CV-6 

I have owned the bike below, a 1946 Raleigh Lenton Sport, since 2013. I bought it, photographed it, took it apart, and that was it until recently. I did invest in new decals from Gus Salmon a few years ago, but it continued to languish. For now, I am going to rebuild it with plans to refinish next year. It is going to be a grocery getter for a bit, so patina is preferred. So nine years from purchase to "back on the road". What's your "longest back burner project"?

1946-47 Raleigh Lenton Sports by L Travers, on Flickr

Drillium Dude 

Definitely this one; 9 freakin' years: What a long, strange trip it has been...



DD

Chombi1 

A custom-built Medici Sandpiper with Hellenic rear stays. Per the seller I bought it from some years ago, it was specially built for a notable Ironman triathlete.
I have most of the components to compete the bike, I even just got Medici decals from Velocals as one last purchase from them, before they closed for good at the end of the year. Just need to eventually get it re-finished. Otherwise, it still sports the primer finish and currently a wall hanger till I eventually get to it. If I ever get to it..
One thing I still can't figure out is to either go with regular drop bars of bullhorns..........

non-fixie 

Difficult question to answer. When does a Back Burner Project become a Stalled Project or an Abandoned Project? Or the other way around?

Anyway, there were seven years between this picture:



And this one:



This one also took seven years to get from this:



To this:

Road Fan

My 1967 PX-10 (complete except for wheels) came to me in boxes and there it remains, since about 1986.

It needed wheels, paint, and overhaul when I got it and it needs wheels, paint, overhaul, and derailleurs now!

bark_eater 

Well I started riding again in 2017, and began collecting projects/hoarding shortly after......

I tend to work on 40 projects at once, so progress is a composting process. This Miyata 110 from 2018 is actually creeping back to the light.

And things were going so well (warning graphic images)

I've got as far as stripping the frame down and collecting all the parts to convert it to a 650b single speed. I think I'm going to Drew the mangled derailleur hanger though...

jdawginsc 

Love the Faggin!!

SJX426 

Picked this up in Feb, 2012, 1984 Trek 610, just so I could have a bike in the process of moving from Portland, OR to DC.
003_Trek 610 As Purchased \on Flickr

Paid too much for it and it was a mess. nearly every part had issues. Part of the learning process. Bad rear and front hub bearing, bent RD undesirable FD, crankset that had been pulled using a three or two jaw puller, bad paint, drewed eyeletts, etc.
Stripped it and replaced parts with those from the 1972 Le Champion that was in the 2009 accident.

Thought it would be a good commuter/sport tourer. Ran into a guy that builds his own frames and he brazed the eyelet's back in place along with adding bosses for a rack and DT cable housing terminators for either barcons or Ergos.
041_PaTrek RD Eyelet_01 on Flickr
044_PaTrek STI Cable Stop_02w on Flickr
034_PaTrek Rack Boss_01 on Flickr

Built it up to try iti out in May of 2013.
104_PaTrek. on Flickr

Thinking BRG with cream HT. Biggest roadblock us paint. That applies to the daughter's bike, the tandem and a decision on the Trek 760.

non-fixie 

Thanks. Me too. I even got me the matching apron last year, so the project as a whole actually took 11 years.

Chuck Naill

That's a nice friggn Faggin!!! Sorry, couldn't resist...ho ho ho

thinktubes 

I’ve been “parting-out” this 1989 Bianchi Giro for over 7 years, with no end in sight.

ehcoplex

Wow, that thing is stunning!

Schweinhund

A 1990 Specialized Rockhopper is my longest, started about 2 years after I bought it, so about 1993. It's been static for some time now, but I've been plotting a change. Drop bars perhaps.


1990 Specialized Rockhopper Sport Only thing original is the frame

iab 

This has been ongoing for 2 years. You folks make me seem like an overachiever, although I know that is far from the truth. I have a line on the proper derailleur and should have it February (knock on wood). Which variation of derailleur I get will then determine the rest of the bits and bobs I will need. I'd like it up up and running by the 2023 season.

Paglianti 01 by iabisdb, on Flickr

Paglianti 02 by iabisdb, on Flickr

ClydeClydeson

I have a 'winter bike' build that stalled some time ago. Someone gave me a set of 'snow cat' wheels (extra wide rims that pre-date modern fat bikes), the rear of which is laced into a coaster-brake equipped Nexus 4 speed hub.
I also have an old Steve Bauer mountain bike that the rear canti brake pivot has a broken bolt seized inside. THat combined with the long stays and ample tire clearance of an '80s mtb makes this an ideal fit for the Nexus/coaster brake/snow cat wheels.

I got as far as giving the frame a coat of black Tremclad spray paint, putting studded tires on the rims, mounting the wheels on the frame, selecting a handlebar and stem and fastening that to the bike.

Then I found a good deal on a second hand hydraulic disc equipped fat bike, so the Bauer with the snow cat rims sits against my garage waiting to be completed.

iab 

On the other hand, technically this started in 2011, I am in year 12 of a 5-year project. Off-topic but I want to design a commuter with the Italian design cues that float my boat so I consider it KOF. I do plan on printing the lugs. I'm sure I'll change the design again, this is from 2018.

02_Gregario by iabisdb, on Flickr

05_Gregario_BB by iabisdb, on Flickr

27_Gregario_Seat_Cluster by iabisdb, on Flickr

32_Gregario_Headtube by iabisdb, on Flickr

Lug01 by iabisdb, on Flickr

mrv 

Started 2years ago.
I’ve been documenting the snail like “progress” in a whole ‘nother thread

USAZorro

For over 20 years I've been on-again-off again fussing with my late uncle's 1974 Raleigh Superbe. It came to me a year or so after his untimely passing in 1980 or 1981 (he passed in 1979 from cancer at age 41), and was stored on the enclosed sun porch of my parents' home from then until about 2002. Despite being indoors, it evidently was periodically quite humid and when I was able to retrieve it, it was in rather sad condition. The steel bars, rims, spokes and fenders were all largely toast. The chain guard had some issues. At one point, back in about 2004, I thought I had things pretty much resolved, but I hadn't addressed all the underlying corrosion issues, and I once again lost ground. At one point, I also rebuilt the wheels and serviced the hubs, but in ignorance, I'm pretty sure I demagnetized the front dynamo hub. Just took it down to take the picture and noticed the cranks and pedals are kinda rough too.





The fact that my uncle had a bike two sizes larger than what's a proper fit for me has detracted a bit from my motivation, but he was special enough to me that I cling to this project - despite it being at the tail-end of my queue. He was my gateway to cycling. He supported his disabled parents with his bicycle shop - started in either the late 50's or early 60's. When I visited my grandparents, I always saw my grandfather sitting in his chair in the living room building wheels to help out as he could. My uncle kept me entertained by taking me on outings, sitting on the back of his bike when I was 4 or 5 and joining him on the overpass of the highway which had claimed nearly all of the family home's backyard, and enthusiastically "stomping" on cars as they passed underneath. He set me up with my first bike when I was 5 or 6 (a used red Schwinn with 20" wheels) and a couple years later with my first new bicycle - a 1968, gold Raleigh Fireball (single speed), and then with a unicycle after my bike got stolen, and then later still with my first 10-speed. When I asked to help out, he would sometimes put me to work doing the preliminary assembly of Raleigh Choppers - thus giving me my first taste of wrenching. He was a good person whom I've never heard anyone say a bad word about, He was one of the founders of the Rochester Bicycle Club in the 1960's, and they still honor him with an annual service award. One of the fellows who has popped in here occasionally used to work in the shop. (Hi Andrew).

Anyway, I still have his bike, and at some point, will do it justice by bringing it back... just not quite yet.

This is him on the bike he had previously (Raleigh Sports) at a pause on a club ride in 1968.

seagrade 

Moore a groupset and wheels in search of a home but still an incomplete project. What started as a C-Record group with Cobalto brakes in the late 1980s is still largely with me having been transferred across a number of classic frames.

Early if not first was a Concorde Gavina SL in PDM team colours which had the full C-Record group and Delta brakes. Over time the calipers went astray as did the rear changer which was replaced with a Super Record built from spares. The group and a C-Record/Sigma Crono wheel set went into a Merckx Corsa then a Merlin Titanium before I took a lengthy break from the sport.

I kept the group but not the frames nor wheels and reinstated them onto a custom frame almost ten years ago. Since then the group has had a Mavic 550/Record Strada wheelset added and been across the Vitus 992 and Bianchi TSX pictured here, as well as an Alberto Masi Faema team tribute frame.

The groupset and wheels are now awaiting the arrival of a Ron Cooper Cantiflex frame originally sold new by A Bicycle Odyssey c. 1995 for what should but probably won’t be their final iteration…

jonwvara 

You find the coolest bikes.

fender1

My upstairs bathroom. Its 1929 OEM. I started 13 years ago but with only one full bath and 4 people, there has never been enough time to replace the whole thing.....

merziac

What a great story, sorry for your loss, thank you for sharing.

I truly wish my story had more of a cycling side.

My Dad and his were pretty good mechanics so I was lucky to inherit that gene and he made sure I had some good bikes along the way.

He rode but not very much at all that I knew of, certain he had and could, was an exceptional swimmer.

merziac

And as far as the back burner, I have a pile that fell off of it and need to be lined up again.

Lets say half a dozen grail type, mostly frames from early on here and a couple years before so only 7-10 years maybe.

The Golden Boy 

1978 Trek TX700. I got this in 2016 or 17. I've had it sorta built up in a couple different... ...idioms. But never "finished," or even "done," really.

TX700Oblique1 by Dave The Golden Boy, on Flickr

Roger M 

Ten or eleven years for this one. I bought it with early Tri Color on it, and a Specialized tri spoke front wheel. Sold the front wheel for the cost of the whole bike. I serviced it and rode it briefly. Then I put some Italian shift/brake parts on it.

I never much cared for the stickers on it, so the Rossin got shelved for a bunch of years. Well, in the last couple of years I acquired a Campagnolo headset and wheels, along with a backdated decal set.

I hope to get it road worthy next year...







Oh. And this one, going back some 40 plus years. Still has in need of plenty.