Go Back  Bike Forums > Bike Forums > Classic & Vintage
Reload this Page >

Dumpster diving

Notices
Classic & Vintage This forum is to discuss the many aspects of classic and vintage bicycles, including musclebikes, lightweights, middleweights, hi-wheelers, bone-shakers, safety bikes and much more.

Dumpster diving

Old 07-12-17, 12:34 PM
  #1  
zammykoo
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
zammykoo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: Houston, TX
Posts: 433

Bikes: Trek 510, Dahon Classic III, Specialized Tricross, Raleigh Technium 460

Mentioned: 15 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 122 Post(s)
Liked 7 Times in 4 Posts
Dumpster diving

I feel a little weird posting this because I'm not in a situation where I need to do this. But I see people posting their dumpster/neighborhood trash bike finds from time to time - some nice ones, some not so nice.

I'm the kind of person that would try anything once either to learn from the experience or maybe just for the thrill of it. If I were to give it a try and happen to find something nice then it would satisfy both. I don't have a lot of free time outside of my day job, so this is probably more hypothetical than something I would actually do.

Questions for those who have done it: How do you know where to look? What's your secret on targeting potential good finds? Rich neighborhoods? Places close to scrap yards? How do you not embarrass yourself while searching?
zammykoo is offline  
Old 07-12-17, 12:50 PM
  #2  
rhm
multimodal commuter
 
rhm's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: NJ, NYC, LI
Posts: 19,852

Bikes: 1940s Fothergill, 1959 Allegro Special, 1963? Claud Butler Olympic Sprint, Lambert 'Clubman', 1974 Fuji "the Ace", 1976 Holdsworth 650b conversion rando bike, 1983 Trek 720 tourer, 1984 Counterpoint Opus II, 1993 Basso Gap, 2010 Downtube 8h, and...

Mentioned: 584 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1907 Post(s)
Liked 572 Times in 338 Posts
It's pretty simple. You just keep your eyes open, look at every large pile of trash that's been put out on the curb, and focus on every dumpster you see. Some dumpsters have construction debris; you will learn to recognize them and move along. Others have the contents of a house, or a garage, or other storage area; those are the ones you want to take a look at.

If you don't know what I'm talking about, then look in every dumpster you see. You'll learn quickly, I promise.

If you'd be ashamed of being seen crawling out of a dumpster, maybe it's not for you. I'm proud of my dumpster finds, and make no apology about it.
__________________
www.rhmsaddles.com.

Last edited by rhm; 07-12-17 at 01:06 PM.
rhm is offline  
Old 07-12-17, 12:55 PM
  #3  
noobinsf 
Senior Member
 
noobinsf's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Oakland, CA
Posts: 3,291

Bikes: '82 Univega Competizione, '72 Motobecane Grand Record, '83 Mercian KOM Touring, '85 Univega Alpina Uno, '76 Eisentraut Limited

Mentioned: 57 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1088 Post(s)
Liked 1,204 Times in 700 Posts
If your area has a designated annual/periodic bulk pick up day, that's a good time to go roaming. My city doesn't do this, but rather each household is individually allowed to schedule one day annually, so this doesn't really work where I live.

For mine, I just happened upon my neighbor's trash pile as he was prepping it for the bulk pick up -- just lucky timing. I fixed it up and it's now my main commuter.
noobinsf is offline  
Old 07-12-17, 01:03 PM
  #4  
oddjob2
Still learning
 
oddjob2's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2012
Location: North of Canada, Adirondacks
Posts: 11,620

Bikes: Still a garage full

Mentioned: 92 Post(s)
Tagged: 2 Thread(s)
Quoted: 847 Post(s)
Liked 66 Times in 44 Posts
Rule #1 - if it's on the ROW lawn extension on trash day, it's fair game.
Rule #2 - ask if in doubt.

Recommendation - best done if your are driving a beater or clunker.
oddjob2 is offline  
Old 07-12-17, 01:11 PM
  #5  
rumrunn6
Senior Member
 
rumrunn6's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: 25 miles northwest of Boston
Posts: 29,501

Bikes: Bottecchia Sprint, GT Timberline 29r, Marin Muirwoods 29er, Trek FX Alpha 7.0

Mentioned: 112 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 5216 Post(s)
Liked 3,555 Times in 2,325 Posts
found a bike once near a college in the spring when all the kids were moving out. just right on top of a giant pile of black garbage bags

stay out of actual dumpsters
rumrunn6 is offline  
Old 07-12-17, 01:26 PM
  #6  
noglider 
aka Tom Reingold
 
noglider's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: New York, NY, and High Falls, NY, USA
Posts: 40,639

Bikes: 1962 Rudge Sports, 1971 Raleigh Super Course, 1971 Raleigh Pro Track, 1974 Raleigh International, 1975 Viscount Fixie, 1982 McLean, 1996 Lemond (Ti), 2002 Burley Zydeco tandem

Mentioned: 507 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 7251 Post(s)
Liked 2,322 Times in 1,357 Posts
The town I lived in used to have a bulk pickup day. That's how I got my Super Course, one of my most beloved bikes. A couple of years later, a neighbor recognized it. He had trash picked it and fixed it up for the woman who left it out for me to find, so it's been trash-picked twice.
__________________
Tom Reingold, tom@noglider.com
New York City and High Falls, NY
Blogs: The Experienced Cyclist; noglider's ride blog

“When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments.” — Elizabeth West, US author

Please email me rather than PM'ing me. Thanks.
noglider is offline  
Old 07-12-17, 01:44 PM
  #7  
Siu Blue Wind
Homey
 
Siu Blue Wind's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Posts: 13,517
Mentioned: 56 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2422 Post(s)
Liked 1,380 Times in 887 Posts
I found a nice old Raleigh back in the day that someone put to be tossed in the compactor. All it really needed was a refresh.

I posted it on here and a member wanted to buy it. He wanted it super bad because it was just like the one he had YEARS ago when he was younger, and this one was the perfect size. I told him I would let him have it for free if he promised to keep it and not just turn it around for a profit.

He ended up stripping it down, repainting it, had all the parts cleaned up and polished.. new tape, new tires, new frame decals.. everything. The bike looked brand new. He rode it every day.

Then it got stolen.
__________________
Originally Posted by making
Please dont outsmart the censor. That is a very expensive censor and every time one of you guys outsmart it it makes someone at the home office feel bad. We dont wanna do that. So dont cleverly disguise bad words.
Siu Blue Wind is offline  
Old 07-12-17, 01:50 PM
  #8  
2manybikes
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2003
Posts: 18,138

Bikes: 2 many

Mentioned: 13 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1266 Post(s)
Liked 323 Times in 169 Posts
Originally Posted by Siu Blue Wind
I found a nice old Raleigh back in the day that someone put to be tossed in the compactor. All it really needed was a refresh.

I posted it on here and a member wanted to buy it. He wanted it super bad because it was just like the one he had YEARS ago when he was younger, and this one was the perfect size. I told him I would let him have it for free if he promised to keep it and not just turn it around for a profit.

He ended up stripping it down, repainting it, had all the parts cleaned up and polished.. new tape, new tires, new frame decals.. everything. The bike looked brand new. He rode it every day.

Then it got stolen.
It can be worse when you put a lot of time into a bike, and very little money, compared to a lot of money in it.
2manybikes is offline  
Old 07-12-17, 01:51 PM
  #9  
jetboy 
Senior Member
 
jetboy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Oakland, CA
Posts: 3,445

Bikes: centurion cinelli equipe, look hinault 753, Zunow z-1, 83 stumpy sport

Mentioned: 66 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 814 Post(s)
Liked 330 Times in 186 Posts
I get a lot... and i mean a lot of dumpster bikes. So many that i started a co-op just to handle them.

Mostly because i work at a school...but plenty from off the street as well.

Most common: people moving out and they dump a bunch of stuff outside including bikes.

Best bikes i have trash dived:

Look kg 96
Univega alpine pro
Specialized rock hopper
Specialized hardrock..with caradice bag! Bag worth more than bike.
Schwinn prelude
Centurion elite rs
Fuji s12
Cannondale caad 1 fsomething
And lots more...

Tons of parts as well.. mostly racks.
jetboy is offline  
Old 07-12-17, 02:00 PM
  #10  
Gaelen
Senior Member
 
Gaelen's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: Wichita Falls, TX
Posts: 142

Bikes: 2019 Giant Defy Advanced 3

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 36 Post(s)
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
So far anything I've seen out in the trash definitely deserved to be there... I'm still optimistic, though!
Gaelen is offline  
Old 07-12-17, 02:21 PM
  #11  
Wildwood 
Veteran, Pacifist
 
Wildwood's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Seattle area
Posts: 13,295

Bikes: Bikes??? Thought this was social media?!?

Mentioned: 284 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3873 Post(s)
Liked 4,766 Times in 2,199 Posts
Not worth the effort, IMHO. The dumpster part, I've taken 2 off the curb on garbage day, when I saw them but not 'hunting' for them.

But I'm not a tinkerer, either.
__________________
Vintage, modern, e-road. It is a big cycling universe.

Last edited by Wildwood; 07-12-17 at 03:52 PM.
Wildwood is offline  
Old 07-12-17, 02:59 PM
  #12  
rustystrings61 
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Greenwood SC USA
Posts: 2,340

Bikes: 2002 Mercian Vincitore, 1982 Mercian Colorado, 1976 Puch Royal X, 1973 Raleigh Competition, 1971 Gitane Tour de France and others

Mentioned: 55 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 822 Post(s)
Liked 1,387 Times in 690 Posts
Only once did I have a great trash score - it was what I believe to have been an early Raleigh Competition or Gran Sport, with rapid-taper stays, Nervex Pro lugs, Huret ends, TDC headset, Stronglight BB and mod. 93 cranks with a single drilled 42T ring ... took a 27.2 seatpost and had absolutely no chrome anywhere. It was covered in several layers of Krylon and brushed on house paint, but there were still traces of white and lagoon blue under all that. It was my size, and I got it when I was driving past a trashheap and the setting sun picked out the curve of an alloy handlebar as I passed.

I rode it for a couple of years as a beater, and I foolishly, foolishly sold it because I didn't "need" it. As if need has anything to do with it!

I've owned lots of expensive bikes, a custom Rivendell, all sorts of semi-collectible stuff - but the trash heap Raleigh is the only one I really, truly miss.
rustystrings61 is offline  
Old 07-12-17, 03:33 PM
  #13  
YoKev
hi
 
YoKev's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Kingston, NY
Posts: 2,611
Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 7 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 3 Times in 3 Posts
I have rescued one frame/fork from an actual dumpster. I was working on the property as tenants were moving out, and I made sure it was ok if I took it. (currently my town cruiser).

Another time, there was a bike curbside, clearly left for trash, and once I snagged it, I was chased down by some gutter punks that said it was theirs so I said F-it and gave it to them. Not worth it.

The grill in my backyard came from the dumpster/curbside. So did my vacuum, my dining room chairs, a lamp, my tea kettle, ect, ect. It's good stuff and I don't think twice.
YoKev is offline  
Old 07-12-17, 04:55 PM
  #14  
The Golden Boy 
Extraordinary Magnitude
 
The Golden Boy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Waukesha WI
Posts: 13,637

Bikes: 1978 Trek TX700; 1978/79 Trek 736; 1984 Specialized Stumpjumper Sport; 1984 Schwinn Voyageur SP; 1985 Trek 620; 1985 Trek 720; 1986 Trek 400 Elance; 1987 Schwinn High Sierra; 1990 Miyata 1000LT

Mentioned: 84 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2594 Post(s)
Liked 1,670 Times in 924 Posts
Originally Posted by Siu Blue Wind

I posted it on here and a member wanted to buy it. He wanted it super bad because it was just like the one he had YEARS ago when he was younger, and this one was the perfect size. I told him I would let him have it for free if he promised to keep it and not just turn it around for a profit.

He ended up stripping it down, repainting it, had all the parts cleaned up and polished.. new tape, new tires, new frame decals.. everything. The bike looked brand new. He rode it every day.

Then it got stolen.
__________________
*Recipient of the 2006 Time Magazine "Person Of The Year" Award*

Commence to jigglin’ huh?!?!

"But hey, always love to hear from opinionated amateurs." -says some guy to Mr. Marshall.
The Golden Boy is offline  
Old 07-12-17, 09:34 PM
  #15  
zammykoo
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
zammykoo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: Houston, TX
Posts: 433

Bikes: Trek 510, Dahon Classic III, Specialized Tricross, Raleigh Technium 460

Mentioned: 15 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 122 Post(s)
Liked 7 Times in 4 Posts
I honestly did not think there would be so much interest in you guy sharing about your dumpster finds - I appreciate all. The bulk pickup is something I've never thought about before, so I'll look that up in my city. Wish me luck.
zammykoo is offline  
Old 07-12-17, 11:56 PM
  #16  
solidtyres
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: PNW Island Life
Posts: 123

Bikes: YES

Mentioned: 3 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 31 Post(s)
Liked 4 Times in 3 Posts
In 1985 I found my Gitane TdF in a dumpster, only because it was partly visible from outside. Bought a chrome fork and some nice wheels (thanks juvela!) to try it out, liked it, then had Mikkelsen replace the head tube and add some braze ons. Painted Imron purple and built up with mostly Campy NR.
Still one of my favorite bikes, and the one I have owned the longest.
solidtyres is offline  
Old 07-13-17, 01:40 AM
  #17  
Hardrock23
 
Hardrock23's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: NoVA - DC Metro
Posts: 1,220

Bikes: 1987 Schwinn Prelude

Mentioned: 10 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 296 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 8 Times in 5 Posts
Twice a year my neighborhood puts out those long, large dumpsters on the main streets (2-3 of them) for people to get rid of larger items. The stuff some people throw out is amazing lol. I haven't found any bikes yet though.

I don't feel embarrassed looking through such things. My mom was very poor when I was growing up, so it's how we got most of our things. Dumpsters, trash days, the dumps sale lot, yard sales, thrift stores...where ever. And a lot of people do it too.
Hardrock23 is offline  
Old 07-13-17, 08:50 AM
  #18  
Kevindale
Senior Member
 
Kevindale's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: Amsterdam
Posts: 1,684

Bikes: 1980 Koga-Miyata Gentsluxe-S, 1998 Eddy Merckx Corsa 01, 1983 Tommasini Racing, 2012 Gulf Western CAAD10, 1980 Univega Gran Premio

Mentioned: 49 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 600 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 11 Times in 11 Posts
I've found some amazing furniture by the side of the road, mostly mid-century modern type stuff that I love - a solid maple dining table, a Heywood-Wakefield style solid wood end table, several great shaped-plywood chairs, a couple of Eames fiberglass chairs, a Poulsen PH5 lamp, and some other things. This was mostly while living in Los Angeles, where the weather and the population density (and my need to drive a lot) helped out. Sadly, I wasn't looking for bikes then. On bulky trash days, there were always beat-up pickup trucks cruising the streets in the early morning, picking over everything worth taking, so that was a poor strategy there, unless you were willing to put in a lot of effort. All my finds were pure luck, just happening by as someone put something by the side of the road.

My only bike find was recent - I saw a neighbor wheeling a beat mountain bike over to the dumpster by the school next door. I asked him about it and he gave it to me, along with a cruiser. I salvaged the rear rack/baskets off the cruiser and donated the rest to a local Co-op. In NOLA, lots of people ride vintage beaters as primary transportation, and anything ridable is scooped up pretty quickly. In Shreveport there just isn't enough of a bike culture, so I've never seen a bike that wasn't absolute trash out in the trash.

My sense is that CL and Offerup have made this a very low-yield strategy in recent years, but I'm just guessing.
Kevindale is offline  
Old 07-13-17, 09:03 AM
  #19  
mapleleafs-13 
Senior Member
 
mapleleafs-13's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Toronto
Posts: 1,814

Bikes: Pinarello Veneto, Pinarello Montello, Bianchi Celeste

Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 25 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time in 1 Post
Originally Posted by jetboy
I get a lot... and i mean a lot of dumpster bikes. So many that i started a co-op just to handle them.

Mostly because i work at a school...but plenty from off the street as well.

Most common: people moving out and they dump a bunch of stuff outside including bikes.

Best bikes i have trash dived:

Look kg 96
Univega alpine pro
Specialized rock hopper
Specialized hardrock..with caradice bag! Bag worth more than bike.
Schwinn prelude
Centurion elite rs
Fuji s12
Cannondale caad 1 fsomething
And lots more...

Tons of parts as well.. mostly racks.
Look kg 96?! Damn

Best thing I've found thrown to a curb was a Miele and a bianchi. Both upper range bikes and complete. Needed a clean up and bearing repack and cables but both sold well on my website.
mapleleafs-13 is offline  
Old 07-13-17, 09:11 AM
  #20  
mapleleafs-13 
Senior Member
 
mapleleafs-13's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Toronto
Posts: 1,814

Bikes: Pinarello Veneto, Pinarello Montello, Bianchi Celeste

Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 25 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time in 1 Post
Originally Posted by Hardrock23
Twice a year my neighborhood puts out those long, large dumpsters on the main streets (2-3 of them) for people to get rid of larger items. The stuff some people throw out is amazing lol. I haven't found any bikes yet though.

I don't feel embarrassed looking through such things. My mom was very poor when I was growing up, so it's how we got most of our things. Dumpsters, trash days, the dumps sale lot, yard sales, thrift stores...where ever. And a lot of people do it too.
Nothing wrong with it at all. I've owned really nice expensive items in my life but I've never felt that I was too good or embarrassed to take anything of good use from the trash. I have a "the save the earth" philosophy, I'm sure whomever is throwing it out would rather see a good item made use of rather than going to land fill. I actually respect someone that can take something thrown out on garbage day and use it it shows they are confident and just don't give a...
mapleleafs-13 is offline  
Old 07-13-17, 09:31 AM
  #21  
zammykoo
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
zammykoo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: Houston, TX
Posts: 433

Bikes: Trek 510, Dahon Classic III, Specialized Tricross, Raleigh Technium 460

Mentioned: 15 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 122 Post(s)
Liked 7 Times in 4 Posts
I too like to see things being repurposed, especially if it keeps stuff out of landfills. I used to live in a neighborhood where curbside "treasures" were a more common occurrence so I'd pick what I can - mostly useable furniture and garden tools. I was able to salvage a pair of speakers from a nice but broken big screen tv and repurposed it as my garage sound system - probably my most useful find today.
zammykoo is offline  
Old 07-13-17, 09:39 AM
  #22  
Hardrock23
 
Hardrock23's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: NoVA - DC Metro
Posts: 1,220

Bikes: 1987 Schwinn Prelude

Mentioned: 10 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 296 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 8 Times in 5 Posts
Originally Posted by mapleleafs-13
Nothing wrong with it at all. I've owned really nice expensive items in my life but I've never felt that I was too good or embarrassed to take anything of good use from the trash. I have a "the save the earth" philosophy, I'm sure whomever is throwing it out would rather see a good item made use of rather than going to land fill. I actually respect someone that can take something thrown out on garbage day and use it it shows they are confident and just don't give a...
Exactly



Oh, more so to the topic, my dad found a bike in the dumpster a few months ago and brought it home! I semi-recently (within the past 2 years) have convinced him it's nothing to be embarrassed about, somehow...but anyway, he checks the dumpsters behind his station every day now and brings things home a lot. The bike was a new Schwinn MTB (adult/26" wheels), but an older model that Amazon used to sell. The rear brake cable noodle thing was pulled out and it was covered in dust, but otherwise fine. Seems someone bought it & never used it. He gave it to my son...who is 5 lol It'll be awhile before he can use it.
Hardrock23 is offline  
Old 07-13-17, 09:49 AM
  #23  
bargainguy
Senior Member
 
bargainguy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Trekland
Posts: 2,274
Mentioned: 19 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 512 Post(s)
Liked 284 Times in 182 Posts
A few weeks ago, I was testing riding a bike in the alleys near my home. It was a Sunday, trash day is Thursday. I see a bike leaning up against a garage where the trash cans are usually set out. I'm thinking...is this bike being thrown out, or did the owner just leave it there for whatever reason?

So I go around to the front of the house. Front door is wide open, I ring the bell and knock, but no answer. Hmmmm.

Go back home, tell the missus that I didn't just want to take the bike and get accused of theft. So I go back to where the bike was leaning up against the garage. Start looking around (it was a windy day) and a few feet away, somewhat obscured by a bush, there is a sheet of paper with a handwritten note: "Needs work -- free to good home." I saw the remnant of a tiny piece of tape which had obviously blown off in the wind.

Took the bike home, installed a new chain, cleaned it up and tuned it, sold it a few days later for cheap. New owner was very happy. I could have sold that bike several times over, I got such a response for it.
bargainguy is offline  
Old 07-13-17, 10:15 AM
  #24  
Ironfish653
Dirty Heathen
 
Ironfish653's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: MC-778, 6250 fsw
Posts: 2,188

Bikes: 1997 Cannondale, 1976 Bridgestone, 1998 SoftRide, 1989 Klein, 1989 Black Lightning #0033

Mentioned: 19 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 889 Post(s)
Liked 906 Times in 534 Posts
I got my wife's bike out of the dumpster. (Actually, it was next to the dumpster)

Nothing really special, just a 15-speed Magna MTB. It still had the fuzzies on the tires, but looked like it'd been sat behind someone's garage for 4-5 years.

A good cleaning, a new chain from the spares, and some touch-up paint on the mechs, and it's a decent little bike.

(She just doesn't know where I found it)
Ironfish653 is offline  
Old 07-13-17, 11:01 AM
  #25  
The Golden Boy 
Extraordinary Magnitude
 
The Golden Boy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Waukesha WI
Posts: 13,637

Bikes: 1978 Trek TX700; 1978/79 Trek 736; 1984 Specialized Stumpjumper Sport; 1984 Schwinn Voyageur SP; 1985 Trek 620; 1985 Trek 720; 1986 Trek 400 Elance; 1987 Schwinn High Sierra; 1990 Miyata 1000LT

Mentioned: 84 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2594 Post(s)
Liked 1,670 Times in 924 Posts
Originally Posted by Kevindale
I've found some amazing furniture by the side of the road, mostly mid-century modern type stuff that I love - a solid maple dining table, a Heywood-Wakefield style solid wood end table, several great shaped-plywood chairs, a couple of Eames fiberglass chairs, a Poulsen PH5 lamp, and some other things. This was mostly while living in Los Angeles, where the weather and the population density (and my need to drive a lot) helped out. Sadly, I wasn't looking for bikes then. On bulky trash days, there were always beat-up pickup trucks cruising the streets in the early morning, picking over everything worth taking, so that was a poor strategy there, unless you were willing to put in a lot of effort. All my finds were pure luck, just happening by as someone put something by the side of the road.
Originally Posted by mapleleafs-13
Nothing wrong with it at all. I've owned really nice expensive items in my life but I've never felt that I was too good or embarrassed to take anything of good use from the trash. I have a "the save the earth" philosophy, I'm sure whomever is throwing it out would rather see a good item made use of rather than going to land fill. I actually respect someone that can take something thrown out on garbage day and use it it shows they are confident and just don't give a...


My wife is so crazy funny about picking stuff up from the road- and we've had fights about getting stuff out of dumpsters.


I don't think my wife or her family have ever been "poor." But I think she's got some goofy pride thing that revolves around it. When I first met my wife- I'd cook up tons of food, and have leftovers for days. She didn't own ANY resealable food containers. One day, I spent a lot of money and time cooking up a bunch of chicken legs and all kinds of stuff- my wife took the leftovers, put them on a plate, took a strip of saran wrap and draped it over the top and stuck it in the fridge. I thought for sure it'll be dry and inedible by morning... but she knows what she's doing, she's got 2 kids... Sure as ****- that stuff was dried out the next day. She had ZERO intent of ever touching that food again except to throw it out. Leftovers are for poor people.


We go to "antique malls" and spend money getting old stuff... but she refuses to pick up anything off the side of the road... and she has such difficulty when you ask her 'where do you think the antique mall people got this stuff?'


We live by a college- I've been wanting a little fridge- I wanted to comb the big dumpster at the end of the year, knowing full well that there's kids leaving the dorms tossing a dozen or so of those out in perfectly good shape. **** got REAL.
__________________
*Recipient of the 2006 Time Magazine "Person Of The Year" Award*

Commence to jigglin’ huh?!?!

"But hey, always love to hear from opinionated amateurs." -says some guy to Mr. Marshall.
The Golden Boy is offline  

Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.