what do i do with this frame???
 

I (foolishly) bought a 64cm UO-8 that was inches from death for next to nothing. Used dome of the parts and was left with a very dissheveled frameset, I can't just recycle it so I polished it down to bare metal to remove all the rust, lots of it, luckily gaspipe steel has plenty of metal to give.
And so I am left with a frame that fits someone around 6'4", with some parts from my bin that I don't care about.
I have removed some of the french doom by getting new cups and a cotterless BB, new bearings in the HS and giving away my 22.0 -> 1 1/8 stem adapter. I even have some 46cm bars to throw on.

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_eyxn8SPSTwU/S5...5+13.48.44.jpg

Should I paint it? Should I just sell it as is? Should I get original decals? Pro paint? Rattle can? PC?
I don't want to spend much because I don't know if it will ever fit anyone, and never sell.
I tried offering it as a commision job, painted to preference and restored, but its not worth it as a low end frame.
Any (thoughtful) guidance is appreciated. One cannot just get rid of a perfectl straight, perfectly useful frame simply because it is bill walton sized.

Paint it white and get some period decals from Ebay to flip it to a Giant French bike fan. UO8s wont produce much money these days, specially one that is not "original"
though, so you might be just doing it as an act of charity for the poor old bike and the person that might buy it, although you can also give it to a tall friend that might be just getting started to ride bikes again.

Chombi

I think you should just spray some clear-coat on there, build it up, and then decide what you want to do with it. The bare metal looks pretty cool. Do you have any close-up photos?

Paint it pink or baby blue, put some white tires on some old wheels, make a fixie out of it and sell it.

For resale, powdercoating would be the easiest, most cost-effective solution. Rattle can is cheapest, but is a lot more involed to make it turn out presentable.

It's a U0-8 - you're not going to make much money on it. Pass it on to a co-op or strip and scrap are my choices.

You should send me the bars, with the levers, but I'd opine that they really belong on a frame that big....

+1 on the passing it on option.

Even at the better markets you might get $250-300 for a fixie. You cost would be about $75 for a pair of wheels, $75 for powder coating, $50 for cranks, chain and cog, $10 for tape, $25 for tires and tubes, $10 for a brake, $15 for a saddle +? ...
Not much of a profit probability there. Donate it and getting a tax-writeoff would probably equal the profit with less work.

Story of my life.

At this point most all I have involved in this bike is time and labor.
Medium wire brush, fine wire brush, 60, 120, 220, 600 dry, 600 wet.
I don't have access to a blasting booth.

Some time ago a friend mentioned taking it to an auto painter and spraying it the next time they do a white car. Saving cost of material and only paying for his time would ideally make this quite feasible. At that point I could try to sell it again but I feel like what the solution comes down to is: when the tall retro enthusiast, non perfectionist biker comes along, what would sell this to him?
I didn't plan on buying wheels or even cranks, maybe finding old brakes and DRs and tossing a seat on there.
Bike minus drivetrain = $100?
I'm not looking to profit, just to end up in the black.

Just noticed that you are in Portland :) Pop it as is on your CL @ $100 (minus bars and stem). It will be gone within a week. I am sure that a tall hipster might like this empty canvas for his next creation.

+1 Only because you are in Portland, I would go with the strategy you have to give it a quick and cheap paint job. In any sane market, it would not be worth the effort. You are not in a sane market. In fact, I would paint it, then look for a donor bike and build it. Sounds like you have many of the parts already in hand. You might be able to sell it as a complete ready to ride bike for around $350 in Portland, even without any Peugeot decals.

If I went the diy decal direction, should I do a hack peugeot scheme or roll out my new "Bilomi" brand custom bike?

With painting, I meant, rattle can, DIY style, specially for a UO8. Anyway,you can get very good results if you prepare the frame well and do it carefully to avoid runs.
You can also add in "great for fixie/SS":D:rolleyes::p in the description when you advertise it for sale or auction. Seems to work pretty well with many,
Even the Euro sellers are using the line already!

Chombi

I don't know,I bought one complete (58cm?)in S.E. for $50 recently.It had been on Cl For a good week'n a half.

If you go to paint it, I'd suggest washing the frame in something containing phosphoric acid first. There are various brands available: Metal Prep and the like. Phosphoric acid is not terribly dangerous -- it's in a lot of foods and beverages. The solution will remove rust chemically and will etch the surface, leaving behind a layer of iron phosphate, and result in good paint adhesion.

+1 to that.

Yer darn tootin'. They sure ain't biting on my complete bikes: http://home.comcast.net/~jeff_wills/Gallery/index.html

I would not spend a cent on the frame set. Not that there is anything wrong with the frame other than it is entry level and very big. Both of these factors, particularly the big frame thing will lower the value of the bike.

A rattle can paint job and a set of decals will set you back a hundred bucks or more. And, you will spend a considerable amount of time and mess completing the work. And for what? You will still have an entry level road frame set that is way too big for most people to even consider buying.

Were I you, I would offer the frame set on Ebay for $9.99 US and hope that at least two big guys really want it.

Heck, that's only a point guard frame, not even big enough for a two guard to ride. A 64cm frame with conventional geometry is actually only properly sized for someone around 6'4". Anyone 6'5" and over for a 64cm frame would need a pretty aggressive saddle to handlebar drop to ride a frame that small.

Bill Walton was 6'11" and wouldn't have been able to ride that anymore than someone who rides a 59cm could ride a 49cm. I'm 6'6" and ride a 68.5cm.

You wanna see a big bike? How 'bout Yao Ming's custom Gunnar (those are 29er rims, the same height as 700c).

i have a 64cm UO-8 and i love it! not anything special to anyone but me, and i ride it everywhere. if this were offered cheap enough, i'd consider it. (n+1, right?)

In theory, this is a great idea. In practice..... well - good luck.

I tried just such an approach, and canvassed the local body shops. Not a one would touch it, for any amount of money. Their painters were too busy doing shop work, and no one wanted to fool with a penny-ante side job. Not a one.

Time, effort and money considered, the cheapest way to get color on that frame is powder-coat. And then you'd still have a bottom-end frame that is too big for the average joe.

i got a guy who will paint a frame for me in his spare time with a marine urethane. i got one done about a month ago, and it cost very little (i know him well). if you can get me a shipped quote, i might be inclined to pick this up and make it a nice bike. thing is though, i don't have the spare cash right now, and i really don't need another project... decisions decisions....

Use the" pay it foward" maybe a forum member needs a project and will take it for shipping cost

Since there was actually interest in this uninteresting bike I will update you all as to what has happened.
I picked up some allloy 27s for $40 and built the whole thing from my parts bin.
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_eyxn8SPSTwU/S9...9+11.28.30.jpg

Too bad you're so far from the land of the giant mitten (MI) that frame is my size and I'd be down for tradin. Unfortunately I think the shipping would be prohibitive, but I really have no idea as I've never shipped a frame before. That does look like a nice blank canvas to work with.

I really like the bare metal look