curbtender

Guy from Brooklyn doing it for free.... https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...9#post14312169

tmh657

+10. I have few neighbors that know of my bike habit/addiction and asked if I ran across what they were looking for to let them know, there would be a fee involved. I found what they wanted and they didn't give a rats hiney about what I found. Maybe I need different neighbors.

curbtender

Some selling tips.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWekf...ature=youtu.be

B.Sherer

I've picked up the hobby of buying older road bikes, stripped them down, repainting them with a hvlp spray gun, and then selling them. So far so good. It's a lot of fun and really rewarding. Here's my flickr page

https://www.flickr.com/zooie

B.Sherer

Thanks for the input.

robtown

Very nice job. Is it just a hobby - it would seem the cost in materials and time would consume any profit? As the other poster pointed out the DT shifters are too low. They should go just above the triangular bump on the tube. I think the bump is there to help secure the clamp from moving downward. I'd also shorten the brake cable housings slightly, although I usually cut them long myself.

jerrycan42

I started flipping contemporary road bikes to finance my own cycling hobby few years back. I've only been doing it in frequently, but when the right bike comes along....

Right now, I'm up about ~1200 plus my current bike. Haven't flipped a bike in 4 months though...

Here are my past bikes:
https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...=#post14462817

I imagine if you live in the right place, you could probably do this sort of thing for living.

Seano Hermano

Wow. So I just started reading this thread from the beginning, 6 hours in, 3 pages left to go!

Relatively new to the bike scene (hobby) I am looking for an older touring bike (60-61cm frame). When I have my own apartment next year, I could see getting into bike flipping. I really like the 70-80 roadies (mid-range).

This thread has been quite interesting to read, seeing others' experiences and perspectives on things. Lots of great info here. Keep it up. Thank for all the help.

My university has what they call "reStore" where they re-sell school supplies, clothing, etc, left behind by students in the dorms from the previous year. I wouldn't have thought to ask about bikes though(when that time comes).

Turtle Speed

I have one bike with V-brakes which needs new pads. Anyone have a suggestion on inexpensive but decent ones which are threaded and still have the set of washers for easy angle adjustments?

Bianchigirll 

Like these?



These are listed for $4.50 at Ebikestop. check your LBS they may have something similar

Turtle Speed

Yeah! Actually I was looking at that exact pair, but that site has them for way cheaper. Only thing is the shipping costs...

Seems like all the LBS places jack the prices way up... :\

frantik

LBS have to pay the sales person and the landlord. brick and mortar stores can't usually compete price-wise. but you don't have to wait for shipping.

i think i paid 5-6 bucks for a set of u brake pads.. can't find the package with the price tag

zukahn1 

With a little Shopping I have found fairly nice brake pads for all setups in full sets of four for front and rear for under $15 with shipping.

Turtle Speed

I understand that, but when the LBS's start asking almost $10 for an innertube, and it's not even a special one (e.g. a thorn-resistant), then c'mon maaaan.


Anyway.


Any bike flippers have recommendations on doing shifting cable overhauls on the cheap? Should I just bag up some parts?
Cable --> https://www.ebikestop.com/jagwire_sli...mpy-CA4446.php
Housing --> https://www.ebikestop.com/jagwire_4mm...ack-CA4310.php

Good idea/bad idea? Are those compatible? Can I use that shift housing for non-10 speeds? I work on old bikes with 5- and 7-speed freewheels all the time.

frantik

when i redo a bike i buy shifter cables with housing and brake cables w/o housing, and just use the extra housing that I don't use with the shifter cables. not as cheap as 50ft for $12 but not too bad

ahandley

You can get complete pack (font & rear brake and shifter) at wally world for about $6. Usually don't like wally world, but this is ok deal.

Big Dee

Fascinating thread. I've been thinking about flipping bikes and just came across this discussion. After hours of reading thru all of the posts, I've gleaned a lot of advice that I hope will save me time, frustration, and money. I aim to get started this week. Already have a couple of leads that I plan to follow up on today.

PatTheSlat 

Just remember that with the Wal Mart cable sets, the cables are steel, which means they'll rust, and the housings are both unlined (which again means eventual rust) and not compressionless (so they may not work with indexed drivetrains). They also just raised the price on them from $5 to $7. Alright if you're flipping a cheapo low-end bike, but not something I'd ever want to use on something I'm keeping, and I wouldn't feel right using them on something nice.

gotsol

I fail to see how this is a problem. It means when you finally get a bargain, you can sell at high prices.

What are you after? A bike to ride for cheap, or profits on bikes?

noglider 

He didn't say it's a problem. He gave more information so one can make a more informed choice. Sometimes you want good, sometimes you want cheap.

bent-not-broken

Brake cables and shifter cables are not the same. Brake cables need to be stiffer, typically coil wound so that the don'e compress under the higher load of braking.

PatTheSlat 

Sort of the opposite of that, actually... brake cables can be coil wound because it doesn't matter if they compress a bit. Indexed shift cable housing is compressionless because if it compressed it would throw off the indexing, but can't handle the higher forces that brake cable housing needs to. With friction shifting rather than indexed, coil wound cables can be (and were) used.

curbtender

Anybody know anything about this swap? https://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/bik/3676184223.html

dailycommute

I don't flip bikes, just buy old ones to ride or take them when abandoned (w/ potential). My basic rule in buying is to only buy vintage ones my size as the real pleasure for me is riding old bikes as well as the overhaul. The few I have sold in the last year were all to free up space/appease the household CFO. My only real goal when selling is to free up resources and provide a bike I know is road worthy / ready to carry another potential rider for many miles yet. That is the pleasure, seeing old bikes still cranking it out after some loving work.

matimeo

I started flipping bikes when I was in college after I restored my first vintage road bike. I found that all kinds of bicycles were readily available at local thrift stores in the college town where I lived. I’d often find bikes from $8-20 that I could flip the next day with minimal cleanup and tuning for $100 or more. Even found some nicer vintage bikes priced cheap because apparently nobody knew what they were worth. It was trial and error at first, but with experience you learn what things are worth, what to avoid, what to jump on. The landlady was nice and didn't say anything about the pile up of bikes and parts on her back patio.

Now that I live in Portland, OR, I can’t find a bike at a thrift store to save my life. I've flipped a few in the five years I've lived here if I just happen to bump into something good at a thrift store or garage sale, but that almost never happens.

The most important lesson I learned when I did it actively was this: if it became a job rather than a hobby, I totally lost interest in it. Now I do it when I can because it’s fun and because I can make a little extra cash to spend on my hobby. I think if I ever tried to make a business out of it, I’d lost interest. That’s why I don’t do any spreadsheets or anything- not that there’s anything wrong with that, that’s just how I roll.