one man's trash, another's treasure

[vreihen]

You would be surprised what pops up on the local Freecycle web site in our area. A few years ago, my wife saw a listing for a free patio slider door that was removed from a new house because the owner wanted wooden french doors. We have a detached garage that's pretty dark inside, and I was thinking that a patio door in the side would lighten things up and also provide a side door. Long story short, the person giving away the door twisted my arm and also made me take a working full-size table saw...with dado blades and everything! We have used it for several projects around the house, and I can't believe that someone would give it away for free to complete strangers.

The bad thing about Freecycle is that certain items appear to be scooped up by small businesses before anyone else can ask about them. Things like lawnmowers are usually taken within 15 minutes of being posted, mostly going to lawnmower repair shops or people looking to fix them up for resale. We finally did get a lawn tractor after literally 25+ missed ones, but it is in rough shape and took a few trips to Tractor Supply to make functional. Bicycles seem to go quick as well, and I have yet to score one.

Long live the Great Material Continuum.....

[Fenlason]

hmm I must live in the wrong part of the country.. any bikes around here thrown away.. really "need" to be thrown away...

actually I am not sure they throw enough away.. doing things like wanting to put $200 dollars into a bike that they can replace for less...

[stevem50]

i would not say "wrong"... sounds like the people in your area either don't buy crap on a whim to throw it away, or they keep what they got and maintain it.

i will trade all the free stuff, but you gotta take all the idiots that come with the freebies!

[Fenlason]

i would not say "wrong"... sounds like the people in your area either don't buy crap on a whim to throw it away, or they keep what they got and maintain it.

i will trade all the free stuff, but you gotta take all the idiots that come with the freebies!

or.. they just keep stuff...

[stevem50]

another one came through (although i had the day off and missed it )
early 80's steel bianchi with campy everything! (even headset) the previous owner said he did not want it anymore due to the need to replace the tubular tires..bought a new bike so he didn't have to deal with glue up rubber.

[Fenlason]

another one came through (although i had the day off and missed it )
early 80's steel bianchi with campy everything! (even headset) the previous owner said he did not want it anymore due to the need to replace the tubular tires..bought a new bike so he didn't have to deal with glue up rubber.

Wow! man what a steal... I would love an old Bianchi like that.. I bet it was Celeste also...

[stevem50]

at this point i'm starting to feel like fred sanford- but these old bikes are too cool to throw out

[Fenlason]

at this point i'm starting to feel like fred sanford- but these old bikes are too cool to throw out

the FreeSpirit I could have done without.. but the Bianchi I would have taken...

[Noob]

I was at performance and seen a "shop monkey" talk a cust. out ofa tune-up and 2 tire/tube installs, on an old steel WELDED, not brazed motobecane w/ old non-"aero" brakes and decent looking suntour components... "You dont want to spend 80 $ on this pos, but i'll give you 50 $ so you dont have to deal with it." ... some more bs like that, and after 5min it worked.

The funny part- it was an old 61cm ... the guy was tall compared to me, but he wasnt 6'-5" ... so that seat will be on the top tube.

The sad part- seems like he has done this before, cant see how thats good for the company ...

[Fenlason]

I was at performance and seen a "shop monkey" talk a cust. out ofa tune-up and 2 tire/tube installs, on an old steel lugged motobecane w/ old non-"aero" brakes and decent looking suntour components... "You dont want to spend 80 $ on this pos, but i'll give you 50 $ so you dont have to deal with it." ... some more bs like that, and after 5min it worked.

The funny part- it was an old 61cm ... the guy was tall compared to me, but he wasnt 6'-5" ... so that seat will be on the top tube.

The sad part- seems like he has done this before, cant see how thats good for the company ...

that's sad.. and maddening...

tires, tubes and tune up.. isn't bad.. if someone is trying to do some serious upgrades then a new bike might be suggested..

often people have no idea how much things have changed... a test ride.. will often answer the question for them, in one direction or the other..

[stevem50]

i have yet to hear someone pursuade a customer into getting rid of a bike, we actually make more $$$ on service than a new sale. more often than not a bike is just "donated"out of laziness

[Fenlason]

i have yet to hear someone pursuade a customer into getting rid of a bike, we actually make more $$$ on service than a new sale. more often than not a bike is just "donated"out of laziness

Yeah we often would make more money on the service work vs the sale.. but depending on the situation we do broach the subject. Even when we don't get anything out of it... like when they bring in a $100. department store bike.. and it would cost hundreds to fix..

[Noob]

Straigt up con job, for this :


Its not even lugged.

[rich5665]

Threw out my 98 Hardrock, just to much to fix. Three months later I wound up garbage picking my bike. Some one else "rescued it" decided there was to much work to be done and tossed it back out. Now I'm toying with the idea of restoring it. It needs cables, tires, seat and shifters. I am thinking of upgrading it to an 8 speed, which means new gears and derailures. The RockShox Judy, handlebar, neck and the frame are about the only parts worth salvaging.

[Noob]

Threw out my 98 Hardrock, just to much to fix. Three months later I wound up garbage picking my bike. Some one else "rescued it" decided there was to much work to be done and tossed it back out. Now I'm toying with the idea of restoring it. It needs cables, tires, seat and shifters. I am thinking of upgrading it to an 8 speed, which means new gears and derailures. The RockShox Judy, handlebar, neck and the frame are about the only parts worth salvaging.

Shifter pods are so cheap for old 5/6/7 spds its rediculus, no need to throw away a bike that needs 40 in pods and cables...
You can save some money, by leaving the derailers alone. [ they just do what they are "told" by the shifters. ( assuming they work and are straight. )]