Someone at UBP on Saturday was having big problems changing out some dry rotted tires on a Schwinn MTB/hybrid that had been donated. Come to find out (after repeatedly trying to fit any size decimal or fraction 26" on there) that corrosion on the rim was hiding a little stamped "650B" mark on it. The cheapest 650B tire on harris is $25 and i'm not sure the bike shop we get our parts from would be any less expensive. The bike is in great condition other than the tires but $50 is about what we would sell it for. Should we swap the 650B rims for 26's? I would hate for someone to ruin a tire and have to wait a week for something to get ordered online or at a bike shop.
Here's my question to the group....What do you do with perfectly usable oddball bikes/parts that aren't particularly cool or collectable? Think the "fancy parts" thread of last year but with solid stuff that sits around gathering dust...
Brian
650B is all the rage now. That doesn't mean you can find them in all bike shops or anything, but the "hip" manufacturers are working on bringing it back. French randoneur. take it with a grain of salt.
josh
On Wed, Jul 2, 2008 at 7:19 AM, Urban Bike Project Wilmington, DE < urbanbikeproject@gmail.com> wrote:
Someone at UBP on Saturday was having big problems changing out some dry rotted tires on a Schwinn MTB/hybrid that had been donated. Come to find out (after repeatedly trying to fit any size decimal or fraction 26" on there) that corrosion on the rim was hiding a little stamped "650B" mark on it. The cheapest 650B tire on harris is $25 and i'm not sure the bike shop we get our parts from would be any less expensive. The bike is in great condition other than the tires but $50 is about what we would sell it for. Should we swap the 650B rims for 26's? I would hate for someone to ruin a tire and have to wait a week for something to get ordered online or at a bike shop.
Here's my question to the group....What do you do with perfectly usable oddball bikes/parts that aren't particularly cool or collectable? Think the "fancy parts" thread of last year but with solid stuff that sits around gathering dust...
Brian
-- Urban Bike Project of Wilmington -a 501(c)3 non-profit bike shop- 1908 N. Market Street (entrance is in the parking lot behind the building) Wilmington, DE 19801
Hours: Thursday 6:30-9:00 Saturday 1:00-4:00
Visit us online at http://urbanbikeproject.org _______________________________________________ Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank@bikecollectives.org
http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.o...
If the bike is nothing special and the wheels are rusty then I would
go with swapping in 26" mtb. wheels (presuming brake reach is ok) for
the reason you mention.
At our shop we've made space for odd tires and wheels, as one never
knows what might be needed down the road. Of course, some of them
will sit for a while...
We have some 28" / 630mm wheels and tires from one of those Indian
rod brake roadsters, a few odd 26s, narrow road 24s, and at one point
a pair of 22" Peugeot tires (for their folding bike). Even have a
20" / 451 tire, which is a Brit. size and seen for a long time on the
front of earlier recumbent bikes.
Speaking of 630mm, we had around 20 new tubes in boxes donated to
us. Since we'll likely never use them up I've been contacting local
shops to let them know we have them, as most would have to order if a
customer needed one.
Mark
On 2-Jul-08, at 10:19 AM, Urban Bike Project Wilmington, DE wrote:
Someone at UBP on Saturday was having big problems changing out
some dry rotted tires on a Schwinn MTB/hybrid that had been
donated. Come to find out (after repeatedly trying to fit any size
decimal or fraction 26" on there) that corrosion on the rim was
hiding a little stamped "650B" mark on it. The cheapest 650B tire
on harris is $25 and i'm not sure the bike shop we get our parts
from would be any less expensive. The bike is in great condition
other than the tires but $50 is about what we would sell it for.
Should we swap the 650B rims for 26's? I would hate for someone to
ruin a tire and have to wait a week for something to get ordered
online or at a bike shop.Here's my question to the group....What do you do with perfectly
usable oddball bikes/parts that aren't particularly cool or
collectable? Think the "fancy parts" thread of last year but with
solid stuff that sits around gathering dust...Brian
-- Urban Bike Project of Wilmington -a 501(c)3 non-profit bike shop- 1908 N. Market Street (entrance is in the parking lot behind the
building) Wilmington, DE 19801Hours: Thursday 6:30-9:00 Saturday 1:00-4:00
Visit us online at http://urbanbikeproject.org
Put 26" wheels on it if you can make the brakes reach, and sell the
650b wheels on ebay or to some local geek looking to build up a
Porteur bike.
On Jul 2, 2008, at 10:19 AM, Urban Bike Project Wilmington, DE wrote:
Someone at UBP on Saturday was having big problems changing out some
dry rotted tires on a Schwinn MTB/hybrid that had been donated. Come
to find out (after repeatedly trying to fit any size decimal or
fraction 26" on there) that corrosion on the rim was hiding a little
stamped "650B" mark on it. The cheapest 650B tire on harris is $25
and i'm not sure the bike shop we get our parts from would be any
less expensive. The bike is in great condition other than the tires
but $50 is about what we would sell it for. Should we swap the 650B
rims for 26's? I would hate for someone to ruin a tire and have to
wait a week for something to get ordered online or at a bike shop.Here's my question to the group....What do you do with perfectly
usable oddball bikes/parts that aren't particularly cool or
collectable? Think the "fancy parts" thread of last year but with
solid stuff that sits around gathering dust...Brian
-- Urban Bike Project of Wilmington -a 501(c)3 non-profit bike shop- 1908 N. Market Street (entrance is in the parking lot behind the
building) Wilmington, DE 19801Hours: Thursday 6:30-9:00 Saturday 1:00-4:00
Visit us online at http://urbanbikeproject.org
_______________________________________________ Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank@bikecollectives.org http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.o...
depending on the socio-economic climate that your shop is in, there are likely to be a lot of used 650 a/c tires floating around at LBSs. I know that they get donated to BICAS all the time b/c there are a number of smaller roadies out there who take their bikes to nice shops for tune-ups and new rubber. In towns with a lot of serious mountain biking enthusiasts I imagine that 650b tires will begin to be donated in the same manner. I think that it is a good idea to keep a sock of these around. If you can't find used ones though... swapping to 26" does seem in order. On a similar thread; BICAS uses tons of 26x1 3/8" wheels in both the EA3 (590 mm) and Schwinn (597 mm) sizes. It almost always means selling folks new tires ($10/each) b/c there are never decent used 26x 1 3/8" tires. At the bike church we always sent all those wheels to the metal recycling, for lack of space. While it is nice to send less stuff to the furnace, most of those old schwinn wheels are such total crap that folks are back all the time with broken spokes or frozen hubs... what do your shops do? Is it better to reuse a wheel that will serve fairly poorly and require buying new tires or recycle it to take it out of circulation? The question is rather narrow, but is, I think, emblematic of two tendencies that run through our projects... that of reusing and that of cycle-advocacy... that I think we would do well to better understand. hope all are well, kyle
On Wed, Jul 2, 2008 at 8:46 AM, Matt mattface@gmail.com wrote:
Put 26" wheels on it if you can make the brakes reach, and sell the 650b wheels on ebay or to some local geek looking to build up a Porteur bike. On Jul 2, 2008, at 10:19 AM, Urban Bike Project Wilmington, DE wrote:
Someone at UBP on Saturday was having big problems changing out some dry rotted tires on a Schwinn MTB/hybrid that had been donated. Come to find out (after repeatedly trying to fit any size decimal or fraction 26" on there) that corrosion on the rim was hiding a little stamped "650B" mark on it. The cheapest 650B tire on harris is $25 and i'm not sure the bike shop we get our parts from would be any less expensive. The bike is in great condition other than the tires but $50 is about what we would sell it for. Should we swap the 650B rims for 26's? I would hate for someone to ruin a tire and have to wait a week for something to get ordered online or at a bike shop.
Here's my question to the group....What do you do with perfectly usable oddball bikes/parts that aren't particularly cool or collectable? Think the "fancy parts" thread of last year but with solid stuff that sits around gathering dust...
Brian
-- Urban Bike Project of Wilmington -a 501(c)3 non-profit bike shop- 1908 N. Market Street (entrance is in the parking lot behind the building) Wilmington, DE 19801
Hours: Thursday 6:30-9:00 Saturday 1:00-4:00
Visit us online at http://urbanbikeproject.org_______________________________________________ Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank@bikecollectives.org
http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.o...
Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank@bikecollectives.org
http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.o...
I'll admit we do look for reasons to scrap steel wheels, otherwise
we'd drown in them, and yes, if bad enough they'll just waste a
customer's time in terms of bad performance and trying to service
them. But if one is straight and rust-free it is kept, even though we
have more than we need, as it seems a crime to scrap a perfectly good
wheel.
The excess mtn. bike wheels are saved for donation to Bicycles For
Humanity (http://www.bicycles-for-humanity.org/Ottawa/index.php),
along with the knobby tires most urban riders don't want. Steel 27s
are kept mainly for those diehard older guys that want to keep their
barely working Raleigh Gran Sport alive.
We have the same criteria for the 590s, and we have maybe one 597 any
given time, as there are far fewer Schwinns up here, and lots more
CCM and Canadian Tire Supercycles, which either use 590 or Cdn.
28" (700C). We currently have enough used 590 tires in stock, but
few tubes, and have found a 559 mtn. tube can be stretched to fit.
BTW, we do not sell new parts and accessories. We have purchased new
tires for use on our overhaul bikes if used ones are not available.
But if a customer needs / wants a brand new tire we tell them to go
to MEC or a local bike shop, as we do not compete with them.
Mark
On 2-Jul-08, at 4:34 PM, kyle mckinley wrote:
depending on the socio-economic climate that your shop is in, there
are likely to be a lot of used 650 a/c tires floating around at
LBSs. I know that they get donated to BICAS all the time b/c there
are a number of smaller roadies out there who take their bikes to
nice shops for tune-ups and new rubber. In towns with a lot of
serious mountain biking enthusiasts I imagine that 650b tires will
begin to be donated in the same manner. I think that it is a good
idea to keep a sock of these around. If you can't find used ones
though... swapping to 26" does seem in order. On a similar thread; BICAS uses tons of 26x1 3/8" wheels in both
the EA3 (590 mm) and Schwinn (597 mm) sizes. It almost always means
selling folks new tires ($10/each) b/c there are never decent used
26x 1 3/8" tires. At the bike church we always sent all those
wheels to the metal recycling, for lack of space. While it is nice
to send less stuff to the furnace, most of those old schwinn wheels
are such total crap that folks are back all the time with broken
spokes or frozen hubs... what do your shops do? Is it better to
reuse a wheel that will serve fairly poorly and require buying new
tires or recycle it to take it out of circulation? The question is
rather narrow, but is, I think, emblematic of two tendencies that
run through our projects... that of reusing and that of cycle- advocacy... that I think we would do well to better understand. hope all are well, kyleOn Wed, Jul 2, 2008 at 8:46 AM, Matt mattface@gmail.com wrote: Put 26" wheels on it if you can make the brakes reach, and sell the
650b wheels on ebay or to some local geek looking to build up a
Porteur bike.On Jul 2, 2008, at 10:19 AM, Urban Bike Project Wilmington, DE wrote:
Someone at UBP on Saturday was having big problems changing out
some dry rotted tires on a Schwinn MTB/hybrid that had been
donated. Come to find out (after repeatedly trying to fit any size
decimal or fraction 26" on there) that corrosion on the rim was
hiding a little stamped "650B" mark on it. The cheapest 650B tire
on harris is $25 and i'm not sure the bike shop we get our parts
from would be any less expensive. The bike is in great condition
other than the tires but $50 is about what we would sell it for.
Should we swap the 650B rims for 26's? I would hate for someone to
ruin a tire and have to wait a week for something to get ordered
online or at a bike shop.Here's my question to the group....What do you do with perfectly
usable oddball bikes/parts that aren't particularly cool or
collectable? Think the "fancy parts" thread of last year but with
solid stuff that sits around gathering dust...Brian
-- Urban Bike Project of Wilmington -a 501(c)3 non-profit bike shop- 1908 N. Market Street (entrance is in the parking lot behind the
building) Wilmington, DE 19801Hours: Thursday 6:30-9:00 Saturday 1:00-4:00
Visit us online at http://urbanbikeproject.org
_______________________________________________Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank@bikecollectives.org http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank- bikecollectives.org
Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank@bikecollectives.org http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank- bikecollectives.org
-- If an Easyrider rides easy, then a bicirider rides bicis _______________________________________________ Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank@bikecollectives.org http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank- bikecollectives.org
wow, i just helped someone work on a schwinn just like that with 650b tires(was yours yellow by chance?). she went to a LBS and they ordered her some tires from pyramid and they were under 20 dollars for the pair. we have a policy of never getting rid of anything that is still usable. we scrap a lot of old wheels that are unusable but in my years working at the community bicycle shop i have found that eventually i will need that oddball part for someones bike and when i dont have it because i knowingly scrapped it i kick myself.
Don't get caught with egg on your face. Play chicktionary! http://club.live.com/chicktionary.aspx?icid=chick_wlhmtextlink1_feb
It's a Schwinn Frontier, black with red lettering. Thanks for all the suggestions, we'll probably swap the 650's out and stash them in purgatory. Wilmington is a far cry from "hip" and we don't get too many Rene Herse afficianados 'round here, hehe.
I was not as concerned about being able to find the tires cheaply but whether or not we should be selling or giving away a bike with parts that are not available locally and need to be ordered. For instance, someone in a shelter riding as their only transport having to wait a week to get a replacement tire.
Happy 4th!
http://bcgp.blogspot.com/2008/06/bicyclists-declare-independence-from.html
Brian
On Wed, Jul 2, 2008 at 6:29 PM, Justin Pogge xecax@hotmail.com wrote:
wow, i just helped someone work on a schwinn just like that with 650b tires(was yours yellow by chance?). she went to a LBS and they ordered her some tires from pyramid and they were under 20 dollars for the pair. we have a policy of never getting rid of anything that is still usable. we scrap a lot of old wheels that are unusable but in my years working at the community bicycle shop i have found that eventually i will need that oddball part for someones bike and when i dont have it because i knowingly scrapped it i kick myself.
Don't get caught with egg on your face. Play chicktionary!http://club.live.com/chicktionary.aspx?icid=chick_wlhmtextlink1_feb
Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank@bikecollectives.org
http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.o...
participants (6)
-
joshua muir -
Justin Pogge -
kyle mckinley -
Mark Rehder -
Matt -
Urban Bike Project Wilmington, DE