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fryguy

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Hey guys, just to let you know my buddy is going to take me to one of the hidden Bike mecca's in SE Pa. There is an older gentleman who is a bike hoarder and has been collecting bikes since the 70's. He says he literaly has 100's of bicycles and 1000's of bike parts all over his house, garage, basement, yard, etc. He says even one of his grandsons has a tree house that he can't use because its filled with frames and wheels. :p He buys, sells, trades. My buddy says you can't imagine it until you see it. He has a lot of older complete bikes that he sells. He also says he has a lot of we considered rat bikes that he has taken in trade or found in the trash as well. He's not into the rat bikes and is always looking to get rid of them as fast as he gets them. I am going to take some pictures for you guys and let you know whats for sale and whats available, etc. Hopefully I can get you guys a lot of pictures of whats up there. Looking forward to this trip.


Fryguy
 
Yes, that might be a better choice. Unfortunately I only have a Cell phone video camera, think that maybe more annoying than effective :lol:
 
I recently got to visit a bicycle hoarder's lair, a 40x90 pole barn with bikes hung from the rafters in such a concentration that frankly I don't know how the roof stays up. He says he has 2000 bikes and I've got no reason to believe it's anything less than that number. Months ago I got peek inside and my mind went wild with imagination, I was certain that with so many bikes collected over decades that there must be hoards of old tank bikes and rare parts. The heartbreaking reality once I got inside? Of two thousand bicycles, not a single tank bike. :( Not a single tank. Not a single horn, or klaxon, or S2, or long-spring seat, or cross-brace handlebar. The only thing I went away with was a demolished Colson girls skip tooth mess of a cruiser.
Two thousand 1970's diamond-frame multi-speed department store bikes, AMF, Kent, whatever.... :cry:

Sometimes our imagination truly is better than the sobering reality.

I hope you find Shangri-La and are able to tell us about it, happy hunting! :D
 
Wow...SE. PA? My neck of the woods. Can't wait to see some pics. I know of a couple guys in my area that have barns and garages full of bikes. If you're from the area or travel, I can share them with you. Happy picking
 
It just reminds me that there are still old bikes out there and our hobby will live on even if it's two generations from now that get into all these old barns.
 
Yes, hopefully its not a exercise in futility. I think it will be a good trip. I have seen some of the complete bikes my buddy has gotten from this bike man. They are ratty but complete balloon bikes. A couple even had springer front ends. Very cool stuff. Hopefully I can capture some of the cool stuff on film to share with you guys.
 
Bigcam59 said:
Meeba said:
Wow...SE. PA? My neck of the woods.
Click to expand...
Mine too! Time to start hunting... :D
Click to expand...

My offer stands for anyone near or far. If i find new places i will be sure to post up and let you guys know about it too.
 
Ok, I did make it up to the bike hoarders place. Nice guys but he didn't want me taking pictures. He thought that If I took pictures people would know where his place was and try to steal his stuff :roll: I tell ya some of these hoarders have a different view on things. He did have hundreds and hundreds of bikes piled up. Alot of of the early stuff was stacked 2 or 3 high. I was able to pick up 3 pre war skiptooth bikes, a girls keystone with the holes in the rear fenders where they use to put string to the hub so ladies dresses wouldn't get caught in the spokes. A ladies JC Higgins with a very cool rocket ship like back fender brace. I also picked up a mans Cleveland Welding CO Roadmaster with a really cool springer front end. He had a few more but I couldn't get too them. He also has a lot of 50's and 60's balloon bikes as well. He had a few Schwinn Hornets and Jaguars, a couple of Roadmasters as well. Like I said the bikes were stacked 3 or 4 deep so it was really difficult to get to. Most of the bikes he wants between $50-$60 for but he was negotionable. I am going to post some pics later here today.
 
Not to be pessimistic, but we've had several of these situations pop up in the past on the forum.

The problem that people run into each time is that someone will post photos of these bike collections and then they try to act as the middle man in selling the bikes and they get totally overwhelmed with PMs and emails and they realize that they don't have the time, energy or resources to be out digging up and shipping bikes to everyone.

If I were you, I'd just plan on posting photos of the guy's collection here for fun and if you happen to end up with any of them that you personally would like to sell on the forum then go for it. :wink:
 
.... i need to find places like this. then i will quit spending money going out to eat. bikes are more important :)

p.s. i am really looking for a long spring saddle with great patina.
 
Rat Rod said:
Not to be pessimistic, but we've had several of these situations pop up in the past on the forum.

The problem that people run into each time is that someone will post photos of these bike collections and then they try to act as the middle man in selling the bikes and they get totally overwhelmed with PMs and emails and they realize that they don't have the time, energy or resources to be out digging up and shipping bikes to everyone.

If I were you, I'd just plan on posting photos of the guy's collection here for fun and if you happen to end up with any of them that you personally would like to sell on the forum then go for it. :wink:
Click to expand...

If you don't beleive him check out my post "the mother load" way to overwhelmed :oops: ended up having to unload much faster then I planed
 
I believe you, I really do, but I wasn't looking to get into the retail bike business :D Just putting a post in the Bike talk section about one of my adventures. Theres not really any money in selling whole bikes. You need to break them down and part them out to make any money, not something I really have the time to get into doing. Here are some pics of the Cleveland Welding bike with the really cool springer front end I got. I left the Ladies Keystone and JC Higgins at my friends. I'll post pics of those later.


Fryguy

roadmaster004.jpg


roadmaster002.jpg


roadmaster001.jpg
 
Don't get me wrong...I'm all for the photos.

Just making sure you didn't repeat the mistakes of others. :wink:
 

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