In a message dated 2/23/07 12:22:12 AM, classicrendezvous-request@bikelist.org writes:
> Just for fun, I thought I'd ask for some "Best Find" stories. What's th
e
> most exciting (on topic) thing you have ever pulled from a trash can or
> dumpster? Anybody decide to poke your head into a local thrift store, o
nly
> to find the bike of your dreams with a $20 price tag?
> Let's hear 'em!
>
> Matthew Bowne
> Brooklyn, New York
>
Do bike shops count? I know I've told this story before, but I was rumaging thru a large plastic bin of bar plugs under the counter at the LBS and found these:
http://bhovey.com/
After selling them and giving the LBS owner his cut, I had enough money to buy this Richard Moon frame...
http://bhovey.com/
...and enough left to take my wife out to dinner.
I don't know if that really counts as a "Best Find" story, since I didn't really find the frame itself... but what was I gonna do with 12 pairs of rar e bar plugs?
Actually, the story of how the frame came to my attention was pretty interesting too, and an affirmation of how great the list is, or more specif ically, the kind and considerate people who populate it. Thanks to two wonderful eagle-eyed listmembers, I found out about the Richard Moon less than two hou rs after it was posted for sale on the Serotta forum... I arrived home one Satu rday afternoon to find four messages on my answering machine and the phone itself
ringing frantically. I picked it up and just before the poor little speake r in the handset exploded, sending a spiral of voice coil wire sailing across the
room, I could hear Tom Sanders screeching, "Where the #$%#$ have you been, g et on the computer and check your email! There's a Richard Moon frame for sal e and the #$%%^ thing is YOUR SIZE!!!"
What are the odds, huh? I ride a 52 cm, Moon's built maybe 20 frames and I
just happen to find one that fits me? Or rather, Nick and Tom found it...
and rather than capitalizing on the too-low price (it could easily have been
flipped for a considerable profit), they told me about it instead. It's n ice to have friends.
Let's see, does a second-hand yard sale story count? About four years ago Steven Maasland was awakened at 3AM by a friend who had been dragged to a ya rd sale by his wife. The yard sale the guy was calling from was in Italy, and
the bike he was standing in front of was a '68 Masi Special. He asked Stev en if he wanted it, and to make up his mind quick because his wife was tugging at his sleeve. Thankfully, Steven said yes and the bike eventually made its way into my grateful and sweaty hands:
http://bhovey.com/
Bob Hovey Columbus, GA
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