet would be to PM MonsterMetal, who has access to a current stock of industrial bikes and who would most likely help you get the best value for the money.
http://ratrodbikes.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=12546&p=128336&hilit=worksman#p128336
