Two quick notes today. First thing is about cable locks. As you can see in my picture above, they don’t work. Get a Kryptonite U-lock. Lock that to your frame, front wheel, and whatever you’re hooking to. Use a heavy gauge cable to go through your rear wheel. Today I bought a bike with two of these things wrapped around the head tube. I made quick work of both of them with a tool that fits into my pocket.
Speaking of the bike, here it is. You can see the mess that is the two cable locks wrapped around everything up front. And here I come to my deal-finding tip of the day. Here is an ad for a “Bicycle” or a “10 speed bicycle”. By the design, I can tell that it’s modern, and by the size of the tubing, probably aluminum, and likely not a 10-Speed, but a 3×7 speed. What I can tell by the blurry photo (not to mention the lazy text of the ad) is that the owner doesn’t give a rat’s ass about this bike any more. They just want it gone. Bike riding wasn’t for them. Whatever. I haggled a bit, and got it down to $45.
Turns out, this is a Giant Escape W. It was an expensive bike new. I’ll have to get the brakes working, true the wheels, replace the chain, and do a lot of cleaning, waxing and tuning up. I will make good money on this bike. In my market here in GR, it will go for just over $200.
In summary, an ad with a crummy picture and incorrect information about a great bike usually means there’s a deal to be had.
Also, don’t buy cable locks. It’s difficult for me to remove the metal from the plastic when I want to recycle them, and they only serve to show that you don’t want your bike stolen.
Sprague & Sons Bicycles 