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Seen on the street: A rusty bike, an optimistic seller

Posted by Jonathan Maus (Publisher/Editor) on March 12th, 2008 at 10:26 am

"Needs a little cosmetic work" is an understatement.
(Photos © J. Maus)

For Sale, needs some work-3.jpg
For Sale, needs some work-2.jpg

If I had nothing better to do, I would love to just photograph and document all the interesting bikes I see locked up around town.

For example, check out this rusted-out old beast I noticed the other day. It was locked (with a bike chain) to a rack at the bottom of N. Albina and Interstate. The sign said, "Old bike, needs a little cosmetic work. Make offer."

A little cosmetic work?!

I figured this must be someone playing a joke... but the next morning I noticed the bike was gone. I wonder how much it sold for...

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Comments
  • tonyt March 12, 2008 at 11:12 am

    Looks like that sign went on there long after that bike was abandoned.

    Nice!

    Speaking of abandoned bikes. What is supposed to be done about an abandoned bike parked at a bike rack?

    Do we have to wait til it becomes a pile of rust before the city will remove it?

    The bike I am thinking of has been parked at a rack for probably the last two months. It has not moved. You can tell by all the debris building up under the wheels and the dust etc.

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  • Elliot March 12, 2008 at 11:41 am

    Sounds like a good feature to pair with the Sheldon Brown April Fools Day ride. :)

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  • Qwendolyn March 12, 2008 at 12:31 pm

    slap a fixed cog on that thing and post it to craigslist!

    $800 OBO

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  • Refunk March 12, 2008 at 12:33 pm

    #2--Bingo!

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  • c March 12, 2008 at 1:29 pm

    Yes, what does become of locked, abandoned bikes? Does Portland tag them as abandoned property like this every once in a while? I\'ve not noticed it.

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  • Javen March 12, 2008 at 1:31 pm

    I don\'t think the CCC would even huffy toss that bike--it\'s that bad. It\'d be the dumpster immediately for that bike.

    That bike almost looks like it belongs in the Hiroshima atom bomb museum with all its rust.

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  • naess March 12, 2008 at 2:16 pm

    #1 & #5:

    i\'ve seen bikes with warning tags on them near the b-side powell\'s. probably one of those odot things.

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  • Phil Hanson (aka Pedalphile) March 12, 2008 at 3:57 pm

    Sold? I\'ll bet someone stole it. But, hey, there\'s nothing wrong with that bike that a new bike wouldn\'t cure.

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  • Daniel (teknotus) Johnson March 12, 2008 at 5:16 pm

    I saw a beautiful bike locked up for a while. The day after it got the abandoned property tag on it it was parted. Made me sad.

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  • Mr. Viddy March 12, 2008 at 6:04 pm

    That was a pretty sweet wheelset.

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  • Matthew March 12, 2008 at 6:06 pm

    I dig the lock. If it wasn\'t for the fact that I (and a lot of other people) carry a tool that will go right through one of of those...

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  • Mike March 13, 2008 at 7:51 am

    I just finished a photostory on the Lifecycle of A Bicycle. I think this might be closest to a \"dead\" bicycle that I\'ve seen. Although with a few parts it\'d be pretty fancy.

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  • k. March 13, 2008 at 11:36 am

    Don\'t worry, I\'m sure it\'s not gone for good. I\'m thinking it\'ll probably reappear as the CCC\'s \"Bike of the month\" for April.

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