alo

Here is another bike I rescued from the trash. This is the only complete disc brake bike I have ever come across in the trash. There may or may not be more in the future as more people ride bikes with disc brakes. Most bikes I have picked up have been cheap ones, often needing repairs, and often incomplete.

This bike had a problem. There were a number of broken spokes in the back wheel, which you may see in the photo if you look carefully. I like this bike. It has a strong frame. The main part of the frame is aluminum, and the rear suspension parts are steel. I wanted to use the bike, but not spend a lot of money on it. If I was to spend a lot of money, I could buy a new bike. I decided to replace the broken spokes using spokes from another wheel which I had also rescued from the trash. But guess what. Spokes kept breaking. They were clearly weak spokes. After replacing 10 which had broken, I then replaced all of the spokes in the wheel. The original spokes broke on an average of about one every 20 km. None of the replaced spokes have broken. After replacing all of the spokes, the wheel was out of alignment too much. I trued it to within one or two mm. Two spokes have also broken in the front wheel, and I have replaced them. It is annoying to have broken spokes, but if they didn't break, the bike would probably not be in the trash.

It has one more small issue. One of the front suspension rubbers slides up and stays up. You can also see it in the picture. I have secured it with cable ties.

I know it is not a valuable bike, but how much do you think a bike like this is worth?

T-Mar

This is a X-Mart box store level of bicycle. Even in good running condition, it's only a garage sale bicycle. I'd walk right by this, even with a $20 price tag on it.

TugaDude

This is a beater bike for sure. These are the kind I see guys (and gals) riding to work when they cannot afford anything decent. They are cheap, fairly reliable and if stolen, it doesn't break the bank. Unfortunately, if something does break, the cost of repairs probably exceeds the value.
For that reason, a lot of times they are discarded.

I mentioned bikes like this in another thread. My son got one from his grandparents one Christmas and it was so heavy it outweighed two of my road bikes put together.

wrk101

Its actually a little better than the typical XMart garbage. But that is about it. Free is always good! I would not buy one at any price, but someone needing just a cheap bike for college or whatever might pay $25 to $40 for it.

Generally, a bike of this level, its better when it has NO suspension. They tend to use really cheap, disposable suspension parts. Rigid forks don' t wear out unless crashed.

If I had a friend looking for a bike at a low price, I would steer them to getting a name brand, rigid frame MTB. I've seen them at just a little more $$ than the value of this bike. But again, you did well for FREE!


At the co-op we get lower end bikes than this, in worse condition! And we are happy to get them! Sometimes we get tires, tubes, saddles, and pedals off them. Other times, you can combine two or three of them and make one rideable bike. As long as we are using volunteer labor (like me) and free donated parts, we can keep them out of the landfill. Someone will buy them at really low prices and off they go!


Anytime you can keep stuff out of the landfill and be able to get something useful out of it, you have done well in my book. People tend to curb anything, too lazy to donate or recycle. And reusing for its original purpose (bicycle) is a lot higher use than recycling as scrap.

2old

Like most I wouldn't buy it for any price, but to someone who needs "just any bike" it's worth $50 IMO. Back before they had decent little kids bikes (12" to 16" wheels) this quality abounded. They were functional as long as you maintained them and didn't expect too much.