AdventureManCO 

Username checks out.

jetboy 

hahahaha. that was nice.

ollo_ollo

Wasn't going to do the Clunker Challenge this year, but got me a Gitane Mixte in May to work on this Fall, so I'm in.

Got it from a cyclist in Salem for $45. It was his mom's & been hanging inside her house in Sausalito, CA "at least 30 years". Front DR was broken so he tossed it, and included 2 used ones(a Simplex and SunTour) for replacements, plus 2 new Kenda tires to be installed.

Pics are after front DR replacement & initial wipe down. The Simplex DR had the connecting pin missing from rear of cage, so I installed the SunTour 7. The saddle mount was still upside down and backwards in the pics, but even after correct installation, saddle is not so great and pretty bouncy. Don

Bicycle Addict

Bicycle Addict

Bicycle Addict

Murray Missile 

The "Bird" is still in the herd, he's collecting dust on my trainer at the moment. I may pull him off and throw a set of 27 X 1-3/8" gumwall knobbies and a vintage rear rack on him and start using him for errands. Between his "svelte" 45 lbs. and the added resistance of the knobbies it should make running to the post office or store a good workout.

nlerner

Hmm, I have two candidates:

#1 : a 1980 Miyata 710. I bought frame/fork/headset/bb/crankset/brakes/stem/FD for $20. A friend gave me the 27" wheelset; the tires are new and cheap. The RD, bars, brake levers/hoods, bar tape, cables/housing, post, saddle came from my stash (pretty much all takeoffs from previous projects). The pedals from the BOC. It's currently listed on CL, though it is my size and a decent rider. I could do 100k without too much suffering.


IMG_2481

#2 : a 1980 Raleigh Sports. A friend trash picked this from his street and passed it along to me. It was complete except for saddle, which I pulled from the stash of take-offs. Otherwise, I replaced brake cables and housing and cleaned it up (this is the before pic). Investment in this one is about $10, I'd estimate. My plan is to give it away to a colleague in need, but I suppose I could eek out 100 kilometers before that happens.


1980 21” lady’s Raleigh Sports

rocks in head 

Spent a few hours on the 4th polishing five pounds of crank. Seriously, did they fill it with lead? Came right apart without any problems, brake parts cleaner got the old grease out of the bearings no problems, let that evaporate really well before re-packing and re-installing after cleaning and waxing the frame.

Coming along slowly, sitting at home waiting for my wife to finally go into labor.
To do:
~try to clean outside of brake and shifter housings
~lube insides of brake housings
~replace brake pads
~reinstall brakes and cable routing clips
~handlebars, brakes, bell, grips
~ride 100km

non-fixie 

This is a well-timed thread. I recently picked up this for €25. Haven't done anything to it for lack of a plan, except break the chain. Might have to go find it again in the trash ...

No idea of the brand. Just a couple of generic decals and no traces of others ever having been there.

jetboy 

that looks pretty nice really- could not be that low on the order with the nice suntour components.

jetboy 

with all the nice bikes in i am tempted to go with this one: i got it for $80 (and could have got it for less, but I felt it was a more than fair price)

so the challenge would be to get it ride ready for under $20. its ok but has a few hacks like the seatpost has a strap as a shim. and the tires are from a motorcycle. so it will be some dumpster diving to get it under $100. (tip: go to performance bicycle and they often have 80% tires thrown in the recycling bin)

non-fixie 

Thanks. It is indeed rather nice. I'm fairly sure that this is one of those Belgian 'no name' frames that were built and painted by various builders, usually without any identifying marks, and sold to bike shops whom would in turn put their own decals on it and sell it as their own brand. Lots of those were exported to Holland, and I own a few more examples. I've yet to weigh the frame, but I wouldn't be surprised if the weight was in line with something like Ishiwata 022.

This one looks to have never had any 'final branding'. I asked the seller about it, but he couldn't tell me more about the history than that the bike had been his father's. Given the choice in parts, I'm assuming it was a one-off build, with the aim of getting an enthusiastic rider the best available within a limited budget.

Narhay

Big bird makes a reappearance.

5lb cranks.

two entirely too nice bikes. One with a strap shim.

was that a huffy ?

things are shaping up.

Wildwood 

There is a built in bias - based on region of the USA/World. Here in Seattle area, if it has 2 wheels that turn, it's worth over $100. Even the Goodwill's adult junkers are $100+.

ddeand 

rocks in head 

Cool bike. Keep the headbadge and brakes, whatever parts you put on it, sell it on Craigslist, category boat parts, title "anchor".

ddeand 

rustystrings61 

uncle uncle

I've created a side thread for my entry, now denoted as "Dillion the Raleigh Record".

Challenge 100 #4... "Dillion" the Raleigh Record

Bicycle Addict

jetboy 

I have the build for you:

ollo_ollo

From our NW Hub co-op I have a 27" alloy front wheel $15, some alloy fenders $10. The rear alloy wheel from last year's Motobecane Mixte Clunker $10. These plus some quality time with my "Gypsy Lady" brings me in at $80 and the 100k ride would be a good shakedown to reveal any problems prior to passing her on. But I got a surprise when I began taking things apart.

Despite hanging for 30 years, the hubs turn freely, with no grittiness and the steel rims are true. Same for the pedals, bottom bracket and headset. Also, the Michelin tires & tubes hold air with no slow leakage, I don't see any cracks or dry rot either. I put an old leather Pryma saddle on and rode for 6 miles.

It's a pretty nice ride for entry level, and since we are in the dry season, brakes work fine. I'm going to thoroughly check and clean the tires, treat them with some aerospace 303, give the hubs and chain a squirt of lube and ride the 100K. I'll do a full teardown/overhaul and add the alloy parts and new tires when the Fall rain comes.

So, $45 purchase price plus I valued the Pryma at $30: This Clunker comes in at $75. Here's a pic of the package in my garage. Ride pics to follow. Don

Murray Missile 

Hosed off the Royale II just now, lowered the saddle and aired up the tires. Tires are weather checked but they hold air and still have tread so they're staying for at least the next 62 miles. Everything works fine, no adjustments needed, saddle is tolerable and I'll play around with position more this weekend, bar height is "ok". I'll put the computer and bottle cages from Big Bird on it and an old Bell seat bag I salvaged off another bike. I'll have to go back and see what I paid for the computer and cages. What's a fair rate of depreciation from last year? I'll put a value of $5 on the bag, it's old and pretty faded and was a WalMart bag to begin with, I need it to carry a couple tire repair kit given the condition of the tires. As I recall I got a good buy on the cages and computer when I initially bought them.

From Challenge #3 :

"OK, here's what I came up with:

1974 Schwinn Varsity (aka Big Bird) 30.00; front and rear wheels with 1 tire from 1980 World Sport 20.00 ( Sound fair? Paid 25 for the whole bike.); Shimano 6 speed freewheel 00.00 (Salvaged off a free bike); Chinese MTB saddle 10.49; 4 brake pads 4.64 and Bar tape 7.81 for a total so far of $72.94. The computer I'm going to use was purchased several years ago for under $10.00 so I'm claiming a used value of 5.00 if no one objects. Now at $77.94. Didn't have to replace any cables and the chain was in excellent shape so I left it.
I'll wrap the bars tomorrow when I get home from work and get a couple pictures. I'll put a frame bag and seat bag on for long rides but I'm not claiming them since they are held on with velcro and will be temporary. I'll probably get a couple strap on bottle cages with what I have left though.
PS. Right after posting last night I found 3 NIP clamp on bottle cages on EBay for 16.99 shipped. That puts me at $94.93. What can I say? I'm a bit of a Clydesdale, I need a LOT of water."

I'll stick with last year's values, I'm only using 2 of the cages so I'll claim 2 at $5.66 each. Everybody OK with that? Puts me at $50 for the bike + $5 for computer + $5 for the bag and $5.67 X 2 for the cages for a current total of $71.34.

non-fixie 

Dismantled the bike yesterday evening, to see what's what. The parts all seemed to be in reasonable nick, but beneath them was a frame that needs a lot of TLC:



Removing the electrician's tape that held the rear brake cable revealed some nasty rust spots that need to be dealt with:



Since the only decals on the frame are two of these, I think new paint will be the way to go:



No evidence of any headbadge ever having been mounted:



No serial number ...




... and Shimano drop-outs further fuel my suspicion of it being a Belgian frame:



The BB hasn't been serviced in a while, by the looks of it:



Removing it revealed this piece of protective cardboard:



Apparently the side of a Campagnolo box:



The next step will be to clean the frame and the parts and find a can of blue metallic paint.