J.Higgins 

So I've been thinking about starting this for a long time, but a similar thread has got my interest piqued again.

The challenge will be to setup a cheap bike tour with the cheapest or free-est components and gear that you can muster. All receipts must be shown for components and gear. A tour must be undertaken on said setup, and two overnights spent using that gear. Deadline: 1-9-2018.

Winner will be judged by popular vote. Points added for style, particular ways of being thrifty, and creative thinking.

Any takers?

mstateglfr 

"Simpson's did it."


That deadline is in the past too, unless im misreading.
I will for sure read thru the thread if it gets up and running!

Eggman84

And the purpose of this thread is? I did a week tour with a bike and gear I already owned for years (no reciepts needed). What do I win?

browngw 

I assumed the purpose of the thread is to look at pictures of touring bikes we are building or have just built. I have about $160 CDN invested in this 1965 Dilecta Le Blanc. It had been used and abused as a "fixie" for a while, and am still detailing it (too cold and snowy to ride it)and have not yet found a saddle for touring. I also need to build/modify a front rack.
Features:
Stronglite Crankset - traded for a 54T Dura Ace
Superchampion Rims on Pelessier 2000 Professionel hubs- came with another bike.
Suntour components from the bin
Jagwire Road cable set
Metal/plastic Zefal fenders/mudguards- given to me
New Sun Race 14-28 freewheel
Cinelli cork tape-$19 US
SR stem from a old Bridgestone stepthru.
New Michelin 28mm Dynamic Classics $45CDN
Bits from the Bin!- Priceless!

checoles

Start afresh, like you have no bike at all. Then build what you can, for as little money as you can.

I though common sense would've kicked in somewhere there...

tmac100

It seems the point is merely for discussion and bragging rights. Fine - if you need your ego stroked and have nothing better to do. Kinda like some other "discussions" - including those like angels dancing on the head of a pin.

Just my opinion. I am not interesting in trodding on anyone's toes/need for bragging rights.

fietsbob

Buy & carry less gear, spend more daily.. the essence of credit card touring..

indyfabz

Wut

J.Higgins 

Somebody slap me please. I meant 9-1-2018.

alan s 

So who won?

J.Higgins 

I'm actually quite serious. Some folks can think outside the box. Its got nothing to do with ego. There's not really a competition here, so there's no need for bragging rights. Its a challenge. I challenge you to build a bike and gear setup, stock it with food and water, and go spend two nights and two days riding. Can you do it?

jefnvk

This is the one from last year: 2017 Inexpensive Tour Bike (and tour) Build contest!

It was far better (IMO) after rules and points were tossed out.

fietsbob

stealing someone else's whole kit when they are shopping is done..

that lowers your cost at their expense..


wally world bike, plastic bags, or hit the charity shops..

indyfabz

Wait. If one has to spend two nights but can ride only two days that means one has to spend two nights at the same place. And what if one can find food along the way? Do they still have to carry everything from the start.


Personally, I already have a bike and gear that I like and use. No desire for anything additional at this point, regardless of how little it costs.

J.Higgins 

Mods please close this thread. I'll withdraw my challenge.

tmac100

Nope! Not personally interested.

In 2005 I decided to travel in outback Australia - unsupported. Spent $3000 on a custom built touring bike made to fit ME. The frame, wheels and racks were built for outback long-distance on dirt roads. The wheels are very strong (and thus heavy) with PW 48 spoke hubs on 26" wheels. Used components: handlebars, cranks, Brooks 17 saddle, bar end shifters.

The bike has made 3 tours in the Australian outback and Cape York is planned for June - July. Don't want to build a lower quality bike to meet someone's challenge to build an inexpensive touring bike. Happy with my bikes as-is. Your challenge is poorly designed - as others have indicated before me!

My current bicycles work for me

BBassett

Thanks, but I actually do the opposite.

veganbikes

You generally don't have to ask people to be cheap, they do it on their own. That is why Shimano and SRAM put their name on garbage from wally-mart or targét or even low end bikes from the likes of Specialized, Trek, Fuji, Cannondale, Jamis, Marin...That is why new modern bikes still have freewheels instead of cassettes or are using loose ball components of no quality. Not all cyclists are cheap but it seems like there is a huge race to the bottom instead of floating at least in a nice comfortable middle or moving towards the top.

Granted though my commuter bike was made with a bunch of mostly free parts but of decent quality. I did buy a new frame and wheels (and rubber) along with chain and cassette and I did get new matching levers and a new rear caliper to replace the garbage rear one but it was more a want to use all the parts I had collected rather than just being cheap.

jefnvk

While I disagree about rules and points, one nice thing about "cheap bike challenges" is that they provide a good base of how to do things on a budget. Not everyone has $3000 to spend on a custom rig to take off for months in the Outback, many may want to start out with a weekend trip of the state parks near their home without breaking the bank.

There were quite a few interesting bikes that came out of the last challenge, that easily illustrated how to get something that was effective for a couple hundred bucks or less.

Bandera

I'm no more interested in building a cut-rate machine w/ weak brakes, limited gearing and heavy weight compare to the bike I already own for the annual ride to a nice old hotel in the Hill Country than I would to change destinations to a Motel 6 in a sketchy neighborhood. Is dressing in torn sweat pants, flip-flops and a gimme-cap part of the "challenge" as well?

-Bandera

tmac100

I went on my first outback tour to Australia when I was 58. At that stage of life I was married with sons in university, and was nearing the end of my career. With my 5th near death experience, I decided to start bicycle touring.

I now have 2 custom made bicycles, a Brompton folder, and an Indian copy of a 30s or 40s British roadster. I take my grown sons to countries where they can surf, and I still indulge myself in bicycle solo touring. But now I am almost 70. I have been a diabetic since 1964 and don't use a car much because I don't have the need anymore... Not as concerned with "making it" as when I was younger. Different priorities, I suppose

Yes, I understand that younger folks don't have $3000 to spend on a custom bicycle. Been there. 20 y.a. I didn't have the $$ to buy a replacement FD for my 1974 10-speed Peugeot. Now at almost 70 I fly Business class and still enjoy sleeping in the outback on bike tours, self-supported.

I hope you will keep your bicycle touring interest until you reach my age and have great tours.

Happy Feet

I don't think this idea has enough momentum at the moment because we haven't had our previous virtual touring troll around for a while disparaging other peoples bikes as cheap low quality while touting the virtues of spending as much as one possibly can on a dream bike. Things have actually been fairly pleasant lately. As Jefnvk pointed out, the good that came out of those encounters was the notion that it doesn't take a lot to tour if one really wants to just get out on the road. The inexpensive build contest really acted to counter those negative notions that you needed "expensive custom" to tour right.

Rather than cheap for cheap's sake, a good example would have been Dale (aka Snuts) who followed his dream of touring on a modest bike (complete with insulated Thermos front bag) while posting with such an enthusiastic and positive POV that he made friends here with just about everyone. I don't think he said an unkind word to anyone. The goal wasn't cheap as much as "be happy doing it with what you've got".

No Control: Why not document your build and just invite others to post in with theirs if they are doing one as well. My focus this winter is on upgrading two specific bikes so I am not doing any rebuilds just for fun as usual.

fietsbob

OK , Its another time killer thread , until spring, while working not riding..

unless you are in the southern hemisphere..


....

mstateglfr 

Ouch.

As someone who just bought an $11 Tange Passage looseball headset over the weekend, I gotta say that is a tough perspective you got there. Pretty dire and bitter.
A lot of people in life simply dont find the value in more expensive bikes. If they did, they would buy em more and the entry level market would shrink.

You are basically complaining that consumers dont find value in the extra curricular hobby that you enjoy and value.

This race to the bottom you complain about isnt unique to cycling- its consumerism in general and is hardly new. Its based on the realities of a global economy and has in part allowed us to become a society that is absurdly wealthy while enjoying longer lives and less disease than any point in recorded history.

An inexpensive looseball headset is perfectly servicable on a road bike for decades. That, to me, is an excellent product as it combines longevity with cost avoidance. Best of both worlds. Same with freewheels(though current offerings probably arent the same quality as ones from decades ago that still work). Regardless, if a $15 freewheel lasts a decade, how is that a bad thing?


I would also argue that the industry continues to move away from that which you decry. Trickle down tech has bikes in the $600 price range rocking carbon forks, threadless headsets, reliable STI shifting, etc. Much of what you detest is on kids bikes and every entry level big box retail bikes which are markets that should always exist since many dont want a bike that costs more than a few hundred $.

alan s 

Things would get much more lively around here if we could find someone who is panhandling to pay for an expensive e-bike vacation.