# What bikes would you consider a waste of money to buy and why? Bad experiences prefer



## Sped Man (Oct 26, 2015)

What bike did you buy that made you wish you didn't buy it? Was it inferior quality, inferior handling, inferior plating...what? Were you able to correct the problems? If so, how? With me it was the Huffman Twinflex. It wasn't designed for individuals weighing 200 Ibs. It bottoms out when you hit a pot hole. My solution was to eat less whoppers  Problem solved.


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## bricycle (Oct 26, 2015)

It might be a waste of time to buy anyones bikes except mine, especially because I'm so close.....


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## redline1968 (Oct 26, 2015)

Stingrays..


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## partsguy (Oct 26, 2015)

Any 20" muscle bike. They offer me no joy and I can't ride them. Being 6' 3" is more of a burden than a benefit. I'd also say most Murray-built bikes, the chrome and paint quality is not there.


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## redline1968 (Oct 26, 2015)

Couldn't have said it better. Tough to sell too. Don't like to deal with collectors of them.


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## redline1968 (Oct 26, 2015)

partsguy said:


> Any 20" muscle bike. They offer me no joy and I can't ride them. Being 6' 3" is more of a burden than a benefit. I'd also say most Murray-built bikes, the chrome and paint quality is not there.



Couldn't have said it better.


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## partsguy (Oct 26, 2015)

Also, BMX bikes. You either find piles of rusted out Wal-Mart crap or outrageously priced chrome frames that all look alike. What's worse is the community is nothing but a bunch of stuck up silly heads. I got tired of dealing with them years ago and in an act of defiance, I had the last three in my yard, and several boxes of parts, crushed at the junkyard. I did not leave until I saw them crumpled up in the claw machine. It wasn't anything super valuable but it was the principle and thought of it.


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## partsguy (Oct 26, 2015)

redline1968 said:


> Couldn't have said it better. Tough to sell too. Don't like to deal with collectors of them.




Muscle bike collectors are hit and miss. The BMX guys are way worse. What I've noticed is, the smaller the bike, the bigger the child.


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## Sped Man (Oct 26, 2015)

Silver King Flocycle Awesome looks and extremely expensive but not meant for individuals weighing over 200 pounds. Way too fragile.


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## militarymonark (Oct 26, 2015)

I'll have to differ on the BMX bikes. If you know what you are looking at then you can pick up some good ones. I personally don't really like mid weights. They don't ride right. The schwinns seem alright but other models I can't do. The one thing I couldn't deal with though was that hawthorne beehive looking springer. It made so much racket I swapped it out. It drove me nuts every time I rode it.


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## bairdco (Oct 26, 2015)

Schwinns. The whole lot of them. 

I do own a DX clunker, and I like the geometry of the frame, and I'll admit schwinn made (mostly) quality bikes, but if ya seen one, you seen 'em all.

Schwinns are by far the most abundant bikes out there, and the ugliest, in my opinion. I mean, how many times can you dress up a cantilever frame and still think it looks cool? Pre War or post apocalypse,  someone's still gonna make the same old tired canti frame. 

Yawn...

And the prices? Geez. Ok, it's a good sturdy bike, but there's as many schwinns as 90's honda civics. Why do people think they're worth, well, anything? Everyone and their brother (and sister, mother, father, aunt, uncle, mailman...) has had a schwinn at some point in their lives. 

And even now, in china, schwinns are still made with in the same exact style. Cheaper, yes, and on the same jig as a huffy, but they're still around.

Heck, they even remake the straightbars now.

Boring, gaudy bikes that shouldn't be worth anytging. And now, the 70's collegiate's are worth money? I mean, they only made, what, 5 million of them? 

So, yeah. Schwinns. I hate 'em.


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## syclesavage (Oct 26, 2015)

Walmart anything modern anything cause they just suck track wrong ugly lookin.


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## SJ_BIKER (Oct 26, 2015)

anything that says Schwinn with 70% of its parts missing.....nightmare to find matching parts ..... or any 1930s-50s American bike with 70% of its parts missing....use to be exciting but when you score all of them you will have realized you might have overpaid when an original could have be purchased for half the price....


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## the tinker (Oct 26, 2015)

Tandems.
Got a 1973 Schwinn tandem this spring 100% free.  The wife never saw it. It cleaned up perfect and needed nothing .  My experience is you ride them only once and then they just take up space forever. I don't know what it is about them, they just don't"fit".
I have a pal place it on Craig's list for me for 350 bucks. She saw it later that day and insisted we keep it. " It's so pretty,lets keep it and we will ride it every day this summer."she said.
WE RODE IT ONCE this summer.
Here is a photo of it.  here is a photo of her.





Sorry . I lied. That's not my wife that's a young Hillary Clinton. What the heck HAPPENED???


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## THE STIG (Oct 26, 2015)

the tinker said:


> View attachment 246149
> Sorry . I lied.




you learned from the best


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## THE STIG (Oct 26, 2015)

the worst bikes;
35-7 Bluebirds & Skylarks
all SK's


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## the tinker (Oct 26, 2015)

I don't want no stinken Schwinn!!!


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## eddy45 (Oct 26, 2015)

I have the same exact twinn and I cant give it away I hate it thanks


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## Boris (Oct 26, 2015)

Middleweight space themed bikes from the early-mid 60's. They look cool, but that's just about it.


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## redline1968 (Oct 26, 2015)

partsguy said:


> Muscle bike collectors are hit and miss. The BMX guys are way worse. What I've noticed is, the smaller the bike, the bigger the child.



Words to live by...


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## SirMike1983 (Oct 26, 2015)

In terms of what I'd call a "waste of money", from experience: the really oddball utility stuff is bad. I'm talking weird, off-brand Japanese, West German, and French lightweights and utility bikes from the 1960s-70s. This isn't PX-10 type stuff, more just off-branded weird stuff to come out of the pre-bike boom and bike boom eras. This stuff is sort of interesting for awhile, but eventually you prioritize and decide that if you're going to use space, it will be for something good. When you go to sell these kinds of bikes, they're yard sale type level, even in good shape. They look like plain, basement pile type junk, even in decent shape. You're lucky to get $50 for it. It was second tier stuff in 1965, and it still seems second rate today, even if it's sort of quirky and interesting at times.

In terms of stuff to avoid at all, I think  or any of that small "wheelie" or "chopper" bike type stuff. They were popular in their day and are collectible items today, but from a "rideable bike" standpoint, they're pretty awful. Adults really should have adult-sized bikes. If a ballooner is sort of a struggle for some adult riders to size, then these wheelie/chopper bikes are way too small for even more people.


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## kingsilver (Oct 26, 2015)

Thank God I only weigh 136 LBS. Sped Man.


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## mike j (Oct 26, 2015)

So many great responses. I can't think of a thing to add, except, maybe we all need to loose a little weight.


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## the tinker (Oct 26, 2015)

mike j said:


> So many great responses. I can't think of a thing to add, except, maybe we all need to loose a little weight.








That pig on the right sure looks happy!


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## OldSkipTooth (Oct 26, 2015)

For me it is any Royce Union! Just hatem' in the 70's we hated em even more!


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## jacob9795 (Oct 26, 2015)

Those that don't own a Schwinn must be drinking...


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## rustystone2112 (Oct 26, 2015)

1970's English lightweights


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## rustystone2112 (Oct 26, 2015)

I agree, my sister once owned a green RU 10 speed in the early 70's ,years later i decided to do a complete service everything down to truing the rims then i took it for a test ride and it rode even worse then before so i cut into pieces and threw in the trash


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## Larmo63 (Oct 26, 2015)

Very good responses except for the Schwinn hatred. I love Schwinns, I grew up with them and they are Americana. The chrome Murray "Space" bikes are crap. 

Also, is it me, am I the only one who fuc*ing HATES the crap eBay listings at the bottom of these threads? I HATE THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## sfhschwinn (Oct 27, 2015)

redline1968 said:


> Stingrays..




What are you talking about. They are great as long as their Schwinn and not copies!


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## sfhschwinn (Oct 27, 2015)

I would agree with Murray stuff. Also almost all girls bikes, anything rusted that is to far gone, anything repainted unless its super rare and well done, bikes with lots of repop parts. I like the 20inch Schwinn bikes but other companies with those bikes are extremely hard to sell even for $100 from the 60s. Almost anything made overseas. Raleigh choppers to are ugly


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## bairdco (Oct 27, 2015)

sfhschwinn said:


> What are you talking about. They are great as long as their Schwinn and not copies!





Ever do a long ride on a stingray? 

Years ago I was stranded at huntington beach and I'm allergic to buses (  ) so my buddy lent me his stingray. 

Rode that home to orange. About 15 miles. I was kinda drunk when I started so thought it was a good idea.

Worst ride I ever had.


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## scrubbinrims (Oct 27, 2015)

Threads like these are polarizing.
I don't spend my money on 99.9% of bicycles I come across for a host of reasons others are drawn to them.
Waste of money? Something you can't enjoy or not worth the investment in resell...it's that simple folks.
Chris


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## redline1968 (Oct 27, 2015)

sfhschwinn said:


> What are you talking about. They are great as long as their Schwinn and not copies!




Hate to say it yes stingrays....


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## cyclonecoaster.com (Oct 27, 2015)

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder as they say ... I like many brands of bicycles - Schwinn is not the best bicycle - just the easiest to find parts for & to sell - No matter what bicycle you ride you always hear people refer to it as "Look at that old Schwinn" - OR - ANY old red balloon bicycle people will also say "check out the Pee Wee Herman bike" - Ignorance is Ignorance ....

Space is too precious for me & why collect things for display only - I am not a museum - I could tell you what I don't like - BUT I rather just sum it up with this - If I can't ride it - I don't want it 

Knowledge is power as they say .... when you look at a bicycle in person you can see the quality - or lack of quality & when you're looking to buy a bicycle - research what you're getting yourself into & buy it as complete as you can - the small part search will drive one crazy ... 

Ride Vintage - Frank


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## bricycle (Oct 27, 2015)

the tinker said:


> View attachment 246207
> 
> That pig on the right sure looks happy!




..to market, to market, to buy a fat hog...


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## militarymonark (Oct 27, 2015)

the tinker said:


> Tandems.
> Got a 1973 Schwinn tandem this spring 100% free.  The wife never saw it. It cleaned up perfect and needed nothing .  My experience is you ride them only once and then they just take up space forever. I don't know what it is about them, they just don't"fit".
> I have a pal place it on Craig's list for me for 350 bucks. She saw it later that day and insisted we keep it. " It's so pretty,lets keep it and we will ride it every day this summer."she said.
> WE RODE IT ONCE this summer.
> ...





HA! i ride mine anyway without someone. lol Heck you might be able to meet some new friends by having an extra seat.


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## WES PINCHOT (Oct 27, 2015)

Schwinn Centennial Anniversary bikes not made in the USA.
Cheap, cheap,cheap!


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## spoker (Oct 27, 2015)

dont forget 80s murrays came with lightening darts


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## 2jakes (Oct 27, 2015)

RoadMaster & Columbia bicycles. 
Felled apart immediately. 





 



Should’ve come with a warning indicating that these bikes are for ''display only"!


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## how (Oct 27, 2015)

the tinker said:


> Tandems.
> Got a 1973 Schwinn tandem this spring 100% free.  The wife never saw it. It cleaned up perfect and needed nothing .  My experience is you ride them only once and then they just take up space forever. I don't know what it is about them, they just don't"fit".
> I have a pal place it on Craig's list for me for 350 bucks. She saw it later that day and insisted we keep it. " It's so pretty,lets keep it and we will ride it every day this summer."she said.
> WE RODE IT ONCE this summer.
> ...




Yea I just sold one, I bought for a hundred bucks put 3 hours into it, and just sold it for 250 cause it takes up too much room, on top of that they ride like crap. I have owned 4 of them. I see them for as much as 900 dollars around here, I just laugh about it cause I know how crappy they are and nobody keeps them.


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## partsguy (Oct 28, 2015)

Once in a great while I'm offered to buy a tandem. I refuse. I'd strip off the wheels, chain, seats, bars, fenders, then scrap the remains. I hate tandems.


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## jimbo53 (Oct 28, 2015)

24" balloon tire bikes-lots out there because they were intermediate bikes for kids and generally got put up in the barn or attic before they got beat up. They are a niche market bike and are hard to move unless you have a buyer already into vintage bikes and wants something for his kid to ride. Not even worth parting out because their parts are size specific, much like many parts on girls bikes.


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## catfish (Oct 28, 2015)

I'm going to say tandems.


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## Dan the bike man (Oct 28, 2015)

catfish said:


> I'm going to say tandems.





 I agree! Try riding one with a woman on back. You're trying to keep from falling over or crashing! I put my tandem up for sale!


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## bairdco (Oct 28, 2015)

I hate tandems, too. I built a custom one for a friend and her and her daughter rode it once and crashed it into the sand trying to ride it in HB on the boardwalk. 

I love old 24" bikes, because I'm short, but it's true they are hard to sell.


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## drglinski (Oct 28, 2015)

I agree about the Sting Rays.  I bought one thinking I could flip it- bad idea.  They look neat and I appreciate their place in history but they are a small bike and one can't ride them comfortably.  Plus you've got to pedal 3X as much to go the same distance as a 26"er.  Not to mention if you need parts like tires for them- good luck.  You'll pay $$. 

Another bad buy IMO is a tandem.  They take up space, hard to haul/transport, and I can't stand riding 'em.  Same goes for a 3 wheeler.


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## Sped Man (Oct 28, 2015)

the tinker said:


> Tandems.
> Got a 1973 Schwinn tandem this spring 100% free.  The wife never saw it. It cleaned up perfect and needed nothing .  My experience is you ride them only once and then they just take up space forever. I don't know what it is about them, they just don't"fit".
> I have a pal place it on Craig's list for me for 350 bucks. She saw it later that day and insisted we keep it. " It's so pretty,lets keep it and we will ride it every day this summer."she said.
> WE RODE IT ONCE this summer.
> ...




Welcome to the will ride it this summer Tandem club. Wives are something else aren't they. My wife said the same thing. When it came time to ride she had an excuse for not wanting to go out. It is too cold to ride. It is too hot to ride. It is too sunny to ride! That is too far to ride.


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## Sped Man (Oct 28, 2015)

Personally, I have owned and ridden all types of bicycles. When my boys were young we would go riding together. I got them all 5 speed Schwinn Krates. I rode my 5 speed Sears Screamer with a huge sissybar. It was fun to be a kid again. Now that my boys are driving cars I have shifted to full size bicycles. I have to agree with the tandems though. They take up a lot of Real estate. I rode my tandem only once this year. It spent 355 days hanging on a hook in my back porch. What a waste of money! I have used my sacred Rocket helmet more than that


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## sleepy (Oct 28, 2015)

My patina-ed Coppertone Twinn always draws attention when I take it out.....then again it's not your usual Twinn....its been personalized with layback seatposts, Electra leopard seats, Phantom fenders, Fat Franks, etc. I love it, I ride it alone and feel like I'm driving a limo.


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## Sped Man (Oct 31, 2015)

For those individuals over 6 foot tall the Elgin twin bar might be a bit too small. Awesome bike though. I had to pick up a 15 inch seat post. Problem solved.


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## fordmike65 (Oct 31, 2015)

Sped Man said:


> For those individuals over 6 foot tall the Elgin twin bar might be a bit too small. Awesome bike though. I had to pick up a 15 inch seat post. Problem solved.




I just sold mine because it was so damn short. Such a cool frame but just not that comfortable being 6'4"


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## Sped Man (Apr 13, 2017)

How about this bike? It was made for adults. Have any of you guys ridden one?  Looks awesome but the ride is a joke!


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## the2finger (Apr 13, 2017)

No Schwinn's, no tandems, and anything Pee Wee Herman would ride


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## tanksalot (Apr 13, 2017)

I want to say Middle weights & Tandems but there are exceptions on both. They are hard to sell for the most part when you want to buy something else instead.


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## RUDY CONTRATTI (Apr 13, 2017)

*Truth Be Told,I love these older threads,If it were not for the Cabe,I reckon I would be making  those (MISTAKES)Ive made in the past!But not anymore .Live and Learn,how bout the Cycle Truck that did not fit through my front door.and the room it took up,And how bout a Tandem,Had the ole Colson Rear Steer,which did not last LONG,cause ,well it was to long.Perhaps as we all get older we learn from our mistakes,and as I said In the begining Im glad I joined The Cabe ,where I learned years ago what fender rivets were and not the screws and nuts I used back in the day.Let alone Date Codes for the various bikes I own,and in closing,,I dont regret buying  none of my bikes in our fleet to this day.And in this day and age ,Why bring up a bad experience anyway,There is enough bad things going on in Life,Simply watch my New York Rangers forecheck..*


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## Jeff54 (Apr 13, 2017)

Oh hell, you guys having even touched the crap bike arena. I thought this thread was dead but since somebody, some ignorant fool, no doubt [grin], pumped some air in it, lets get down to the meat. Because, during the mid 50's the crap was rolling in. Royce Union, Huffy went junk, Murray junked, sears junked, Monkey wards and that' just the start of it, How bought those copy-cat Schwinn's,, Vista, I gave them a real good look over, in K-mart late 60's or so, but they didn't copy cat the danged tire sizes, which was what I was looking for  jeez, [grin] , Most of the companies gave them selves a bad rap, sometime in the 50's, and their good stuff 40's and below are suffering for it. Western flyer got the cheap plan too,  the line starts here:


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## Barto (Apr 13, 2017)

Not a fan of Schwins, something about the cantilever frame......not for me.  Then there are those OCC bikes...or anything OCC!  24 inch bikes....hmmmmm, they have their place but not in my garage.  Anything big box stores....and any bike cooler then mine


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## the tinker (Apr 13, 2017)

So we revived this thread. Well, here is a tandem update: Last fall we [wife and I] finally took the tandem out , like for only the second time since we got it........and got a flat. Rear tire too. Worst tire to go flat on a tandem is the rear. had a looooong hike back too.
Now it's spring and she wants me to fix it.    I feel like Rodney Dangerfield, I don't get no respect....I hate that stinkin tandem!


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## brwstrmgmt (Apr 14, 2017)

Bought this for the wife years ago.  Big mistake.

"Almost" sold it a year ago to a guy from Vermont who wanted to give it to some newlyweds for their honeymoon.  When he asked if it was good off road and on trails ( he really asked that) and I told him, uh....no......, that was the end of that.  Its back in my basement......unridden for many moons.


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## Leatherhead (Apr 14, 2017)

brwstrmgmt said:


> Bought this for the wife years ago.  Big mistake.
> 
> "Almost" sold it a year ago to a guy from Vermont who wanted to give it to some newlyweds for their honeymoon.  When he asked if it was good off road and on trails ( he really asked that) and I told him, uh....no......, that was the end of that.  Its back in my basement......unridden for many moons.
> 
> View attachment 451026



Hahaha....is it good off road.....I woulda told him 'sure is...just take a video of them doing it for me please.'


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## partsguy (Apr 14, 2017)

tanksalot said:


> I want to say Middle weights & Tandems but there are exceptions on both. They are hard to sell for the most part when you want to buy something else instead.




I never have any trouble selling nice middleweights in my locality. Price 'em right, good pics, sell 'em on the bike. Same ideas go for any listing.


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## PCHiggin (Apr 14, 2017)

This an F'd up topic, Who cares what we dont like? Just another dumb way to stir up trouble. The chicks here dont even behave this way. Happy not to be that bored


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## MrColumbia (Apr 14, 2017)

I've never bought a bike I considered a bad purchase but thinking about it I would say any bike I don't personally love would be a waste. I never buy with the intent to resell.


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## barracuda (Apr 14, 2017)

C'mon people - tandems are great for cruising around with ladies. Just make sure to put her in the front seat if you want to enjoy the ride. Personally, I don't waste my money on unicycles. They take up too much vertical space, and I tend to find them disagreeable on a philosophical level.


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