Harder to come by

[rusty513]

I used to find cool old bikes all the time at yard sales, local flea market & on craigslist. It just seems that they are getting really hard to find now. I think one is that pretty many people around here are getting into the hobby & people are getting more wise to what they have & don't want to sell.

 

[cycle junk]

I find like most things if the word gets out that some one is interested in some thing it does not take to long before the thing become comodities. The money guys than things start to get horded by speculators or go to ebay types.

 

[rusty513]

Yeah I agree. I've even got a few good deals on ebay but can't even do that anymore. So many people bid their crap up & it's irritating.

 

[michaelscycles]

I think it has a lot to do with how high the price of scrap steel was last year. People were advertising for any scrap metal. I am sure a bunch of bikes went that route. Around here, we have a spring clean-up week. You put your junk out by the curb, and the garbage man takes it away as long as it isn't hazardous or building materials. Used to find all sorts of things then. My kids got more excited for that then Christmas. When scrap went up, it was like a parade of trucks going up and down the streets picking up anything that was metal. It got so bad that they stopped doing it all at once. Now you can put stuff out anytime, you just have to call them and let them know.

It also helps that we live in a town with a steel mill and 2 scrap yards. We don't have to drive far to cash in. Prices really hit bottom last fall. It wasn't worth the gas to go pick up the stuff. Now I find a few bikes sitting out from time to time again.

 

[B607]

I used to find cool old bikes all the time at yard sales, local flea market & on craigslist. It just seems that they are getting really hard to find now. I think one is that pretty many people around here are getting into the hobby & people are getting more wise to what they have & don't want to sell.

I started looking for old Schwinn ballooners in '86 or '87. I wasn't online then and used newspapers, word of mouth, and my best source...AM radio swap shop on Sat. morning. I found lots of bikes. After a few years of hunting, I could have written your above paragraph about the early 90's. Here's my explanation. You hunt bikes and buy them. After a while you get more selective and find fewer of the kinds you want. Eventually, you don't hunt near as hard or as enthusiastically as you did before since you already have 20 bikes!
Then along comes a young guy, new to the hobby that is gung-ho and willing to turn over every rock to find a bike...and he finds them!
Now that I'm online, I think there are more cool bikes available now than when I started hunting in the late 80's. I can also find any part I need now that I couldn't find years ago. Prices are higher now, but everything is higher than 20 yrs ago. Bottom line, go back to the basics and beat the bushes like you did when you started. Expand your search. Be more clever. Try that AM radio swap shop. :wink: You'll find some deals. I'm optimistic and believe the woodwork is still full of old bikes. Gary

 

[GTCOMA]

Your dad buys them all before you can...

 

[TheFlyingDingo]

I have also realized a steady increase of prices for bikes, or at least the ones im looking for.

Im still getting all the murrays and all the bikes nobody cares about for cheap, But those do not matter to me. I have found about 2-3 Vintage/Classic cruisers this year, and that...isnt alot :shock:

 

[Singlespeed92]

I just flat out don't see any kool older bikes at yardsales/fleamarkets any more . I do have my parents (who live in a decent smaller city on the border of Va/Tn) and friends supposedly keeping their eyes open for me tho. My fingers stay crossed! :?