Hey man, 38 spoke wheels are totally artisanal.
---
In slightly more seriousness wrt this thread, I have an aluminum '90s? Trek 1000 I got for free, is the wrong size, and I want to move to the right person in good condition. Certainly looking to spend less than $76 and make ~$0 profit on it. Does that work within the bounds of this premise? How's the freebie factor in to overall value, or are we only dealing with cost?

Couldn't agree more!

Ah yes, good point.

That together with harps and clouds...

But remember we are speaking about time travel.

Hmmmm... I've got an axe, a whipsaw, a spoke shave, a few auger bits and mad workworking skillz. (OK, and all the power tools, too) Maybe I should take the 1776 angle here and hand-build a velocipide or boneshaker from scrap lumber I have sitting around?

(But with drop bars, of course.)



No doubt the 76 miles* would be convincingly hardcore on that!

(*sorry, I'm an American, I don't do kilometers. Did they even have kilometers back in 1776?)

Nice, does the winner have to sell it for $76 to get full credit?

I will gladly donate a box of random bike crap to whomever the OP declares to be the winner based on arbitrary criteria.

And the gauntlet falls! who can resist a box of random bike crap? and I promise to be arbitrary.

I'm in the process of doing exactly that. Just picked up an ugly old MTB frame and will ride it in the snow, in the dark. This isnt a contest, this is just how I roll. I told my wife I needed an ugly bike and this one fits the part.

[IMG][/IMG]

^ Tons of bonus points for riding it without a saddle and chain!

True. But I was thinking 40h rear, 36h front. I can do that.

Bonus points for snow belt states? 76KM in January in Maine is VERY different that 76KM in the Cali bay area.

Top

hah. why do you think I am issuing and not taking the challenge! But actually its at least raining/flooding here for once. and.. gasp... there was frost one or two days.

...to say nothing of without pedals....

instant draisene!

Love this idea.

By my calculation, the last day of this competition is March 27. You'll be in prime mud season by then, right?

Not much gung-ho for this contest but hardcore it is.

Consideration number 1 -
Found this freebie 1966 Schwinn Racer a year or so ago. Much too small for me but do have a freebie repro Lauterwasser bars, hoping to get a stem and then a longer seatpost.

Shifter is trashed. Providing I could make it fit as above, might give it a go. Won't do much servicing. Just squirt it all up with 30W oil - pedals, bb, hubs, headset. Heck with the IGH and shifter, I'll leave it in whatever gear its stuck in. I should have pads and tubes laying around.

Now for the 76 miles. I wouldn't anticipate in any longer distance rides, rather do in 10 mile increments.

[IMG]DSC_0505 by carrera247, on Flickr[/IMG]

I like it. and remember, its 76 kilometers which is a lot less than 76 miles. and if you do it hardcore style you can double or triple and get done pretty quick.

for us urbanites I was thinking another test to see if its a real proper hardcore beater is if you can leave it locked up (or not) outside overnight and its still there in the morning.

I'm thinking this Raleigh of some sort (Grand Prix?) might be a good starting point:

IMG_1029

IMG_1030

I picked it up recently along with a '73 Super Course frameset for $25 for both, so that puts me $12.50 in. Then, there's a rear wheel with an AW 3-speed hub in the storage closet that I trashed picked last fall. Hmm. Wonder how it'll ride with a 26 x 1 3/8" rear wheel and a 27" front?

Do you need to sell the finished bike for $76, or only offer it for sale for $76? If the latter is true, how long must it be offered for sale before it is deemed by the esteemed poobah of the challenge to be a valid rejection of the asking price?

In the US Craigslist is king, but north of the 49th parallel there is kijiji(?) that fills the same purpose. Are our northern brothers and sisters included? If Canada is included in the challenge, what about Mexico? It is part of North America.

Extra points for rust removal? I think I've got my steed...$40 cdn in it so far.

NO need to sell the finished bike: that rule is only if you have spent over $76 (USD.. so do some math if you have to) but you have admittedly spent to much on lipstick and not on the pig.. and you could not reasonably sell the bike for more than $76 without effort. you can test this by offering to sell me the bike for $77 and if I buy it, then you have lost. (and I get a cool bike)

Dang, I had the perfect bike for this, but I painted it blue and parked it in the "community bike " rack in Stockholm WI last fall. Serves me right for letting the wife talk me into N -1.

[QUOTE=clubman;19304637]Extra points for rust removal? I think I've got my steed...$40 cdn in it so far.

[/QUOTE

Bonus for the fenders for sure! the rust, you can take or leave.. its not a beauty contest.

A head start for $20... Motobecane Late 70's early 80's

Gosh, if you used that for the competition you would be sure to win the Big Prize.