[CR] Where do old frames go to die?

(Example: Framebuilders:Masi)

From: <saint09@bellsouth.net>
To: <Classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
Subject: [CR] Where do old frames go to die?
Date: Sun, 20 Aug 2006 7:38:25 -0400


Bob Hanson wrote:
>>Where do old frames go?
>>Answer: Mexico

Not all bikes accumulated by the police go to Mexico. Our local department has a program where they dump all of the bikes they have gathered over the year and fix them up to be given to needy kids in the rural areas for Christmas. As the cops don't have a budget for this or the skills, I usually volunteer my time, tools, and collection of parts to help them out, even buying stuff like cables and brake pads out of my own pocket. We work on about a hundred or so every year. While most of these fall in to the Murray or Huffy type, I have repaired many a nice 70s or 80s Fuji, Nishiki, or other mass produced road bike and some even nicer mountain bikes to be given away. My dream is to walk into the storage unit one year and find a Masi confiscated from some busted drug dealer with a penchant for cycling.

This was started after another program we had here that failed. The city would take the adult bikes, paint them yellow, and leave them at various areas in the city. The idea was to encourage people to cycle to a destination, instead of driving, where they would leave the bike for someone else. When yellow bikes started showing up at the flea market, the program was scratched.
        Fred Durrette
        Summerville, SC