Comic relief section.
As a longtime CL-watcher, I’ve seen endless versions of the outrageously priced, ancient Schwinn (or worse) consumed by rust, bent rim, broken spokes, shredded seat with sharp metal protrusions, flat tire with dryrot, etc.
Might be worth a chuckle to have a little competition, so I will start by presenting the (ahem) “Sky Wagon”:
http://portland.craigslist.org/clk/bik/4632317581.html
Next?
was that even worth that much new?
Probably not but its value has enhanced with age as a “collector’s item”.
http://rmn.craigslist.org/bik/4623043121.html
This is a Torker LX. The ad is wonderful because it comes with an “appraisal.” The authenticty of the appraisal might be questionable because it is a scanned hand-written note written by the seller. Even though he appraised at $225 (without stand), he is courageously selling it for only $125 (with stand). Quite a deal for you, lucky buyer!
A quote from the ad: “It should easily be worth $125 to $150 as a cheap new one at the same price ($125) will have a lower strength fork, 28-36 spoke steel wheel with a cheap tire and in general is nowhere near the quality of this one.”
Thanks “Honest Bike Shop”! Pay no attention to UDC, where the same unicycle sells new for $156, and you don’t have to take a shower after the transaction.
Yay! CL in my area is a font of risible unicycle listings. Usually nothing worth buying, but sometimes good for a laugh/head-shake/shudder. Sometimes, I think of pointing and laughing at one in the “unicycles for sale” thread, but I read that thread as being for unicycles a knowledgeable person might actually buy. This is the sort of thread I was thinking of starting.
Anyway, here is the current batch from my area. They’re not particularly amazing, I’m afraid, but this is what I have to work with. A few weeks ago, I could have shown you somebody gushing over their old Savage with a badly torn saddle for all of $75. The bearings were so smooooth. You know, like bearings. So here goes.
http://nashville.craigslist.org/bik/4640661845.html
LX24 for $100. At least they mentioned the wheel size. The model, I had to infer from the photos. The accepted used in great condition price for these is $75, isn’t it? Maybe it has gone up. “Torker is not an off brand, but good brand of unicycle”. Isn’t it? What is an off brand? Yeah, it’s not an ebay cheapie. It’s not a Nimbus, either. I suppose Schwinn isn’t an off brand either? Because people have heard of it?
Not the most impressive specimen to begin with, but I have more.
http://nashville.craigslist.org/bid/4593276551.html
“UNICYCLE IS IN GREAT SHAPE”. Great. Care to tell us more? Like, for instance, what makes it worth $150? The one picture is blurry, poorly lit, etc. Can’t even see whether it is splined or cotterless. I’m guessing it’s 20", but, as usual, they don’t say. It looks kind of like [URL=“http://www.amazon.com/Avenir-Mountain-Unicycle-20-Inch-Wheel/dp/B00165Q9FS”]an Avenir/URL], but with an alloy rim and a saddle handle.
It is in the “bicycles - by dealer” category. So far, I have noticed a trend where unicycles listed by dealers are often priced laugably high for what they are. Even more so than the others.
http://nashville.craigslist.org/bik/4602417519.html
“Brand new Red Unicycle”
Yeah, I could buy a cheapie off of ebay and try to sell it for what it cost too. Not that there would be a motivator for doing so. I assume somebody bought it to try out, found out it was hard, and is trying to recoup their entire investment. And here we have an example of one that has been assembled improperly, so who knows how long those cranks have been ridden with the pedals coming loose. Maybe not at all if they got the wheel backward too. Maybe. Props for actually mentioning the wheel size, though.
http://clarksville.craigslist.org/bik/4568150724.html
Ok, this one isn’t so risible. I had to post it, though, because of the saddle. Somebody seems to have invented the low curvature saddle on their own, but perhaps inadvertently. I doubt that that was done by a child, unless it was a very heavy one, which, granted, could be the case. No mention of the flexed saddle base in the ad. No mention of wheel size. Probably 16" or 12". Other than that, seems fine.
http://westky.craigslist.org/bik/4586580967.html
Since I’ve listed all the others, here is a rusty Schwinn for $75. At least it is cotterless.
At least he is asking only 20$… Not sure I would ever try it!
Nice! I suspect the ER bill would exceed purchase price by a fair margin.
A unicyclist with an awesome sense of humor.
“Only a dollar per inch!”
(Actually less, @33 cents per inch, if its a 5 footer,
but of course, he probably knows that and wants the buyer feel like they’re gettting a really good deal when they do the math)
Love that thread already… I was in Charlotte recently, so I had a look to see if I could find one.
That’s an amazing one, shame I missed it…
http://charlotte.craigslist.org/bik/4636988111.html
Sweet!
You’re setting the bar pretty high there – love the modest price (must be for the vintage air still in the tire).
Great thread idea newob. Hilarious.
We don’t have CL down here but do have our own version by the name of Trade Me. Do mind if I post any doozies that inevitably come up on that from time to time?
One on ebay at moment US$99 you get free rust, hope you’ve got your spongy underwear on.
I recognize that custom seat; it was made by Castrati, the famous Italian firm.
Haha!
I love the angle between the cranks. Got to be several degrees of lash there.
How did the seat even end up like that? Surely it wasn’t used enough to wear the padding down to the base 
I hear you. These got a groan out of me. Checkout the extravagant descriptions 
http://www.trademe.co.nz/toys-models/rideon-toys/bikes-trikes/trikes/auction-774918561.htm
http://www.trademe.co.nz/toys-models/rideon-toys/bikes-trikes/trikes/auction-774974381.htm
You could always think of them as ~$99 tetanus with a free ‘vintage’ unicycle.
Haw!
Q: What is the result when a giraffe mates with a squid?