On Mon, 24 May 2004 07:31:53 GMT, "Dave Mayer"
wrote:
Just keep rolling if you see any of the following:
A kickstand
Suicide levers (aka brake extender levers)
Nutted wheel axles (i.e. no quick releases on wheels)
Crankset with riveted rings
Nylon (plastic) platform pedals

Those are somewhat common on good bikes. I rescued a Schwinn
Traveler with a nutted rear, kickstand, and suicide levers; and the
first bike I ever bought in a LBS was a GT MTB (from before GT was
bought by a mass-market company) with nylon pedals and riveted
rings. The crank was a Shimano Acera, not terrible.

You forgot to mention one-piece cranks. Those are _only_ found on
garbage.

Or has the name:
Mongoose

There are LBS-quality mongeese, but you have to apply the rest of
the aforementioned filters to determine if it's a walgoose or a
LBSgoose.

That said, while all of those rules apply to _paying_ for a bike,
discarded bikes can (and should) be taken with much less
discrimination. You can often find a few good parts; and most
anything with skinny tires tends to be reasonable to ride, even if
built of crap. They make good beaters, too, and foul-weather bikes
(except for the steel rims in the rain), and strapped-to-the-car
vacation bikes that you won't miss if somebody steals them in the
parking lot of the hotel...

I picked up a Mongoose D40r FS mtb, stripped of the rear wheel and
random components (chainrings, part of the right grip shift, saddle
and post, etc). It appears to be a walgoose; but I might throw some
parts on it and give it a spin. It's got Kool Stop salmon brake pads
on the rear! Well worth throwing in the back of the pickup as I
drove by.

Discarded Schwinns are a grey area; they're better than Murrays and
if not made from proper parts, are at least compatible with proper
parts. They're also very common.
--
Rick Onanian