Where abouts to find old bikes (in general)

As the title says. I'm looking for an old bike to convert to a fixed-gear. I've not really got any money to spend on it but have an old Giant Warp DS3 MTB that I'll be selling once I get the old bike before using the newly freed up cash and wages from my new job to convert it. I just don't know where to look for bikes. eBay is impossible at this time of year because so many people are happy to pay more than I am willing to pay for an 80's peugeot or similar. I'm not living in London but up in sunny Teeside but I'll be in London maybe every couple of months so really I'm looking for a place that's fairly national or universal unless there are some extremely good spots in London that I can get a bike from and I'll pick one up when I'm next down in October.

have you tried the classified papers in your area or the tip?

Most people just want to get rid of these type of old road bikes to make room in their garage. Ask around too, see if anyone knows of any of these bikes you can take off their hands

Try Police auctions

Are there any must-see places in London that I could check out while I'm down in October?

I wouldn't bother about looking for cheap bikes in London.. the only cheap ones are stolen. You're far better off up in the countryside somewhere at a garage sale, bike swap meet, tip, second-hand dealer, private sale (check cycling magazines - Cyclign Weekly has ads in back), check local papers that have free classifieds (these will list bikes for sale as well as garage sales in your area).

Having said all that.. why the fsck am I even looking at ebay?! I need to 'go bush' and hit up some ye olde town garage sales!

I know i shouldn’t tell you all this but I almost cried when I was told.. So you can all share the pain;

My girlfriend told me how her boss came into work one day saying how he had spend days clearing his dad's house of all the "shit" he had collected over the years, saying that he had to hire two skips for it all and that you wouldn’t have believed how many old bikes he had.. My girlfriend knowing of my like for tinkering with old bikes said oh Mike may be interested in those ..to which the boss replied "Oh no he wouldn’t have wanted these old things ...they didn’t even have any gears!! We just chucked them." ...Turns out his old man was an Olympic cyclist in his day.
Breaks my heart to think of those bikes lying rusting away, hopefully someone will find them and put them back on the road. I will find out what his name was, could be interesting.

Ouch! Hearing that story hurts.

Can't you find out where they were dumped? would be like a treasure hunt with a pot of gold at the end!

At Wandsworth Council tip in Smugglers Way, they pull any dumped bikes out and leave them on the left hand side (as you face the river). I've never stopped to have a proper look, and it seems to be mostly kids & BMX, but you could get lucky.

Dunno if I'd bother making a special journey on a day trip to London!

hope you get to them before a bike dealer does.

Wandsworth council tips is one of the best places in London!

The building i live is in a little alleyway, on one side their are gardens all with falling down fences, i can see someone has a stack of bikes which havent been used for ages piled up in there - however im too scared to either sneak around in their garden or knock on their door because they are always having nasty domestics.

Maybe they're arguing about getting rid of the bikes? You could solve all their problems ;)

haaaaaaaaaaa

rakan Wandsworth council tips is one of the best places in London!

The building i live is in a little alleyway, on one side their are gardens all with falling down fences, i can see someone has a stack of bikes which havent been used for ages piled up in there - however im too scared to either sneak around in their garden or knock on their door because they are always having nasty domestics.

Pics?

First Post....

Which Wandsworth Tip is good? The one on Smugglers Way?

Failing that, tell me where this alley is and I'll take a peek tonight ;)

I feel some fight club style raid coming on, then we can find a house to squat make it in to a fixed stronghold with workshop, beer fridge and wenches! whos with me!?

I'm in!

squatted bike polo arena with raided bikes? sounds good haha..

and then later on realize it was all just a figment of your imagination and that you were riding geared bikes all along:)

we could combine a night ride with a bike hunt in the tips of london

dicki we could combine a night ride with a bike hunt in the tips of london

getting a londonfgss trailer is making more and more sense

I'm up for that.. except I have no idea what "tips" are.. ??

tip = rubbish dump

aah.. cheers! Damn me and my limited vocabulary..

So are they public places that anyone can wander around, or does this entail jumping fences?

They used to be free to explore.. ahhh those were the days...

Now, most (all?) have people sorting rubbish. If you want in you gotta pay. If you want something out you gotta pay.