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So earlier this week behind a local school I discovered something remarkable. Someone had put a old, wrecked women's bicycle in a pond.

The wheels toast, the chain rings are useless, rust in many spots and the handle bars take some effort to get them to turn. The frame itself isn't too bad, just has some rust and chipping paint everywhere.

Here are some photos of how I found it initially:

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After closer inspection i noticed a decal on the top tube that read "Alpine 26" which I can only assume implies 26" wheels. Also there is a sticker on the down tube that reads:

"Lawrenceburg, TN 07 76"

Made July, 1976 in Tennessee?

I know Murray doesn't make bikes anymore and I heard that there quality of bikes went south in the 80s. I couldn't really bring myself to leave it there so I have it now and would simply like suggestions as to what to do with it.

Scrap/recycle?

Wall art?

I really don't think there is any point in restoring this unless I find another bike that has working components that could fit but a damaged frame or something for free/cheap.

So could this be significant at all? I don't have a clue as I can't find this model anywhere on the web.

Personally I feel like it's not, but just checking.

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    Murray was never a high-quality bike -- always a "department store" brand. But, hey, go ahead and list it on Craigs List or some such for free (if they pay the shipping + tip). Someone might want it. – Daniel R Hicks Jan 18 '14 at 23:33
  • It's only worth what someone is willing to pay for it, but in my experience some people love old junk. – WTHarper Jan 19 '14 at 19:36
  • The easiest way to get any value out of it would be to cut off any non-metallic parts and bring it to your local scrap yard. – DSG Jan 31 '14 at 21:15
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    I'm sure you've decided the fate of this thing long ago, but for future reference, here's a few other ideas for recycling old bikes: http://www.ibike.org/environment/recycling/. You've already done quite a bit of good just by getting it out of that pond. – Paul Ratazzi Aug 25 '15 at 18:42
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    Hi Adam - this question is old, and has no answers. Would you like to post and accept your own new answer describing how it has gone for you in the past 25 months? What did you do with this bike in the end? – Criggie Feb 23 '16 at 07:27

2 Answers2

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Murray was a pretty cheap brand to begin with, and the bike in the pictures is clearly rusted beyond the point of reasonable repair, even if you found suitable wheels for it.

It's only value is as steel scrap, or perhaps as an "art object" for a local sculptor. There are no usable parts visible in the pictures that would be worth salvaging.

Daniel R Hicks
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    I would add, even if Daniel hasn't, that he has experience repairing bikes donated for charity. Of course anything can repaired, but like Lincoln's axe, there may be nothing of the original left. – andy256 Nov 21 '16 at 22:50
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First of all, I would like to say Murray bikes are really a pleasure to ride when in good condition! The year of that bike is not especially great, as they made quite a lot of bikes of that type in that year. The first thing I would do is take it out of the muck and pressure wash it.

If everything is not too rusted out or missing an excessive amount of parts I would try to fix it, with the wheel probably being the hardest part to get the bends out. If it isn't, I would take usable parts off of it and use them for other bikes and bring the scrap metal to the junkyard.

Criggie
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Pyotr Koecher
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  • I agree Pyotr.... before decided to scrap it, I'd investigate further. Much of the joy in cycling is tinkering with these simple and efficient machines! – Ben Nov 22 '16 at 20:38