Found in the trash

Posted on May 27, 2009 by .
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My wife spotted this 2008 Jamis Aurora CrMo touring bike in the trash last week. My son pulled it out of the dumpster and brought it home for me. This was a $900 (MSRP) bike last year. They’re available for about $800 right now on closeout.

2008 Jamis Aurora in trash

The only things wrong with it are the obviously ruined fork and a shot front hub. My guess is bike on car roof met a garage opening.

Otherwise, there is nothing wrong with this bike, and it doesn’t even look like it’s been ridden. The frame is tiny — only 47 cm — otherwise it’s a great looking bike.

Should I give this away before or after replacing the fork?



See also:

  1. What’s wrong with this bike?
  2. Bamboo bike helmet
  3. Civia Hyland commuter bicycle
  4. Cervelo fork recall


  • Ron

    Howdy, Fritz–Cool score. That's how I got my first few bikes. We lived in a farily upscale hood, and any time a parent would run over an errant bike in the driveway, the bike would end up in the local dump with a bent wheel or fork. The dump attendants got used to seeing me and my father come in, and they'd let us pick through the metal scrap pile. I think Dad brought along an occassional six-pack to override the no-scavenging policy.It's amazing to think there are people with so much money that they consider it more worth their time to simply replace instead of repair. Trilby Lundberg would be proud of them.Happy Trails,Ron GeorgMoab

  • Tim K.

    Awww, why can't I find anything like that? :) My friends both toured around New Zealand on Auroras and loved 'em. Good find!

  • Tim K.

    Awww, why can't I find anything like that? :) My friends both toured around New Zealand on Auroras and loved 'em. Good find!

  • Ron

    Howdy, Fritz–

    Cool score. That's how I got my first few bikes. We lived in a farily upscale hood, and any time a parent would run over an errant bike in the driveway, the bike would end up in the local dump with a bent wheel or fork. The dump attendants got used to seeing me and my father come in, and they'd let us pick through the metal scrap pile. I think Dad brought along an occassional six-pack to override the no-scavenging policy.

    It's amazing to think there are people with so much money that they consider it more worth their time to simply replace instead of repair. Trilby Lundberg would be proud of them.
    Happy Trails,
    Ron Georg
    Moab

  • Tim K.

    Awww, why can't I find anything like that? :) My friends both toured around New Zealand on Auroras and loved 'em. Good find!

  • Reuben

    Give? Before.Sell? After.As a young teen, I once threw a perfectly good 80's model Peugeot road bike in a dumpster behind Osco Drug because i was embarrassed that I had a road bike and everyone else was riding mountain bikes. Oh.. what a foolish thing to do…

  • Reuben

    Give? Before.
    Sell? After.

    As a young teen, I once threw a perfectly good 80's model Peugeot road bike in a dumpster behind Osco Drug because i was embarrassed that I had a road bike and everyone else was riding mountain bikes. Oh.. what a foolish thing to do…

  • Tony Bullard

    My chin is now dirty after my jaw hit the floor. How come this stuff doesn't happen to me? I need to hang around dumpsters more.

  • Tony Bullard

    My chin is now dirty after my jaw hit the floor. How come this stuff doesn't happen to me? I need to hang around dumpsters more.

  • Tony Bullard

    My chin is now dirty after my jaw hit the floor.

    How come this stuff doesn't happen to me? I need to hang around dumpsters more.

  • Yokota Fritz

    Thanks for the comments, all!Tim: I wish it was my size. I've never done loaded touring and I'd like to do that this year. I think I'll replace the fork and see how well my wife likes it.Ron: My daughter's current bike is a dumpster retrieval. Just don't tell her that.Reuben: Whodathunk back then that you could get $500 for that Peugeot in the 21st century?Tony: When my wife told me what she found I could't believe it either. She had to repeat it three or four times and I was still incredulous. I had to see it to believe it.

  • Yokota Fritz

    Thanks for the comments, all!Tim: I wish it was my size. I've never done loaded touring and I'd like to do that this year. I think I'll replace the fork and see how well my wife likes it.Ron: My daughter's current bike is a dumpster retrieval. Just don't tell her that.Reuben: Whodathunk back then that you could get $500 for that Peugeot in the 21st century?Tony: When my wife told me what she found I could't believe it either. She had to repeat it three or four times and I was still incredulous. I had to see it to believe it.

  • Yokota Fritz

    Thanks for the comments, all!

    Tim: I wish it was my size. I've never done loaded touring and I'd like to do that this year. I think I'll replace the fork and see how well my wife likes it.

    Ron: My daughter's current bike is a dumpster retrieval. Just don't tell her that.

    Reuben: Whodathunk back then that you could get $500 for that Peugeot in the 21st century?

    Tony: When my wife told me what she found I could't believe it either. She had to repeat it three or four times and I was still incredulous. I had to see it to believe it.

  • Richie

    I'm gonna guess it was a head on collision with an immovable object (a wall?). Garage accidents cause the fork to bend the opposite way and turns bikes into choppers as the garage pushes the bars/frame back as the fork is fixed at the rook rack. Voice of experience here. Make sure you check over the rest of the frame carefully. A lot of force is required to bend a steel fork that much and some of it must have been transfered to the frame in the process. Maybe there's a reason such a seemingly pristine bike was placed in a dumpster…

  • Richie

    I'm gonna guess it was a head on collision with an immovable object (a wall?). Garage accidents cause the fork to bend the opposite way and turns bikes into choppers as the garage pushes the bars/frame back as the fork is fixed at the rook rack. Voice of experience here.

    Make sure you check over the rest of the frame carefully. A lot of force is required to bend a steel fork that much and some of it must have been transfered to the frame in the process. Maybe there's a reason such a seemingly pristine bike was placed in a dumpster…

  • Erik Orgell

    It never ceases to amaze me how ingrained the throw-it-away mentality is in our culture. This is a pretty easy fix of a nearly unused bike. Sad but hot diggity dawg what a great find!I'd say fix it and maybe raffle it off with proceeds going to a worthy cycling cause (and no, not the Get-Erik-an-Ibis-Mojo-Carbon-SL cause)! Or do a cool giveaway promotion. Great opportunity to do something cool.

  • Erik Orgell

    It never ceases to amaze me how ingrained the throw-it-away mentality is in our culture. This is a pretty easy fix of a nearly unused bike. Sad but hot diggity dawg what a great find!I'd say fix it and maybe raffle it off with proceeds going to a worthy cycling cause (and no, not the Get-Erik-an-Ibis-Mojo-Carbon-SL cause)! Or do a cool giveaway promotion. Great opportunity to do something cool.

  • Erik Orgell

    It never ceases to amaze me how ingrained the throw-it-away mentality is in our culture. This is a pretty easy fix of a nearly unused bike. Sad but hot diggity dawg what a great find!

    I'd say fix it and maybe raffle it off with proceeds going to a worthy cycling cause (and no, not the Get-Erik-an-Ibis-Mojo-Carbon-SL cause)! Or do a cool giveaway promotion. Great opportunity to do something cool.

  • mtnman

    Fritz –That's what my Fuji looked like after I sideswiped a parked car at speed and went head-over-front wheel in the North housing area at Yokota. Cost me about $200 to have a nice old Japanese man do a lot of tisk-tisking and replace the forks.

  • mtnman

    Fritz –That's what my Fuji looked like after I sideswiped a parked car at speed and went head-over-front wheel in the North housing area at Yokota. Cost me about $200 to have a nice old Japanese man do a lot of tisk-tisking and replace the forks.

  • mtnman

    Fritz –
    That's what my Fuji looked like after I sideswiped a parked car at speed and went head-over-front wheel in the North housing area at Yokota. Cost me about $200 to have a nice old Japanese man do a lot of tisk-tisking and replace the forks.

  • Yokota Fritz

    @mntman — did I know you at Yokota? I've also had bike repairs done by kind old Japanese guys at random welding shops around Yokota.

  • Yokota Fritz

    @mntman — did I know you at Yokota? I've also had bike repairs done by kind old Japanese guys at random welding shops around Yokota.

  • Danh

    I say give it away. I have a friend that works at home that would love this bike but she's tight on money. I nominate her and would pay for shipping.

  • Danh

    I say give it away. I have a friend that works at home that would love this bike but she's tight on money. I nominate her and would pay for shipping.

  • Cafn8

    Wow. Sweet find. The best trash pick I ever had was an old (early 90's steel) Gary Fisher with a full XT group (9-speed, not original), pretty nice rear wheel and small handlebar ding in the top tube.I passed it at the curb on my way to church and saw "Gary Fisher" on the downtube, so I was intrigued. It was still there over an hour later, most likely because it lacked a front wheel, seatpost, seat binder and saddle. Lucky for me, I have a basement full of old bike parts, so I only had to spring for a new pair of tires.@Richie- I second that. Wrong way for a garage hit.

  • Cafn8

    Wow. Sweet find. The best trash pick I ever had was an old (early 90's steel) Gary Fisher with a full XT group (9-speed, not original), pretty nice rear wheel and small handlebar ding in the top tube.I passed it at the curb on my way to church and saw "Gary Fisher" on the downtube, so I was intrigued. It was still there over an hour later, most likely because it lacked a front wheel, seatpost, seat binder and saddle. Lucky for me, I have a basement full of old bike parts, so I only had to spring for a new pair of tires.@Richie- I second that. Wrong way for a garage hit.

  • Cafn8

    Wow. Sweet find. The best trash pick I ever had was an old (early 90's steel) Gary Fisher with a full XT group (9-speed, not original), pretty nice rear wheel and small handlebar ding in the top tube.

    I passed it at the curb on my way to church and saw "Gary Fisher" on the downtube, so I was intrigued. It was still there over an hour later, most likely because it lacked a front wheel, seatpost, seat binder and saddle. Lucky for me, I have a basement full of old bike parts, so I only had to spring for a new pair of tires.

    @Richie- I second that. Wrong way for a garage hit.

  • Ron

    Howdy, Fritz–

    Have you contacted the local police to see if a Jamis touring bike was reported stolen? It could have been a joy ride gone wrong.

    And, while Richie's experience may vary, it also could have been a roof rack disaster; personally, I mount my bikes facing the rear of the car when they're on the roof (I have no idea why; maybe I got tired of bugs on my head badge), so the fork would bend in that direction. Plus, cars can go backward, so even a forward-mounted bike could fail this way in a roof rack memory lapse.
    Happy Trails,
    Ron

  • Ron

    Howdy, Fritz–Have you contacted the local police to see if a Jamis touring bike was reported stolen? It could have been a joy ride gone wrong. And, while Richie's experience may vary, it also could have been a roof rack disaster; personally, I mount my bikes facing the rear of the car when they're on the roof (I have no idea why; maybe I got tired of bugs on my head badge), so the fork would bend in that direction. Plus, cars can go backward, so even a forward-mounted bike could fail this way in a roof rack memory lapse.Happy Trails,Ron

  • Ron

    P.S.–Nevermind. The wheel is still on it. It wouldn't have been if the bike were in a fork-mount rack, and it doesn't seem likely someone would have reinstalled the wheel to throw it out.Ron

  • Ron

    P.S.–Nevermind. The wheel is still on it. It wouldn't have been if the bike were in a fork-mount rack, and it doesn't seem likely someone would have reinstalled the wheel to throw it out.Ron

  • Ron

    P.S.–

    Nevermind. The wheel is still on it. It wouldn't have been if the bike were in a fork-mount rack, and it doesn't seem likely someone would have reinstalled the wheel to throw it out.
    Ron

  • Yokota Fritz

    Yeah, after thinking about it and seeing your comments it seems pretty obvious this happened with the wheel on.I hope the guy or gal who wrecked this bike is okay.

  • Yokota Fritz

    Yeah, after thinking about it and seeing your comments it seems pretty obvious this happened with the wheel on.

    I hope the guy or gal who wrecked this bike is okay.

  • Simon N

    Yeah, definitely a head on. Did this with an old Hi-Ten 10spd (car turned in front of me), only the impact bent the top and down tubes so that the head tube raked backwards.The small frame size may well have meant the frame was too stocky to suffer any damage.I guess the question is, are these terribly weak forks a hazard, or is their weakness a safety pro, like a crumple zone on a car?

  • Simon N

    Yeah, definitely a head on. Did this with an old Hi-Ten 10spd (car turned in front of me), only the impact bent the top and down tubes so that the head tube raked backwards.The small frame size may well have meant the frame was too stocky to suffer any damage.I guess the question is, are these terribly weak forks a hazard, or is their weakness a safety pro, like a crumple zone on a car?

  • Simon N

    Yeah, definitely a head on. Did this with an old Hi-Ten 10spd (car turned in front of me), only the impact bent the top and down tubes so that the head tube raked backwards.

    The small frame size may well have meant the frame was too stocky to suffer any damage.

    I guess the question is, are these terribly weak forks a hazard, or is their weakness a safety pro, like a crumple zone on a car?

  • Yokota Fritz

    Simon: I like your crumple zone theory. Maybe somebody can get a research grant to test the safety of crumpling forks vs sturdy forks.

  • Yokota Fritz

    Simon: I like your crumple zone theory. Maybe somebody can get a research grant to test the safety of crumpling forks vs sturdy forks.

  • Yokota Fritz

    Simon: I like your crumple zone theory. Maybe somebody can get a research grant to test the safety of crumpling forks vs sturdy forks.