Photos by Sean Patrick Farrell/The New York Times

There is an old saying in New York bike circles that for the ultimate peace of mind for around-town cycling (and parking), one should get a $100 lock and a $50 bike.

But in the newly cycling-obsessed New York, where until recently people were buying (or at least trying to sell) $20,000 racing machines, or getting gussied up and mounting their $1,000 to $2,000 Dutch townies, can a bike even be had for $50?

That was the question Akshay Arora, a computer programmer, hoped to answer two Sundays ago. Mr. Arora and hundreds of others attended the Brooklyn Bike Jumble, an outdoor bicycle swap meet and show held on May 31 at the Old Stone House in J. J. Byrne Park. Billed as something of an outdoor bicycle flea market, it seemed like an ideal place to find a very cheap bike.

Mr. Arora bypassed the tables of vintage racing bicycles and parts — his $50 was not going toward an antique leather bike saddle.

“I don’t have a bike, and I don’t want to pay a bajillion dollars for one,” he said. He wanted something to ride down to the store, to visit friends. Mr. Arora was after what is affectionately known as a “beater bike.”

The beater is to the bicycle world what a well-worn Crown Victoria is to the automotive world, a sturdy workhorse machine that can take a few knocks and keep going. The ideal beater can soak up a few potholes, might repel thieves with its rust spots and will not break the bank.

“I think of a delivery bike,” said Patrick Tomeny, manager of the East Village shop of the nonprofit Recycle-a-Bicycle organization. “Maybe something with some beat-up wheels; maybe one of the brakes doesn’t work.”

Recycle-a-Bicycle routinely runs out of the refurbished used bikes it sells, and when they are in stock, they cost $200 to $300, according to Mr. Tomeny, who notes that all of the bikes get full overhauls. “It might look like beater, but it won’t ride like one.”

(Full disclosure, this Spokes reporter has volunteered with Recycle-a-Bicycle in the past.)

Those kinds of bike shop prices had already put Mr. Arora off. He had looked online, too, but found Craigslist offerings “off the charts.”

Mr. Arora is not alone. Anyone who has perused New York City’s Craigslist ads has probably been shocked by the going rates for what many cyclists would consider beaters.

The anonymous bicycle blogger bikesnobnyc has often called out egregious examples of overpriced used bikes in a feature called “Worst of N.Y.C. Craigslist Bike Ads,” especially those converted into the popular fixed-gear style.

And an ever-growing, somewhat snarky guide to selling used bicycles has been bouncing around the nation’s Craigslists. The latest, a now 40-point list of dos and don’ts, recently appeared on the New York Craigslist.

Point No. 2 goes straight to the beater conundrum: “A low-end bike that was $97 in 1976 is not magically worth $400 now.”

Luckily for Mr. Arora, there were beaters to be had at the Brooklyn Bike Jumble, and they were cheap.

Joel Flood, a salesman from Via Bicycle in Philadelphia, had driven a cargo van loaded with beaters to the Brooklyn Bike Jumble. Via, Mr. Flood explained, travels the country buying up old bikes from shops going out of business and from thrift stores.

The nicer ones get tune-ups and are sold at the Philadelphia shop for $150 to $250.

Mr. Flood’s wares were lined up under a tree. Many had already seen rough action. When an eager customer accidentally knocked a handful of bikes over, domino style, no one seemed to mind. If anything, it seemed proof that these were true beaters, worthy of their name.

Two hours into the event, most of the beaters he had parked under a tree were sold, most going for less than $50.

Mr. Arora bought one Mr. Flood’s beaters, a teal Raleigh mountain bike with a bit of rust on the spokes for $30.

“You can’t beat $30,” he said.

Cindy Tolan, a casting director who bought a green Sears three-speed bike for $30 from Mr. Flood, agreed. She had also scored, somewhere on the other side of the swap, a lock for a $1. “It even has a key,” she said.