Just to play devil's advocate, how about buying the cheapest POS beater you can find and ride it into the ground? Maybe you could make a game of doing just enough maintenance to limp it along. And maybe a thread/blog to keep us posted on its status.

OK, I'll do it just for you.

I think I'll do something similar.
Going to overhaul this POS Diamondback, grease the heck out of everything, then just ride it till it dies.

Disassembled the pig.....hummm, The Pig, last night and should have it mostly ready to ride in a couple of days if time permits.

Had been planning a recumbent porject but that is going to have to wait.

for that short of a ride, why not a closeout walmart special? Or anything you could find on craigslist?

It took a good 3 days for someone to finally take an unlocked, bright pink (I think it had ponies on it too, and definitely sparking rainbows) 24in-tire bike that I used during college when I was moving out.

Mainly because I have several famesets and plenty of parts to work with. I think I can toss a beater together for under ten bucks.
I have decided my answer to rust will be to just let it. This let if rot disposabike approach is a 180 degree shift in thinking for me.

The Pig frameset. Man that color is hideous.

You think so? I think it's kinda purdy.




(Ooh, horizontal dropouts! You should make a sw8 fixay out of it!)

Yeah that not bad at all I imagined something worse. Maybe the photo isn't a true representation of the color. I don't see anything to be embarrassed about from that frame. If you decide to get ride of the color you should get some contact paper and make a fake wood or bamboo bike out of it. I have a frame I plan to do that with some day because I already did a terrible spray paint job on it. Side note I know a guy that plans to build a bamboo bike. I hope he gets around to it soon I want to see it.

Just started a project like yours, I go tired of using the mountain bike as the winter/rain commuter and found this rattle can beauty.
Took off the bad rattle can paint and am reapplying better rattle can paint.

Off-topic - but I have a question. What is a rattle-can paint job? Buy a spray can and paint the bike without sanding, cleaning etc? Is that why it's bad - because it doesn't have a good base? Or is it the paint quality itself that is suspect?

Fleet Streak!!!!!!!!!!!!! I've got one of those tucked away almost completely OEM but hideous red faded out, and tiny.

Bad spray paint job, no attention to detail. Paint drips and dings all over, it looks much worse in person. Also the white gave the appearance of a ghost bike which I found disturbing.

After much internet exploring I found that it was an 82 Schwinn Voyageur 11.8

The frame is actually a pretty solid looking chunk of Crome Moly . Should be zero worries about that.

Not sure why the painted these things such wretched colors though?

Sold those back in 82 when they were new and they are darn good bikes.

Looks like the start of a great beater!

Poor sense of aesthetics seems to be a common ailment among bike manufacturers.

I cite the hideous Specialized bikes that so many riders were using in the Olympics. (Photo linked to rather than embedded in support of the recently proclaimed respect for copyrights.)

Thanks! Good to know. I'll post some pics when I'm done, I hope to do it justice.

Would look a lot better if they had gone black on the bar tape (IMHO) but that orange is pretty darn orange.

Turn that fork the other way! Then it will be a pig with lipstick!

I would just lightly sand any area that had exposed bare metal or rust. Then I'd tape it off (for neatness) and spray paint those areas...

You original factory paint job still does looks nice upon that frame. I wouldn't disturb it too much!

It looked even worse under a rider wearing sky blue kit. My theory is that Vino won gold because nobody wanted to ride close enough to have to look at him.

Basically done. Just waiting on some el cheapo Ching Shen tires from these folks... https://www.huskybicycles.com/Merchan...gory_Code=tire


Never used so much grease and lube on a single bike before. Hoping it will help keep the rust in check for awhile.
This has prompted me to update the bikes name from "The Pig" to "The Greasy Pig."


And I used to have standards *snifle, snifle*

It looks to good to be a beater, Maybe hammer some more dings in the paint?

You should wax the whole thing for good measure.

Considered working it over with a 2x4.

Been fighting "mission creep" and the urge to make upgrades.
The Greasy Pig has an old school steel seat post and I have several decent alloy ones that will fit........ NOOOOO!