Milwaukee Bike Swap

I attended the Milwaukee Bike Swap this past weekend at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. It was about a 2 1/2 hour drive. I have to admit I was pretty lackadaisical about preparing for this one. As it turns out, this was'nt a huge issue as I witnessed several good deals remain unclaimed at the end of the day. For example, a Kabuki road bike made of a reasonable grade of chromoly tubing, in very good refurbished condition, did not sell with a $75 price tag. I saw chrome Bianchi Pista track frame priced at $225 and another track frame with a new Surly fork priced at $75. I also passed on a new set of deep V's with tires and tubes for $100 and a Schwinn Tempo with a full 105 group for $115. All of these items went back home with their original owners. A few other items of note that I somewhat regret not pulling the trigger on...........a vintage cycling jersey and a junior roadbike wheelset......a wheelset somewhere between 20" and 24", tubular with Normandy hubs and 1" rims. Ya, I kinda wish I had bought those for $15 just for the novelty and the opportunity to research them.

On the brighter side of the swap, I did some walking around before the doors opened up to the public and picked up a 1984 Gitane Interclub, sans wheels, for $25, 2 nice sets of SR pedals, a new set of 27" gumwalls and something else I'm forgeting at the moment.

I think I sold one of everything, and I do mean only one. One complete bike, one frameset, one pair of shoes, one leather saddle, as well as several other odds and ends.

This past Spring I picked up an old Panasonic Tourist 3, a 3 speed with a coaster brake. Probably a keeper...............BUT........ I presently have way to many bikes.........ridiculus numbers, I assure you. At any rate I'm pleased to have found a good appreciative home for it.

Now that the dust has cleared on the Milwaukee swap it's time to get ready for the Madison swap on January 19th. I currently have 5 bikes and 4 framesets that are ready to roll. I'm stilling kicking around some ideas as to what I want to take to Madison and what I need to get cleaned up. Perhaps I will overhaul something thats my size, if you get my drift.