Velocivixen

I initially was going to enter. I bought my original 1988 Rockhopper Comp for $60. I could have ridden it as found. However the cables were frozen inside of the housings so it wouldn't shift and braking was scary. I replaced the usual consumables, friend gave me smooth road tires, but then I bought Midge handlebars, new road brake levers (ones in parts bin were defective). Anyway I came in close to about $148. I didn't have to change handlebars, although the 140mm stem put me way out there. I ended up changing things to do more of a restore vs just get it running.

I only took one "before" photo and it was just a picture of a moderately grimy bike. So I didn't enter because I didn't think I had a chance of getting any votes. After seeing a lot of the more "esoteric" higher end type road bikes I decided to bow out.

Bike Cottage

Hey Velocivixen, I'm sure that not everyone went above and beyond with their projects. Yours would have likely fit right in. My Raleigh Sprite entry is very pedestrian for sure.

David325

To Velocivixen and whoever else, entries of all types are welcome! It's all for fun after all. You can PM me for the email address to send a couple photos and a short description.

rgver

@Velocivixen you should enter, it's all fun and if you do it's another build story with pics we all get to see. I'm looking forward to all the builds, photos and stories that go with the bikes.

Barchettaman

Velocivixen, just throw a few photos together with an entertaining paragraph or two about the build and enter.

It's all about the taking part, and yours sounds like a cool build. I'd love to hear about it!

dck

OK, here's mine. The before and after pics of a '62 Peugeot UO8 that I put a lot more time and money into than I'll ever recover.

Barchettaman

Awesome job there. Triple points if you manged to save and reuse the chain, I reckon.

David325

If everyone could PM me their final mileage/temperature of rides for points calculating purposes, it'd be much appreciated! Compilation thread to be posted ASAP!

rgver

Excited to see what everyone else has done with theirs. My mileage has been severely hampered by the white stuff everywhere, I am itching to get riding these and bikes again in general

CliffordK

Whew...

I finally got the required bicycle tracks in the snow photo.



I went back to the McKenzie pass today. This time I got a ride for the 45 miles to the base of the mountain.
Then 20 miles and about an add9tional 4000 feet of climbing to get to the 5325 ft pass. Then 20 miles back down the mountain, and 50 miles back home.

Most of the snow I encountered was a couple of miles west of the summit where the trees are thicker.

A couple of patches of snow near the summit (of the pass).



But, for the most part it was pretty barren up there.



I haven't been up there in the winter, but I think the pass should have 5 to 10 feet of snow this time of year.

Paulfs67

Here's my 94 Ritchey Road Logic, picked it up for $20.

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After a lot of work, all braze on's had to be replaced and rear brake bridge, ended up having a brass tunnel put in the top tube for the brake cable, put quiet a few k's on it now such a beautiful bike to ride.
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David325

Update: All the entries have been compiled into one thread, everyone can vote for their favorite. https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vi...-favorite.html

RandolphCarter

So my son and I got the Girvin together - I realize we're too late to enter it in the contest, but the finished product turned out better than I was expecting!



The bike is a late 1980s Girvin Offroad Climber that was given to me by a neighbor. it was complete, but in rough shape.

Parts/cost breakdown as follows:
New brake and derailleur cables, housing, ferruels, and cable tips - $30
2 Kenda 700C X 33 cyclocross tires - $40 or $50
innertubes - $8 (KMart was going out of business. I walked away with a pile of tubes, $4 each)
Skateboard truck bushing to replace elastomer in suspension stem - $4
Wellgo MTB pedals - from parts bin
NOS Shimano Exage cantilever brakes - from parts bin
KMC chain - from parts bin
Grips - taken off another of my bikes, still sorta new-ish

bassogap

that Ritchey is stunning! It's amazing what you can buy used....you really did a fantastic job bringing that bike back!

acoffin 

I did not get my entry in, but might as well show what I built. Here are before and after shots of a 1988 (approximately) CyclePro Rendezvous. This is intended to be my "city" bike. I'm not sure how often I will use it considering how I love road bikes and drop bars, but this thing is a lot of fun for quick jaunts. It will get paint of some sort this summer if I decide to keep it around.

Barchettaman

That Ritchey.

Wow.

Paulfs67

Thanks for nice comments about the Ritchey, took me about 2 years to bring it back, It took a while to track down decals which I finally got from Ritchey and they didn't want any money for them, then finind a good frame builder to to the repairs then choosing the paint colour and getting all the components together. The original running gear was had it so I decided put DA 7800 on it and I had a set of wobler profile 20's laced to DA7400 hubs. It rides beautifully, handles like a dream.

RandolphCarter

That came out really nice! A Brooks saddle almost always looks great on any bike, yours is no exception.

What stem is that?

Why paint it? It looks great as it is.

acoffin 

You have to get close. My wife says it looks like the bike is growing chest hair. Besides, color is fun. I'm not against splatter paint, but this splatter is plain ugly.

CliffordK

Well, I have my eye on my next bike build.

I'm ready to do this all over again

Just got a first-contact e-mail from the seller, and he is already wanting to drop the price from $75 "firm" down to $20.



If I get this, I have no doubt that it will be a hard working bike, but may not be able to put on quite as many miles in 2 weeks as the last one.

ergillma

Possibly the ugliest bike ever made. A 1977 Western Flyer made by Murray. The good news is that the wheels are round and it came with new tires and tubes. The seat and fenders have to go.

ksdine

I wouldn't call it ugly since it's just a classic 3-speed (Shimano) design from that era. One of my bikes is a similar American-made Huffy, which I enjoy riding around on when cruising in style (when speed is not my goal).

I've refurbished several older Murrays and you really do need tear them apart to lube their bearings. Most older bikes I've restored over the years, the lube in their bearings looks like dirty wax. But in the two Murrays I've restored, their bearings were totally dry. I suspect that the Murray company used heavy oil instead of grease to lube their bearings, and perhaps the lighter oil may have simply evaporated over the years?

In any event, all bikes need to be occasionally torn apart and their bearings cleaned and re-lubed.

Ride your Murray with pride!
:-)

mountaindave 

+1 Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I just gave away a similar bike to a friend and she was ecstatic to have a bike. I have a ladies Schwinn Suburban that was my grandmother's and still in great shape, and a Ross Eurotour that is my daily commuter. I love'em all.

the sci guy 

I searched for "lipstick on a pig" and this was the largest thread I found so I'm topping it for my query!
(no I didn't read through it)

...So what's the consensus on putting nice(er) components on a bottom of the line frame? Is it like building a lamborghini body on a Yugo drivetrain? I got about $150 in birthday money and was looking to maybe upgrade to a decent stem, or seatpost (not that there are any 25.8 seatposts out there anyway...), or nice levers - I dunno.

I'm sure most people will say "its your bike do what you want!"

CliffordK

Well, this is a blast from the past. If you read through the thread, it was a fun challenge to build a nice bike from misc parts on a budget.

It is really easy to let one's expenses get away from oneself, even if trying to be cheap.

Just adding one or two fancy parts on an old bike won't help a lot. But, there could be reasons for specific upgrades such as a steel seatpost that isn't holding tight being upgraded to a better quality post. Or, going from "Friction" to "Retro Friction" for shift levers, or even indexed (being aware of gear spacing, derailleurs, etc).

There are several 25,8 seatposts on E-Bay, or they pop up on the classifieds on this forum.

You might check out:
Retro roadies- old frames with STI's or Ergos