On New Years' Eve my boyfriend and I spent most of the day cleaning up his house in anticipation of
an early January "Marian is visiting the US" party. Eventually we amassed enough stuff to
necessitate a visit to the nearby dump.
Except it isn't really a dump. I'm not sure what it is. It is a place where you drop off trash and
recyclables that are later moved to other places, including actual dumps.
On our way past recyclables I noticed a very large collection of bicycles, a few dozen were visible
when we drove by. When we stopped we discovered that there were at least a hundred or more hiding in
stacks behind the computer drop off. He mentioned that the last time he was by here bicycles went to
the scrap metal pile instead of having a seperate drop off.
You really aren't supposed to take things home with you when you go. But, if you are quick about it
the employees will look the other way. There are two obvious reasons for this. Firstly, for many of
the recyclabels there are companies that have contracts for those things. Secondly, you might get
hurt. There may also be other reasons.
(I know about the rules because my boyfriend has run afoul of them in the past when he's been caught
sifting through the computer pile or checking out the batteries.)
We stood around at the bikes for a few minutes until someone came over and asked us if we needed
help. "Umm, would it be okay if we take one of these." "Yes, but I don't see you" he says "and be
quick so others also don't see you."
The first mystery bike is a Japanese made women's bike. All white with no fancy paint of any kind.
The drop bars have white tape. I'm assuming 80s or 90s judging by the condition of the tires which
look like they sat uninflated for years.
On the front (where the fork attaches) there is a blue and red oval decal with black letters reading
vertically H.J.Sports. The outer edge of the letters, the oval, and the line seperating red and blue
are all silver colored.
Moving to the back of the bike, where the seatpost attaches, we again get a sticker that says "HJ
Sports" accompanied by "Made in Japan." This sticker has stripes at the top and bottom in a thick
blue, thin gold, medium white, thin gold, very thin black, thick red pattern.
There is a circle, almost like a yinyang on the sticker. This circle is blue on the top, red on the
bottom, white in the middle, with a black letter H in the center.
Farther down, between the two bars is a small gold sticker with black type saying Made in Japan.
I'm not sure how to describe the shifters. They're a normal kind I just don't know how to describe
them. Not mounted on the handlebars. Shimano.
The brakes handles have signs of "a sticker was removed" scum and the word "cherry" etched into the
metal. No other identifying marks.
Front hub has SIW Made in Japan etched into the metal.
The only marks on the front rim are "araya 27x1 1/4 w/0 HP."
Front and back round reflectors are CatEye. The reflectors on the pedals and wheels are also CatEye.
The front gear cluster has two gears. The rear gear cluster has five. I don't see names or
identifying marks on the gears.
Front derailleur is Shimano "Thunder Bird". Rear derailleur is a Shimano "Eagle".
I've found "Shimano" written twice more on the metal thingywhatses that hold the shifting cables
snug against the bike.
Instead of being butt-welded the bike is tube and socket construction. The front fork is especially
fancy with the sockets being all wavy. And one of the two washers is machined to look pretty for no
obvious reason other than pretty.
No visible names on the brakes but the brake pads are, again, Japan. I can't quite make out if it is
Cherry, Gherry, or Sherry. Since the brake handles are fairly clearly Cherry I'm guessing it is a C.
Rear tire is "The Special IRC Tyre" made of "Nylon."
Front tire is badly flaking from old age but appears to be the same.
If not for a few tiny scrapes I'd be inclined to say that this bicycle had never been ridden. As is,
I admit to being rather baffled at having found it at the dump. It's a road bike and it looks like
it was once expensive, once well cared for, and once abandoned in the garage for years at a stretch.
The other bike is less mysterious. I've actually got a vague recollection of having heard of some of
these names before. It practically leapt out at me from the pile. The Japanese bike was second from
the top and required very little effort to get. This one was 7 or 8 bicycles deep and getting it
risked being noticed and told off because you really really really _really_ are NOT supposed to be
going through the piles of trash and recyclables to take things home with you.
One of the ways that you can tell that this bike was well used (other than age) is the way that it
has totally different front and rear tires. The rear tire is much nicer than the front tire.
As a hunter of neat things (usually at shops rather than dumps) I am almost ashamed to say that it
was the dusky dusty metallic blue of the paint job that caught my eye. Something about that color
that says "I'm not trying to be flashy because I am not supposed to be flashy." Because the paint,
pretty as it is, is not original. Whoever did this did a pretty good job (not great) and in the
process has obscured any stickers or decals. There is an obvious front decal made of metal that is
now the same pretty metallic blue as the rest of the bike.
Front rim has the words "Made in England" badly stamped into the metal. It actually reads "5 x
13/8 Dunlop 26 x 13/[spoke] EA3 MADE IN E#GLA##" Judging by rust speckles I assume the rims are
chromed steel.
Not that it matters with this bike the way it might have mattered with the mysterious Japanese
bike but the front and rear wheel reflectors are Cat Eye. The reflectors attached to the brakes
are SATE-LITE.
Moving on to the pedals I see "Made in England" followed by "PhillipS" and what appears to be a
serial number - Ao No 848363.
The pedals also have Patent Number 634981.
The kickstand is an impressive number that looks like it could even take on deep mud and win. It is
"Shuresta."
Front hub has "Phillips, Made in England" underneath a layer of grime. I remembered to look at the
front hub because the rear hub is "Sturmey Archer," "England," "AW," "53," "3," and "Three Speed."
Nothing terribly interesting to my uneducated eyes on the handlebars. The grips are glittery and
made by DORCY. The brake handles are missing almost all of their chrome.
The front gear is gorgeous with metal cutouts saying PHILLIPS.
Like the Japanese mystery bike it is also tube and socket construction instead of being butt welded.
The frame has hooks for carrying a tire pump but there is no pump.
So, what do I have? And did I do a good job by breaking the rules and snarfing these from the dump?
And, if I did a really good job in snarfing, which one should go back to China with me and which one
should stay at home (in the storage room)?
-M