Blog
February 16, 2026

Buying Vintage Bikes and Parts in the Era of Tech Dystopia

Jared Kukura

Executive BIkefisher

I’m trying to buy a vintage bike to work on and submit for the 2026 Cheap Bike Build Off. I figured finding a bike would be easy since there are thousands of cheap old bikes people are trying to sell. But finding a suitable bike is much more difficult than I imagined.

The bike builders that I see on social media have local bike co-ops to help them scavenge for old bikes and bike parts. There are no bike co-ops local to me, though. I have a local gear consignment store with a small section of low quality, overpriced used bike parts.

I visited three thrift stores but left each empty-handed. My search for vintage bikes and bike parts has led me to the internet. Craigslist has very few options in my area. My best option for buying a vintage bike locally is Facebook Marketplace.

For the unaware, you can browse Facebook Marketplace without an account, but you can’t contact sellers. I don’t have a Facebook account. I would need to submit a video selfie to Facebook to create an account.

I live in a tech dystopia. I should be able to walk into a local community bike co-op to find what I need. But no, I’m supposed to hand over my biometric data to billionaires so that I can try to buy a vintage bike for a silly little challenge.

Luckily, I have a friend with a Facebook account who was able to contact a seller on Facebook Marketplace on my behalf. I picked up a lovely ruby-colored 1977 Schwinn Le Tour II that I’m going to build up for the challenge.

I was also able to find one bike shop that had cardboard boxes full of old and used parts in storage. My rummaging paid off with a few bits and bobs that I can use to build up the Schwinn as a flat bar ripper.

Cheap Bike Build Off

The Cheap Bike Build Off is an annual challenge created by Max the Mullet Mechanic. The challenge brings together other alt-biking content creators and encourages people to upcycle cheap old bikes for fun. This year’s challenge runs from February 8th to the 28th, with voting beginning on March 1st.

The rules are pretty straightforward: