It's amazing where parts can be found.

[JayinTexas]

We have an old NordicTrac exercise machine for quite a while. We don't use it and my wife wanted me to throw it away. A year ago I would not have observed this but now that I have "Bicycle Builders' Eyes", when I started dismanteling the machine, I began to accumulate all types of parts, pulleys, handgrip boots, brackets, etc that can be used on a bike project.

Don't have a photo yet but I'll get one posted soon of how I made my own Aerobars for my bike. And you know what....they look like I bought them off the shelf. I made them from a regular bicycle handlebar, stuff from the NordicTrac and a couple of parts from two weedeaters.

Jay

[trikeman]

Ha Ha. You know a few years ago I gave away a stack of old exercise machines, including a Nordic Track. Now with the "bicycle builders eyes" I just cut them up and save the pieces before I do that. Parts of a welding cart I made came for my stick welder from a Cardio Glide.

[chainsaw13]

I love this thread!
I use whatever "strange" looking stuff I can find to build my projects. It's amazing how much the exercise industry has done for me and my bike addiction. Last year I built my "Dark Journey" bike from exercise equipment, mainly Health Riders/Gliders. I've built several other bikes using old weight bench frames. Most of the odd little parts off exercise equipment are ideal for the accessorizing of a unique bike.
A lotof my buddies know that they're likely to find some sort of home gym equipment on my bikes, if not then they start looking for plumbing stuff, also one of my favorites for a personal touch!:rolleyes4:

P.S.
Not all exercise equipment gets the chopsaw, I also have a pretty wild home/garage gym that a friend and I built up a couple of years ago (using most discarded things people threw out or gave us). After the first of the year, I hope to slowly get back into the lifting scene!:punk:
Also this winter I think I can find the time to get the gym pictures up on my other site (not bike related, but it will intrigue some of you).
I would to see more bike builders using exercise egupment, swingsets, old car parts or whatever else that usually get thrown out to the garbage. Remember the key word in recycle is "CYCLE"!

Tanks again,
Chainy

[greenevegiebeast]

gee, and i was going to take the nordic track i found in the trash to "play it again sports" and sell it.:punk:

[chainsaw13]

Green, leave the Nordic Track at home but still go to Play It Again! Sometimes they get stuff dropped of that they don't want or can't sell! Explain to the manager what you do (take some pictures along of past build bikes). If he's interested you might make a very cool friend and get some valuable crap! Tell him you'd like to build a bike with parts of sports stuff and he might "sponsor" you in your quest for the ultimate bike!:cheesy: Could be a good advertising angle for his store!
Besides Play it again doesn't give you much of anything for your junk. In fact around here they won't even take a Nordic Track unless it's the top of the line one and it's like new!

Here's a hint of a project bike that I've been collecting stuff for.....
I use to be a softball-aholic!
Things are starting to come together and hopefully this summer I'll get off the bench and hit a homerun!:punk:

Have a Scrappy Day!:sunny:

[greenevegiebeast]

Chanie nice thought, but. the owner only has eyes for golf. if it aint folf get it out of here , or get payed pennies. the "equepment" he does have is extremely over priced. I want a tread mill, due to my sixe i need a strong tread mill.they mave their tredmills priced with in 10$ of a new one. they have to dust them weekly(go figure):1eye:

[rickairmed]

GVB see if theres a freecycle and cheapcycle in your area (both are yahoo groups ) kinda like craigslist only privately run .

Rick

[Richie Rich]

....I use whatever "strange" looking stuff I can find to build my projects.......I would to see more bike builders using exercise egupment, swingsets, old car parts or whatever else that usually get thrown out to the garbage. ChainyIt's too bad we don't live closer to each other, Chainy. It sounds as if we were separated at birth. I try to buy as little material as I can for my builds.

A 'secret' project I've been working on in the background is one I call 'White Trash'. It's made entirely of street trash or parts fabbed in the garage and painted...uh....white. :rolleyes4:
But, the design keeps changing since I keep finding 'new' trash to add to it.
Pix someday....

......Richie Rich.....
.

[greenevegiebeast]

GVB see if theres a freecycle and cheapcycle in your area (both are yahoo groups ) kinda like craigslist only privately run .

Rick

there is a free cycle, i was a member, till the email got rediculus. It emailed me about 30-40 times a day. very rearly did a bike show up.

to be honest my best recorce is the university, they do surplus and found property auctions. after christmass im going to make a bid on the remaining bike parts.

what the do is once a year they remove all the abandon bikes around the campus. then the sell them starting at 10$ each, avter the lot gets thinned out they sell them for 5$ each. when they get down to the dregs any thing goes.

[macka]

gvb when you sign up for freecycle, you can set your options so you get a weekly digest, or just go to the site.

[rickairmed]

I may have to chrck that out here at U of L see if they do the same thing although I already have a fairly decent pile of bikes from the last couple weeks of craigslisting and Free and Cheapcycle . I have started my babytadpole build for my 2 year old grandson 20" rear 16" fronts with a 12" BB and crankset. I will document the build but will have to set up a photo bucket acount for here as the other main forums I belong to prefer we attatch pics directly to our posts so they dont dissapear .


Rick

[chainsaw13]

Yeah Green, that's how they are around me too! When I was buying weight plates, they wanted more for used ones than Dunham Sports or Sports Authority want for new ones and they were all the same brand! Ours pia stores only reallyu want golf stuff also or winter skiing junk.

Richie, I'm a packrat at heart and I see uses in just about anything. But even I have to give up or pass on some things. Just about anybody that comes over leaves with something they need for their project. Just on this board, WheelinWilly, BigMoe, YYzmec, Nogoodnic ad probably a few others have some of my trash finds. But I think that everyone of them have contributed to my clutter!:laugh3:
Were we seperated at birth or just found at different times by different people?
"White Trash" sound very enticing! I'll be more than happy to start drooling at it's first sighting!

Don't know if any of you guys have thought of this but making friends with realtors, landlords and mobile home park managers can really pay off bigtime on your tresured findings. Over the years I've got several things that I never dreamed of. My latest booty was a go cart frame. My storage unit manager said, "take this and go make a bike or something". She knows me too well!:)

[pcorbett]

[It's too bad we don't live closer to each other, Chainy. It sounds as if we were separated at birth. I try to buy as little material as I can for my builds.

A 'secret' project I've been working on in the background is one I call 'White Trash'. It's made entirely of street trash or parts fabbed in the garage and painted...uh....white. :rolleyes4:
But, the design keeps changing since I keep finding 'new' trash to add to it.
Pix someday....

......Richie Rich.....
.

Ahh! Some serious minded bike builders. It's good we live far enough away from each other or we would be scraml'n over each other for parts. We could start a new bike recycle business called " Old Farts Bike Parts " . Just daydreaming again. I've seen some of Chainy's bikes and I like his building style. Somewhere between Van Gogh and Mona Lisa's smile. Or is it the A.E. Newman smile. Works for me.

RR has nice bikes too, I like the Double Vision, a good choice for found parts. Now that I see he admits to his trash bike parts addiction I feel better about mine. We all may not be brothers from birth but we were conceived in the same part of town.

My 85 year old dad is a good source for my parts. It's been his hobby to find stuff for me. It's his excuse to come over to see his family, a cup of coffee and he's good.

From work our truck driver has delivered to me this week from a job cleanout, a mid 70's Raleigh ten speed and I accepted it even knowing it is a lugged frame. I have reconditioned the 3-speeds in the past but have turned down these lugged beast. My intention now is to link this one with another Raleigh 10 and turn it into a TourMaster. I have ideas on how to get around the lugs to try out. Also useing the cottered cranks and all the other goodies to keep the theme going.

When finished, I'll paint it white, like our company trucks with company logo mounted amongst the frame, and leave it at the shop as a loner. Anyone at the shop that has left their personal truck at the the local garage for service can use it to pick up their vehicle, go get the mail, get lunch, haircut, or just ride it, whatever. It'll be good for the parade in the fall. Purely a bike from the trash.

If your wondering why I'm still up, I wake up with a back ache, bad sleeping habits, but i'm good now so I'll get back to :sleep1:zzzzzzzzzz.

Pete

[trikeman]

[


From work our truck driver has delivered to me this week from a job cleanout, a mid 70's Raleigh ten speed and I accepted it even knowing it is a lugged frame. I have reconditioned the 3-speeds in the past but have turned down these lugged beast. My intention now is to link this one with another Raleigh 10 and turn it into a TourMaster. I have ideas on how to get around the lugs to try out. Also useing the cottered cranks and all the other goodies to keep the theme going.


Pete

There is nothing wrong with old lugged 10 speeds, except the parts near the lugs are hard to weld with electric welders. I used some nice skinny 27 1/4" rims off an old schwinn to build my DW rear wheels. They are not as strong as the 26" MTB rims, but I don't ride anywhere except a rails-to-trails paved path and they look very fast. As you have discovered, there are often also a lot of good components such as headstocks, chains, shifters and deratilers (usually friction ones on old bikes). The hubs can also be used for trailer hitches etc. The tubes are also often not as strong as 1.5" steel, but again I don't ride hard on washboard roads.

There seems to be a fairly consistent trend in threads here lately from people worrying a lot about weight. What better source for some chromo tubing than that cut from and old 10 speed with a good frame? Just cut them an inch or so from the lugs and you have a nice piece of tube.

The only bikes I tend to shy away from when paying for them at the thrift store are bikes with crappy components and steel wheels. When they are free, I will take most anything and let the trash men haul what is left of the carcass.