Hybrid Bicycles - Help!!! My bike got stripped!

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Hunt ebay for used components under $5 and you might make your budget. Otherwise you're not going to rebuild that frame for $150.

Now, my buddy is pretty pissed off. He asked if I could try to help him put the bike back together for under $150. If not, he's going to sell the frame/fork/brakes for $100 and just give up on riding in the city.

Do you think the $150 budget is reasonable?

good luck

Do you think the $150 budget is reasonable?

No.

Damn that sucks. I am sorry to hear this. Effin thieves....
Don't know about the rebuild. Do you have any bike co-ops in your city? There are plenty in chicago. They usually sell used parts for dirt cheap.

Hope he gets it built up, doesn't give up, and keeps riding.
This is why one should never lock up over night.

Waste of money, and he won't get $150 for that frameset I'd bet, sorry to hear about that.

Go to Walmart and buy a $59 bike....it'll get you around and if its stolen....not much of a loss...better yet hit craigslist for a used cheapie

....unless you're the guy that stole a frame/etc. and you're trying to find out how cheaply you can build it up to make a profit selling it. Why'd you put the different seat post/stem in the photo? Doesn't make sense to me.

I may be wrong, but it might be possible.....

Where do you live? Only way I can see that getting built up near that cheap is if you have a good co-op somewhere close...
Only other option I can think of is search craigslist/ebay for a cheap broken-down bike that is going to have enough working, compatible components on it for you to strip and use.

Ok, it's not my bike...
Ok, technically, it's not a road bike either....(it's more of a fast hybrid)

Here's the story:
Friend's bike got stripped while he left it overnight locked up outside after one drunken night. He was too hammered to ride it home, so he did the right thing and took the subway home.

Bike was locked with a Mini U-lock on the top tube (only). He also had a very long Krypto cable (not chain) to lock up his front & rear wheels to the U-lock.

After Happy Hour (1am), he decided to train it home. He looked at his bike and it was doing just fine.....little did he know that that was the last time he'll see his bike fully intact.

Next morning (this morning), he went to get the bike and found everything missing (except for the frame & fork).

Here's a picture of what's left (note: the seat post & stem are mine). I just put them on to hold up the fork in place and to make sure nothing falls into the seat tube. They even took the crappy Sora derailleur!!!! All the cables have been cut as well.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3392/3576574867_3daa89fb05_o.jpg




Now, my buddy is pretty pissed off. He asked if I could try to help him put the bike back together for under $150. If not, he's going to sell the frame/fork/brakes for $100 and just give up on riding in the city.

Do you think the $150 budget is reasonable?

Here's a list of everything I think I need to put it back on the road:
- Stem (size depends on handlebars)
- Handlebars
- Grips
- Brake levers
- Shift levers
- Pedals (basic toe clips)
- Tires (cheap 700c x 28) Suggestions??
- Tubes
- Saddle
- Seat post
- Brake cables & shifter cables
- Wheelset (Any suggestions? I want to put something cheaper than CXP22s on it).
- Rear derailleur (I found an old 8 speed Sora in my parts bin that he can have)
- 8 speed cassette
- Chain
- the little "L" thing for the V brakes (you know what I'm talking about, right??? The metal housing by the brake calipers that you run the brake line in. What's the proper name for that?)


Let me if I missed anything.

He wants it to be a low level bike. Nothing high end. Definitely something at or lower than Sora or Deore (to keep it within this budget). Labor will be free as I'm the one who's helping him put everything together and adjust everything.

Sigh....I don't even know where to start gathering stuff. Where can I find handlebars & shift/brake levers?

I want my friend to continue riding. He got the bike brand new in '06. Never rode it. The bike probably had 150 miles up until this year. Recently he started riding it and really enjoyed it. He even gave commuting a shot and decided he was going to do it 2 - 3x a week. After only 3 weeks of commuting (about 700 miles have been put on the bike in the last 3 months), the bike got stripped. Help me out with some tips.

Throw out brands & models for the items I need.

Thanks! :thumb:

You and your friend have my sympathy; however, the lesson here still goes back to drinking responsibly. If your friend had kept it to a single beer and then gone home he's still have his bike. Alternatively, he could had called a cab and thrown the bike in the back seat and made it home that way. Or even taken it in the subway.

The Cardinal rule here is: Never leave your bike where varmints can have plenty of time undisturbed and in seclusion to gnaw parts off of it . Also, if you drink to excess unless your in a falling down condition where you can no longer propel yourself on foot or 2 wheels under you own power ALL your property goes home with you. Leaving a bike chained up unobserved for more than an hour is no different to chaining your wallet with $500 in it to a parking meter for the same amount of time.

As for restoring the bike you have nearly a vertical climb. I'd put even money that all his parts may show up on the local Craigslist or ebay in a few days. It won't be impossible, but it will be expensive and it will take much much more than $150. You're pretty much are going to go through around $400 or more if you try to do it unsupported. If you have a bike kitchen, co-op, or an exteremely sympathetic bike shop you might be able to do it for less.

Doing it piece by piece is doable, but, a major PITA. I would follow the above advice. Buy a cheap craigslist bike. You might get lucky and find a good bike with good components cheap, especially if it's an oddball frame size. This won't matter as the frame is pretty much the only thing that is sized ( I think) well, maybe the stem also.

If he decides to just sell it, I'm looking for a set of v brakes for a yard sale mtb I just picked up.

If he does go with a craigslist full replacement bike, I would suggest something older. I think the older stuff is probably a little less desirable to strippers.

Time out. they took the handle bars, but they screwed the faceplate back onto the stem? I don't think so.
edit: just read that the post and stem are yours. still weird, that they left the brakes when they obviously had the tools to remove them.

good luck on that one...

if you want to get rolling in a reasonable period of time, probably $500. else, new hybrid for $500.

As a super-cheapskate at times, I think it can be done for $150. But would it be worth it? Not if you value your time - finding the kinds of deals needed to stay in that budget will require hours upon hours and days and weeks or scouring eBay, craigslist, LBS $5 bins, swap meets, pawn shops... You get the idea.

So is it possible, technically yes. Reallistically no.

Mac

Ok, it's not my bike...
Ok, technically, it's not a road bike either....(it's more of a fast hybrid)

Here's the story:
Friend's bike got stripped while he left it overnight locked up outside after one drunken night. He was too hammered to ride it home, so he did the right thing and took the subway home.

Bike was locked with a Mini U-lock on the top tube (only). He also had a very long Krypto cable (not chain) to lock up his front & rear wheels to the U-lock.

After Happy Hour (1am), he decided to train it home. He looked at his bike and it was doing just fine.....little did he know that that was the last time he'll see his bike fully intact.

Next morning (this morning), he went to get the bike and found everything missing (except for the frame & fork).

Here's a picture of what's left (note: the seat post & stem are mine). I just put them on to hold up the fork in place and to make sure nothing falls into the seat tube. They even took the crappy Sora derailleur!!!! All the cables have been cut as well.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3392/3576574867_3daa89fb05_o.jpg




Now, my buddy is pretty pissed off. He asked if I could try to help him put the bike back together for under $150. If not, he's going to sell the frame/fork/brakes for $100 and just give up on riding in the city.

Do you think the $150 budget is reasonable?

Here's a list of everything I think I need to put it back on the road:
- Stem (size depends on handlebars)
- Handlebars
- Grips
- Brake levers
- Shift levers
- Pedals (basic toe clips)
- Tires (cheap 700c x 28) Suggestions??
- Tubes
- Saddle
- Seat post
- Brake cables & shifter cables
- Wheelset (Any suggestions? I want to put something cheaper than CXP22s on it).
- Rear derailleur (I found an old 8 speed Sora in my parts bin that he can have)
- 8 speed cassette
- Chain
- the little "L" thing for the V brakes (you know what I'm talking about, right??? The metal housing by the brake calipers that you run the brake line in. What's the proper name for that?)


Let me if I missed anything.

He wants it to be a low level bike. Nothing high end. Definitely something at or lower than Sora or Deore (to keep it within this budget). Labor will be free as I'm the one who's helping him put everything together and adjust everything.

Sigh....I don't even know where to start gathering stuff. Where can I find handlebars & shift/brake levers?

I want my friend to continue riding. He got the bike brand new in '06. Never rode it. The bike probably had 150 miles up until this year. Recently he started riding it and really enjoyed it. He even gave commuting a shot and decided he was going to do it 2 - 3x a week. After only 3 weeks of commuting (about 700 miles have been put on the bike in the last 3 months), the bike got stripped. Help me out with some tips.

Throw out brands & models for the items I need.

Thanks! :thumb:

He got robbed. (And not just the old robbin' kind.) I'm really sorry that happened to him.

He might as well buy a new bike. Building it up again will cost about as much.

When he does get that new bike, make sure he gets a real lock (like the OnGuard 4000 Bulldog lock) that's extremely hard to cut through or jimmy open. Costs a lot, but it's definitely worth it.

You can't lock your components.

You can't lock your components.

...you can strip most of the bolts.

I dont condone stealing someone elses property, but I can only speak for myself. I would never leave my bike anywhere over night. What did you guys truly think would happen?
Irresponsible if you ask me.

I dont condone stealing someone elses property, but I can only speak for myself. I would never leave my bike anywhere over night. What did you guys truly think would happen?
Irresponsible if you ask me.

Like I said. It's like chaining your wallet with $500 in it to a parking meter..:notamused:

I dont condone stealing someone elses property, but I can only speak for myself. I would never leave my bike anywhere over night. What did you guys truly think would happen?
Irresponsible if you ask me.

The ONLYthing that would make me do the exact thing as the person who lost his bike is if I met a redheaded chick that looked like Lindsay Lohan:rolleyes: who invited me to her place to swing from the chandelier! :innocent: That *might* be worth the loss of a bike. :eek:

BD has some crappy bikes for around $300.....he buy one of those and sell off the frame and fork.....

You might find a beat up Sirrus or lower end Trek hybrid for about the $150 and since your frameset looks clean (at least the thieves were proficient at stripping it) you could transfer parts. That's probably your best hope of doing this quicky and within your budget.

Otherwise I'm with the "it's possible but will take a long time" camp.

Good luck.

:beer:

I'd give the thieves an B+ for that strip job. They did leave the brakes & crankset though....

Sorry to hear. I'd say the cheapest route to getting that back on the road is to buy a 150 bike on CL. Budget wheels will cost you 200 bucks new. No way can you buy individual parts for 150 on fleabay. Shipping alone on all those parts could cost 100 bucks.

Good luck and if your friend is going to park his bike on the street, have him lock the frame, both wheels and seat.

tell him to get a department store bike. end of story.

Best suggestion I've seen. Use a trashed frame donor bike.
You might find a beat up Sirrus or lower end Trek hybrid for about the $150 and since your frameset looks clean (at least the thieves were proficient at stripping it) you could transfer parts. That's probably your best hope of doing this quicky and within your budget.

Otherwise I'm with the "it's possible but will take a long time" camp.

Good luck.

:beer:

..
This happened in the LES area in NYC....

Knew it.

In that area, even semi-crap bikes are at risk of getting robbed altogether or stripped for parts. I'd sell the frame and fork for $100 (which will be a difficult sell), or just inform him to start saving for a new bike.

Alteratively, you could do as another poster suggested and find a trashed donor frame with all of the components you need to get going. It might be difficult to find a more modern frame like this, but it's worth a shot.

Good luck.

Also....someone mentioned Bikesdirect. The only reason I don't want to go that route is because he has a lifetime warranty for the frame (since he purchased it from an LBS and is the original owner).



I mentioned BD. What I meant was strip the BD bike for parts and sell off the BD frame and fork.

Also, here are some super cheap wheelsets, one includes tires for $100 shipping included, but only takes a freewheel, which might not be a bad thing as they are cheap. It's also 36H which is good for nasty city riding.

http://bikeisland.com/cgi-bin/BKTK_STOR20.cgi?Action=Details&ProdID=1471

http://bikeisland.com/cgi-bin/BKTK_STOR20.cgi?Action=Details&ProdID=1450

http://bikeisland.com/cgi-bin/BKTK_STOR20.cgi?Action=Details&ProdID=1292

I agree with all your other points that were made except for this one. I have to wholeheartedly disagree with you here. There are many people who lock up their bikes for more than one hour and see it much different than leaving your wallet w/$500.


Ok, back on track. I gave my friend an update. I told him that his $150 budget doesn't look good. He said he's willing to push that up to $200 if it makes a difference.

I'm thinking......if I can get brand new Mavic CXP22 wheels for $150 shipped (from BWW) http://www.bicyclewheelwarehouse.com/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=49 , don't you think I can get lower end used wheels for under $100?

Just say if I find a used (but decent) wheelset for $100, do you think the rest of the stuff (most expensive would be handlebar/brake levers/shift levers) for about $100? (used of course). I'm assuming since the Sirrus uses V brakes, I can use mountain bike brake/shift levers? If so, I'm imaging that someone buying a brand new mountain bike wanting to swap for better parts after a season or two, no?

Well, my buddy said if I can't find anything by the time it gets cold (Oct/Nov), he'll take the frame/fork back and sell it for $50-$100 on Craigslist and call it a hard lesson learned.

For everyone who suggested a Walmart bike.....is that really a solution? You basically just sucked all the enjoyment of riding a bicycle by going with that option. I mean...a Sirrus isn't that great of a bike, but it's still a pretty nice hybrid.

^^^ Those are fighting words right there! :notamused::twitchy:

Sure there are better bikes out there, but for what they are Sirruses are very good indeed!

This happened in the LES area in NYC.



Best use for that bike now would be as a bait bike. "Finish" it with random parts from the junk bin... then chain it up in the same area and wait with a couple baseball bats in hand.

BS ...

What bike ( parts ) thief puts/re-installs bolts back in the stem and seat post , after taking the saddle and handlebar ? ... & you said the cables where cut, but then they would have the ends clamped still to the v-brakes & FD ...

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I'd give the thieves an B+ for that strip job. They did leave the brakes & crankset though....

Sorry to hear. I'd say the cheapest route to getting that back on the road is to buy a 150 bike on CL. Budget wheels will cost you 200 bucks new. No way can you buy individual parts for 150 on fleabay. Shipping alone on all those parts could cost 100 bucks.

Good luck and if your friend is going to park his bike on the street, have him lock the frame, both wheels and seat.

Poor job IMO. They could've hacksawed the top tube in 1 min and have a complete bike minus frame.

you must get ALL the pitlocks.

Very nice . Keep up the work .

The bike is very 'urban'

Bike projects can cost more time than money so be careful with that. Getting the rear wheel is the hardest.
Wish you luck

Nice!

front wheel: http://www.niagaracycle.com/product_info.php?products_id=1021
back wheel: http://www.niagaracycle.com/product_info.php?products_id=1012
cassette: http://www.niagaracycle.com/product_info.php?products_id=19634

You can pick the rest of the stuff you need from that site (I really like them, btw). As for the 130/135, I don't think putting a 135 wheel into a 130 spaced frame is that big of a deal, especially given the circumstances. Just don't try to cold set.

consider reporting it to his homeowners insurance. bikes may be covered. I know they are under renters insurance.

It always amazes me in these situations that someone will always pipe in with "you should have known better" or "you should have taken better care". For crying out loud, the guy who had his bike stripped did nothing wrong. He's the victim here.

Why people have a need to point a finger at the victim in such instances is beyond me. It makes it sound like it's his fault. It's not.

Oh, and that he was drunk and left his bike doesn't make it any more justified to scold the guy for being ripped off.

Sorry to hear about your friend's loss -- hopefully, you'll get he bike going for him and he'll still use it.

[QUOTE=ddac;9044680]Anyone know how to tell the difference between a rear wheel that accepts 7 spd vs 8 spd?

8-speed Ultegra was 6400. That number should be somewhere on the hub, maybe on the non-drive side dustcap.

i realize you have already purchased some components, but a single speed set up with a pulley would probably be a bit more in your price range.

go to target buy a schwinn for $250 replace the parts and sell the extra frame for $100... if you can. Try checking out nashbar parts, ebay, or craigslist. try to find a crap bike to replace the parts with or give him a new crap bike.

thorough buggers.

Your current $20 investment has you way ahead. In an aluminum frame, I'd shoot for getting a wheel with the right spacing. keep this thread updated

Liquor, how would it be less expensive? Is a rear wheel with a freewheel less expensive than a rear wheel with a cassette? http://newyork.craigslist.org/mnh/bik/1205513555.html

It would cut the costs of front and rear derailers, derailer cables, and shifters. You could also probably shed a few bucks on the rear wheel as well. On the downside, your buddy would have to sacrifice his gears. On the upside, your buddy would have a more simplistic, and lightweight bike.

I made my post assuming you were purchasing parts new. You seem to be doing a great job at finding parts for cheap. After seeing all of the stuff you've collected thus far, id probably just continue building the bike as a multispeed. Good luck!!

- the little "L" thing for the V brakes (you know what I'm talking about, right??? The metal housing by the brake calipers that you run the brake line in. What's the proper name for that?)


Not sure of the proper name, but I often refer to it as the 'noodle' without being misunderstood.

The "L Things" are called V-Brake Noodles or just brake noodles.

Try www.stealitback.com (http://www.stealitback.com). Its a police auction site that I picked up a used Trek 4700 on for about 80 bucks a while back. I was going to ship the bike to afghanistan to ride, but was surprised enough with its condition that I would've felt bad leaving it there, and ended up leaving it at home. You may find some decent bikes to scavenge parts from on there.

consider reporting it to his homeowners insurance. bikes may be covered. I know they are under renters insurance.

I believe homeowner's insurance covers your bike when it is stollen from your HOME...


It would be really expensive if it covered any item you chose to chain to a post in a dark alley.

I believe homeowner's insurance covers your bike when it is stollen from your HOME...

It would be really expensive if it covered any item you chose to chain to a post in a dark alley.


Homeowners typically covers (with a long list of named exceptions) your personal property, ie things generally kept in your home, regardless of where they happen to be at the time.

Example: If you are moving, and all your furniture is in a truck and the truck goes missing. Your stuff is still insured, provided at least one of your residences' policies is in effect during the move.

Generally, it's best to limit your advice to that which you know for sure. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_insurance

Homeowners typically covers (with a long list of named exceptions) your personal property, ie things generally kept in your home, regardless of where they happen to be at the time.

Example: If you are moving, and all your furniture is in a truck and the truck goes missing. Your stuff is still insured, provided at least one of your residences' policies is in effect during the move.

Generally, it's best to limit your advice to that which you know for sure. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_insurance

I had to list my bike on a personal articles policy to get full "I was JRA and it exploded" type coverage. Otherwise it would have only been covered if it the loss occurred at home (ie stolen from the garage). Laws vary by state, coverage varies by company, of course.

I've already forgotten how little the coverage costs, but it's not much.

Generally, it's best to limit your advice to that which you know for sure. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_insurance

True, I'm not an insurance agent, I did just assume it wouldn't cover it, but if we if we all followed your advice, BF would be empty........:)

Still, there is likely a $500 deductible, in which case it would be less expensive to buy a new Sirrus......