AJI125 

1990 Bianchi Giro (I think). Picked up 2/3 of the bike for cheap, cleaned a bit and built up to try out. Not a total junk box build but a Frankenbike for sure. Needs some rust removal and touch up this winter. Don’t have great pictures (test rides only so far).

From purchase: Original Athena headset, crank, front derailleur, brake levers. Original seat. 8s 105 5400 series index downtubes and rear derailleur. 8s DA cassette. Bottle cage.




From me: 105 5500 series brakes. Older DT Swiss 240s wheelset. Bianchi marked 3TTT stem (predates bike year I think). Nitto Noodles. Ritchey classic post. Crappy bar tape job. Crappy platform pedals. Cheapo BB.

norcalmike

Picked this 86 Super Sport up recently. I like the black and red. Hoping the Co-op has a fork that fits.
I have a bunch of late 80s 600 and 105 stuff in the box. I'm gonna pick the worst I have.
gonna see if these knobby 28s I have will fit.
gonna be a neighborhood beater.
this frame has been around the block for sure.

AJI125 

That cleaned up nicely and looks awesome so far! Great work!

crank_addict

Gifted frame and fork. Cleaned the grime and polished.

Single speed coaster.

Pivo stem. Shimano 600 headset from junk box at a LBS. Origin 8 bar, polished. Remnant of tape and wine cork ends.

Dia Compe G brake calipers, possibly Dia Compe levers. Old cables / sheath.

Saddle from RHM that I had used on my RRB. SR Laprade post, logos ground off and polished.

Freebies cont.
Nervar crank, I forget what bottom bracket but might be a mix branding of cups and spindle. SR pedals. I DID purchase the MKS clone half toe clips. $16.

Wheels are ancient 700c non hook bead ally clinchers. Used spokes and nipples. 60s era Normandy tall flange hubs with wingnuts.
Splurged $3.50 per tire from old Nashbar - clearance. BMX whatever gear.

Found the Park Tool made Schwinn bag support.
Bag acquired from Goodwill for $3. Camera bag made in Japan made of thick leather and red cloth lined.

Thinking maybe just under $40 all in.

Visiting brother rode it around for a few days and really liked it. Offered but he wouldn't take it for free. Lol

non-fixie 

The only real parts bin remnants build I did was this one. I liked that fact that it was chromed, but other than that I wasn't at all sure of the frame's quality. And I didn't want to throw any money or good parts at a 'meh' frame. But curious as I was, I did a first build with the cheapest serviceable parts available, mostly Shimano Altus and Tourney.

Turned out it is a pretty decent ride, and the Altus and Tourney parts perform not much worse than other Shimano products from that era. Which means they are pretty decent as well.

thumpism 

Looks English with the wrapover seatstays. Forged dropouts? If so, I'd expect it to be pretty decent, maybe even Reynolds-ish.

cudak888 

A junk box randonneur that looks like an Alex Singer?

Tell me again how can I hit the like button multiple times, because I absolutely love this build.

-Kurt

79pmooney

It seems I have lost my photos of Jessica aka Team Dumpster, the circa 1990 sport Peugeot of Reynolds 501 tubing that I picked up as frame, trashed fork and crankset for $20 at teh community bikeshop's "as is" sale. (No test ride, no refund) It had been hit hard from the right side by probably an SUV judging from damage height. Frame pushed hard to the left, destroying the fork, putting a dent in the top tube and (as I discovered later) nearly breaking both chainstays behind the support.

Tape measure suggested this could work out well as a light, fast summer fix gear, something I"d never owned. Bought a French seatpost, a 110 BCD 1/8" TA track chainring (I don't get it but I wasn't complaining! Bent sidepull for the front, a better looking but less effect sidepull for the rear. Picked up a Bridgestone fork and bought a Tange headset that worked with the English/French mix (and cost, new, $8. Threw on fix gear wheels I had; Open Pro rims, Campy Tipo front, Miche track rear. TTT stem out of the box. Likewise bars, seat and pedals. Total layout - $105. Straightened the frame at that shop using my volunteer hours. (Way too easy to pull the rear drops over 2". I was soon to discover why.)

Took it for a ride. Wow! I hadn't ridden a bike this much fun since my racing bike 30 years before! Two weeks later I jut happened to see the cracks going around both chanstays, totally a full revolution. Well I used to build fiberglass racing sailboats. Had boatbuilder epoxy resin on hand. Someone gave me a scrap of carbon fiber years before. Heavy stuff; it was far from given that it would take the bends.

Well, nothing to lose so I went for it. Started OK. It seemed to be working but as I got further into it I was finding the CF was behaving like fiberglass mat that the resin isn't breaking down the binder of. Kept trying to lift up. This meant everything was taking too long and I knew I was losing to the eopxy set-up. So again - nothing to lose. I grabbed innertubes, cut them lengthwise with scissors and wrapped the job tightly. Lots of resin squeezed out. Left it, cleaned up the tools and found other things to do. (I learned many years ago that once epoxy starts to set up - don't touch it!! When its 90% set up, ou can cut it easily with a knife but 'till then, don't even think about it.)

Came back the next day hoping that just maybe the epoxy wouldn't bond too hard to the innertube strips. It didn't at all. Unwrapped it and the job looked like near perfect vacuum bagging! A tiny bit of sanding, and minor clean-up of the edges and it looked near professional. And trhe ride! Evfen better. This was not the stiffest BB'd Peugeot ever made!

That fall, it went to the painter with my new frame to get the same fire engine red paint. "Team Bumpster in big block letters on the downtube and a neat script Jessica on the top tube.

In lieu of pics, here is what I wrote after riding her for a while. (She in now retired, replace by Jessica J, a custom, from inception, road fix gear totally inspired by Jessica. I put 8k miles on Jessica and wanted to retire her before she broke and I wouldn't ride Jessica uphill just so she wouldn't beak coming down. Jessica J thrives going up and just as much, going down.)
"Had a date with Jessica yesterday afternoon. We went for a ride, nice and easy (hence "Go Easy", the wonderful instrumental recorded by Willie Dixon 40 years ago that does exactly that). The afternoon was beautiful. Sunny, then sunny fog, then very light rain with the sun not far away. We stopped for some excellent espresso 5 miles from home, then rolled the last 5 miles in sunlight.

"Jessica is always a hot date, but we never take beyond just riding. Just wouldn't feel right. I don't think I could ever look at her the same. But that's OK. The riding is great and she's a sweet companion.

"Jessica's my newest fix gear, the mid-level Reynolds 501 Peugeot that I picked up for $20 at the Community Cycling "As Is" sale. The bike had been hit hard by a car. Forks were trashed. Dent on the top tube. I named the bike “Team Dumpster” before I even had it home. I was to learn later that both chainstays had major cracks which I repaired with a rather artistic carbon fiber and epoxy mix. The bike's a blast to ride. A light, no nonsense pure road bike. Steering is wonderful (with an old beat up Bridgestone fork I picked up for $20). Total outlay is just over $100.

"She got her name when I listened to a talk just a month after I set up this bike given by a woman who turned her life around completely, from a drug addict who would sleep with anyone for her supply. Also with friend’s S.O.s to piss them off or just because she could. Said she expected to be found in a dumpster many times. By the next morning, I knew this bike had a name and that “Team Dumpster” was just the sponsor. (In my 40 years of riding, only one of my 10 bikes has ever had a name. The Peter Mooney is “Pete”. Why? Couldn’t tell you. Just realized one day that Pete was that bike’s name. Not a reflection on the builder, who I have never heard called anything but Peter.

"I have a lot of other bikes. About to get that super bike I’ve dreamed of for years. But Jessica will always be special. And if I repaint her, “Team Dumpster” will go onto the seat tube in big block letters and a small “Jessica” in script on the top tube.

Ben"

non-fixie 

Thank you! Actually it's my "Ronnie Hearse".

Actually, I did follow up on gomango 's suggestion in that thread when I found a $2 front bag:

cudak888 

- fitting!

Well, it is beautiful - and the Tourney centerpulls are a nice touch of obscurity too (how do they feel in use?). Wish I could find racks like that in my junk bin.

-Kurt

Murray Missile 

I have found Altus and Tourney to be somewhat heavy and usually ugly or at best plain looking but always rock solid and reliable. I've probably logged more miles on Shimano Altus in the past 23 years than all others put together, best bang for the buck components on the market as far as I'm concerned.

non-fixie 

Indeed. The Altus LT, with its Centeron mechanism, is one of the nicest-shifting vintage derailleurs I have come across. Get 'em while you can, now the secret is out.

dimini

Except for the early 90's wheel set, this mix & match Raleigh Pro is how I found it recently when I bought a small pile of bike parts for $40 including this and 3 other bikes. I think it's safe to say that some LBS rat built this from their spare/junk parts bin as there's not a matching part on the bike. DiaCompe calipers (Weinmann 500 copies), Weinmann levers, Ideale 90 saddle, Sugino Crankset with Campy fixed cup in the bottom bracket, Cinelli stem w/3TTT bars. It also had Shimano bar-end shifters w/Campy rubber covers on them. Mismatched toe clips, farmer's repair on an otherwise broken toe strap... seemingly endless array of resourcefulness. I'm slowly collecting and upgrading a few of the parts as I like this bike enough to keep it.

dimini

I have a Jim Blackburn rear rack in my junk bin. It's probably 1975 vintage. You can have it, but I doubt it's worth the cost of S&H.

browngw 

Working on a parts bin 26" bike as we speak. The frame and fork was given to me a while ago and some of the Shimano Alivio parts were still hanging off it. Its a small 15" frame so I will be building it as a sort of BMX style. LBS gave me a great deal on some 26X1.9 tires taken off a city bike. Its been kind of fun to build a low budget, out of character for me, bike.

Work has started.

Korean Cr-Mo Lespo frame 1994

Coming together.

CST grey tires.

Crossthreaded88

90% of these bikes are way too clean and not what I think of when talking a about a true Heinz 57 junk build. I know the majority of people on C&V are expensive road bike enthusiasts which shows as true according to the responses here. I'm talking more along the lines of, empty pockets and "junk box" and in need of a bicycle shaped object. This is the story of such bikes.

#1 Can't take credit for this one as found. Skip tooth drivetrain with 26" rear wheel, 26 x 1 3/8 vintage ladies frame, and a 700c fixie front wheel.
Hand painted frame.
#2 Needed gas money had everything except purple grips laying around and they were only $2.50
#3 Found this rusted beater Nirve and had the wheels bought 2 tires, chainguard, and a seat, sold in a day, instant trip to Vegas

cudak888 

Is that a Nexus 3 with a friction shifter? Did it shift well?

-Kurt

Mr Carl

This was a Blue Mongoose, but I got bored and started grabbing parts.

cudak888 

That front/rear triangle...in-fo-mation please. How is it affixed to the forks, and what does the shock mount to on the crown?

-Kurt

Mr Carl

the front triangle is from the back of a suspension bike. Using an axle, I was able to attach the front forks with the aid of extra washers. Then added the pegs. At the top, I grabbed an eye bolt that fit through the caliper brake hole. The kick stand had to be cut a little shorter, due to the height of the bike. It is a hard steer but was fun to build. This is the 2nd one I did. Each one is slightly different.

kc27

In 2016 I mentioned to a friend that my 6'6" teenage son had outgrown his bike. My friend provided this 1986 Schwinn World bike with a 25" frame that he had rescued, but had never done anything with it. When he gave it to me, it had been converted to a single speed, the tires were junk, the rims wobbled severely, brake levers were mangled. It was beyond my basic bicycle maintenance skills and tool collection. My son and I took it to a community bicycle workshop. A volunteer worked with us teaching us how to true the wheels, swapped out the turn down handlebars, install brake levers and cables, get the derailleurs working, basically get the bike functional. I thought my son might balk at having a recycled bike, but he was pretty happy with it. Once he got his driver's license, his bike riding dropped off a lot, but he still gets it out for a ride three or four times a month.

rjhammett

I purchased this Bianchi for $45. I stripped off all of the original parts (except headset) and replaced with parts bin components. It is mostly Shimano 600/Ultegra. I didn't purchase anything additional for it. It is on my trainer for the 6-7 cold months and will be my 'beater' bike the rest of the year.

martl

This guy here. Got the frame off a collector buddy from Tour-Forum, built it with no additional piece bought. Rides well

Crossthreaded88

Sorry for the long response time. Yes it shifted very well and yes that was a six speed friction shifter. Also came with a ground down nail for a shifting rod in the rear Nexus hub but I had a spare correct one.

Murray Missile 

Time to clean out some of the ugly and orphan parts again, I bought this '86 Fuji Suncrest a few years ago for the Deore Deer Head pieces pictured. The wheels shown have since gone to other homes and the Deer Head stuff has been stripped so it's just a frame and fork now. I spent last night rummaging through boxes of misfits and I think I have enough to put it together. I hope to finish it with zero cash outlay and using as few new consumables from my supply as possible. I will be using a NIB set of Slime tubes I bought years ago. I had another set on a bike and after running over something and having to clean that green crap off my bike I never used this second set. If they haven't rotted in the box this will be the perfect use for them, if this bike gets green slime all over it no one will notice LOL. I replaced the almost new Continental Town & Country 26 X 1.9's on one of my other bikes because the sidewalls are severely cracked so that's what it's getting for tires until they finally disintegrate completely. I may also have to snitch a new cable or two from the stash but I think I can scrounge enough leftover pieces of housing from previous builds to finish it up. I'll hose the dust and cobwebs off and degrease it then service the headset, BB and hubs but it's not getting any polishing or paint touch up. It goes together just the way it is. I hope to get it done over the next few days. Stay tuned, things are gonna get "ugly"!