Last week I wrote about some of the advantages of shelling out the extra money to buy a custom bicycle instead of a model off the shelf (“Custom bicycles vs. off the rack”).
Here's the opposite idea: buy nothing new. Instead of plopping down money for a spanking new bike, search around and get one that someone is giving away. You might not get the exact selection you're after with your unique specifications, but the price is right — $00.00.
Over the new year, a story circulated about a group of folks in San Francisco who started a “buy nothing new” movement, called The Compact. Except for food, toiletries and other health and safety items, the group pledged to stick to finding free or used items. There's more about The Compact at Treehugger and this AP story that made the rounds.
The group created a blog, The Compact, to explain themselves and a Yahoo group with more than 1,800 members.
Websites
There are a few other websites that deal in free stuff, and of course there's Craigslist where good bicycling gear goes for significant savings — or free. Perusing the listings, I found plenty of stuff in better condition than the rusted ruin pictured above from bobclothier at flickr.com.
One of those websites for free stuff is FreeCycle. I checked there earlier and found two local listing for bikes:
— “We have two mountain bike style bikes available. 1 men's and 1 women's. just need air in the tires.”
— “I picked this up from another freecycler and have no place to store. Here is what the former owner posted (Still in same condition) Needs minimal fixing. I think with a new back brake cable it will be fine, but it might also need new tires (or, who knows, possibly just air in the tires, I'm not very sporty).”
Check it out
This brings to mind that with free stuff, it's not so much a case of buyer beware, but receiver beware. These ads certainly called for further examination, but if you're looking for a mountain bike and you already have a tire pump, one of these might be for you.
I'd also recommend the bike category at Craigslist. I sold a Burley there once and bought a Yakima trailer that someone bought a couple of years ago and never used; it seems a lot of stuff for sale on Craigslist has had little use.
Just Monday, Craiglist had 110 new postings for road, mountain and recumbent bicycles, as well as Bontrager wheelsets, cranksets, tires, light systems, trailers, you name it.
I can probably imagine the response that bicycle manufacturers and retailers would have toward acquiring used stuff, but I imagine bike repair shops should do well when people buy used bikes that “need a little work.”
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