DorkDisk

Full suspension and small wheels for a double bummer.

John E

I no longer have room in my life for ugly bikes, but believe me, they were quite the thing for me and others when I was a UCLA student, and bike theft was rampant. My specialty was old English three-speeds converted to 9 or 12 speed hybrid transmissions, with blotchy spray paint over the original black paint. Dirt or even rust? No problem!

Bianchigirll 

First pic is just fooling around while fitting the parts so maybe she isn't that bad.




Here she is before I had to sell the CampI bits off her.

ctak

But not too ugly to be loved


Aye-aye

Bianchigirll 

thats my cat!

Bianchigirll 

you could, maybe, make it look worse if you put a treadle type pedal system on it

jamesdak 

IDK, it may just blend in with everything else going on with it.

randyjawa 

You want ugly. Though I have shared this speed tunnel special before, I can't let this thread go by without it making a token appearance...

RobbieTunes

Ugliest bike I ever built was for cehowardGS . He retired and would take his bike on the bus from Baltimore to DC and have coffee at various McDonald's, generally spreading good will. He wanted a bike that was as unattractive as possible. We settled on about an '83 or '84 Raleigh Competition, a really faded and beat-up pastel and rusty green with stripes faded to pink. The saddle had more duct tape than leather. I found some very dirty old pink bar wrap, and delighted in wrapping the bars without having to wash my hands first. The more grease, the better. We kept the nasty cable housing, made sure not to clean any part of the frame or components. The calipers were caked in grime, hoods missing, hubs were Raleigh, I think, galvanized spokes. We repacked the headset, hubs, bottom bracket, cleaned and lubed the jockey wheels, and lubed all the pivots. We even put old rat-trap pedals on it with half-clips so he could wear his Fila shoes. In an old Army jacket, turtleneck, stocking cap, jeans, and Fila's, there was just no way to associate him, on sight (or site) as a collector and avid cyclist. We wanted appearances to be deceiving. It was by far the ugliest bike I'd had in my garage.

His first time out, it got stolen.

Three days later, he found it at the train station, missing a front wheel. So I crawled back under my house and fished out another Raleigh front and we were back in business.

It got stolen again.

He did not get mad. He laughed. If someone needed a bike that looked like that, he felt they should have it.
What we both found funny, is the thief would likely ride it, and be amazed at how well it rode, for what it looked like.

I still laugh today.

Prowler 

Other than Babe, the Blue Oxen, shown elsewhere, I suppose my frankenbike is my ugly bike. IIRC the f/f is a 1974 Gitane Gypsy Sport and the rest is from 26 other bikes and parts bins etc. It is hidden away through the good weather and comes down stairs for the winter, like it did yesterday. Yup, French fit but its all day comfortable. The cheap rack is good enough for holding layers if the day warms up some and for holding the mail while I ride on up to the house. f/f was stripped and spray bombed (Rustoleum) which has held up quite well for the past 6 or 7 years. Even road salt does not harm it much. Ugly huh?



Yup, that's the garden hose running along the driveway. Used to fill the water buckets and troughs all winter. I have to lay it out and drain it every day to keep it from freezing solid. That's life with horses.

dmarkun

Saw on FB Marketplace and was shocked and offended - but there were likes and compliments on the "lovely bike" so what do I know.

thook

as they say, there's something for everyone!!!......or something

bwilli88 

My Big Boy BMX 29r.

gthomson

First the Peugeot, now the Trek 800 - i guess you and I have similar tastes in bikes! Love the view from your front porch. I see this picture and just, I'm going to have fun today. Here's my grocery getter that I bought new around 94 and just didn't give enough love.

I call it Shrek, because it's big, green and ugly.

Juan el Boricua

Here's mine! This thing is my gone-shopping-without-worries bike; not a classic nor vintage but, I think it qualifies!

OldsCOOL

Love it! These will go down in cycling history as the most versatile and durable bikes EVER.

Phil_gretz

There are some really ugly bikes posted on BikeForums. These ^ above (in this entire thread) aren't among the ugliest. @jamesdak has something pretty ugly, but clean, for his entry. So much wrong about the aesthetic of that frame and its angles. Ugh. But it is clean and apparently functional.

ollo_ollo

Here's mine, a $10 bike from the 2017 Clunker 100 challenge. Quite functional. From the right angle, at a distance, looks OK, but up close, see why I could park unlocked all over Salem, OR area with no doubt it would still be there when I returned. Don

ollo_ollo

Here's mine, a $10 bike from the 2017 Clunker 100 challenge. Quite functional. From the right angle, at a distance, looks OK, but up close, see why I could park unlocked all over Salem, OR area with no doubt it would still be there when I returned. Don

morri869 

Here's mine. It's a suspected Japanese bianchi but has at least two coats of (bad) extra paint. The components are a mixed bag, no handlebar tape, etc. It ugly

Just got back from a ride because while it may be ugly, it's perfect for messy winter riding 🙂