I think the Packers arrived at a gunfight with knives, but at least Matt Ryan has a shot at the big ring. I like your clunker and the old tape enhances it.

1/23 13+ miles / walked one hill
1/24 8 miles

For the record, have been riding the clunker sans spare tube, patch's or any tools. Good candidate to just ditch and dial a ride.

Foot contraption is surviving. Perhaps a testimony to using Finish Line Century lube. No way to service these bearings or whatever spins in them. Hope to ride them to the end.

Thanks for the wakeup post Crank Addict! After spending forty years on motorcycle and just now going back to bicycles I've forgotten a few basic things. I've been riding 6 to ten mile loops for months now while not carrying anything. You mentioned patches and the thought of walking home eight miles in SPD clip shoes....not good. Time for a backpack.

oh yeah- I've started over on the beater challenge with a $20 Royce union I found today.

We've had 2 days of decent weather, so I was able to fit 23 miles into 3 rides on the Executive. I am actually beginning to like the Shimano 3 speed hub.

Shakedown ride 4 miles
1/25 11 miles
1/26 4 miles
1/26 8 miles
1/29 4 miles
1/31 7 miles
2/1 6 miles
2/2 3 miles
2/5 12 miles

I had the same (if shorter) arc after 20 years of motorcycles I came back to bicycles. crazily enough I have not been on a moto for almost 2 years! even though I still have 3 I can't let go of.

also. I need pics of that $20 Royce Union.

Just a quick 3 mile jaunt in the fresh snow to test the uglybike. The old 'Goose may be my favorite trail and stunt bike. Perfect fit, very agile and light.

Not bad for 40.00

[IMG][/IMG]

Here is my entry, bought for $10 NZ, rusty as hell but workable, need shifters, cables etc, then Re oil and regrease.

Pulled this from a deep mudhole. It had been outside for years. Only thing done so far is completed spray down with full strength Simple Green and then a water rinse off by hand spray bottle, then spray down of moving parts with lithium grease (goes on in a foam like shaving cream). Steering was the ONLY movable part when I got it. I've been searching but haven't figured out the age yet. IMG_20170128_163521.jpg The forks are full chrome with the top portions painted black over it. The odd (half ridged/half cabled??) shimano center pull brakes might help date it.

Is that to carry better walking shoes or tools to fix the bike?

I think a tool and patch kit. I tinkered with Nishikis back in the seventies as the motorcycle dealer I wrenched for in Indiana was a bike nut and carried them as well. I also had an '86 Schwinn Sierra but got frustrated during the blizzard of '91 in Fort Wayne and traded it for a snow blower. I should have kept the bike. It was a little heavy but a pretty nice ride for the smoother hills up there.

Small world. I bought my '86 Sierra from Kohlinger Schwinn on the east side of Ft. Wayne. I still have it, currently with drop bars.

Ok, I have to stop briefly before I start to add value to the bike though I fear I may have tipped the scales by what little I've done. After this private viewing I am going to give way to my semi carnal nature and strip that baby down for a proper scrubbing - I can't help but want to unfuggly it.

Canadian made Vulcan SD10 - Before. Purchased for $60 from the thrift store simply fr the bars and pedals with the intent to replace and flip:



and my beater challenge CL Ad:

Ride like a Falcon with this totally rad Vulcan
Be the cool kid on the block with a ride that makes the girls swoon. This refurbished Canadian classic will get the wind flowing through your sweet sweet beard.

Single Speed - because you can - HTFU right!

Plush diamond upholstered saddle reminiscent of the boogy van era. Who knows what will happen on it...
Dual coloured grips with unique third hand braking - SHOW STOPPER!
Asymmetrical Bilateral pedals. Original design.
Lovely patina to accent any plaid formal wear.

Must sell today as I am moving out of Province.
$76 Firm! Cash only. Meet me by the skytrain station.
No triflers - I hate Italian cake.

yeah.... i can't see you getting more than $65 for that...

$59, and I won't take a cent more.

This has been one of my favorite threads to follow and I’m dying to join this challenge! I am having a tough time finding something in bad enough shape and something that fits me. It seems small beater MTB’s and roadbikes are pretty scarce by me. I’ll keep looking. Keep the posts coming!

Here's what I was starting with: a frame that looks a lot like a late 60s or early 70s Raleigh Grand Prix, but there aren't the distinctive three holes for a head badge, so I'm wondering if it is instead a Carlton equivalent.



It came with headset, brake calipers, parts, and levers.

I thought I'd try for the cheap fixie aesthetic on my beater (chopped steel drop bars flipped as bullhorns, original Weinmann levers with extensions chopped off), but I decided it was just too ugly and didn't perform particularly well:



Instead, I used a set of steel upright bars and stem I had on the basement floor. The odd thing about these is that the bolt that tightens the stem also tightens the bars. Not a great design but it seems to work.











Here are my costs:



I forgot to include pedals, but those came from the box of crap. Otherwise, the wheels, bb, and crankset came from a complete bike that was given to me by a friend who was moving out of town, the saddle came from [MENTION=238716]TimmyT[/MENTION] as packing material with a fork I bought from him recently, the bell pulled off from a trash find. I'm listing those parts I paid actual money for: tires, one brake cable (the other was recycled), brake levers, the chain, seat post, seat post bolt and nut.

I just had it out for a test ride and everything felt good. That saddle is quite comfortable! I'm shortly going to take it out for around a 30k jaunt, so we'll see if it assplodes.

I contemplated the same drop chop for my bike too but decided I really wanted them intact for another build. I like the ghetto effect though.

Problem: that bike looks far to nice. You are never going to be able to sell it for less than $76

Kidding, but it is a problem rebuilding a bike and not trying to make it look better. I'm trying to use those goofy CL ads for inspiration and already have another bike in the que that sweetly reflects a crappy attempt at a flip (or something).

Some 'nice and nasty' bikes depicted here ;-)

Yesterday was pretty funny as I visited a LBS. Was gifted a longer seat post (Wald 920 -steel in 18" length!). Pity, they think I'm nutz riding such a rat. Anyways, I've now upped my riding efficiency and finally have some leg extension. I really do LIKE riding it.

To a thief, I suppose it might deter them with the goofy looking extra long post, low bars, heavy weight and rusty. Haven't left unlocked in any populous campus areas yet but by the house I just leave it outside. I think most who would attempt to ride off with it likely would crash. Fixed gear, the pedal 'traps', and extra drop position.

I haven't yet given up on the most uncomfortable -Schwinn Approved- Messenger brand saddle. Its awful. Worse now that I've raised the height to accommodate my inseam, but man that saddle is a real azz-hatchet. Depending on what to do with the saddle situation, could see going for a 30 miler. Right now I've been doing my short 8 and 13 m. approx. loops. Its a brutal plastic covered solid metal frame with no cushion seat.

From todays ride, Super Bowl Sunday.

[IMG]DSC_1351 by carrera247, on Flickr[/IMG]

[IMG]DSC_1350 (2) by carrera247, on Flickr[/IMG]

[IMG]DSC_1349 (2) by carrera247, on Flickr[/IMG]

[IMG]DSC_1348 (2) by carrera247, on Flickr[/IMG]

Ride report! I took the orange beater for a Boston neighborhood loop. First stop was Bussey Hill in Arnold Arboretum in the Jamaica Plain part of town:



From there I headed east towards downtown, finding myself on the Kennedy Greenway between the North End and Faneuil Hall/Quincy Market area:



I cruised along the periphery of the Boston peninsula, then crossed the Charles River down at the transition point between river and Boston Harbor (which is a series of locks). In the background of this pic, you can see TD Garden, where the Celtics were beating the Clippers, and to the right is a stanchion of the Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge, intended to mirror the look of the Bunker Hill Monument.



At this point, I was in Charlestown for just a bit, and then into Cambridge. I stopped on MIT's campus for a pic in front of the Frank Gehry designed Stata Center:



I made my way back south through Boston's Kenmore neighborhood and came upon some wild turkeys not far from home:



Total mileage was 17.6, so let's call it 18 miles or 32k, adding in my earlier test ride. I'm 40% of the way there!



Everything felt pretty good on this rig with a couple of exceptions: Those plastic pedals would snap, crackle, and pop on a regular basis and then developed a squeak with a couple of miles to go. I'm not sure they're rebuildable, but I need to take a look. The rear brakes squealed like a banshee and the front barely grabbed at all, so I'll need to toe in the rear a bit more and swap in some better pads for the front. However, I was very pleased with the feel of the Michelin Dynamic 700 x 28mm tires. They ride much better than I expected for $10.50 each.

Woot! Woot! Nice! I'm glad you repurposed that pink saddle. It's hardcore beater to have a pink saddle on a firetruck red frame.

7 thumbs up:

The Ugly 'Goose after a night ride in the snow. The bike wont be ridden in daylight because it really is ugly.
[IMG][/IMG]

Nice beater!
Mr. Gehry should have entered the competition. His cut-and-past hack job is much more frightful than any of the bikes listed here. I suppose his commission exceeded $67 however.
Brent

I'm shocked I didn't snap this one up from Craigslist.

Hey, that kinda ugly don't come cheap!

A little more progress on mine, got 3 frames for $5 one had some Shimano 7 speed shifters on it, both not working, it also had some very cheap V brakes which are now on it, also get a cheap but better headset off one of the donor frames.
I have got the shifters working again, I just need to clean up and re oil the derailleurs on the entry bike, then cable it up and install one set of brake pads and a tyre and True the wheels, cover the seat and install some grips.
So it's nearly finished