lostarchitect 

+1, and personally I think the spirit of the thing pretty much requires you to BUILD a bike, not buy one for $25 and rehab it. Correct me if I'm wrong, here.

David325

Thank you Rob and lostarchitect for clearing this up for everyone. Yes, the contest involves honesty. No, we are not going to try to "prove" this or that. This is all for fun, guys! The major premise is the building part. Yes, a lot of us have received things for free. And finding things is indeed a huge part of this hobby. But the contest centers on the idea of the unique build process, which, in my opinion, is one of the best parts of the bike hobby!

RobE30

Exactly^. Enough discussion, on to the builds!

lostarchitect 

Sweet. I have a handsome frame I got for $50 I'm working on. It'll certainly end us costing me more than $150, because I am incapable of not overspending, but if I can keep it under $250 I'll be happy.

edit: I just added up what I spent already. No way this is going to be a velo-cheapo. It'll still be cheap by my ridiculous standards, though!

RobE30

Let's see some pictures! @lostarchitect

lostarchitect 

I am building the wheels now. Here is the frame. This was kindly passed on to me by another forum member who only asked for the super cheap price he paid for it. It's going to be a 3 speed drop bar city bike. I have a SA alloy shell hub I'm building into a Velocity Twin Hollow rim for it.

Being brutally honest about the costs, and assuming I don't use the Brooks saddle I planned on for this build (at least, not until the contest is over), I'll still be into the bike for $350. A big part of that is building the wheels, which have cost me $40 for the rear hub, $25 for the front, $48 for spokes and nipples, $50 for rims and $8 for rim tape. That's $171 there. I could use some beat up 27" wheels my friend gave me free and remove all that cost, but that's not how I'm going to actually ride the bike.

nlerner

Seems like some forum members want a separate bike flippah' DKO contest.

noglider 

@lostarchitect, that's the best fork stand evah.

Arrowana

What about paint? I've got a Sekai frame that I stripped off all the paint and rust, and bought the supplies to paint it. Should that be factored into the cost?

big chainring 

Hmmm. Some interesting views on what is "cheap", what "building" a bike is. Funny how we see things differently. My point of view is skewed because of previous contests and the previous winners. Also the $1500 PX-10 entry last time. Just build a bike and see what happens. I figure I'll have several entries because this is what I do all winter anyway. Let's build something!

CliffordK

Well,
I have a couple of frames that I've been meaning to build up...

But, I don't know if I can keep it under $150 and still want to ride it.

I guess that means building a bike I love and cranking out a lot of miles. Hopefully some of the parts in my "bin" still have prices on them, otherwise there will be a lot of guessing.

As far as "metric centuries"... one of my most memorable rides... from eons ago was what I call my "megameter ride", done over about 10 days.

CliffordK

Oh,
Is there a limit on when the build date was?

I completed my Steyr/Massif Hybrid on October 9[SUP]th[/SUP] (although there is still quite a bit of touch-up work left to do).

It is a little hard to attribute a value to since a few parts were taken off of several bikes, and lots of used parts bought for cash. But...

Mongoose Massif - $200
Steyr Clubman - Free
3T Handlebar Stem - Came off of my Colnago... been depreciated to zero years ago.
Handlebars and brake levers - $20 Even re-used the handlebar tape which was in OK shape.
Front wheel??? Maybe $10 as part of a junker.
Cranks??? $10 or so.
RD - $5
FD - Haven't built a mount yet, have to look up the price of the derailleur.
Stem Levers - $5
Square steel tubing, $10
Little bit of bookshelf - ???
Tubing and a couple of braze-ons from bent up Magna - $5
Mig Wire and Gas, Tig Wire and gas ???
Brake and Derailleur Cables - $10 to $15
Front Tire???

I'm estimating about 200 miles on the bike so far, but could add a speedo next year.

I suppose it is time for the next big build.

Velocivixen

I was so excited to join this contest. I thought, like last summer's contest, I could buy a neglected bike for cheap, make it rideable then ride it. If that meant cables/housing & bearings then that was fine. I see, now, that this contest is different. It seems like "building" a bike is the main Idea, then ride.

I just bought a 1988 Specialized Rockhopper Comp for $60, did new grease/bearings all around, cables/housings & pads I already had. Cleaned it up & was gonna enter. But I didn't "build" it - I gave it an "overhaul". Oh well. I'll watch the contest anyway.

CliffordK

There would be different levels of "builds". Is there a judge?
I could imagine buying (or otherwise acquiring) a 1960's bike.
New Cranks, Pedals, Wheels, Bearings, Brakes, etc... would be the same as a frame-up build.

big chainring 

I was just in my workshop and looked around at my bikes. Almost all of them, except for their "build" dates, would qualify for the contest. I'm a velo - cheapo conniseur.

RobE30

All I meant by my comment was that it should be a recent find, not something that you picked up years ago. Just my .02.
@Velocivixen, that sounds like a fine entry

big chainring 

+1

Velocivixen

Good to know. Unfortunately I didn't take any "before" photos as it wasn't that
dirty. Shifter did not shift at all & brakes barely worked due to cables stick in housing. I might look for something really​ a mess or incomplete, ancient & see what I can create.

nlerner

In that last two contests and likely in this one, I'm aiming toward a transformation of sorts. Take something that wasn't intended to be a particular kind of bicycle and try to make it so with a limited budget. @CliffordK, your Steyr/Mongoose is definitely in that category!

thenomad

Instead of the angst about the rules and who gets what for winning why not vote on 12 "winners" and make them into a calendar or computer wallpaper set?
I'm in and I'll use my Gitane XO Cyclocross bike I recently acquired for $80. Not the best acquisition price but I wanted that bike... and now its mine. I'm happy!

ergillma

I agree that the mileage points should be eliminated. Make the contest about building the best cheap bike.

obrentharris 

I agree with several others here that we don't have to get too wrapped up in the minutiae of the rules. Just build a cheap bike and have a good time at it. Show the rest of us so that we can admire your handiwork.

I applaud @nlerner for his approach and am in awe of his skills at pulling it off. I also applaud @Velocivixen for her project: Isn't "buy a neglected bike for cheap, make it rideable then ride it" the crux of what many of us on this forum like to do?

I'm looking forward to seeing both of their entries as well as all the others that have been described here!

Brent

non-fixie 

Am I correct in assuming that the rules as laid down in post # 1 are still the official rules?

David325

Yep- although with the feedback here we will likely make some minor changes.

non-fixie 

Thanks. But if by 'minor' you mean a cap on riding distance or costs than I will take that as a 'Nope'.

Let us know please when the rules are final, so we know what the playing field looks like.