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I'm not in favor of rat bikes!

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Imho this happens with everything, bikes, cars, furniture, everything. It's disgraceful to take anything old, nice, restorable and destroy it when a collector could enjoy it as is or restore it properly.
Case in point. I have a friend in the moving business. He gets a call from a woman, twentysomething who inherited her grandparents home. It was filled with family treasures that she did not want. My friend backs his large box truck around to the basement door and hears boom-boom-boom! This @%$÷#@ is throwing stuff down the basement steps!!!! Gorgeous furniture, etc., smashed to bits.
My friend shows me the stuff...whats left of a 200 year old grandfather clock, stuff you can't imagine. He was headed to the dump. One thing he gave me I salvaged, repaired was a Chippendale chest of drawers. Inlaid wood...its in one of our bedrooms, it's gorgeous.
As I told him...if she had called me, I would have gladly paid her $5-$10,000 for all that stuff.
Bottom line, people should think before modifying an antique car, bike, anything. It's probably worth more as is and with that money buy something in bad shape, missing parts, etc. Then it doesn't matter and TWO people are happy in the end![emoji3]

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Late 40's early 50's Monark that was well beyond restoration. Reborn as a Whizzer bike.
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I found this ~1830 Sheridan dresser on the side of the road over 10 years ago. Knobs appear to be ~1930s, but it's otherwise in pretty good shape. It doesn't fit with anything I have, so I'm trying to sell it (most old furniture is just not in much demand, which is crazy to me considering what people pay for disposable trash from Ikea or, frankly, even most of the better places nowadays). I appreciate that the people who didn't want it at least left it out carefully rather than just destroying it. My own bedroom set is Midcentury furniture I got for free that was pretty beat up, but was well-built and made of actual wood, so I rebuilt and refinished it (even in mint condition, it's still worth less than lower quality new furniture that's not complete junk). When I moved, I refinished it again to go better with the new place and a beat up old radio cabinet I also got for free and fixed up. All those pieces would have ended up in a landfill and, though it would be a shame, it would be better IMO if someone had painted and modified the Sheridan dresser than it had gone to the trash. For under $200 (mostly hardware), a couple cheap tools, and some decent amateur woodworking skills, I turned a beat old bedroom set into custom pieces I would have had to pay over ten times that to find something comparable that was new. Solid wood can be rebuilt and modified heavily with little effort and skill, yet people would rather pay more for cheap new trash that falls apart after one move and can't be repaired or changed up. It's a lot like old vs. new bikes at the lower end of the market.

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The only thing man-made that virtually lasts forever are arrowheads. Politically correct types try to discourage and even outlaw picking them up from the ground...for whatever reasons they have.
I don't agree with all these folks that feel they have to preserve everything in it's original place, state, or condition. If you find, or buy something, it's your to do what you wish with it, no matter how rare or valuable others think it is.. Let them buy it from you, if they think it's so valuable.
 
A little off topic, but living in Northern Ohio Indian artifacts are somewhat easy to find. Unfortunately farmers tilling often break them but at a minimum bring them up to the surface for the picking. The change to no-till farming is making it a little more difficult. Best place now is farm auctions. Enjoy

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A little off topic, but living in Northern Ohio Indian artifacts are somewhat easy to find. Unfortunately farmers tilling often break them but at a minimum bring them up to the surface for the picking. The change to no-till farming is making it a little more difficult. Best place now is farm auctions. Enjoy

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Waaaaaaayyyyyyyyy kool !!!
I grew up just outside Toledo / area known as The Black Swamp and found tons of these when I'd go hunting as a kid.
I'd trade them to buddies for football cards but still have a few of the better ones still today.
 
Some rat bikes are really cool.I dont mean just trashing the fenders and spray bombing a bike. I hate seeing a nice original get destroyed though. Short story: Years ago my friend bought a 1946 Ford.It was a perfect original and had the trophies to prove it.Within a week he started butchering the car and turned it into a street rod. Needless to say this guy was scorned at all the car shows. I know it was his car but I hated to see it trashed. I guess I feel the same with bikes.
 
Some rat bikes are really cool.I dont mean just trashing the fenders and spray bombing a bike. I hate seeing a nice original get destroyed though. Short story: Years ago my friend bought a 1946 Ford.It was a perfect original and had the trophies to prove it.Within a week he started butchering the car and turned it into a street rod. Needless to say this guy was scorned at all the car shows. I know it was his car but I hated to see it trashed. I guess I feel the same with bikes.
I agree 100%. It's horrible to see anything nice and original butchered like that.
On the other hand, if an old bike in bad shape is saved from the dumpster, or rusty, or previously modified at least it saves it from the crusher.
I like and collect Rambler cars. Ones with a Chevy motor the owner may like but aficionados and club members don't.

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Any bike less than 100 years old needs to be ridden as a first priority. A restored or original classic just sitting for display is wrong. Same goes for a rat that is just for a conversion piece as it hangs in the garage. Whether it's a rat or restored takes a backseat to riding the thing.
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