I recently became interested in C&V bikes because of a questionable past-time I developed in the Recumbent world -- cutting up older bikes to create recumbents. Of course, the lighter the road bike the better.

I built my wife's Tour Easy clone recumbent using an old French Juenet I bought for $10 and a lugged frame Fuji I got for free off Craigslist. A person I know via the Internet recently bought a Trek for $5 (pictured below) and it is scheduled for a similar fate.

I wouldn't say any of the bikes that meet this fate are super rare. While they might have been restored, the value of a properly built recumbent might be worth more than you would get for a "fix n flip".

So, how do you C&Vers feel about this concept? Hate it or don't really care?



Potential donor, above, and wife's Tour Easy clone, below, along with another of my creations that started out as a Wal-Mart Roadmaster

Taking a run of mill CV bike (I am thinking old Schwinn LeTour sorts of things) and doing that sounds like fair game to me. Now a Paramount or Superior and I might be a little miffed.

That's some pretty snazzy work.
I think I feel the same about it as Sonatageek. But then again, if you were going to make something with full Campagnolo Super Record and some sleek vintage flair then I probably wouldn;t mind too much if you used a chopped Paramount - Just as long as the finished product does the Paramount justice. And just as long as you don't buy up every high end classic to convert them into bents.

'Nuff said.

lol...
You're right though, Le Tour was a bad example - too nice.
Should have been Varsity.

Funny, but a Schwinn Le Tour is what got me started down the road to C&V restorations. I acquired an '84 Le Tour Luxe for free and it's only real flaw was a broken rear derailleur. In the end, I couldn't cut it up and decided to flip it instead.

24 hours later and $150 ahead of the game, I decided fixing and restoring might be even more fun that chopping and welding...

I've got a rather light Peugeot frame that's made from HLE tubing that anyone can have for the cost of shipping. I won't care what is done, since the rear triangle is tweaked by about 3/8".

Now if you were to take a nice bike with nothing wrong with it to chop and weld back to whatever - I'd rather not hear about it.

Hey USAZorro, define "tweaked."

for that matter I have a huge 26" Varsity with a tweaked Top Tube that I should really stop riding. If ya want something to chop....

as long as the donor isnt rare or something. You're taking a perfectly good bike and making...a perfectly good bike..so I don't see what the problem is. Do it.

Just so you don't go cutting off the derailler hanger.

Better watch your back. God knows what they'd do to someone who went beyond making a fixie!