I was browsing CL yesterday and I happened to see a picture of this bicycle for sale at an estate sale near my house. They had it priced crazy high $450 
but because it was close I figured it might be worth a look. In my mind the kind of person that would have saved an old bicycle for 60 plus years has probably also saved lots of other good stuff. So I hopped in the car.
When I got there the bike was still there and actually looked pretty hood. I mean it looked really good. The frame and fork were straight. Even the wheels were straight and the old tires weren't dry-rotted at all. So I got one of the people working the sale and we started talking. Apparently someone online had responded to his ad and offered him less than half his asking price for it which I think had cheesed him a bit. So, when I offered him a fair price for it he accepted.
Once I got it home I looked it over. Outside of having some Schwinn grips on it it looked good and ready to go. I hit it with a couple shots of penetrating oil and hopped on. I didn't even have to put air in the tires. 30 minutes later I'd biked a few miles on the old girl and it rode great!
I've taken the child seat off and will try to sell it to recoup some of my purchase price.
It wasn't a steal but it was a fair price and in good condition.
but because it was close I figured it might be worth a look. In my mind the kind of person that would have saved an old bicycle for 60 plus years has probably also saved lots of other good stuff. So I hopped in the car.When I got there the bike was still there and actually looked pretty hood. I mean it looked really good. The frame and fork were straight. Even the wheels were straight and the old tires weren't dry-rotted at all. So I got one of the people working the sale and we started talking. Apparently someone online had responded to his ad and offered him less than half his asking price for it which I think had cheesed him a bit. So, when I offered him a fair price for it he accepted.
Once I got it home I looked it over. Outside of having some Schwinn grips on it it looked good and ready to go. I hit it with a couple shots of penetrating oil and hopped on. I didn't even have to put air in the tires. 30 minutes later I'd biked a few miles on the old girl and it rode great!
I've taken the child seat off and will try to sell it to recoup some of my purchase price.
It wasn't a steal but it was a fair price and in good condition.
