Dumpster diving

Quoted message said:

This afternoon I ran into a character "dumpster diving" outside a LBS. He
had a classic mid 70s Masi that he said he found in a dumpster. It looked
in pretty good shape, full Campy NR, no rust or dents. Someone repainted
it so there were no decals but it was a Masi Criterium.

OK, I have to ask, what sort of bike shop would throw out a bike with "full
Campy NR" components?

That part of your story is far more interesting than the dumpster diver.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

"* * Chas" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

There are a lot of stories about people finding great bikes in the junk.

This afternoon I ran into a character "dumpster diving" outside a LBS. He
had a classic mid 70s Masi that he said he found in a dumpster. It looked
in pretty good shape, full Campy NR, no rust or dents. Someone repainted
it so there were no decals but it was a Masi Criterium.

I tried talking to him. He first said it was a Colnago then he became
adamant that it was a Cinelli and pointed to the bars and stem. He became
incoherent after that and stared waving a broken plastic fender. At that
point it was time to leave, he was obviously off his meds.

Maybe I need to start checking dumpsters, see if I can get lucky too.

Chas.

"Mike Jacoubowsky" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

This afternoon I ran into a character "dumpster diving" outside a LBS.

He

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

had a classic mid 70s Masi that he said he found in a dumpster. It

looked

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

in pretty good shape, full Campy NR, no rust or dents. Someone

repainted

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

it so there were no decals but it was a Masi Criterium.

OK, I have to ask, what sort of bike shop would throw out a bike with

"full

Quoted message said:

Campy NR" components?

That part of your story is far more interesting than the dumpster diver.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

He was outside Velo-Sport in Bizerkly....

I'm not sure where he got the bike. He wasn't too lucid.

I don't think Peter is that flush with retro bikes that he can throw out a
Masi.

;-)

Chas.

Garage sales and left in the alley beside the trash, yeah.
To most people, a bicycle is a bicycle and they have no idea of
collector values.

* * Chas said:

There are a lot of stories about people finding great bikes in the junk.

This afternoon I ran into a character "dumpster diving" outside a LBS. He
had a classic mid 70s Masi that he said he found in a dumpster. It looked
in pretty good shape, full Campy NR, no rust or dents. Someone repainted
it so there were no decals but it was a Masi Criterium.

I tried talking to him. He first said it was a Colnago then he became
adamant that it was a Cinelli and pointed to the bars and stem. He became
incoherent after that and stared waving a broken plastic fender. At that
point it was time to leave, he was obviously off his meds.

Maybe I need to start checking dumpsters, see if I can get lucky too.

Chas.

A shop with dishonest employees who steal first by moving desirable
items to the dumpster, then hope nobody checks the trash after hours
before they do.

Mike Jacoubowsky said:

Quoted message said:

This afternoon I ran into a character "dumpster diving" outside a LBS. He
had a classic mid 70s Masi that he said he found in a dumpster. It looked
in pretty good shape, full Campy NR, no rust or dents. Someone repainted
it so there were no decals but it was a Masi Criterium.

OK, I have to ask, what sort of bike shop would throw out a bike with "full
Campy NR" components?

That part of your story is far more interesting than the dumpster diver.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

"* * Chas" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

There are a lot of stories about people finding great bikes in the junk.

This afternoon I ran into a character "dumpster diving" outside a LBS. He
had a classic mid 70s Masi that he said he found in a dumpster. It looked
in pretty good shape, full Campy NR, no rust or dents. Someone repainted
it so there were no decals but it was a Masi Criterium.

I tried talking to him. He first said it was a Colnago then he became
adamant that it was a Cinelli and pointed to the bars and stem. He became
incoherent after that and stared waving a broken plastic fender. At that
point it was time to leave, he was obviously off his meds.

Maybe I need to start checking dumpsters, see if I can get lucky too.

Chas.

richard said:

A shop with dishonest employees who steal first by moving desirable
items to the dumpster, then hope nobody checks the trash after hours
before they do.

Bingo! That is a classic employee theft tactic; the sleazebags
sometimes put new, high value merchandise in the trash bags before they
take them to the dumpster. A cohort then retrieves the items.
See-through trash bags have become common in some retail businesses to
help discourage this ploy.

Quoted message said:

Mike Jacoubowsky said:

Quoted message said:

This afternoon I ran into a character "dumpster diving" outside a LBS. He
had a classic mid 70s Masi that he said he found in a dumpster. It looked
in pretty good shape, full Campy NR, no rust or dents. Someone repainted
it so there were no decals but it was a Masi Criterium.

OK, I have to ask, what sort of bike shop would throw out a bike with "full
Campy NR" components?

That part of your story is far more interesting than the dumpster diver.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

"* * Chas" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

There are a lot of stories about people finding great bikes in the junk.

This afternoon I ran into a character "dumpster diving" outside a LBS. He
had a classic mid 70s Masi that he said he found in a dumpster. It looked
in pretty good shape, full Campy NR, no rust or dents. Someone repainted
it so there were no decals but it was a Masi Criterium.

I tried talking to him. He first said it was a Colnago then he became
adamant that it was a Cinelli and pointed to the bars and stem. He became
incoherent after that and stared waving a broken plastic fender. At that
point it was time to leave, he was obviously off his meds.

Maybe I need to start checking dumpsters, see if I can get lucky too.

Chas.

I volunteer at our local bicycle recycling place (http://re-cycles.ca),
and we have to make trips to the metal recycler with our dead frames
and metal parts. One day, as we were emptying the trailer, one of the
workers inquires about our load, and I assure him that there's nothing
we're scrapping that he (or anyone) would want. He says "well, you
never know what people get rid of", and then points over near the
office and says "see that bike? It's a Merlin titanium frame that I
watched someone toss on the pile. He was a landlord tossing out stuff
from an abanonded apartment, and that frame was among the goods". So
we had a closer look, and yeah, this guy got himself a very nice bike!

I wonder how many garbage collectors might be cyclists, and cringe when
they see nice old bikes being tossed out...

Mark

<[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I volunteer at our local bicycle recycling place (http://re-cycles.ca),
and we have to make trips to the metal recycler with our dead frames
and metal parts. One day, as we were emptying the trailer, one of the
workers inquires about our load, and I assure him that there's nothing
we're scrapping that he (or anyone) would want. He says "well, you
never know what people get rid of", and then points over near the
office and says "see that bike? It's a Merlin titanium frame that I
watched someone toss on the pile. He was a landlord tossing out stuff
from an abanonded apartment, and that frame was among the goods". So
we had a closer look, and yeah, this guy got himself a very nice bike!

I wonder how many garbage collectors might be cyclists, and cringe when
they see nice old bikes being tossed out...

Mark

I know a builder/restorer who has a deal with some local trash haulers.
Every once in a while they bring him something nice like old 50s and 60s
European 10 speed frames or bikes.

There's a bicycle recycling charity in an affluent community that's become
one of my first stops when I'm looking for good retro stuff. They get some
amazing stuff that people donate to them.

The throw away culture.

Chas.

"richard" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

A shop with dishonest employees who steal first by moving desirable
items to the dumpster, then hope nobody checks the trash after hours
before they do.

That's always a possibility but it looked like the fellow had been riding
this bike for a while. My guess is that it was a stolen bike that the
thief had abandoned somewhere and the "lucky" denizen of the streets found
it.

He mumbled some about do I want to buy his bike a couple of times. That's
what piqued my curiosity, then I realized he wasn't playing with a full
deck.

Chas.

Quoted message said:

I volunteer at our local bicycle recycling place (http://re-cycles.ca),
and we have to make trips to the metal recycler with our dead frames
and metal parts. One day, as we were emptying the trailer, one of the
workers inquires about our load, and I assure him that there's nothing
we're scrapping that he (or anyone) would want. He says "well, you
never know what people get rid of", and then points over near the
office and says "see that bike? It's a Merlin titanium frame that I
watched someone toss on the pile. He was a landlord tossing out stuff
from an abanonded apartment, and that frame was among the goods". So
we had a closer look, and yeah, this guy got himself a very nice bike!

I wonder how many garbage collectors might be cyclists, and cringe when
they see nice old bikes being tossed out...

Cringe? I'd hope they'd go: "woohoo, score!".

My neighbor buys and sells used exercise equipment. His best source are
a couple of the charities that offer pick up for the donations. They're
usually more than happy to sell stuff right off the truck so they don't
have to take time to appraise and inventory the stuff. He gets gym
quality treadmills and such for $25-$50 all the time, and resells them
for $800-900. If he was more motivated he'd be a millionaire. He keeps
telling me there are plenty of bikes but I haven't joined him yet. He
knows exercise equipment, but not bikes, so he ignores the bikes.

Greg

--
"All my time I spent in heaven
Revelries of dance and wine
Waking to the sound of laughter
Up I'd rise and kiss the sky" - The Mekons

"* * Chas" wrote: (clip) They get some

Quoted message said:

amazing stuff that people donate to them.

The throw away culture.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
There is a *huge* difference between donating and throwing away. I donate
valuable stuff all the time. I hardly ever throw anything away. My place
is full of stuff that's too good to throw away, and not good enough to
donate. :-)

On Sun, 21 Jan 2007 08:48:40 GMT, "Mike Jacoubowsky"

may have said:

Quoted message said:

This afternoon I ran into a character "dumpster diving" outside a LBS. He
had a classic mid 70s Masi that he said he found in a dumpster. It looked
in pretty good shape, full Campy NR, no rust or dents. Someone repainted
it so there were no decals but it was a Masi Criterium.

OK, I have to ask, what sort of bike shop would throw out a bike with "full
Campy NR" components?

It was not stated that the bike involved was from the dumpster in
front of the diver; the bike had probably been ridden there. As for
"who would throw out" such a bike, I know of such an instance that
took place when an apartment building near a university was scheduled
for demolition; as one of his last acts, the building manager
anniounced that he would be clearing out the tenant-accessible storage
room, including tossing unclaimed bikes into the dumpster. One was a
Diamondback roadie with 105 kit. A friend of mine, who was one of the
last tenants in the building, grabbed it literally just before it
would have hit the dumpster. The original owner of the bike had left
the country a couple of years prior, as it turns out. That bike still
resides happily on my patio. All it needed was tires, tubes and lube.

As another poster noted, those who know little about bikes would have
no reason to suspect that they were throwing away gold..

--
My email address is antispammed; pull WEEDS if replying via e-mail.
Typoes are not a bug, they're a feature.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

Well what's the verdict guys?
Dumpster diving clubs across America?

No wonder homeless people have some nice old bikes.
For trading profit, recreation, transportation, and faking getting hit
by cars at intersections for cash settlements.

ddog wrote:

- on homeless people and bicycles -

Quoted message said:

faking getting hit
by cars at intersections for cash settlements.

Geez..... :-(

Ozark Bicycle said:

ddog wrote:

- on homeless people and bicycles -

Quoted message said:

faking getting hit
by cars at intersections for cash settlements.

Geez..... :-(

It happened to me. No mark on my truck. No mark on her bike.
No mark on her. She just stopped in front of my truck, stared at me for
10 seconds, and
fell down (without a scratch or bruise) in the center of 2 - 5 lane
highway intersection.
I picked her up from hospital after ambulence picked her up, and
carried her and her (unmolested 3 sp) bike to Salvation Army.
She just wanted a cash settlement and my insurance rates jacked up
until switched ins companies.

Come down to Florida, but you better keep your eyes open at
intersections:
especially within 10 miles of Salvation Army. I've read it also
happened to UK BMW motorcyclists at intersections as well.
The only reason she risked me in a fairly heavy Dakota truck is I was
stopped already - perfect setup to pull in front of me.

Its just a fact of life down here. May sound strange in the Ozarks, but
I've seen
stranger things up there riding through Arkansas mountains when at Fort
Lost in the Woods, Misery. A whole lot stranger.

ddog said:

Ozark Bicycle said:

ddog wrote:

- on homeless people and bicycles -

Quoted message said:

faking getting hit
by cars at intersections for cash settlements.

Geez..... :-(

It happened to me. No mark on my truck. No mark on her bike.
No mark on her. She just stopped in front of my truck, stared at me for
10 seconds, and
fell down (without a scratch or bruise) in the center of 2 - 5 lane
highway intersection.
I picked her up from hospital after ambulence picked her up, and
carried her and her (unmolested 3 sp) bike to Salvation Army.
She just wanted a cash settlement and my insurance rates jacked up
until switched ins companies.

Come down to Florida, but you better keep your eyes open at
intersections:
especially within 10 miles of Salvation Army. I've read it also
happened to UK BMW motorcyclists at intersections as well.
The only reason she risked me in a fairly heavy Dakota truck is I was
stopped already - perfect setup to pull in front of me.

Its just a fact of life down here. May sound strange in the Ozarks, but
I've seen
stranger things up there riding through Arkansas mountains when at Fort
Lost in the Woods, Misery. A whole lot stranger.

I can't think of anything stranger than some newb coming on the group,
asking a series of strange, off-the-wall questions regarding long
defunct manufacturers, cheap outdated RDs and five speed freewheels and
then beginning to expose his sad stereotypes and prejudices. YMMV.

ddog said:

Ozark Bicycle wrote:

....

Quoted message said:

Its just a fact of life down here. May sound strange in the Ozarks, but
I've seen
stranger things up there riding through Arkansas mountains when at Fort
Lost in the Woods, Misery. A whole lot stranger.

I've seen Deliverance...

Can you squeal like a pig?

On 22 Jan 2007 18:15:10 -0800, "Ozark Bicycle"

may have said:

I can't think of anything stranger than some newb coming on the group,
asking a series of strange, off-the-wall questions regarding long
defunct manufacturers, cheap outdated RDs and five speed freewheels and
then beginning to expose his sad stereotypes and prejudices. YMMV.

Not even much verisimilitude in the tales, either. When I lived in
Florida, the typical asshat who would pull a stunt like the one
described was a pro. There was contact (of a nature calculated to
leave plenty of room for claiming greater injury than was present),
there was careful selection of the target (expensive car driven by
over-50 white female was the usual pattern), and the perp had a
domicile and claimed multiple dependents...and had an attorney on
retainer. Insurance scams were a way of life for a small but
expensive (for the rest of us) fraction of the population.

By comparison, when a loon tried to pull a bump-and-scream on a friend
of mine in a parking lot near here (and yes, she fit the target
profile I mentioned), she just whipped out a pen and paper, wrote down
the guy's tag number, the time, and a basic description of the perp
while she called 911 on her cell phone. What she didn't tell the
moaning perp was that she told 911 dispatch that she was at the scene
of an attempted fraud and assault with a motor vehicle. She knew
there was a security cam pointed directly at her on top of a light
pole 30 feet away. The cops showed up, they looked things over, one
of them went inside and reviewed the tape (which was collected as
evidence) while the paramedics examined the "victim", and the cops
decided that the gal was right. The perp, instead of getting a free
ride to the hospital, would up with a much less satisfying ride to the
county lockup. Last I heard, he was trying to plea bargain, and the
DA wasn't having any.

There are a lot of things I don't like about living in Houston, but
sometimes it rises above the muck...and by comparison to Miami, it's
damn close to perfect.

--
My email address is antispammed; pull WEEDS if replying via e-mail.
Typoes are not a bug, they're a feature.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

"Werehatrack" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On 22 Jan 2007 18:15:10 -0800, "Ozark Bicycle"

may have said:

I can't think of anything stranger than some newb coming on the group,
asking a series of strange, off-the-wall questions regarding long
defunct manufacturers, cheap outdated RDs and five speed freewheels and
then beginning to expose his sad stereotypes and prejudices. YMMV.

Not even much verisimilitude in the tales, either. When I lived in
Florida, the typical asshat who would pull a stunt like the one
described was a pro. There was contact (of a nature calculated to
leave plenty of room for claiming greater injury than was present),
there was careful selection of the target (expensive car driven by
over-50 white female was the usual pattern), and the perp had a
domicile and claimed multiple dependents...and had an attorney on
retainer. Insurance scams were a way of life for a small but
expensive (for the rest of us) fraction of the population.

By comparison, when a loon tried to pull a bump-and-scream on a friend
of mine in a parking lot near here (and yes, she fit the target
profile I mentioned), she just whipped out a pen and paper, wrote down
the guy's tag number, the time, and a basic description of the perp
while she called 911 on her cell phone. What she didn't tell the
moaning perp was that she told 911 dispatch that she was at the scene
of an attempted fraud and assault with a motor vehicle. She knew
there was a security cam pointed directly at her on top of a light
pole 30 feet away. The cops showed up, they looked things over, one
of them went inside and reviewed the tape (which was collected as
evidence) while the paramedics examined the "victim", and the cops
decided that the gal was right. The perp, instead of getting a free
ride to the hospital, would up with a much less satisfying ride to the
county lockup. Last I heard, he was trying to plea bargain, and the
DA wasn't having any.

There are a lot of things I don't like about living in Houston, but
sometimes it rises above the muck...and by comparison to Miami, it's
damn close to perfect.

--

When I was stationed in Japan in the 1960s we always had to have 2 people
riding in the front of all of our large vehicles, one to drive and the
other to look for pedestrians. Our vehicles were left hand drive and Japan
was a right hand drive country but the big thing we had to constantly
watch for were elderly people standing on corners waiting for us to drive
by.

Jumping in front of one of our vehicles was a socially accepted mode of
suicide. If they died their family was the beneficiary of a large payment
of "Gomen Money". Even if the person didn't get killed they were set for
the rest of their lives. There were legal officers on call to make instant
settlements.

These were not criminal acts in the same way as the insurance scams that
you mentioned. It was more of an issue of duty to ones family and not
being a financial burden on them.

We only had one situation at our base in the year and a half that I was
there but we were always cautious. No one wanted to run down an older
person.

Chas.

Ozark Bicycle said:

I can't think of anything stranger than some newb coming on the group,
asking a series of strange, off-the-wall questions regarding long
defunct manufacturers, cheap outdated RDs

Someone approached me, so wanted to find out the differences. Trust
through verification, since found out 'old outdated defunct cheap'
rachet shifters were the best possible shifter for crank. Its what
Lance Armstrong uses for crank shifter, and he is a racer. Heard of him
before? Several members here painstaking helped see the diffferences. I
just bought a Campy Centuar!

Quoted message said:

and five speed freewheels and

Well that's what I've got, and that's what I'm getting with IRD
hyperglide 5 speed. What more do you need? With ANY Campy rd (1999 and
up) and a 9 speed pulley set/chain, you can have ERGO 8 and its NOT
OBSOLETE. Duh you say? Although I will not need Ergo 8 in FL, I may
later and want the option in the future. Rachet shifting in my aerobar
cockpit will be the next best thing for now especially with Swift Shift
on my Profile Century aerobar. In fact it will allow both hands on a
handlebar/aerobar for control while shifting. Still tweaking bars now,
but definitely acceptable as is now.

Quoted message said:

then beginning to expose his sad stereotypes and prejudices. YMMV.

Engineers tend to just tell the truth and seek further truths. Sorry if
you are the king troll here, but I find the intellect here outstanding
otherwise. I am finding out things from experts as well as finding out
things not commonly known from research and personal experimentation on
my bike. But thanks for revealling that you are the king troll and I
will take that into account in the future.