Beater bike
10-13-17, 09:37 PM
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Beater bike
So what's your beater bike or around town bike? racks? fenders ?
Mine is a Giant Momentum 7 speed. I think I'll look for a cheap used hybrid.
Mine is a Giant Momentum 7 speed. I think I'll look for a cheap used hybrid.
Last edited by jimbo.; 10-14-17 at 10:45 AM.
10-14-17, 01:36 AM
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10-14-17, 04:22 AM
#3
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An old Bridgestone MB-6 that I got at a garage sale for $5 USD after it had been stored outside for over a decade. It took a couple days of work and a lot of new stuff to make it rideable. It is still stored outside where it it handy.
10-14-17, 07:06 AM
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Hmm. I have to say that despite the fact that the nearest town is 10 minutes by automobile, I'm still thinking that I'd like to have a beater. Ideally, I would like to build up an old Huffy beach cruiser. Coaster brake. Front basket. Fun. I've got an old GT mtb frame with a seriously-bent derailleur hanger. I'm going to use my Park Dag-2 Derailleur Hanger Alignment Gauge and see if I can straighten it, but if it cracks or breaks off, I can always make it into a single-speeder. Thinking realistically, I would always have my doubts about the integrity of a derailleur hanger that was straightened after being that severely bent. I should just turn it into a single anyway.
10-14-17, 07:18 AM
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1992 Trek 8000 rigid MTB I got for $40. Its got a 1 x 8 drivetrain, 4 inch riser bars, 26" x 2.0 street tires, and cushy cruiser bike seat.
10-14-17, 09:57 AM
#7
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I have one bike for the past ~22yrs, it does it all. The only time I've ever considered another bike was for winter riding, road salt is really hard on bike components.
10-14-17, 10:06 AM
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And this pertains to touring how?
10-14-17, 10:53 AM
#9
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Old Mountain bike*, It's not pretty, but it sits in the Basement, wheels With Studded Tires, ready for when there is Ice On The Road.
....then its a thing of beauty
*brand and model are meaningless in this thread..
...
....then its a thing of beauty
*brand and model are meaningless in this thread..
...
Last edited by fietsbob; 10-14-17 at 03:16 PM.
10-14-17, 12:02 PM
#11
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Mine is an '86 Canondale SR400. The bike fell out of favor after I got my '88 Canondale criterium and it was banished to the far corners of the garage.
It is now a double 30/42 x 7 flat bar urban/commuter with an old Blackburn rack. It is not junk as the components are good but it has enough scuffs, scrapes, and battle scars to meet the beater category.
I am only able to stuff 28mm on it, but I use Kenda Karvs which are a shallow knobby. While not as comfortable as a cruiser/mountain bike tire it does allow me to ride pavement and hard dirt at a decent pace.
John
It is now a double 30/42 x 7 flat bar urban/commuter with an old Blackburn rack. It is not junk as the components are good but it has enough scuffs, scrapes, and battle scars to meet the beater category.
I am only able to stuff 28mm on it, but I use Kenda Karvs which are a shallow knobby. While not as comfortable as a cruiser/mountain bike tire it does allow me to ride pavement and hard dirt at a decent pace.
John
10-14-17, 12:06 PM
#12
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I picked up a $15 1987 Schwinn Cimarron at a garage sale at least five years ago. It was rusty, beat to within an inch or two of being scrap. Treated the rust, refurbished it, and its been my go to bike ever since.
10-14-17, 01:50 PM
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Dont have one.
Lifestyle choices dictate riding is fit in as leisure and not main transportstion.
Used to have a rigid '92 Dback Ascent EX that i built up with parts from an '87 Dback Apex. All Deerhead components- sweet.
Just wasnt used enough to warrant hanging space on the wall.
Lifestyle choices dictate riding is fit in as leisure and not main transportstion.
Used to have a rigid '92 Dback Ascent EX that i built up with parts from an '87 Dback Apex. All Deerhead components- sweet.
Just wasnt used enough to warrant hanging space on the wall.
10-14-17, 02:07 PM
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I bought a couple old Peugeots to be my beater bikes. They turned out to be so nice to ride that I sunk all sorts of work and special parts into them, and they aren’t really beaters any more. So I recently bought an Astra frame (Motobécane’s cheap sub-brand) and I will see if that one suits as a beater.
My current Peugeot “beater” so you can see what I mean.
My current Peugeot “beater” so you can see what I mean.
Last edited by Aubergine; 10-14-17 at 02:11 PM.
10-14-17, 02:12 PM
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I got a Trek 700 that was an inheritance. I was actually thinking of doing some sort of challenge to myself, and see just how cheap I could make a tourer. I would have rigged it up for touring using the cheapest, yet working parts, go for a tour and try to keep it as cheap as possible. THAT bike might be a good candidate for a beater.
10-14-17, 04:39 PM
#17
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Squeeze it!
10-14-17, 05:13 PM
#18
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1992 Trek 950 rigid mountain bike. The only problem is that it is very clean and original, so I only leave it unattended for short durations.
Before that was a used Trek FX 7.2 I got for cheap, but I ended up giving that bike to my dad.
Before that was a used Trek FX 7.2 I got for cheap, but I ended up giving that bike to my dad.
10-14-17, 05:41 PM
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I've never understood the need to have a "beater" anything. Over on the guitar forums they ask the same questions.
Like others, I own one bike. That means it does it all.
Like others, I own one bike. That means it does it all.
10-14-17, 06:31 PM
#20
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Mine was a frankenbike - Raleigh M60 frame with a fork off a Trek mountain bike and components I had laying around.
Sadly, I lent it to my brother right after I installed a stem riser. Apparently, I screwed up the install and didn't have time to check it. He rode it to work and back for a month with "the steering's a little loose."
So now I have no beater until I learn to replace star nuts or find another decent fork.
Sadly, I lent it to my brother right after I installed a stem riser. Apparently, I screwed up the install and didn't have time to check it. He rode it to work and back for a month with "the steering's a little loose."
So now I have no beater until I learn to replace star nuts or find another decent fork.
10-15-17, 09:37 AM
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10-15-17, 09:41 AM
#22
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As for guitars, it would be foolish to drag a vintage Martin or a high end acoustic to a beach party. I used to play guitar, but now I play ukulele, I won't take an expensive one to the beach. I don't have a beater, but I have one that is less expensive to use.
John
10-15-17, 11:31 AM
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And this pertains to touring how?
ON the topic, which is in fact just touring enthusiasts talking about other related aspects of their cycling needs or interests, I have several beaters, and a rain bike. A 90 Schwinn Moab only gets used to pull a trailer full of recycling a half mile up the hill once a week on a road that the trucks have a hard time coming down. A Schwinn world tourist with huge wald baskets and torn but comfortable saddle is my farmers market/downtown shopping bike. The rain bike is a 91 Cannondale crit with raceblade fenders. The others go with me when I travel to cities with more bike theft.
Remember, a beater bike does not have to be crappy, it just has to look like crap. Badly scraped ultegra can be gotten cheap. In fact only my beater bikes have modern integrated shifters and components! On mid eighties Japanese frames with rear racks(Maruishi and Panasonic).
While a tweaker will steal anything, its the guys who carry battery powered rotary tools around the downtown and train station bike lockups you want to foil. Road rashed Dura ace is not as lucrative to flog. Spattered with ugly brown paint makes it worse.
10-15-17, 12:13 PM
#24
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Why don't you ask this guy - he has a Giant Momentum too and I think he lives near you. He also shares your interest in trolling bike forums, especially the Touring subforum:
I must agree with you here, more $$ = better finish, frame, components, wheels etc. Better stuff = I'm more comfortable and happier. Look at the folks with brooks saddles. Why? Because it makes them happier and more comfortable. I really enjoy my carbon road bicycle. I get around town well enough with my Giant momentum, nice finish, I might swap out the deraileur sometime.
Some of you consider my Trek 920 expensive, particular with the brifter swap...
Some of you consider my Trek 920 expensive, particular with the brifter swap...
Radwagon
Light to UL bicycle
gravel & tire width
"A lot of what you pay for with expensive touring bikes is that it looks prettier..."
10-15-17, 12:56 PM
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