PugRider

winter beater by Eat More Plants1, on Flickr

At the beginning of the fall, I was driving by and saw this bike on the side of the road with a "free--scrap aluminum" sign taped on the top tube. For shame! I noticed it had a destroyed rear wheel and a decent-looking 105 group, so I snatched it up.

Trek 1400 by Eat More Plants1, on Flickr

All stripped down. I think it's either very late 80s/early 90s vintage. Lots of "galvanic corrosion" or whatever keeping various parts stuck on. Separating the stem from the fork took a few days of manhandling, but it eventually broke free, none the worse for wear.

winter beater by Eat More Plants1, on Flickr

The rear dropouts are spaced for 126mm hubs, so my Craigslist/ebay surfing options for a replacement rear wheel were limited. Almost everything out there is modern-spaced (130mm, I want to say?), so eventually I just gave up and ordered a new wheel for $23 from Niagara Cycle, along with most of the consumables I needed. I keep telling myself that the wheels don't need to match because it's just a winter beater, but you know how that goes...

winter beater by Eat More Plants1, on Flickr

I'm probably going to just order a cheap set of clipless pedals, but in the meantime I found these Wellgos in my bins. It's nice to see a plastic set of pedals come with serviceable bearings. I gave them a fresh repack and they feel pretty good, actually.

winter beater by Eat More Plants1, on Flickr

Here's some paint corrosion. The bottom bracket came out fine, surprisingly enough. There was some paint corrosion on the crankset, too, so I sanded that a bit.

winter beater by Eat More Plants1, on Flickr

This saddle is quite comfortable.

winter beater by Eat More Plants1, on Flickr

I see why everyone likes these Paselas. They ride nice, and I wanted something with some tread for the winter. I'm not going to be trudging through the snow or anything, but I wanted something for the cruddy winter streets. They were very difficult to mount on the rims, though. Super-tight.

winter beater by Eat More Plants1, on Flickr

I'm really digging the orange bar tape. I think it goes nice with the blue.

Took it out for a quick spin this morning, and it felt great. Super-smooth; more aggressive than my Fuji Sportif but still feels comfortable. It weighed in at around 22 pounds. The only thing I'm nervous about is the "bonded aluminum" thing. It felt nice and tight riding it for a few minutes, though. If something was drastically wrong I would have noticed it right away; let's hope it stays that way.

So this was a fun little project. I guess after you put a dime into a free bike you're underwater, but it's always nice tinkering with bikes, and it's a special feeling when you get out there on the road and it rides nice and smooth and fresh, knowing that you had your hands on every single little part. Good stuff.

Dale Alan

Congrats,nice rig built on a budget. I like Treks of that age. I am with you on tape,I think it goes well with the blue.

coolcamaro12

I can't believe someone would throw out a bike like that. Are you going to use some cheap blue paint to cover the dings? It would probably hold up over the winter better.

PugRider

Yeah I was thinking about some paint, but I probably should have done that with everything off the bike. I'm not sure why it was left to be scrapped on the side of the road; a few weeks later I brought some items to my city's residential drop-off center and gasped in horror to see a beautiful black Univega mixte at the bottom of the dumpster (strict rules there about diving, or I would have went in!); it was in much better shape than this Trek is. I think people who aren't into bikes just don't have any use for them, and don't know what to do with them. Oh well.

arex

A lot of people are, unfortunately, used to disposable Walmart bikes, and think they're ALL cheap crap.

YouthxCrew

That's my experience. In my neighborhood, most bikes I see are like this, and the few very nice bikes I see are treated the same as X-Mart trash. There's a man with a rusty, dirty, uncared for Peugeot PKN10 that gets ridden as roughly as the xmart mountain bikes every else rides. It makes me nearly cry every time I see him.

MrCoffee

Have you considered the possibility that there may be a stigma to owning and riding a bicycle? Most of the general population considers them to be the transportation of last resort; an "inferior product", if you will. The prevailing attitude is that "bicycles are for kids" or "I had a bike when I was in grade school". The lowly bicycle is usually what a person who has either lost a driver's license or had a vehicle impounded uses to get around with. Unfortunately, a step-through bike, even if it is a mixte, is even less desirable than a "boy's bike", because it's a "girl's bike". Around these parts, bums use bikes to collect cans and bottles out of garbage cans and dumpsters. It's sad, but bikes don't have much of a reputation. We are in the minority.

qclabrat

yikes, death of another mixte

bike looks great, esp the orange tape,

now go pull off the cranks and spot paint the corroded area, don't make us call you an abuser

PugRider

Ha I'll get right on it. I'm not averse to painting, but I wanted to make sure it doesn't fall apart before I invest that sort of time in it.

Interesting discussion about perception, though. I don't know where I read it, but there was a theory in some circles that the back end of the 70s-80s bike boom prompted the rise of the toy store bike (hell, my first two bikes, which I thought were awesome and still do, came right from Toys 'R' Us), which, well, reinforced the perception that a bike is a toy. And I don't fault hobo/dui/guy riding to work in construction boots on an ill-fitting Roadmaster woman's bike. My final thought on those riders is, well, hey, at least they're riding a bike. I save my scorn for the 2-3 unscrupulous clist flippers who beat me to (most) all the cool bikes that are still cheap out there. The only flip I've ever done was a Trek 1100 (similar to this one, actually, but welded, with a nice Suntour group and in much better shape), and I went through that thing soup to nuts, replaced everything that needed replaced. I made a sweet profit, but I feel like I earned it. Argh, don't get me started on (I think the term here is "DKO") these guys.

Dave Cutter

It might be unfair to blame "Toys R' Us" for any bicycle misperceptions. There was no Toys R' Us before 1978. And bicycles (in America) had already been considered toys.... for decades. I think most people blame Henry Ford for his affordable car relegating bicycles to children's toys. My Dad's 1936 Rollsfaster was considered a very pricey toy. However... cars remained luxury's in most of Europe and there the bicycle flourished as affordable transportation.

However... the toy perception and the [then] new big box stores of the 70's-80's did alter where most people shopped for bicycles. And how much they became willing to pay. My 1963 Schwinn Varsity sold for just under $100 when new. That was a weeks pay (or more) for most men in those days.

BTW.... your winter beater is AWESOME!!!!!

mountaindave 

Good save!

bradtx

PugRider, +1 WRT the save.

I have some cheap resin platforms on my beater bike and they're fine for it. If I want clipless, I'll just borrow from another bike. 22 lb. is about average for an older aluminum bike.

Brad

MrCoffee

Exactly. It's those flippers who are keeping affordable bikes away from those who need them, and will appreciate them the most. I recently visited a bank ordered auction, and saw one dealer loading a bundle of low-end bikes on the back of his pickup truck. I can be nearly 100% certain that he will fetch 10 times the amount he paid for them. Of course, he would give anybody who came within 100' of his truck the evil eye. Sure, it's his property but I will never do business with someone who has such a trashy attitude.

I saw another flipper at that auction who acquired a vintage Colnago for $500.00, bragging as if he had just won the lottery. I have no doubt in my mind that both of these idiots will find a buyer. There's always a fool and and his money to part with. Myself? I know exactly what that Colnago looks like, and know well enough to avoid it, even if I did have enough money to pay top dollar. I saw absolutely nothing to to get any joy from at that auction. A bike shop owner who truly cared for, and loved his customers had lost his business. What's there to like about that? Now I no longer have a repair shop that's within walking distance.

By the way: I have a Pacific mountain bike, girl's frame bum bike that I am going to (I hope) keep as my winter beater. I tried tightening the front brake caliper, but snapped the bolt off when I torqued it down just a little too much. I guess if I can't find another cheap brake caliper, it'll go on the back of a scrapper's pickup truck. Wish me luck on that!

pastorbobnlnh 

@PugRider, fantastic find on an older decent Trek! The need for a winter bike might not make sense to those living in warmer climates, but to those of us in New England, in makes so much sense. If we want to continue riding and don't have the time to do a major cleaning and re-lubing after each ride, we only have two choices: 1. Don't ride at all. or 2. Find a free or cheap, decent bike, which can serve us when all the salt, sand, snow, and ice hits the roads.

If you don't mind, I'd like to share my own recent "Trek Winter Beater for Free Story."

Our Town "Stump Dump" encourages recycling, repurposing, and reusing. In early November I found an '85-'86 Trek 830 Antelope frameset next to the pile. It was missing wheels, saddle and seatpost, had exceptionally rusty bars and a few other bits. The frame and fork, however, were nearly pristine, with only a few minor scratches in the paint. Also it was a large size (rarely found at the dump) with lots of clearence for large tires. While almost all of the drive components needed major refurbishment, I had everything I needed in cleaned and ready spares (almost all had been found at the dump), ready to be mounted. Other then tires and tubes, what you see I had on hand.



I call it my "Almost A Fat Tire C&V Bike." Those are 2.5 inch tires. I had to use another dump find fork to achieve enough clearance. So far, it is a blast to ride!



Everything except the grips, seat post/saddle, tires/tubes, and bottle cages, came from the dump.

PugRider

Those tires are certainly monsters, but it works. Love those handlebars too.

qclabrat

I also don't flip bikes, occasionally bought a bike to strip some parts or a frame to get rid of parts, but never as a profit intended

Had a co-worker who would always brag about a get CL find and how much he sold it off for on auction and how much he made by inflating the shipping, yadayada.... as if I really cared

I'm started getting more active on this forum, as most here are not flippers and are support with those interested in the engineering and craftsman aspect of the sport and equipment.

During the day, you folks are more my co-workers than those outside my office. You offer support, answer my queries in the timely basis, provide feedback when needed, set me straight when I stray, and all those warm and fuzzies. BTW: it's annual assessment time at work if you haven't figured already.....

qclabrat

another great build Pasterbob, have the same Bullmoose type bars on a Trek which I moved to a Klein
one of the most comfortable riding positions and perfect for a winter bike, IMO

orangeology

awesome build @PugRider and @pastorbobninh !
much inspiring.

PugRider

Thanks for the nice comments everyone. Went on a quick little 10-miler this a.m. and it felt great. The front shifter boss has come loose, so I'll be experimenting with some JB Weld at some point, but these are the types of things I expected!

newbie101

This is true in part. As daily transport, any form of transportation aside from a car is perceived as being inferior, a designation of lower social status and income. This includes taking the bus, bicycling, and walking. I'm speaking of the US of course.

However, bicycling is definitely accepted as a fitness/recreational/outdoors activity.

So, yes, cycling is stigmatized as a form of transportation, but definitely not as a form of recreation and means of fitness.

Also, IME, if you have what others consider to be a sharp and/or expensive looking bicycle, you will actually be perceived as a high status person, regardless of the actual cost of your bicycle.

---

There are certain cities, such as SF and certain parts of the bay area, and Portland, which have a strong cycling culture, but those cities are not the norm. Many of the larger college campuses have a strong cycling culture: Davis, Madison, etc. as well.

I suppose it's important to say the serenity prayer with regards to American's views on bicycling as a method of commuting or general transportation.

mountaindave 

That has happened to me on an aluminum frame before. Scuff the paint a bit in the area to be glued and the on bottom of the shifter boss - it'll hold nicely. Give it a day or so to cure.

pastorbobnlnh 

Also use isopropyl alcohol (carefully on the bare metal because it will dissolve paint) to make certain any oil, wax, polish, etc., is removed before applying the JB Weld.

@newbie101, just curious, is there a tool or program, which measures "Cycling Culture" and determines it's strength, objectively? Or is this more of an impression which is subjective from observer to observer? From my limited experience of living out here in the woods and mountains of a small NH town, I just don't understand what is "Cycling Culture." I've read the wikipedia page, but it seems so wide open--- sort of like when I hear in my profession that someone is "spiritual." I think I'll start a thread and see what folks say. I hope you will join in.

And now back to @PugRider and your regularly scheduled program--- "C&V Winter Beaters on the Cheap!"

non-fixie 

Well put! My sentiments exactly.

pastorbobnlnh 

Update: After today's snow ride. The wide tires get the job done!