Cheapest commute hack!

lvquestpaddler

Found a new way of avoiding using my decent bike for commuting, dragging it up and down the stairs to my flat morning and night, or spending a huge amount on a new one to worry about after my last one was stolen from the bottom of the stairwell(it was a locked up trusty 12 year old Scott Mohaka MTB, many fond memories!)
I just got an Apollo Excel MTB, £4 from an auction(police recovered), it needed a clean up and a new seat(Lidl had Selle Royals in last week) for £6 so for £10 I have a bike that will do the 8 mile a day trip with ease, is not worth stealing because it is utter, utter crap in terms of desirability (but will still be using a Kryptonite worth more than it with it anyway!)
That was 2 weeks ago, the auction preview last night (for tomorrow)had an Elswick 80's style 10/12spd racer in what looks to be good order and no signs of abuse, so gonna try and get that and make it fully roadworthy too(has one of those naff front brackets for the old ever ready lights on the fork!!). They get a batch in every fortnight apparently!!!
This is the answer to commuting without worrying who's plotting to nick the bike- a bike that looks awful but is in fact decent... a home paint of Hammerite would do wonders for rust protection and really putting a thief off!!!!

craker

My Raleigh Europa came out of the rubbish dump and was rideable after putting some air in the tyres. But the tyres were perished, the brake blocks hardened so I ended up raiding my spare parts box for a new set of wheels, tyres, shifters, mechs, seat post, saddle, handlebar tape. Looks srpuce enough but I don't ride it 'cos I changed jobs...

Prior to that I had another skip bike, even then new tyres were a necessiity. On the road for less than a tenner is good going but your bike must be minging.

lvquestpaddler

It's actually in pretty good nick!! Sometimes there's 30 bikes there, and they start them off at a £1 usually, if the first doesn't sell then bidding for the next one starts and so on, the first person then to bid and buy could feasibly walk away with several bikes to raid for parts!
It is minging purely from the "ooh it's got full suspension... but weighs as much as a moped and a days XC would have it in bits!"angle , but technically it's roadworthy!!
(well, Brakes are well naff too, back one is "for show" but my commute has no hills so not to worry, grind my workboots off the tarmac and bobs yer uncle!)

pst88

pictures?

secretsam

How do you find out about these auctions by plod? Sound good

fizz

I got my winter bike out of the local dump, cost me £5. I put a pair of my old spare wheels on it and bought some cheapy bits of ebay to return it to drops.

Bottom brackets on its way out and the chainring is bent, but apart from that works fine.