DonkeyShow

Been a while. Looking forward to finishing. Rode with a water bottle for the first time today. It's been hot out.

Today 8 miles 550 ft
Total 88.5 miles , 4980 ft

USAZorro

Soooo... I took care of some matters around the house and eagerly carted Bumblebee off to the trailhead at the Greenway. I affixed a pump peg for the black Zefal pump that works with Schraeder valves, attached the bag with the toolkit and spare under the saddle, and the one with my wallet and phone to the handlebars and set off. I gingerly negotiated the sweeping downhill with a sharp left under the bridge - being respectful of my less than stellar brakes and the jogger who was just a bit ahead. I tested out my shifting (yay! medium and high on the Sturmey Archer 3-speed were dialed in) and was just establishing a cadence when phone rang. It's my wife from far away, so I stop to take it. Chat for a bit, put phone back, put foot on pedal... phone again. Wife again. This one is shorter.

Start to pedal and there noise and resistance that I shouldn't be feeling from the rear. I look down in horror to see that the rear tire has unseated. Who knew 65 psi was too much for those old steel rims?!? I came to a stop and decided to lower the PSI some and get the tire re-seated. The front seemed to be doing fine at 60 psi, so piece of cake. The instant I lifted the bicycle up to invert it. BANG!

Yes. I did raise my voice. I don't think the people a couple hundred yards off time-trialing heard me though, and when they did pass by me I was too preoccupied to give them a disapproving look.

Now I generally have no problem with changing tubes, but this thing has a coaster brake and the head on the bolt is beyond strange AND the wrench that fits the rear axle is 0.17 miles back in the vehicle. I walked Bumblebee back to the car, took stock of what needs to be done differently for the remaining 99.83 miles, and called it a day. This evening, I changed everything out in preparation for tomorrow when I hope to try again.

molleraj

Finally got around to sharing my photos from the rides that got me past 100 miles. Some nice views of Miami University, Hueston Woods north of Oxford, Ohio as well as West College Corner, Indiana.



Millett Hall, Miami University

Miami University Art Museum

Sculpture at Miami University Art Museum

Hueston Woods State Park

Hueston Woods Covered Bridge

West College Corner, IN

Church in West College Corner, IN

molleraj

I wonder if I should submit a second entry to the Clunker Challenge. I rode my $70 Panasonic Sport Deluxe 21 miles today (to Great Falls and back, on the Maryland side). It rode like a champ. The only upgrades are a $2 light, a $10 bike computer mount, and a few cents of oil on the chain. So I guess $82 total?


Circa 1974 Panasonic Sport Deluxe

Classtime 

3 coats of wax on the PA10 and it looks good enough to start assembly. The headset was a struggle—I must of damaged something while I was banging out the remnants of the death stem and had to use the Channel locks on the knurled bearing race. After much fudging around with it last night and marine greasy bearings going here and there, I finally got things settled and then, I saw three ball bearings didn’t make it back into the lower race. They went in this morning with all the threaded pieces behaving as they should.

I had been trying to message some life back into the Mafac Racers and got I one pretty smooth. The other might work fine on the bike. We’ll see. Some Kool Stops arrived last night and an adjuster for one of the levers arrived today.

The wheels got tuned up between honey dos and I dialed back my fantasy of using this particular Normandy Sport hub set on a future tubular wheel set. I replaced the spoke I broke on the front wheel and also one on the rear that had snapped off at the hub. Fingers crossed that there won’t be more snapping while i do the 100 miles. I splurged on rubber rim strips and I think I got those weird Simplex quick releases working. The dry and crumbling tires that came with the bike should get me through the challenge if I don’t push it.


$20 Koolstops and $10 adjuster.




Rear wheel must be true.

Need a good LBS to true these.



Clunker Tire

Another clunker tire

This will be covered with equally nasty Atom FW.

These are weird but I think I get them both working.

USAZorro

So yay? Today happens to be the day of the Roanoke Ironman 70.3. I heard about it on the local news this morning, and they said it was taking place in a park that's well away from where I normally venture, so I make a mental note to go out there next year and watch it. So fast forward about 90 minutes when I am in my car heading over to the greenway to see about putting in two passes of the 11.xx circuit that I am familiar with and about halfway there, traffic is absolutely crawling. Clearly something is up, and after getting maybe half a mile in 15 minutes, I see lights and a flashing sign off to the side of the road saying there is a bike race taking place and to expect delays. I get to a place where I can turn and take back roads to the greenway trailhead, and as I get there, I see it is roped off and there is a series of pavilions where people are cheering on and handing out drinks to runners.

Oh great! I was here less than 24 hours ago and there were no notices about any such thing. I'm plenty steamed, but since I'm here with the bike, I figure I might as well ride it a bit to give it a better shakedown. Well, long story short, I follow signs to another portion of the greenway where I haven't been before and follow it up a rather steep hill. I used the pause to say hello to the deer in someone's backyard and to raise the seat post about a half inch and to re-level the saddle and tighten down the saddle clamp. After walking up the hill, I gingerly go down the other side - negotiating switchbacks and bridges until I see this segment merges with a section I am familiar with. I have about a mile that I can ride before I need to turn around. I figure I'll do this a few times and then go back to the car.

At mile 3.0 or so, I'm at the turnaround, and I see people who are obviously Ironman competitors on the adjacent road who are not exactly blazing a trail to the finish. I realize I am definitely NOT going to be able to access the segment of the greenway that I had planned on today, and begin considering other options and also how to communicate to the organizers how deficient they were at both traffic control;and notifying the impacted community of trail users. I complete my first "circuit", and about a quarter of the way into my second, I attempt to nudge down the nose of my saddle which has shifted again despite really torquing down on the nuts. I hear a "pling" simultaneously with the dull sound of something else hitting the pavement. As I'm going no more than 6mph at that instant, I am able to stop immediately, and I see that the nose of the scavenged Brook B-17 is no more.




Another rider stops to ask if everything is all right, and I am feeling very surprisingly calm as I explain that it's an old saddle and that these things can happen. Since I'm already stopped, I take a couple pictures for posterity. This is Bumblebee at the scene of the second setback. The lighting is quite poor, and I can't say that I see that the saddle is essentially done.




Well, by this point, my inner warrior is trying to tell me that I can't let a small detail like that ruin my already-twice-ruined weekend. I remount and found that it really didn't present a significant problem - at least not under the sedate conditions I was operating under, On my next circuit, Bumblebee was able to overtake a Monarch, and then, when the gentleman who stopped to check on me was clearly surprised to see me riding still, I told him "it works fine if you sit on it the right way". He got a laugh... as did I, when making the turn-around the last two times, I saw Ironman stragglers on expensive bikes that Bumblebee and I could have put to the sword (figuratively).

Anyway, after four circuits of the hinterlands, I went back up and over the daunting hill (yes, I was walking for a bit), and returned to my car. After all was said and done, I managed 11.62 miles (11.79 overall), and topped out at a mind-numbing 15.2 mph. Now to figure out what to do about a replacement saddle, and get back out there again... when I'm not being impeded by a hoarde of tin men.

Classtime 

Matcha Matchy.


13/21 O.G.

Neatsfoot oil will not make your leather saddle too soft or hasten the breaking period.

USAZorro

See post 382 (directly above.

Classtime 

he he
My Ideale 80 is like a piece of shale. If I manage to un-weight for every bump the saddle and my spokes might get me through 95 more miles. (At the co-op next week I will
check out the saddle deals. )

Classtime 

$30 Entry
$20 Kool Stops
$10 brake adjuster
$20 is market rate for a 22.0 SR stem from my Grand Jubile.
$3 SS fasteners for top tube brake cable clips
$5 75%worn Sedis chain
$3 Misc. cable housing from long gone flips
$2 once used rear brake cable
$0 rusty shift cables
$0 too short for front brakes cables used for new straddle cables.
$93 Subtotal.

5 miles in chasing fasteners for the cable clips and I worried about the rear tire. I hope the Co-op has a cheap tire to complete the challenge and I hope this tire gets me the 14 miles to the coop.


Looking forward to riding this with a nice set of wheels.

Duct tape?

jdawginsc 

I think you mean $93?

Classtime 

OOPS! Corrected. Nicer bike than I thought. (And less cushion in the budget.)

Andy_K 

Today I finally had the right combination of weather and free time available to take my clunker out for a ride.



Not wanting to use the 20% grade hill I live on as a first test for the brakes, I drove a short way down the hill to Mountain View Champions Park to start this shakedown ride.



From there I rode a pleasant 10.9 mile loop out to South Hillsboro and back. Getting out of the suburbs is generally tedious, but I live close enough to the edge of the sprawl that it isn't terrible. I started out with some very low traffic residential streets.



That got me out into the not-yet-developed area south of South Hillsboro.



Sometimes you see a sign when you're out riding your C&V bike, and you just have to stop for a picture. (I thought about taking down the "weekend" sign, but it seemed like a lot of work for just a picture.



Finally, as promised, I arrived in Stepford ...er...I mean... South Hillsboro.



Though the day was mostly overcast, I got a surprisingly good view of Mt. Hood (from 60 miles away). I can never capture that view with a camera phone, so you get this.



From there it gets really uneventful until I got back to Champions Park.



Almost 11 miles in, and the bar tape is still mostly white. This SRAM tape is clearly worth every penny of the $8 I paid for it.



Ride impressions: Overall, I feel like I'm cheating on the Clunker Challenge. This was a downright pleasant ride. The saddle is considerably narrow than I prefer, but it wasn't nearly as bad as I expected. The tires also greatly exceeded my expectations. I was expecting it to feel like riding on a cheap garden hose. In fact, they did OK. The only time I really thought about the tires was when the bike started to feel a bit bouncy under choppy pedaling. I hadn't brought a pump, so that alarmed me, but it turned out to be just low starting pressure. Handling was predictable and smooth. On a quick descent, the bike felt very stable. Shifting, both front and rear, was excellent. Even the brakes were pretty good.

The bike has unusual geometry for something that the catalog describes as "a legitimate racing machine fashioned after the Super Elite." It might be fashioned after it, but it doesn't have the same geometry. This bike has a 58cm (c-t-t) seat tube paired with a 55cm (c-t-c) top tube and a stubby little 80mm stem. That's perfect for me, but not exactly racing geometry. It makes for an extremely pleasant recreational rider, but if we're being honest that was probably its target market -- recreational riders who want to imagine that they're racers.

I'm not ready to give up my Colnago's spot in the garage to make room for this, but if this were the only bike I owned, I would still be a happy cyclist.

jdawginsc 

@Andy_K nice write up and pictures. Can’t believe that Mt Hood is 60 miles away in that picture. Living in the low country, scale is really not something to consider.

How much did you end up spending? Might fit in a saddle...

Andy_K 

I know exactly what you mean. I grew up in the mountains of western Maryland where one of the tallest local peaks is Big Savage Mountain at a whopping 2566 feet. When I moved to Oregon my uncle tried to tell me that the mountains in Maryland are just as big but the ones in Oregon start at a higher base elevation. In fact, the opposite is true.

I'm at $101 now, but the saddle isn't uncomfortable enough for me to give up the white color of it.

DonkeyShow

Finally finished the 100 mile challenge. 6am felt like a good time for a ride. Knocked out another 14 miles.

Ending total
102 miles
6000 ft

Bike 1981(?) Lotus Eclair
Initial cost $40
Bell Kevlar 27 tires $29.90 each x 2
tubes $8
Total $107.80

ramones71 

I was not planning on buying another bike, or joining this challenge, until I was looking at offerup the other day and spotted this Serotta. After I noticed that it had already been on the site for 2 days, I put in an offer of 60 dollars and it was accepted. Upon pickup, I satisfied myself that the seller was legit and I could proceed with a clear conscience. I also satisified myself that I wasn't totally stealing it either, because the frame is in rough shape: extensive spider webbing on the top tube, a cable guide that would probably have to be replaced if someone were to seriously restore this, and I later found a small dent on the underside of the drive side chainstay. The bike also appears, in my un-knowledgeable opinion to have a Campy drivetrain composed of 3 different generations/groups, and while it functions, it doesn't necessarily want to play well together. I will compose a thread at a later date for all of my Campagnolo related questions surrounding this bike
The serial# indicates that it was made in 1983, and I assume its a Club Special, based on the length of the decal remnants. The seat stay bridge, however is not flat, like I have seen on other 1983 Club Specials, but I don't know what else it might be. The frame is 58cm, and I ride 63cm, but fit is not terrible. I will do 100 miles on this bike in as-found condition. I am currently preparing for a long-distance move, but hopefully I can find time to re-grease the headset and bottom bracket. I will also probably come down to the deadline in getting my miles in. I adjusted the seat post to just above minimum insertion, and I am only an inch shy of my normal seat height. I have a longer post, but I plan on riding this bike at the $60 purchase price for as long as I can. Tires are at the end of their life, but not threadbare, and I don't have any extras available. The sintered Modolo brake pads squeal like pigs, but they stop the bike adequately. I will consider the remaining $48 of the budget an insurance policy for tires and tubes. Thanks!

philpeugeot

Never thought anyone would top the clunker Paramount!

Andy_K 

That Serotta is an amazing deal. The shifters alone are worth $60 even if they aren't working.

Andy_K 

I still like the Paramount more.

zukahn1

Will completed the challenge a 2nd time today with a very unimpressive clunker 29er not super vintage but about 20 years old, clunky , heavy and ugly with pretty every feature we here at the forums tell people to avoid in used bikes. Bad paint, cheaper suspension fork, cheap disk brakes, women's frame, wrong size and general junky vibe. This one will likely be going back to the thrift store in the next day or so.

rgvg

20kms today on my brother's bike.



School that was named after one of my relatives. That was a long time ago and I don't know anyone who is involved in politics now.

Solar power plant at the outskirts of town. I had no idea there was one here, though I haven't been through here in a very long time. Is it progress? I don't know.

I used to think this was all there was to the city. Farmland growing sugarcane. Another thing about this particular field is that it is where I drove the car off the road when I was sitting in my dad's lap steering the car. Whoops.

Old bridge over a river. My dad had a farm here once. Well, it's on the other side of this bridge but I can't take a picture because there is a new bridge being constructed on that side. I had swum in this river when I was a kid. Once in a while my dad or my uncle would have bananas (the tree, not the fruit) chopped down and we'd float around on them.

I went down this way expecting to find my uncle's old farm. He'd sold it a few years ago. It was the one place I had taken a ride with my brothers and cousins and we slept overnight at their place on the farm. I have not used my bike to ride to any other place and slept over, nor does it look like I will be able to in the future. My wife does not ride, and my daughter says riding bikes is my thing, not her thing... I didn't raise her right. Anyway, instead of a farm all I saw is this big four lane road going I don't know where. My uncle had sold his farm a few years ago and I don't recognize the place anymore.

That is all.

rgvg

I did 30.6kms today, plus another 6.1 yesterday late afternoon, so my total is just over 100km on my brother's bike. I'll be heading home in a few days and get back to my own clunker.

But before that, today my ride was just to McDonald's. My sister told me to check it out. It is on a relatively new road. Before this one was built, there was only 1 road to and from the next city. It's nice and flat but the traffic along it does not subscribe to any sort of emission regulations. It is somewhat unpleasant to ride along due to the exhaust. Still, it's one of only two possibilities, so a lot of cyclists use it. What to me is unusual about this particular McDonald's is they are cyclist friendly.

See?

Even has a bike repair station

Complete with recommended tire pressure guide


I'm not too crazy about McDonald's but this branch at least shows cyclists some love, so good for them.

darnet

The Green Mirage was ressurected from the town dump scrap metal pile, so I had to estimate its value.
To do so, I found several Motobecane Mirage bikes nearby on FB and CL, listed for $20, $40, 50, and $70, an average of $45.






Since the Green Mirage I’m riding is not in half as good a shape as any of these, I’m going to start with an initial cost of roughly the average, or $25.

Parts added:

14 loose bearing balls (new) - $1
One brake pad, used – $2 if new; used -- $1
Chain, used: new about $16; used -- $8
Brake and shift cable housings – approx. 6 feet, at about $.50/foot: $3
Brake and shift cable wires – 2 new brake wires at about $3 each: $6; 2 used shifter wires at half that, $3; total $9
2 Wheels and tires -- $30
Cable ferrules (improvised from loose parts box) - $1
Seat: based on average of used seats from previous clunker challenges: $7
Front Fork: Based on 1/3 the cost of bike it came from: $10
Replacement stem shifters (used): Worth less than a fork, about as much as a seat: $7
Tubes (used): $5 each new from Play it Again Sports, since used, half that, total of $5

Total spent: 25+1+1+8+3+9+30+1+7+10+7+5: $107

Classtime 

Did 30 miles on the PA-10 but only expected to do half of that on THIS tire. The co-op had zero used 27 inch tires and I had no room in the budget for a new Kenda. I’ll be stuck at 35miles until I get a better tire.


“Tires hold air.”