Tonight, I got to buy a bike like one I used to own. I was barely 20 and still living at home when I bought a cheap commuter style bike. Problem was, my dad didn't like the room my new bike took up in the garage and made me sell it once he determined I wasn't using it enough. He hadn't the faintest idea of the slippery slode I had already begun down, and neither did I.
I often will cruise by my nearest Goodwill stores to look for bikes, despite them getting pretty expensive lately. I have 2 within a couple miles of the house and a little before 8:30 pm decided to go see if they had anything. I struck out at both. It was a quarter till 9 and decided I could probably make the one in the next town over before they close. Sure enough, I rolled up at 5 till.
I jump out of the truck and spot something with skinny 26" tires which stood out from the rest of the fat knobby wally-junkers. I saw what it was and ran inside to see what it cost since there was no price.
A young employee came out and started talking about how
much they cost new, blah blah, then asked me how much I think it's worth. I never start with an offer because I never want to over shoot what they'll take. I told him about the history of the brand and them primarily building cruisers. We started talking about cruisers, so I think he felt we had good rapport. Then, he said they got 2 of them and sold the other one for $75. Since then, they have had some interest, but no takers for as low as $50. I offered $35, he countered $40...sold.
This is a simple, yet pretty cool bike with an aluminum frame, 1x9 speed drivetrain, and 26 inch street slicks. Madwagon was a small bike brand back in the early 2000's. They started out with 3 bike models. One was a cantilever frame coaster brake cruiser. Second was a twin top tube cruiser with either 1 or 3 speed freewheel hub and hand brakes. Last, was this bike. They were sold through sporting goods stores. Later, they tried to switch to an independent bike dealer method of distribution and really beefed up their cruiser lineup by offering lots of colors, more models, and even some wild custom style models like a black widow themed bike. Seems they went out of business somewhere around 2005.
Here we have the bike in its freshest state. In terms of mechanical issues, it was missing front brake pads and I found the headset top nut is stripped. I had some brake pads on hand, but I'll have to find a nut at a shop tomorrow. I have otherwise finished cleaning and tuning up the bike. I threw some random parts bin stuff at it to make it nicer. Photos and details to come...
I often will cruise by my nearest Goodwill stores to look for bikes, despite them getting pretty expensive lately. I have 2 within a couple miles of the house and a little before 8:30 pm decided to go see if they had anything. I struck out at both. It was a quarter till 9 and decided I could probably make the one in the next town over before they close. Sure enough, I rolled up at 5 till.
I jump out of the truck and spot something with skinny 26" tires which stood out from the rest of the fat knobby wally-junkers. I saw what it was and ran inside to see what it cost since there was no price.
A young employee came out and started talking about how
much they cost new, blah blah, then asked me how much I think it's worth. I never start with an offer because I never want to over shoot what they'll take. I told him about the history of the brand and them primarily building cruisers. We started talking about cruisers, so I think he felt we had good rapport. Then, he said they got 2 of them and sold the other one for $75. Since then, they have had some interest, but no takers for as low as $50. I offered $35, he countered $40...sold.
This is a simple, yet pretty cool bike with an aluminum frame, 1x9 speed drivetrain, and 26 inch street slicks. Madwagon was a small bike brand back in the early 2000's. They started out with 3 bike models. One was a cantilever frame coaster brake cruiser. Second was a twin top tube cruiser with either 1 or 3 speed freewheel hub and hand brakes. Last, was this bike. They were sold through sporting goods stores. Later, they tried to switch to an independent bike dealer method of distribution and really beefed up their cruiser lineup by offering lots of colors, more models, and even some wild custom style models like a black widow themed bike. Seems they went out of business somewhere around 2005.
Here we have the bike in its freshest state. In terms of mechanical issues, it was missing front brake pads and I found the headset top nut is stripped. I had some brake pads on hand, but I'll have to find a nut at a shop tomorrow. I have otherwise finished cleaning and tuning up the bike. I threw some random parts bin stuff at it to make it nicer. Photos and details to come...
