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schwinnmesa

schwinnmesa

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I was dumpster diving around town one day and I found two old rat rod bikes behind a barn, sort of by a dumpster. One of them was a red Schwinn road bike, probably from the 1970's. It looked pink because of all the weathering it took.

The other bicycle looked pretty old, probably from the 1940's. It was a girls bike and it was flat black, of course the black was a little bit faded. It had both of the fenders on it, it was in good condition.

I went back the next week to see these bicycles again, and there they were, leaned up against a barn by a dumpster, with heavy equipment stuff on them this time. That kinda bothered me, even though they weren't my bikes. I have a strong feeling that the owner will throw them in the dumpster one day, because it seems that they are by a whole bunch of scrap metal.

Should I talk to the owner and offer him like $30 bucks each ? I mean, if he has them outside in a foot of snow against a barn, by a dumpster, wedged against some metal and equipment, how much are they worth to him? They are awesome rat rods!!!!!!
 
i'd go less than that, but yeah, talk to him. you can always offer more if he thinks they're worth more than that. if they really are going out with the scrap, he'd be happy to get 10 bucks each instead of the few cents each they'd bring as scrap metal...

--rick
 
get some tape and leave a note on the seats or try to find way to get a hold of someone]i agree
wouldn't offer so high
prollly get em dirt cheap
HAPPY HUNITING!
 
Go one step further! If he is trying to clean up the junk, offer to help him, with the condition that you get the bikes and anything else that he's throwing away that you might want! I helped the friend a few years back and ended up with a several pickup loads of bikes, parts, tools and old toys! If he doesn't need the help, then go cash for bikes.
Good luck and keep us posted,
Chainsaw
 
Great ideas guys. I'm 15 so I will have to ask permission by my parents first. I'm not sure what type of guy he is though, after I found some pretty sick and graphic magazines in the dumpster by the rat rod bikes. I should hurry and ask him before he trashes it.

I don't know what to say to him though, because you can't see them bikes from the road but you can see them from the railroad tracks. So I'll just say, "I was walking on the railroad tracks and seen some Cool bikes by your business"... because I don't want to say, "Yea I was dumpster diving one day and seen some nice bikes leaning up against your building"... hahahaha. Any more advice guys ?
 
I'd not only tell your parents, but take one of them, or another adult with you.
I agree just say "are you tossing out those old bikes?" If he says "no" say "Can I buy them off you?"
If he's got some funky mags and stuff, I'd avoid working for him unsupervised unless your packin'.
Paranoia keeps ya alive :mrgreen:
 
ok, new details... you're a kid, and you found some "questionable materials" nearby... yep, definitely agree with Kingplinker, take an adult with you.

--rick
 
I just talked to my dad and he says that we will have to wait until Spring... oh well at least he said yes, it's just a matter of time. But I want to possibly get them bikes fast before he throws them out. I would hate to go there in the Spring and ask him if he still has them bikes and him saying, "Oh yea those ones, I took them to the scrapyard last month."
 
I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOUR TALKING ABOUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!
my mom is all like "how many bikes do you need"
then my dads all like
"as long as he is workin on bikes and not smokin pot who cares?"

i agree with dad :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:
 
i gotta agree with your dad too... :D

when I was a kid, maybe 10 or 12, dad once took me out in the old Chevy Citation hatchback during Bulk Pickup week--ya know, when they let you put stuff out in the trash that they wouldn't normally take and everyone cleans out their garages and sheds. we folded the back seat down and threw in as many bikes as we could... had them hanging out the back with the hatch tied down, dragged it all home and put it in the shed. i had stuff to play with for YEARS... 8)

--rick
 
lol ParkRNDL, great load!!!

I think there's nothing better then finding bikes in the dumpster or seeing some bikes in a front yard with a "FREE" sign next to them... oh man that just gets me so excited lol.
 
schwinnmesa said:
lol, then I'll get a "You have enough bikes!!!" response. (You kids know what I'm talking about lol).
Click to expand...
Dude, I'm 34 and it's my wife that yells now! I come home and have a bike or two in the back of the truck and she flips. Lucky me though, I have a storage unit :mrgreen:
 
It's more fun to fix bikes AND smoke pot - at the same time lol.
 
bigredddaddy said:
schwinnmesa said:
lol, then I'll get a "You have enough bikes!!!" response. (You kids know what I'm talking about lol).
Click to expand...
Dude, I'm 34 and it's my wife that yells now! I come home and have a bike or two in the back of the truck and she flips. Lucky me though, I have a storage unit :mrgreen:
Click to expand...


Hehehe Yeah my wife used to say things like that.

Now she's got a sweet modified Lil Chik. And a violet Stardust. And a blue Traveler with SS fenders. And now a burgundy Breeze. :)

I might have to ask HER how many bikes she needs! Then again, I just found her an original owner's manual to the Breeze!

So yeah, go pester the parents till they take you over there, or leave the guy a note and see if he calls you, might help move things along and does not hurt to try. It would be a shame to miss a cool ol' bike by a day or two.

I wish I had what I pulled out of the junk when I was 14! Was driving around with my dad and found a 68 Orange Krate. Had the 5-speed wheel but was missing springer, seat, and shifter. In place of the fork, a 27" red Schwinn fork with the drum brake attached but not really mounted to it. I gave it all to my brother when I was 16... most of it got thrown out! (noooooooo....) Yeah, that was 20+ years ago.

Fortunately some parts had been taken off it and saved, so I still have the rear fender and the chainguard, which was good enough to put onto a 68 Orange Krate we rebuilt last year. The fender has only about half its chrome so it's not much good except for the memories.

Nothing wrong with saving something that is going to be discarded. Keep it out of the scrap pile... they just crush the metal up and send it to China to make bikes that last 3 years, tops.

--Rob
 
schwinnmesa said:
lol ParkRNDL, great load!!!

I think there's nothing better then finding bikes in the dumpster or seeing some bikes in a front yard with a "FREE" sign next to them... oh man that just gets me so excited lol.
Click to expand...

I actually got a Columbia freestyle BMX like that last summer...

--rick
 

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