I've found it to be very satisfying to create a bike from various parts, with function first and form second. There are some that may reverse that order, which is also cool.
For example, the simple act of adding more gears , MTB shifters and a different bar to a comfortable old road bike. If you've built up an interesting bike, please post a pic so I can get more ideas.

For keepers, I've begun building them up from frames rather than just completely overhauling.
There isn't typically much in the 25"/64cm category around me that's high end, so I've taken to shooting for a mid-level frame and going from there. It takes time to get quality period correct components that aren't priced too high, but that also helps slow down my builds and keeps me from acquiring too much stuff.

A 90 Fuji touring frameset I bought here last week should arrive tomorrow and I'm liking forward to that project, though it'll probably be a winter job.

I like building up from the frame a lot more than stripping everything down, cleaning, and reassembling...though that process is cathartic and put for the frame builds.

OK, more than sometimes.

Worth it's weight in 2nd looks from those who try to buy speed.


It's a sloar thing.


only bidder on eBay


These frames speak to me.


Sometimes, you have to toot your own horn.
Once or twice...


My cousin "wanted to try cycling.."


Flipper. Landfill save (crankset and BB are stuck to the point they'd damage the bike being removed). Current owner loves it. Profit = 0


Don't ask. It drove me nuts.


Another of 1998's banned bikes.

All lookers ROBBIE - you have a way of really tieing builds together.

OK, almost all the time.

My friend finally got his citizenship. This was his prize.


From a great BF builder who may lurk, but is a commuter cyclist now. One of the nicest guys ever on the forum.


I have no idea why I bought this frame, built the bike, or sold it. It was a time I don't remember.


Probably my biggest selling regret.


UCI minimum.


My favorite bike. If there's a reason why I only have 4, this is it.


Speaking of cult bikes.

My heart, Robbie, my heart.

Been there ... done that. I bought the UO-8 as a bare frame, when I worked at a Peugeot/Nishiki dealership. I originally built it up for my wife with a SunTour V-GT rear derailleur, 16-32 freewheel, 52-42 TA Professional crankset, Normandy Luxe Competition hubs, Araya aluminum rims, and Peugeot UO-18 style straight handlebars. I rebuilt it my way when I built my wife a mountain bike and converted the Peugeot into my commuter/beater.

I have never thought of this as creating a bike. My friend who designed and welded his own recumbent frame did that.

I'm in the process now of building a crit bike. Starting with a Rich Adams steel frame, carbon fork. All painted black with no decals, all black components. Really fun build not having to worry about correct parts or messing up a rare frame. I usually build all my bikes.

10 b ikes you have is looks good. How good is your cannondale R400? I have the cannondale R300. Is worth i upgrade my bike? Now for my bikes i have 3 road bikes one TT bike and one mountain bikes. Always i try to upgrade or do changes in the bikes. Pictures no have not all of my bikes is complete now. But what i have do is in one old steel bike when i buy is had 6 speeds freewheel i put different wheels with 9 speeds cassete. Is shifts okay because have the old downtube shifters. In that bike i want replace the stem and put stem adaptor. Also i have replace the crank is was 52/42 i put 53/39. I have replace the seat too. In my mountain bike is had 7 speeds cassete i put 8 speeds cassete and i put 9 speeds shifters. Now i see how i make shift 8 speeds i not know how to replace the freehub and put 9 speeds freehub never i have do that job. The only bike no have touch is one steel road bike. But i want replace the wheels is matrix aurora is some heavy i have wheels fulcrum racing T i think i put in that steel bike

Wow. I sense a theme in most of those bikes, Robbie.

It's a sickness.

Insanity.

Words were never so true.

Very few build them as nice as you do.

Pete, Casey and Robbie could start one heck of a race shop around here.

Yes, really.

There, but for a wife and kids, go I.....

Robbie...all are beautiful builds! But...this one made me wish I had my sunglasses on!!!!! Wow!!! It MUST get noticed a lot!

No pics...yet. However I have a 1970's Dawes frame set that is going to become the modern incarnation of a Clubman. I have a Raleigh Record frame set that is being built up as a performance city bike. I have a Rolling Rock promo folding MTB frame that is getting a Shimano Coasting drive train, sort of a pub cruiser I guess.

Aaron

I really like this. And the red and white Centurion makes me want to pimp mine. Only a little more though.

Well, Tempest,, my 1950s? middleweight was a retro Rat and I had no idea I was following any conventions when I thought her paint scheme up.


Germaine is a standard 1995 Schwinn Cruiser SS in maroon and green the way she came from the factory with white and green fenders and a matching tank, again I'd never seen the tank scheme until I saw a Henderson recently and I got that right too.


Rosa is a 60s lightweight Rollfast, red with white accents, somebody else did the paint before I bought her and the custom chrome springer came today...I was inspired by a 1959 1/2 slightly customized instance I saw...I'm just not enthused about links versus thumbnails right now so this is radio.


I am Saving Tempest on The CABE, my Project Rides thread is called Chapter IV: A New Build.

around my house, we built 3 bikes from frame, so we created all three just the way we wanted them (my daughter built her Fuji)

and my old Raleigh that preceded all this has been rebuilt 3 times in 40 years, to the point that brake calipers are the only original parts on the frame.

My wife has told me I should build my own bikes. I like finding old bikes though and making them my own. Am sure I could build with some practice, but it's outside my how far I am willing to go. I appreciate what others have done and that works for me.

Edit. I'll add a little to this. Yes I did want to create bikes at one point on my life, video games as well. I used to send my ideas to bike companies and Atari as a kid to see if they liked. I remember creating some type of stem/fork combo but it was probably crap. I didn't think they were functional but what did I know, I was like 12. All I got was letters saying thanks. Haha.

Robbietunes has done a fantastic job of form and function.

Don't sell yourself short. Not everything has been thought of.

not there yet, but i love everything in this thread!

Are we including instances where we've had a custom frame built to our spec?
This is a touring/commuting/travel bike I had built by a somewhat local builder back in 2000. Nice lugs, some extra/weird braze-on's, and S&S couplers, finished with a retro paint scheme loosely based on the Raleigh Gran Sport that I used to have.
The parts were pretty retro-ish. Some were pulled out of my parts boxes, some came from e-bay, and stuff like the Nitto bars and stem were purchased new.
It's got about 35,000 miles on it now.




Steve in Peoria

I'm looking at a recently acquired black & blue splatter paint Univega Via Carisma as a project to gradually customize to suit myself.

The first mod was to replace those uncomfortable black flat bars with chrome slight riser bars just to make it more comfortable. Worked well enough I might eventually go with slightly swept back riser bars, after seeing some on local casual group rides -- those albatross type bars.

The Shimano Exage 500 CX groupset is functional but the brake levers and thumbshifters look like gray plastic. Eventually those may go. And maybe something other than basic black cable housing. Blue would go nicely with the splatter paint.

Ditto the functional but ugly black plastic pedals. Although riding them has been a good experience. I've scraped the pedals a couple of times, with no consequences worse than scraped plastic. So any metal pedals will need to be carefully selected.

The tricky bit is keeping the overall functional and utilitarian vibe with the eccentric Via Carisma splatter paint job.