Old Bike

July 10, 2018 11:36 AM

I am getting a new bike. I don't have the space for both. What can I do with old, damaged, missing front wheel bike?

Old bike had its front wheel stolen. Old bike also has a lot of rust damage on the chain and the back tire doesn't pump up. If it was in good shape, I could probably donate or sell but it's not.

I live in a decent area apartment complex. I can't just leave it curbside.

posted by Aranquis to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (12 answers total)

Got a community bike co-op near you? They can generally use parts of all sorts and accept donations if there's space available.
posted by asperity at 11:38 AM on July 10, 2018 [9 favorites]

Old bike also has a lot of rust damage on the chain and the back tire doesn't pump up

These are things that are very easy fixes for a donation recipient -- by all means, donate it to some org like Bikes Not Bombs.
posted by Dashy at 11:39 AM on July 10, 2018 [5 favorites]

Plenty of cities have places where you can donate your bike and they will repair it and give it to a good home. To be honest, a missing front wheel, rusty chain, and flat rear tire aren't that bad. Chains are $15, patching an innertube is about $1 and 5 minutes of effort, and co-ops are likely going to have spare front wheels lying around that will match.
posted by kdar at 11:41 AM on July 10, 2018

In my city, I can take it to the dump and an organization will pick it up and use it for parts or fix it.
posted by The corpse in the library at 11:45 AM on July 10, 2018

If it were mine I would lean it on the tree in my front yard and tape a "FREE" sign on it. It would be gone in 20 minutes.
posted by ThatCanadianGirl at 11:50 AM on July 10, 2018 [1 favorite]

How did I not read your last sentence?
posted by ThatCanadianGirl at 11:51 AM on July 10, 2018

If you can't find a bike co-op or similar that will take it, try your local Freecycle/Trash Nothing/Buy Nothing or the "Free" section of Craigslist. Rusty chain and flat tire is no problem at all, and the missing front wheel is replaceable.
posted by mskyle at 12:09 PM on July 10, 2018 [2 favorites]

Nthing your local Buy Nothing/Freecycle group. Someone will jump at this.

However, I'd also be honest about the condition, and attach a pic if possible, so people know what they're getting into.
posted by spinifex23 at 12:16 PM on July 10, 2018 [1 favorite]

Working Bikes in the Chicago area would probably take it. Assuming you're elsewhere, you could ask them if they know anyone local to you.
posted by chimpsonfilm at 12:31 PM on July 10, 2018

If you just put it at the curb, 99% chance it's going for scrap. If you'd rather have it actually be fixed up and reused, just google "[your city] bicycle donation" and a bunch of places should come up.
posted by Slinga at 1:34 PM on July 10, 2018

I would try listing it on freegle or freecycle to see if someone wants it
posted by JonB at 2:02 PM on July 10, 2018

Guess I'm kinda trashy, but if your area is dense enough to have apartment buildings and get front wheels stolen, it's dense enough to walk the bike half a block and disappear it from someone else's curbside.
posted by aspersioncast at 11:18 AM on July 11, 2018