pastorbobnlnh 

I know many of us were inspired by the results of our first annual Velo Cheapo Build-Off held last Fall. Well at least I was--- and the result was my own Velo Cheapo build. My goal was to build a bike using as many on-hand parts as possible, make it utilitarian, and keep the total out-of pocket expenses to a minimum.

Without further delay, let me introduce you to the PB Version of a Marin Muirwoods Commuter Special!



Costs:
Muirwoods MTB of early '90s vintage, derailleurs, stem, and wheels- Dump Find, free
Chrome Fenders- Dump Find, free
Swept Back Handle Bars- Dump Find, free
Grips, Brake levers and Friction Thumb Shifters- Dump Find, free
Front & rear lights, reflectors- Dump Find, free
Triple Crankset- Dump Find, free
Schwinn Super Sport Seat Post- gift from BlankCrows, free
Bell- from local thrift store, free
Rear Rack and Panniers, Yard Sale purchase, $5
New Wal Mart Cables- on hand $12
New 7 Speed Cassette- $15
New Leather "No Name" Saddle- Ebay purchase, $17 shipped
New Bottom Bracket- on hand, $20
Used Michelin City Tires- on hand, $20
Total Invested: $89

Let's see you Velo Cheapo Inspirations!

Scooper

Bob, that's mighty impressive! I envy you with your local dump and your extraordinary ingenuity.

sonatageek

You have the best darn dump in all the world. We don't have a dump, but there is a Saturday recycling drop off. Even if I saw something there, they have a pretty strict rule that NOTHING can be taken.

That is quite an impressive $89 bike! Is the seat comfy?

pastorbobnlnh 

Stan, "ingenuity" might be stretching it. Good "dump luck" is more like it!

That's too bad you can't take away their debris. Are they afraid you will just go out and strew it around like some '60s Litter Bug?

The weather is too poor here for any riding. Roads are covered with packed snow, or sandy salt laden slush. Quite a mess!

BTW, I plan to CL this bike after the spring melt, so I didn't really build it for me.

nlerner

That's a terrific build, Bob, and it would be hard to beat that cost. Nicely done!

Neal

ldmataya 

With a little creative accounting I think I can beat the $89 by quite a bit.

Spouse comes home with a garage sale Raleigh Technium (aluminum) that was ridden once. $5. But it wasn't really my money - more of a gift from her.

So with hubs laying around, flat bar and stem, I re-used the front brake, chain, and crankset to make a fixed gear snow bike. Oh crap, I had to spend $60 I think for a pair of studded tires and I don't remember what I paid for the spokes. I'm sure I just signed the credit card receipt while babbling away at the LBS.

I had fenders that I took of my son's commuter, but then they were un-stolen by him when he went to college. Do I get a credit for that?

nlerner

No credit for anything without pictures!

Neal

Kommisar89

Can't compete with that price PB. I thought about entering my UO8 when the contest came up but the wheels put me over limit. A shame too because I had a decent set of Maillard low-flange hubs with Weinmann aluminum rims on it for years but the back rim got dented and I wanted high-flange anyway. Velo-Cheapo is of course open to interpretation - you could take a plain UO8 for $20, clean it up and call it good but I wanted something more personalized.

• 1974 Peugeot UO8 $5 in 1991 from a garage sale
• Wheels: Normandy high-flange hubs, Weinmann 27x1 ¼ aluminum rims, 27x1 tires $75 from eBay
• Spare set of cyclocross tires: $0 from a guy at work
• Freewheel: Shimano 5 speed twist tooth 14-28 $0 from parts box
• Generic Seatpost: $15 from eBay
• Vintage Ideal 45 Saddle: $18 from eBay
• NOS Pivo Stem & handlebars: $35 from eBay
• Mafac brake levers: $25 from eBay
• Mafac brake pads: $10 from eBay
• Stronglight 118mm BB axle: $35 from eBay
• Stronglight 49D crank: $0 from parts box
• Bar tape: $0 from parts box
• Misc. cables, housing, chain: $25 from LBS

Total $243

ldmataya 

Yeah, good point.

Actually this thread just gave me an idea. The school age kids in our house pretty much trash their bikes each year. I think on the first good garage sale weekend of the spring i'm giving all of them $20, we'll pile into the pickup, and they can buy their next bike(s). And of course assemble them. We'll see who can get the most and have change.

Grim

I'm game:

Wife's Mup runner.


1984 Corsaro Cabrio Thrift Store bike : $15.95 plus tax
Diacompe 500 brakes: Included
Suntour ARX (I know I have blown the model and to lazy to go look): Included
Mismatched rims back bent.
1998 Fuji Crosstown Thrift store hybrid with 700cx35 bought to barrow wheels (this is a complete ride able 7speed bike that is sold for $50 (i"m tuning it up) once buddy has cash) : $30.
Total cost at this time $46 plus tax.
-$4 once the Fuji sells plus the cost of a rim(s).


What I commuted to work on today and damn I got there FAST :



Pictured as I bought it on CL
1989 Cannondale SR600
Full 105 Group included.
Wolber GTX rims
Continental Ultra sports included
Inner tube $6
Thrift Store backpack since it would be criminal to put a rack on it: $1.10
Lights borrowed from my Touring bike: On loan N/C.
Pump included N/C
Bag (it is actually a seat bag) included: N/C
Total invested $82.10 including bike.

sailorbenjamin

My Supercourse;

This picture is a little outdated. but you get the idea. At last count there were parts from about 12 bikes in this one.
The bike was a dump score.
The bars were of a Sprite I got for $10 or a Record I got for free. Don't recall.
The Deraillers are off a buddie's SC.
It now has a Brooks leather saddle that came off a dumpster Superbe (Honest!)
It now has black grips off a curb score Sport.
I've also added bar end shifters and high flange wheelset from a dumpster score Takara
The new Panaracer tires came on a Peugoet that I bought from the LBS for $20 cause it had been there a year or more.
The chainrings are from a Record that came out of the same dumpster the SC did
The spokes in the front wheel came out of a couple of random wheels I had aroound.
The brake pads....?
I paid money for the shift cables and one or two of the housings but I tried to reuse that nice ribbed white Raleigh stuff where I could.
The peddles probably came of a Phillips that I got from the steel mill for $6 and change.
I bought 10 QR skewers on ebay for like $8 or something. here's 2 of them.
I'll dig up a better picture later and see if I can't remember any other additions.

pastorbobnlnh 

Ben, I had to turn my laptop over to look at your bike. I'm glad you don't do that to those sweet daughters of yours!

Grim, one of these days I hope to find a Cannondale like yours. For me, a C-Dale is the Schwinn of the 21st century.

Kommisar89, that is one beautiful Peugeot! The color is great!

ldmataya, no pictures--- no deal! Get busy buddy!

Neal, thanks! Compliments from you mean a great deal.

East Hill

Hey, aren't you guys supposed to be storing this stuff until next year's contest?

All joking aside, I love seeing this!

East Hill

Grim

Well now that they are under the same ownership they pretty well are Schwinn. Jury is still out if they get the same degradation and become a sticker on a Chinese bike frame.

RobbieTunes

Wow, PB, here come da Judge!
I thought my $20 Triumph would become a sure winner. Looks like I'll have to do some serious RobbieTuning to get into your league.

Then again, I was officiating a swim meet today, and a guy came up, said he pulled "some kind of Cannondale" out of the landfill. We take a peek at it tomorrow morning, er, ....today, I guess. I have a cold and the medicine's got me up all night....

Doohickie

My problem is that I've got too many projects going on. But I think the fixie I'm doing will be in the $50 range, starting from a $10 CL Schwinn and some parts from thehappyrobot and friend at the swap meet a couple weeks ago.

USAZorro

You certainly have a knack for the good find. I'm sure the Cannondale rides nice but...

If ugly were a crime, this frame'd be doing time.

Me? Jealous? Nah.

pastorbobnlnh 

Come on guys and gals, I need more pictures! I'm buried up to my waist in snow! Let's see your current projects!

nlerner

I did clear the couple of feet of snow away from my basement bulkhead door a couple of days ago, so now I can pull some bikes out for photos. Now the problem is finding a backdrop that isn't pure white.

Neal

Grim

I'd have to agree LOL. That Cantilever rear triangle still looks funny to me as well and the two tone pant job is not to my taste. Does match my Suburban though LOL.

Does ride decent though. Everybody said it would beat me to death and while it does have a crisp ride it is not all that bad. I think that cantilever is the reason way. Instead of shooting everything straight up the seat stays it absorbs it and sends some of it to the bottom bracket. Cannondale also make mention that it has more narrow seat stays they they normally did. I think that is was intentional to take care of some of the "Aluminum stiffness" complaint. Now I will confess that all three of my personal bikes are Cannondale's so I am going from Aluminum to Aluminum.

pastorbobnlnh 

Pure as the driven snow, as they say!

Unapomer

Some real nice builds in the above posts. Here's mine: an old English Monarch frame and fork from a trash pile, built up with used parts on hand. I traded a small welding job to my LBS for the Continental tires and the handlebar tape. I had a bmx freewheel on hand, so made it a single speed, modified a cheap crankset to hold a single chain ring. The fork is rusty, along with other parts, but that lends to the 'ambiance' Light weight, simple, and responsive, a real pleasure to ride.

brandenjs

I just finished this Schwinn Fastback Comp. I found the frame and a few other pieces on E-Bay and pieced it together with some other stuff I had laying around. All in all about $275 invested. Very fast when standing and sprinting. Weighing in at about 19-20 lbs.
Components included:
2002 or 2003 Schwinn Fastback Comp frame
Columbus Link Carbon fork
Taigra 9spd STI's
Taigra RD
105 FD
Bontrager triple crankset 52-40-32
Shimano 7spd 14-28 freewheel
Tiagra brake calipers
Cane Creek IS2 headset
Ritchey stem
Profile Design 44 cm bars

pastorbobnlnh 

Unapomer, I like the wingnuts! I have a set on my '62 Continental. The rust is stealthy!

brandenjs, A little off the scale of "Cheapo" and rather modern (as opposed to C&V), but a nice build at a very reasonable price. Good job!

chuckk, Great deal! And just think, you have Greg's autograph to boot!

brandenjs

Yea it's my newest bike in the collection. Don't worry I'm not going modern on you guys. My heart is still in the steel....