sloar 

Do you have that one bike that's not the nicest or prettiest that for some reason you just love? Here's mine, 1965 Super Sport. I've spent more money on it than what it's worth. Forks replaced, d/t cable stops broke off, switched to d/t shifters. Modolo brakes and levers and a San Marco Ponza saddle that I had that's worth more than the whole bike. But for some reason I love the looks and it's really fun to ride. Let's see that loved POS bike.

Hudson308 

Hey, I love it too!

daf1009

Hey @sloar ....careful calling that beauty a POS! Very nice bike...and sounds like it rides like you want it! Very cool thread idea by the way...have to think about which of my bikes is in this type of condition...

Chrome Molly

It has to be my Trek 760. It's my utility infielder of a bike. Shown below on an early spring evening ride.

• Paint is showing the age (more Revlon than Imron).
• Gearing to do pretty much anything
• A somewhat ugly mashup very effective parts.
• A really responsive climber.

When I get invited to a group ride on roads I've never ridden, this comes off the rack and shows how good it really is compared to everything else I own. Everything from rail trails to pothole descents, to bunny hopping melting snow banks between the trails and roads, this is the hammer.

I'm thinking my winter project might be to give it the love it deserves ala Campy 11 speed...



OK, maybe I missed the concept, this thing deserves more love than it actually gets....

John E

Your Super Sport reminds me of the Varsity commuter/beater I once owned. I installed toeclips, downtube shift levers, aluminum rims, and a 6-speed freewheel. The result wasn't half bad, even with my daily 12% climb up Lusk Bl. to my office on Sorrento Mesa (San Diego). Similarly, my current UO-8 beater has aluminum cranks and rims, a 6-speed freewheel, and Japanese derailleurs.

iab

My Bianchi Selvino. Even if the frame weren't bent and not covered with a powder coat, it still would be worth less than all of the components except possible the cheap steel rims. But the idea it isn't pretty is scurrilous and I demand satisfaction from those who disagree.

1953 Bianchi Selvino 033 by iabisdb, on Flickr

The Golden Boy 

My Trek 400 Elance. I think it's the most beautiful bike I own, I love the way the blue glints in the sunlight! Technically, third from the bottom of Trek's lineup- it still has a butted 531 main triangle, CrMo fork and stays- it even came with decent components to begin with. I've replaced most everything with upper tier stuff. Sugino SP-KC seatpost, Belleri bars, Tri-color 600 brakes and levers, Suntour Command Shifters, XC Pro and XC Comp derailleurs, Stronglight crankset, Matrix/Maillard 700 and 600 wheels, and just the other day, SR SP-155 pedals.

Lately I've been riding this more than all my other bikes combined.






FWIW, I wouldn't consider a Super Sport a POS- that frame was a benchmark of American quality.

sloar 

I still have 5 more Super Sports that I cannot sell. And my friend is wanting to bring me more.

Vonruden

At the moment. The JP Weigle get's it for me.

Vonruden

I should have read more closely, would have to go with my utility, swiss army do all bike.

sloar 

Yeah, I was getting ready to comment on how beautiful that Weigle is.

lord_athlon

74 Voyageur II. It photographs well. The paint is chipped to chrome everywhere, the seat lug is deformed a bit, the PO didnt have the bottom cable guide tight enough, so there is a 3" section of the DT with zero paint, dropout screws were broken and took a bunch of effort to remove, handlebars were bent. It was a bit of a basket case.

New rims laced up with the original hubs, even though the originals were fine.
Suntour barcons (it came to me with dts)
Nitto Noodles and a Technomic stem.
Brooks B-17 Special (i like the copper)

Lenton58 

It is easy and natural to spend more money on a wheel-set than the frame may be worth — more money than most people think the frame deserves. (I think that wheel-sets are underrated and overlooked in what makes a bicycle.)

And IMHO there is no folly in "spoiling" a beloved frame. So, I would encourage anyone to incorporate components that are complementary for their function and durability — aside from intrinsic value that may be commensurate with rarity, bling or just darn expensive cuz they are the last tiny few ounces lighter (eg: Dura Ace over Ultegra/600). You will easily be WAY over what some people think a generic, common, mass produced frame deserves.

Take a straight and aligned Reynolds 501 triangle with 4130 stays and forks: if I adored the way the frame rode, I could easily be tempted to hang almost anything on it. This true of my 501 Trek 560! I had all my very best bits on that bike; I would be on it all the time these days if only it had not proven to be just too small for me. The original group was SunTour Cyclone — nice stuff but hardly "overly-flatering" the parent frame.

If a more humble frame behaves and feels right ... if it makes you just want to get on it all the time, I say mold components around it that make the experience complete.

Reminds me: I have just finished reading a biography of Howard Hughes. When asked why he drove a beat up Chevy instead of a Rolls Royce he is supposed to have turned to his inquisitor and said, "Who do I have to impress?!"

simmonsgc

More love than it deserves, esp when I get to blasting and painting. Have been riding nothing else lately, though. Cool Schwinns in this thread so far, and I've loved that Stumpy from the beginning.

The Golden Boy 

I just saw something the other day- Steve McQueen bought a beat up pickup truck from some random guy- I guess he saw the truck, offered the guy a metric **** ton of money and bought it- he used that truck to the end of his life.

Ayers

My favorite bike is surely my Centurion. I'd suspect it's probably one of the most expensive Cenurion builds on this board. Makes no sense to anyone except me. And, I'm still finding ways to spend money on it that make me even happier with it. Emotion and logic do not have to overlap in a person's hobby.

jimmuller 

Maybe this one, if only because the frame isn't boutique name-brand steel. (It carries a World Championship decal where a steel decal would normally have been.) It was not high up in the Bianchi catalog for 1987. Nevertheless, it isn't heavy and rides and handles very well. IIRC it now carries a few different components from when this pic was taken.

sloar 

This is the one bike that I spent way to much time and money on. I never really liked how it rode, so I eventually sold it.

non-fixie 

Funny you should mention that. The bikes that have gotten the most mileage from me (which constitutes to bike love, I think) in the past 18 months or so were not the most expensive/interesting/special ones, but they did have two things in common: the fact that I built them up from bare frame sets and the wheel set. The latter being my favorite set (Normandy hubs, Mavic rims and folding Paselas - smooth, light and no flats to boot) which I like to use as a 'known quantity' to test a new build. Long story short: every bike I have put those wheels on proved to be a very nice ride. So I think you have a point.

The Wheels are currently on my Locomotief, which I intend to take to Gaiole next month, for l'Eroica:



Earlier this year they were on an - as yet unidentified - orange (high-ten?) bike, that I rode in France for a week and participated in the Retroronde van Vlaanderen with in June:



Before that they were on a a rather battered Gitane TdF, that was the bike I rode mostly in '14, including a week in France and the Retroronde:

Lenton58 

Sort of off-topic, but that reminds me of a story about a spaghetti western that was being shot back in the days in some Balkan country. All the crew and actors were grumpy and complaining about the lousy hotel and other amenities, or the lack of them — except Clint Eastwood. The person being interviewed said that Eastwood was perfectly happy with a pickup truck and a six pack of beer!

Lenton58 

NICE bikes! ... and I envy your chance to do L'Eroica. I'd love to take my Gazelle there and be with you guys!

Drillium Dude 

Ghost-shifting issue (still!) notwithstanding, this one's gettin' all the attention this summer:



Even tho she did this to me with her left bar end plug on my second-last ride:



DD

dweenk

A Raleigh Olympian that gets more love than it should is still in a work in progress. It was rideable when I bought it complete for $20, but the spokes were a rusty mess and he alloy pedals are pitted with salt corrosion. I can salvage the drive train, but the wheels are more than I want to deal with at this time. I found a good deal on a pair of 650B wheels, rubber, and 8 speed cluster on the local CL, so here I go on this project.

I had a pair of SKS fenders on a Motobecane that will soon be sold, so I put those on the Raleigh. I will have to put the original down tube shifters on it however (the Shimano ovalized square bosses - I hate down tube shifters). I think I will use white cables, although black or silver would work, and a white tape on the bar ends. BTW I like the metallic lilac color. Oh yeah, I added Tektro long reach brakes as well. I am screwed on ROI.

crank_addict

I dig it! Keeping with its character, the crank is perfect. What are those deep drops, Cin. del mondo?

non-fixie 

Thanks! Which reminds me, I need to find out who 'you guys' will actually be this year, besides MiloFrance, mrs non-fixie and myself.