Common Wheel is not the only place to buy bikes. If you live outside cycling distance of Glasgow, we're not the best place to come.
 
For new mountainbikes or Hybrids try Bike Love, Bicycle Chain, Alpine, Dales or whichever shop is near you and you get on with. Most new bikes are made in the same factories in China and Taiwan, so don't worry about the brand.
 
For something you don't want to use very much (then why are you buying it?) go to the supermarket or motor accessory shop, just don't bring it here when it reaches the end of it's design life (about 100 miles in the worst cases).
 
There is another bike recycling place in Glasgow, Gorbals Recycles. Their new website is here. There used to be one in Castlemilk, Community Can Cycle, but it closed in January 2009.
 
If you want a folding, recumbent or electric bike, go to Kinetics.
 
The police auctions are held by Wilsons Auctioneers outside Dalry. Prices there are extremely variable, and the quality of bikes has been getting lower. Sometimes shiny bikes go for more than their new retail price. Like many other things, they're not as good as they used to be.
 
Secondhand bikes are found at car boot sales, the Barras and other places. These may well have been stolen. If you know more about bikes than the person selling it then it is possible to get  a bargain.
 
Many people buy online, either from a big retailer or ebay. This is a bad idea if the bike comes in a box and requires expert assembly, which will cost from £35.
There us a handy explaination of why bikes in boxes are a really bad idea here, a service to humanity provided by the Association of Cycle Traders.
 
Sometimes bikes may be pulled from skips, which is technically illegal. If you have asked permission to take the bike out the skip, you can bring it to us for an opinion of whether it is worth fixing or not.