Why does a parts sell off equal a larger pile of parts?

Joined
Oct 19, 2012
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Location
Wakefield, UK
Given the price of bikes at the moment with everyone and their dog wanting a bike I've been cobbling some of my unwanted parts together and making up complete bikes to sell off for a bit of extra £££. I managed to get three complete bikes together and sold two in the great sale only to then buy two more parts donors....



Exhibit one:-



The extortionate sum of £20 for what I believe is a Kona frame with all the bits in the picture plus a front wheel and a set of forks. I have a back wheel that doesn't match but will go with it and many sets of front gears to choose from. A bit of effort and that'll fetch in excess of £100 in the current climate.

Exhibit two:-



A Foffa (yes I had to look that up too!) Urban Premium 8 (I liked the sound of the "Premium" bit). I wanted a hub geared bike for general use being tired of being in the wrong gear on setting off and this has a fully serviced Alfine 8 hub, good wheels and cosmetically scabby but functional mechanical discs for £50. The rust below the seat is testament to a previously seized seat post and the subsequent heat used to remove it! What I failed to realise was the new seat post was also now seized. After more heat, penetrating oil and a 3 foot pipe wrench I ended up with this...



A neatly torn off seat post with the majority still in the frame. I'm now waiting on a 1 1/16" (26.8mm) cutter head so I can bodge up a tool to run down the frame tube to drill the (fortunately) aluminium seat post out of the steel frame to have any hope of returning it to use.

My garage has got fuller not emptier and whilst I'm still well in pocket in this effort to reduce the pile I can't help wondering how the focus of the operation went so blurred so quick.
 

Radical Brad

Garage Hacker!
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Kakabeka Falls, Ontario, Canada
It's amazing how "valuable" old bikes are in various parts of the world.

Here, I can drive 10 minutes to our local dump, and on any day load up more than can fit in a trailer.
I don't even bother collecting parts since I can find anything I want instantly.

Down at the bottom of the hill in the front yard here, I have an old 40 foot construction trailer that is jam packed with old bikes, most in similar shape to these posted. That was 2 loads from the dump!

It would be impossible to even give away the parts shown above around here.

Brad
 
Joined
Oct 19, 2012
Messages
2,384
Location
Wakefield, UK
At the moment bikes are fetching premium prices here. With the lock down over Covid a lot of people have taken up cycling. The Kona would have been a £500+ bike when new and the Foffa about £750.
 
Joined
Sep 12, 2012
Messages
3,058
Location
Apple Valley, California, USA
It's amazing how "valuable" old bikes are in various parts of the world.

Here, I can drive 10 minutes to our local dump, and on any day load up more than can fit in a trailer.
I don't even bother collecting parts since I can find anything I want instantly.

Down at the bottom of the hill in the front yard here, I have an old 40 foot construction trailer that is jam packed with old bikes, most in similar shape to these posted. That was 2 loads from the dump!

It would be impossible to even give away the parts shown above around here.

Brad
I was able to do that when I was in Vermont. Got virtually all my shelving for my appliance parts.
But out here in my town, if you try to take anything out of our dump, you will be met by the authorities.
 

Radical Brad

Garage Hacker!
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Joined
Mar 13, 1999
Messages
6,078
Location
Kakabeka Falls, Ontario, Canada
I should have mentioned that I live in a township of 500.
back in the city (an hour away), you can't really "shop" anymore.
There are many rural dumps that you can just drive out to and shop though.
The only authorities are the bears in these open pit landfills!

On a shopping run in 2010....

5050

Brad

I was able to do that when I was in Vermont. Got virtually all my shelving for my appliance parts.
But out here in my town, if you try to take anything out of our dump, you will be met by the authorities.
 
Joined
Oct 19, 2012
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Location
Wakefield, UK
What type of bears?

I always have loved a good rummage through a tip. I did it many a time for parts for my various cars. I was on good terms with most of the scrap yards. These days it's one of the perks of the jobs at tips that you get first call on what others throw away. Most of the tip workers do car boot sales on a Sunday morning to sell the treasure.

I watched an Alfine hubbed set of 700c wheels go through ebay here last week for £125!
 

Radical Brad

Garage Hacker!
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Joined
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Messages
6,078
Location
Kakabeka Falls, Ontario, Canada
Mostly black bears. I have them all over our property. Sometimes they pop right up in front of me when I am working, like this little dude...

5051

This one would wait for me on the trail down to my welding shack and then lurk in the bush...

5052

He was starting to get annoying (ripping up the orchard), so I began to run after him several times per day.
Eventually, he moved on.

Brad
 
Joined
Oct 19, 2012
Messages
2,384
Location
Wakefield, UK
I managed to get the seat post out entirely with my patented seat post remover:-



The sheer volume of aluminium shavings was enormously impressive. £11 well spent on the cutter to save the frame. I'll be trying my hand at sand blasting on it next week.
 
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