Living Car Free - Beater bikes!

A beater bike is one you ride in everyday situations to avoid wear & tear on a nicer bike. Or maybe you don't want to put a nicer bike at risk for theft. Or maybe your only bike happens to be a beater.

Got one?

Of course I do! A venerable 90's Miyata. Rear gears don't shift well any more no matter what you do, the thing is banged up and scratched up.... but I'm used to it. It's been kind of a pain in the ass lately because of various repairs, but I think a beater bike should always be a little bit of a pain in the ass, so that if it gets stolen, you feel not only grief but also a little bit of relief.

Yes. I bought a Bianchi hybrid in 2005 and added fenders, rack, lights, better tires, seat. I even swapped out the handlebars with a Nitto English 3-speed bar. It has slightly wider tires for less than ideal weather conditions and I don't mind locking it up at bike racks. My other bike is a Bianchi cyclocross bike which is much nicer and I use it for longer rides on the weekend or as a backup to the hybrid.

One thing about my beater is that I'm always up for repairing or upgrading it. As long as the frame holds up, I think I'll hang on to it.

Of course I do! A venerable 90's Miyata. Rear gears don't shift well any more no matter what you do, the thing is banged up and scratched up.... but I'm used to it. It's been kind of a pain in the ass lately because of various repairs, but I think a beater bike should always be a little bit of a pain in the ass, so that if it gets stolen, you feel not only grief but also a little bit of relief.

My beater is a miyata seven21, the seat on mine is falling apart. The day I got it I noticed the RD cable is about rusted about half way through but has yet to break on me, shifts like a dream only had adjust the rd when I first got it. Eveything spins like no there's tomorow. I have a 2nd hand rack in it which is busted but only affecting it cosmeticly. At the end of the year if she makes it (which I have no doubts) I am giving her a full overhaul at the bike shop and new seat and rack to boot. Mine is pretty scratched up but it's an aliminum frame and both rims have a dent in them but they hold true and hold tires.

All my bikes are beaters

All my bikes are beaters

Ditto:rolleyes::D

Actually the only bike I don't want to ride in bad weather or somwhere I can't keep an eye on it is my 1972 Raleigh Superbe. I would guess if I had to select a beater from my fleet it would be my 1971 Raleigh Sports Standard. That was my only commuter for years and has not had a gentle life. It is rusty, ragged, has mis matched tires, the wrong fork and mis matched pedals too...a real shaggy dog if you will. I used to use my Giant Iguana as my all weather commuter and just swap the wheels out in the winter for a bit more aggressive tire. But that bike it being reincarnated as an expedition tour bike.

Aaron:)

I actually just got my first non-beater bike about a month ago. I never ride it though because I dont want to get the yellow bar tape dirty. So the bike at this point is about useless to me.

I much prefer my beater with the milk crate on the back :D

A beater bike is one you ride in everyday situations to avoid wear & tear on a nicer bike. Or maybe you don't want to put a nicer bike at risk for theft. Or maybe your only bike happens to be a beater.

Got one?
I get a sense of satisfaction from pulling a bike out of someones trash and making it rideable. I don't ride my junker bike to avoid wear and tear on the "nicer" bikes. The bikes I bought new are now all worn and torn from riding. I ride the junker when I'll park in high theft areas and but also just to ride it.

I've got a beater that is so beaten that it's unrideable. :D

But that's how it was when I bought it. Underneath all the crappy and worn out components is a pretty cool bombprooof frame. And I've got a nice set of extra Deore copmponents laying around, so the beater will soon rise again. :)

My Raleigh Royal doesn't look much, but it's a great bike. My Falcon Westminster is more of a beater though - it's the one I can leave locked up anywhere for days. My Raleigh 20 also has no attraction whatever for thieves .

I have a thing against beater bikes (not for others, for myself). I've spent way too many miles on rusty, rickety, creaking machines to live in a low crime area. My last beater is covered in dust and cobwebs in the back of the barn. If I were still in college or in a high crime area, different story.

I have a '83 Sakai steel lugged bike with 27" wheels that I converted into a singlespeed on a whim. The original paint was peeling so I did a quick, sh*tty rattle can paint job in white. The chainline is way off. The handlebars have remnants of old bar tape and the brake calipers barely stop me because the pads are probably originals. The headset is loose b/c I just don't want to bother adjusting it. Still though, it's fun to ride to the grocery store or a friend's place.

I have a crappy old X-Mart mountain bike with garbage components, rear fendeer off some cruiser and beat up rack off an old schwinn frame is covered in stickers. Everything runs smoothly and it gets me around. Wouldn't dare riding one of my nice bikes around Campus (nor leaving them out in all weather).

Unlike most people, I only have one bike. It looks like a beater, but it's not; I changed out a few components (tires, rear cassette, crank, pedals) and keep the bike in perfect operating condition at all times. It performs very well, actually, though I'm pretty sure most lycra guys on $3000 road bikes have little to fear from me. (I bet I can haul way more beer than they can, though.)

Yes. I bought a Bianchi hybrid in 2005 and added fenders, rack, lights, better tires, seat. I even swapped out the handlebars with a Nitto English 3-speed bar. It has slightly wider tires for less than ideal weather conditions and I don't mind locking it up at bike racks. My other bike is a Bianchi cyclocross bike which is much nicer and I use it for longer rides on the weekend or as a backup to the hybrid.

One thing about my beater is that I'm always up for repairing or upgrading it. As long as the frame holds up, I think I'll hang on to it.

How is a 2005 Bianchi a beater?

How is a 2005 Bianchi a beater?

I was thinking the same thing, and then I noticed that he bought it in 2005 but he didn't say it was new in '05.

I have two bikes, and neither one cost me much. I avoid buying expensive bikes because all of my riding is point A to point B riding that puts a lot of wear on the bikes. If I bought an expensive bike it would become a beater, so I just start out with beaters and they stay that way. My bikes are locked outside basically all the time, except when I ride them.

Not yet - had planned on other mtb to be my winterbeater - but that was stolen.

Probably Nov I'll go looking for a mtb that I can commute on - and go beat up in the snow. I spent too much money (on stolen bike) fixing stuff that the snow/salt got too. So new bike isn't going to be ruined like that.

1980 (best guess) Puch Pathfinder. Has original Suntour components and looks like crap. Rides like a dream, shifts well, and gets me to work on most days. Its the beater that keeps my Univega out of the weather and away from thieves.

A beater bike is one you ride in everyday situations to avoid wear & tear on a nicer bike. Or maybe you don't want to put a nicer bike at risk for theft. Or maybe your only bike happens to be a beater.

Got one?

Yup, an 80s vintage Free Spirit Brittany, womens model. It's in good shape with a good paint job, stock fenders and a springy seat. Ironically, I paid $10.00 more for it than I paid for my main bike, an early '90s Specialized Hard Rock. The Hard Rock was free. ;)

A beater bike is one you ride in everyday situations to avoid wear & tear on a nicer bike. Or maybe you don't want to put a nicer bike at risk for theft. Or maybe your only bike happens to be a beater.

Got one?

nah. All my bikes are nice and I use the heck out of em :D

Any bike will be a beater bike if you ride it as much as you should. I don't try to prevent wear and tear, just deal with them when they happen.

Currently I have a Trek hardtail MTB that's probably 3 or 4 years old. I also have a Fuji 10-speed that's probably 30 years old, but it probably has fewer miles on it (so far) than the Trek. The Fuji was a "trade-in" left by the thief that stole another bike. I also have enough pieces and parts lying around to make at least one other bike.

I like the beater instead of the folding bike route for 90% of uses that don't involve multimode transit. Unlike a folder which has to carried everywhere, a beater can be left outside (hidden) without too much worry. Unfortunately, I sold my beater but I'm in the process of building a new one. A three speed with the new Sturmey Archer hub!

new Sturmey Archer hub!

Whats this? I thought they went out of business years ago. They were
really reliable.

Whats this? I thought they went out of business years ago. They were
really reliable.

They got sold off to Sunrace and they're baaaack. And have done away with the neutral issue that was supposedly such a problem with the old style AW;):D

www.sturmey-archer.com and don't drool too much, a lot of that stuff isn't available in the US or any place else I have looked either.:rolleyes:

I would really like to get my hands on one of the X-FDD and a X-RD5

Aaron:)

Whats this? I thought they went out of business years ago. They were
really reliable.

Sun Race upgraded the Sturmey Archer AW-3 and now calls it SRF - 3.

The new hub does not fall in between gears or lose it's transmission.

I have about 6 bikes that aren't in working condition and one beater that just barely gets me there.

Frame: Schwinn Aluminum Comp (walmart), painted flat olive green with chipped off paint
wheels, bars, shifters, brakes from a broken Trek 820 (Bontrager)

The rear axle is somewhat bent, the wheel wants to fall off, I can use about 3 gears in the back and to use my small chain ring I have to use my foot as a derailer.

when I try to pedal hard the chain skips teeth and wants to send me into my bars teeth first.

Needless to say, I need a new bike really bad. The overall state of this bike has reduced my want to ride my bike thus reduced my leaving the house which is never good.

Sun Race upgraded the Sturmey Archer AW-3 and now calls it SRF - 3.

The new hub does not fall in between gears or lose it's transmission.

I forgot about going in between gears. It didn't happen that often and since mine was really old didn't know that new ones did that. If it acted funny I'd fiddle with the adjustment till it worked right. Dad pulled an old raleigh from somewhere. The bike had been outside so much the red paint had faded to gray. I got it at about 9 years old the frame was too big for me "You'll grow into it." It lasted through delivering papers in all weather, many hours of "fender tag" in the sandy pine woods and miles of riding to activities- parents had one car and didn't believe in taxiing kids around. Do kids still play "fender tag" with their bikes in the woods? This was before mountain bikes so we used our paper delivery bikes or stingrays. Every time I see that Sturmey-Archer shifter on some beater in town it brings back memories.

I also have enough pieces and parts lying around to make at least one other bike.

One time I took a wrecked Huffy and a Peugeot frame and cobbled them together to create a Huffeot. God has punished me ever since for such an unnatural mating. :rolleyes:

I use my '05 Trek hybrid as my beater bike when I'm going to lock the bike outside and be away from it for several hours. It's still in fairly good shape even though it has almost 5000 miles on it, but it's not as desirable looking to bike thieves when compared to some of the bikes that I park next to.

So, I got a great late 80's Schwinn Traveller from my brother-in-law for $20 that got me into really bike commuting this season. It's probably my best bike. Smooth as glass. Then, I got a great garage sale Trek hardtail for $10 that I put slicks on and a rack and made into my commuter. I converted a water-resistant surplus knapsack I had laying around into a sweet panier bag for the rack. Those are my two nicer bikes. Some would probably call them beaters, but they're the nicer ones. Then, the guy at the gas station across the street gave me an 80's Azuki Sebring that was a mess. He didn't want to use the dumpster space to get rid of it. I cleaned it up and put on the switched out tires and tubes from my Schwinn. The Azuki's now my beater roadbike. When the drs go, it'll be a singlespeed or a fixie project. Right away thereafter, my mother-in-law gave me a 90's Huffy "mountainbike" she had behind the shed. Everything works. I bought a $2.00 rack for it from Salvation Army just last night. That's going to be my winter beater. I just moved my office, and my commute is even closer than before. I think I'm set with my stable. Really. Okay, maybe I'm just a packrat, but I really don't want my two favorite bikes ripped off or jacked up from crappy weather before their time. Plus, I got a real thrill turning the two free bikes into working bikes that I don't feel I really have to worry about. All in all, the total cost for the bikes is cheaper than one "good" bike, and I'm pretty satisfied. Total cost is cheaper than a tank of gas. They paid for themselves in gas and parking right away. If bike commuting had cost me an arm and a leg to get into, I probably wouldn't have gotten into it. It's nice that things turned out the way they did.

I have a '76 Schwinn Traveler I bought from a cool guy on here named Waldowales. He had fixed it up, and put new wheels and tires on it so it was ready to go. He had actually replied to one of my posts about needing a beater bike, so it was pretty cool how that worked out. It's a fun bike, but really heavy. I'm also going to have to get some new bars and a couple things to make it a little more comfortable. But it's in good shape, and nobody is going to walk off with it. I'd like to find an old cheap rack and do some commuting with it.

It gives me a certain amount of freedom because I can lock it up, while I'm in the library or coffee shop and not have to worry. I could never just leave my good bike out there. It's not fancy, but it's the nicest thing I own, by far.

YEp.

got a 70's era Crescent frame (reynolds 531 tubing) with modern day deep dish v wheels and a custom "1890's scorcher bar. (PICS late sunday night!) interestingly,


history of the bike:

http://www.classicrendezvous.com/Sweden/Crescent.htm

i would love to find one of their stainless steel frames.
http://www.classicrendezvous.com/Sweden/crescent_stainless_ad.htm

I ride a 1982 Norco Pinnacle Mountain Series with a set of slicks, fenders, back rack, lights...all set up for utility/commuting. It is not the kind of bike a theif would like. But it runs very well, just re built the BB and its all I need. One day I will own a better bike when I wear this one out. I usually find used ones at garage sales and second hand stores and then make them into what I like.

Did someone say PICTURES?:D

My 1972 Sports Standard...

Aaron:)

http://inlinethumb29.webshots.com/2524/2581827600066886751S500x500Q85.jpg

this thread needs pictures!

Beater is in the eye of the beholder.

I have about a dozen bikes. Depending on your definition of beater, they may all be beaters...

One thing about them, they are all in great repair with new tires, tubes...clean and tuned-up.

Are these beaters? I ride all of them like they are...:)


http://www.geocities.com/alicestrong/_CenturionEliteRS.jpg


http://www.geocities.com/alicestrong/MotoGrand.jpg


http://www.geocities.com/alicestrong/Trek850.jpg


http://www.geocities.com/alicestrong/marincommuter.jpg


http://www.geocities.com/alicestrong@sbcglobal.net/__karakoram.jpg

Hey more pictures of beaters. please!

I've got an Asama mountain bike from around 1988. I use it as a winter beater because I don't want to subject the drivetrain on my good bike to the salt and sand on the roads. The bike was given to me. The previous owner had ridden it hard and had then left it outside in Kelowna for several years. Even with a lot of love, it will never be anything more than a beater. Right now, this bike needs five or six spokes replaced on the rear wheel but the freehub doesn't want to loosen.

Beater is in the eye of the beholder.

I have about a dozen bikes. Depending on your definition of beater, they may all be beaters...

One thing about them, they are all in great repair with new tires, tubes...clean and tuned-up.

Are these beaters? I ride all of them like they are...:)


No! That moto is pretty!

http://i21.tinypic.com/avle6c.png
My ghetto Centurion. Still has original everything, except tires, brake pads, and brake lines. I'm pretty sure the tires and pads on it were the ones it was sold with, as they were dried out and decayed. I'd like to put some cheap bar tape on it and get that terrible foam stuff off as well as put a rack on it. Then it'd be complete.

No! That moto is pretty!

:):):):):) I like it...:):):):):)

My beater is a women's model Free Spirit Brittany. It's in good shape, but its definitely the bike I have that is least suited to me. It cost me $10. I ride it only when necessary. ie when the other bikes are down.

Of course, my daily bike was a freebie. A Specialized Hard Rock. Then I added fenders, a rack, street tires and lights. I get compliments on it all the time. It has cruiser good looks with the deep gears of a mountain bike. So its cheap, but not a beater.

I have one bike that I ride, and while it's not a true beater, because I put a lot of money into it, it is beater-ish in the sense that I built it to be able to take lots of ****. So far, now that everything is dialed in, it needs almost no maintenance, and I use it for everything from urban riding on a daily basis to 10+ mile camping trips (after I attach a rack with a milk crate). It's a fixie conversion, and it looks good to boot. I just need to figure out how to make it winter-worthy. :eek:

http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w142/kjohnnytarr/S5002080.jpg

Ok now I have a true new beater bike. It's a real scruffy target or kmart type, all wore-out but with good gears and lousy brakes. But ready to ride at $30. I bought it for my stepson to ride when he's visiting.

He's one of those urban guerrilla types who actually prefers a cheap old mountain bike: "I don't have to worry about trashing it. The worst thing that could happen is you're out 30 bucks and I have to walk home."

Pretty much all my bikes are beaters because they're just more practical overall. They look more or less roufgh, mostly have scratched up paint & rust, I never wash them and I don't mind wearing them out, but I'm still carefull not to abuse them and they all get proper maintenance so they stay very well dialed in at all times, they're a pleasure to ride. When parts wear out I'm not afraid of period correctness or anything so long as the looks mostly fit together, so I can grab stuff of other junked bikes that'll do the job. Dirt cheap to run.

My nice bikes on the other hand hardly ever see the light of day. These are really only good for "going for a bike ride" because I don't want to get them dirty since that means washing them after, and I can't lock one outside since other people may scratch the paint by bumping them in the bike rack, and there's the risk of getting stolen... If I still rode around a lot just to ride around then maybe I'd use them more but ever since being car free it's not something I do very often, so the nice bikes stay in the basement and do nothing while the beaters get used.

I love my "beater" bike and would be hard pressed to find another like her...

http://members.shaw.ca/feynn/biking/bridgette5.jpg

http://members.shaw.ca/feynn/biking/bridgette3.jpg
1962 Peugeot Criterium fixed gear conversion.

I'm loving this thread. I've been checking it every day! More pictures!

I can't wait to post mine, but I'm still waiting on a few mail order odds and ends to make it rideable. Hopefully by this weekend...

Worth the wait? haha
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2107/1752081895_ed076621d3.jpg

1972 (ish?) Raleigh Record (ish)

Beaters? Don't work in gangland where I live. Anything is up for grabs just as long as it is ridable condition. But this bike was bought to be a beater and turned out to be my best bike. All my new bikes are modeled or patterned after this one:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/world-of-folding-bicycles/338611633/in/set-72157594461421431/

Since I cannot fold it up and take it with me, it is rather useless now to me as far as utility goes.

http://lisitsa.fastmail.com.au/My%20beater.jpg

This is my beater. It used to be my first ever road bike, when I wanted a road bike but could only afford a 50 dollar ebay bike. I rode it like mad for the last 3 years, and now that I'm away overseas this year, my dad uses it to ride to work every day. It was an average 10-speed when it started off, with stem shifters and cracked tires, but through every single ten-speed I found on Melbourne streets, the bike got better tires, a better seat, better brakes, and the most important change, a wonderful 3-speed Shimano internal hub that I found on a girls bike on the street that I live. It is the most cutest and functional little 3-speed, and it was such a joy to throw away that old deraillleur, tighten up that chain.

I found a matching set of tires, some cheap white leather-type bar tape that seems to contrast well with the black bike, removed the pealing decals, cleaned every last nook and cranny, put some toe clips on.

Oh I'll stop but I really could go on forever. This originally was labelled "Sportsworld" which I assume was some big sports department store. I'll tell you one thing, they don't make department store bikes like this anymore.

PS- The best thing about 10-speeds as beaters is that if something breaks, ride around your block a couple of times and you'll find a replacement part.