Off to the scrapyard...

[partsguy]

Classes are starting again today and I'm leaving early to make a run to the scrapyard. Will I find anything? I don't know but it's doubtful. It's hard to buy anything from the place I'm going to. But who knows?

Also, a moment of silence as two more bikes leave my boneyard. A 1986 Murray Team Murray 10-speed and a 1989 Schwinn Sprint. I didn't know the cables on the Murray were nice until AFTER they were cut during dis-assembly! :banghead: Their death will not be in vain. The aluminum brake handles on the Schwinn were an awesome upgrade on a beautiful Otasco Flying O. The brake pads, hardware, lug nuts, front wheel bearings, any cables I saved, and the reflectors will be recycled into other bikes. The Schwinn's handlebars were saved for a Columbia Charger. I also had some artistic inspiration at the flea market for the front rims

 

[Kevin Kanouff]

No!!!

 

[Araya51]

Just the seat guts would have sold for more than what they would give you at the scrap yard..
PLEASE.. EVERYONE A MOMEMT OF SILENCE..

 

[pebblewurm]

They are not good bikes, but I agree on the seat guts. Add the brake adjusters, one decent headset and it might be worth the time to take them apart and throw the bits in a coffee can. I am always digging out crappy 10 speeds, mainly because i am looking for a one piece crank to three bolt chainring adapter that was only used on the worst of the worst-

 

[rev106]

Wow then I must be the devil. I recently scrapped 1300 lbs of bike frames. I got a whole 31.00!! I've been stripping bikes like crazy doing 5-10 a day all last week and I have weeks more to go before I'm done. I won't waste time taking them to be scrapped now though.

 

[jamesdart]

1300lbs of bike frames. now that is funny. there is a scrap guy on my street, im always looking in his truck for bikes. all he ever seems to get are 16" bikes.

 

[Nagant]

I have to agree, there were still a number of usuable parts left on them.

 

[us56456712]

I'm always going back to my scrap trailer for stuff I threw away. I have so many parts I am running out of room, but there is always something I suddenly seem to need, usually something to modify from it's original use so I have to dive into the trailer. I quit bikes in the 80s, and gave away all my tools, Bulls Eyes hubs and a lot of good stuff. I threw out all my parts and didn't get into bikes again until my neighbor gave me a 60's Western Flyer and a 59 Schwinn Corvette 3 years ago for helping him clean out his shed. I found RatRodBikes and have been busy again with bikes. What is interesting is that a lot of the old junk I threw away is now very hard to find or expensive. I always see something on Ebay and say "I had a bunch of those". Good lesson there I think. If we could save it all somewhere some day it will be a treasure to someone. A friend of mine who is into bikes got a call from a family out in a small town and wanted to know if he wanted a bunch of old bikes. He checked it out and found a bicycle shop that was in business from 1920 to 1930s. The original owner died and his shop caved in from the years of snow. His family was cleaning up the property. He pulled out about 30 wooden wheeled bikes and about 100 others. The best stuff. Plus he has boxes of plated spokes, headlights, racing hubs, racing pedals,new skip tooth chains and links, long spring seats and parts and square tanks, etc, etc. He asked how much and they said "we want it out of here, take it for free". It took many pickup loads. He has it all labeled and neatly arranged. He restores bikes, doesn't rat rod them. This to me was the find of the century, a lot of rare bikes and more parts and accessories than I have seen on 3 years of viewing Ebay. It took him along time and a lot of research to figure out what parts were original to the old frames but eventually he found pretty much everything for the bikes that were disassembled. His wooden wheel tires are petrified and crumble. In a 100 years the stuff we disregard will probably be like this. Too bad we can't create a time capsule like the old bike shop owner did. I tried to give him a skip tooth New Departure Hub and matching front sprocket but he didn't want it because he already has enough. What a problem to have?

 

[baldwooky]

Heresy. Ban this ban man.

Seriously, scrapping bikes? And you tell us on this website?

They have to be to the point of unusable to be worth scrapping. I cry at night thinking of all the good and rare bikes that are now melted down in China to sell us back as garbage pacifics.

 

[DJ Bill]

Heresy. Ban this ban man.

Seriously, scrapping bikes? And you tell us on this website?

They have to be to the point of unusable to be worth scrapping. I cry at night thinking of all the good and rare bikes that are now melted down in China to sell us back as garbage pacifics.

But think of the joy when you get to scrap a junk Pacific! (Or any other fine Bicycle shaped object sold in a box store..)

 

[baldwooky]

One would first have to have possession of one of those first. I wouldn't pay anything over scrap value for those and I routinely pass them up if I'm picking. None of the parts are worth using, and I have a job, so wasting time stripping and flipping them isn't worth the 9 cents a pound you get or the space it takes up.

 

[partsguy]

I posted this for us all to have a laugh. I didn't find anything at the yard, everything was just crushed. I never thought anyone would take offense to these POS bikes getting crushed.

I don't have a lot of room these days so if I don't need it or it's not making money, it goes. These bikes were being parted out in the "For Sale" section. I stripped these bikes of anything I can use, based on what I typically get in to restore or fix n' flip. Seat guts are parts I almost never need, especially from a 1980s ten speed. the Schwinn was made in TAIWAN but the Murray was a Tennessee-built bike.

The aluminum calipers and crank from the Schwinn were chucked in one of those white containers, with other aluminum parts. I used to sell those on eBay but they're slow to move and aren't worth wasting my shelf space for a $15 crank that takes nearly a year to sell and I've never had to replace.

Wheels don't sell unless they're 1960s drop center middleweight rims, which I keep, or balloon tire wheels. Lightweight wheels, unless they're very high end, are worthless. I had a NICE set of aluminum rims with a decent Shimano cog and quick-release levers on both hubs on eBay for months and they wouldn't move. I had a decent set of old school steel MTB rims too. they wouldn't move and they took up space, so they got scrapped about a month ago.

I don't put my emotion into rusty crap from the 80s. It's just basic economics. I've been restoring, rebuilding, and repairing bicycles for several years. I've scrapped maybe 25 or 30 bikes, ranging from 1941-present day, but I have saved 100-150. Some must die so others may live. It's just basic economics.

 

[Wildcat]

That looks like a flux capacitor in the back of your truck. You didn't scrap that too, did you?

I completely understand getting rid of some bikes. Anything made cheaply, even if it's classic American it can go to the scrap heap. For me, that's nothing before 1970 though.

 

[partsguy]

Heresy. Ban this ban man.

Seriously, scrapping bikes? And you tell us on this website?

They have to be to the point of unusable to be worth scrapping. I cry at night thinking of all the good and rare bikes that are now melted down in China to sell us back as garbage pacifics.

These bikes were bought at a garage sale. They were destined for the trash, which would be a complete waste of the parts I DID save. They looked like they had sat in the bottom of the Mississippi River for 20 years. These bikes were JUNK, they look "nice" because they had been washed off after I bought them. I would get $40 for these here, fixed up, in pristine condition. There's no shortage of women's 10-speeds. It would cost over $100 to fix them. They still might not sell because of all the rust spots in the paint. Around here, people buy these for commuters and people don't buy bikes that look like crap.

The seat on the Schwinn was bent at a 45' angle. The seat on the Murray was full of mold and mildew stains. the handlebars on the Murray were rusted under that rubber "tape". The chain was locked up, the rims were full of rust pits, the spoke protector was broken, the pedals had rust, etc. Women don't buy bikes with rust. I've been selling bikes long enough here to know.

 

[partsguy]

That looks like a flux capacitor in the back of your truck. You didn't scrap that too, did you?

I completely understand getting rid of some bikes. Anything made cheaply, even if it's classic American it can go to the scrap heap. For me, that's nothing before 1970 though.

ABSOLUTELY! For some people, anything older than 20-25 years is a "classic". Not necessarily. A mauve 1980's women's 10-speed? Fat chance. I didn't think anyone would mourn these bikes. I offered them up for parts in the "FOR SALE" section, with no takers. Can't say I didn't try. I saved what I could for the commuter bikes I refurbish and chucked the rest.

 

[partsguy]

That looks like a flux capacitor in the back of your truck. You didn't scrap that too, did you?

I completely understand getting rid of some bikes. Anything made cheaply, even if it's classic American it can go to the scrap heap. For me, that's nothing before 1970 though.

And what Flux Capacitor? That great big thing with hoses on it? That mess is the corroded, dented, bent, and worn out parts from my Stratus build. 265,296 on those parts. Factory, from Chrysler. The new radiator and A/C condenser are from Spectra and the transmission oil cooler and hoses are from B&M Racing.