OldsCOOL

It was the bartape.

uncle uncle

I think there is a little known rule in the contest you can use, and that little known rule is, YOU LIE! As long as it's an entertaining lie, I'm sure the judges will make an exception. Seriously, just because you go over budget, doesn't mean you shouldn't compete. I think there would be a lesson there if you did go over 100 clams. The lesson that it's difficult to put together a bike for less than 100 clams, assuming that the bike needs oh say, parts, and unless your crazy, or better yet crazy because you like junky old bikes and get a kick out of getting them back to riding order, even if it means spending more than any sane person would. That's the good kind of crazy. Not the bad kind of crazy, like a person who throws a perfectly good clunker bike in the trash because it needs work and money and love. Yeah.

downtube42

AMF Roadmaster

zukahn1 

Heres a question I'm considering building another contender, does it count if it is has 8speed fairly nice STI brifters and a decent 700c wheelset? Got the wheelset out of a dumpster needed a little TLC and brought the 8speed stuff at a yard sale for $20. I have just the frame in mind for this insanity a purple Sakai 4000 with realy nice paint.

Italuminium

Off course. In the end the real challenge is the 100 km's, and if you just make it easier on yourself with cheap yardsale brifters, go for it!

kunsunoke 

I'll post some pictures, then, once it's done.

The LeTour is shaping up to be a single-speed / fixed gear build right now. I'm doing what I can to keep the costs down, but we'll see how it goes.

The big problem around here is nobody throws anything away, and the trash collection companies only pick up large items on request - so no picking gets done. And it's still too early for garage sales.

eschlwc

try finding anything worth buying in seattle for $100, and then add cables, housing, tape and tires.

maybe i could buy that 67cm huffy with a bent fork...

non-fixie 

I'd love to see that Sekai 4000. As it happens I've been looking at those during the past few days, in search of family resemblance with my Union Sapporo, which appears to have been built by Miki as well.

lotekmod

I'm in!! I gave up on that crazy Shriner's Raleigh Sports bike, which by the way sold for something like $77. I thought I was done with vintage bikes this year but my compulsive CL browsing finally paid off. I just picked up this 1985 Raleigh Team USA for $80 today. All original, with the mysterious Raleigh 555SL tubing. This is the actual ad:


In Philadelphia, the land of $175 Schwinn Varsities and World Sports, this was a steal. And I actually got it!!! I work only 10 minutes from this guy so I wrote that in my email title. Guess it worked since he said he got tons of responses and I didn't see the ad until 8 hours after it was posted. Granted that was from 10pm to 6am, but still, in Philadelphia bikes are flipped in that amount of time.

So now I've got $20 left until I hit the $100 limit and the tires are pretty shot. I have a pair of $10 Kendas on another bike but that means I'll have to ride with the foam grips and the puffy saddle. Oh the sacrifices for this challenge!

My post 100k goals are to replace the saddle (immediately) and the non-aero levers with some black hooded 600 aero levers in my parts bin to clean up the look. The brown hoods look very odd on this bike but they are original. I'll move the brown levers and the 27in wheelset to my Grand Prix to replace the steel rims, and throw a set of 700c wheels on this bike.

For now it's cleanup time, and hopefully a first ride this weekend.

Lascauxcaveman 

I think that's fair game. But I may be a little biased, since my own entry will be sporting some gently-used tires+tubes and a rear rack that came in a yard sale box along with a pair of ancient aero bars, two bells and a basket for a total of $20. I'm half tempted to actually put all that crap on this bike, just because it came so cheap. But the thing is already over 30 lbs, and I don't want to push much more than that on a century ride, which I think is the best way to approach this challenge.

Meanwhile, I have a rear derailleur decision to make:

I was thinking of going with an extremely scratched late-90s Shimano 105, but that seemed seemed sort of like cheating. Maybe a bit like a successful dentist or realtor who puts on some filthy clothes and goes down to the welfare office try to collect an unemployment check? Banged up as it is, I'll probably have to reject the 105, since it's arguably worth around $15 at a swap meet, even its current condition. This is just a tad highbrow for this particular build.


The other two choices are, pictured on the right, a slightly used Shimano Tourney MegaRange, nearly one pound of brobdingnagian engineering writ large in steel and plastic (What a bulletproof behemoth! And since these things come new from various eBay sellers at around $15 - including shipping - I feel no compunction against listing its swap meet value at around $7) and on the left, the legendary Shimano RD-TY20 (which you've never heard of because it's just a junk derailleur that came on Wal*Mart bikes way back when Wal*Mart was just a corner drug store in some butthole backwater of Arkansas.) Swap meet value, maybe $1?


Right now, I'm leaning towards the RD-TY20, not only for the general rusty crappiness of the thing, but because it weights less and probably works just as well. Also, the RD-TY20 has a cage that's slightly bent inwards. Not yet ready to do the Dance-Of-Death-With-The Spokes, but close enough to keep things interesting.

Anyone want to offer their input?

rfj

Live a little; infamous RD-TY20. Also adds to the clunkiness.

Sixty Fiver

The TY 20 is legendary when you consider it's origins... it goes way back to the 1960's when Shimano was copying the Simplex Model 61 and created the Skylark which turned out to be a derailleur that indexed quite reliably when the cable anchor's position was changed (last model).

The TY20 has also been copied and cloned by other makers and you really need a Falcon copy to really bring the level down... the TY20 is actually pretty decent.

It might be the most successful derailleur ever.

VintageRide

I don't want to put this Kuwahara Aries in too may posts, but like most here, despite other, better bikes I own it is always rewarding finding a bike for a reasonable amount - one that usually requires plenty of tlc and the satisfaction of bringing it to a higher standard than you found it and in the process modifying if needed to suit your purpose. Such is the case with this bike, searching Craigslist for a good deal on a vintage mtb that was lugged and had a flat fork crown, and in the majority of cases most had uni crown forks, were too small or large, or too expensive. I found this particular Kuwahara for 75.00, and even though the owner would not budge on the price, as it had been reduced from 125.00 ( and in her words " had new brake pads" ) never mind that the tires were so low on air I could not test ride it I knew it was basically what I was looking for and decided to buy it.
On closer inspection at home it appeared to need a complete going over as the wheel bearings were too tight and the bottom bracket felt a bit rough. So far I have changed the original tires, which were showing their age and were on the heavy side, with some Hutchinson Python Air Light tires I had on hand. I overhauled the front hub, right pedal and head set, with the bottom bracket and rear hub next. It needed quite a bit of elbow grease, since I like shiny clean bikes, even if well used. Just a habit I guess.The original Sugino triple crank set was too heavy for my tastes having steel chain rings and fortunately I also had another alloy Sugino triple to replace it. The bull moose handlebars were changed for a road stem and rando handlebars, complete with Shimano aero brake levers. I also have a Shimano Mountain rear derailleur on hand to replace the all steel Shimano unit currently on it so up to this point I am still at just the cost of the bike. It did come with a decent Avocet Touring seat so that is a bonus, as well as some metal fenders which needed some bending as well as a better fender line - I could not live with the way they originally looked. The lower front of the rear fender was attached by a zip tie at the chain stay bridge so I moved the fender forward with some spacers at the seat stay so I could align and secure the lower attachment with a bolt and spacer. A much more elegant solution! I decided to retain the thumb shifters, relocating them at the end of the drop bars - as much as I would prefer bar cons these seem to work just as well and who knows, I may grow to like them.With 25.00 left to go I am hoping I can get a rear derailleur mounting bracket that I will need for the replacement, handlebar tape and lastly a stem extender, which, while not the most elegant solution will definitely be cheaper than a new Nitto Technomic stem. I really do not want to put more into it than is absolutely necessary until I find out if I will actually enjoy the bike ( I hope so! ). If it works out I will invest in a proper stem, wider handlebars and perhaps a better wheel set - unless someone here tells me the steel hubs on there now are fine - at least the rims are alloy. I also added a Tubus rear rack to use with a pair of Carradice panniers, both of which I had from a previous set up on another bike. At this point it looks like the handlebar tape will be about 17.00 ( I wanted something that was good quality ), hanger around 8.00, and the stem extender about 20.00 so I will probably go over 100.00, but not by much. Hope to have the bike finished in two or three weeks and will update images. As of this date I have about 5 blocks of riding so it looks like I better get a few more miles of riding fairly soon. The lower image is from the original Craigslist ad, and the owner did mention they named the bike "Shrek" because of the color, I might even continue calling it that.

non-fixie 

Tough choice. The TY-20 is like the Volkswagen Beetle of derailers, and certainly adds to the clunker appeal, but the Tourney has a certain Robocop charm that would look particularly good on your bike.

Rest_assured

Can't wait to get in on this. Considering calling in sick for work tomorrow to go scroungin'.

trailmix

Right now, I'm leaning towards the RD-TY20, not only for the general rusty crappiness of the thing, but because it weights less and probably works just as well. Also, the RD-TY20 has a cage that's slightly bent inwards. Not yet ready to do the Dance-Of-Death-With-The Spokes, but close enough to keep things interesting.

Anyone want to offer their input?[/QUOTE]

The co-op where I volunteer has several hundred RD-TY20s, I would say $1 is a bit steep. They would probably sell you a whole box of them for one dollar.

Italuminium

that Kuwahara looks great, @VintageRide. Perhaps not in the budget constraints but sure enough in the spirit of the thread.

obrentharris 

Tough call: The RD-TY20 certainly harmonizes well with your pitted cranks, but the mighty Tourney is a good match for the hellenic stays and black-and-blue frame color.

Nice to see the word "Brobdingnagian" dusted off and put to good use!

Brent

Lascauxcaveman 

Leave it to to good ol' Sixty-Fiver to not only educate us on the culture of componentry, but to make such a humble hunk of steel seem almost dignified. With a new found sense of respect for the TY-20, I shall mount that sucker up today and see how she spins!

OK, with your input, I will reduce the assumed market value to an extravagant $.50 for the purposes of this build. Even though it came on an other free, badly rusted bike, it kinda-sorta has to be worth something, I mean, it's a major component and it seems to function.

Sixty Fiver

I try and save these at the co-op as when we are looking for a cheap functional derailleur these outperform many derailleurs with loftier pedigrees... it isn't a Suntour V series but if you are looking to shift a 14-28 it has decent capacity and they are nearly indestructible.

We recycle most of the lesser clones as their quality tends to be bottom of the barrel and if you come across a later model, Japanese made Skylark (SL10) you have to appreciate the level of quality in what was an entry level derailleur.



This is the Falcon copy... they make well over 1,000,000 derailleurs a year.

VintageRide

Now Sixty Fiver has me thinking about what is on this bike - I noticed it says Shimano RS on the derailleur body, the one thing I really dislike, despite the fact that it is there to protect the derailleur is a long steel arm that curves at the bottom, wrapping partially around the lower part. It looks kind of clunky and I would think if you did crash without it this thing could take a bit of abuse. Any thoughts on this particular model?Probably the long cage version as I have a 30 tooth cog on the six speed cassette.

Sixty Fiver

The RS is another Skylark variant... the RS uses a Centeron lever that compensates for the need to overshift and has a slightly altered geometry, this makes the derailleur quite smooth.

VintageRide

Thank you for the clarification on the design - I will hold onto it but just want to try the lighter Mountain version since it is just lying around.

zukahn1 

Just a quick update got the Sakai assembled with 8speed Sora STI's and basicaly junk parts on hand, paired with Deore DX Dr's and MAFAC brakes everything seems to work still need some more working to get eveything just right maybe a couple of part changes and adjusting some bartape and better seat.

OldsCOOL

That looks like a Huffy at a quick glance.