Fat Hitchhiker

I don't think I mine qualifies as a winter project because: 1. I live in the Phoenix area, so we don't have winter, and 2. It may take me longer than the winter to get this finished.
I mostly wanted to start something because nobody has posted in this sub-forum in over a week.
Here is what I have:

It is a North Country ATB; Pretty sure it was from a Canadian big box retailer back in the 80's (Proudly sporting the Made in Canada sticker on the frame). I found it at goodwill for $10 (during 'half off everything' day), so it looks like a pretty good beginning to a budget build. I am starting the search through yard sales, thrift shops and junk yards for the coolest/cheapest parts. After a fresh coat of paint, I'm pretty sure I'm going to go for a single speed with a coaster brake. I dig the triangle bars, but they may prove to be a little too high, I guess I will see. With budget being the goal, it may take me a while, but in the end it will be worth it. I know that this may be better on the SS/FG forum, but Alt seems like the most understanding of cheap, heavy, old bikes (and this one is heavy as hell).
So now it's your turn; Show us what you have planned!

Flying Merkel

This:



The Schwinn Ranger. Found it in the alley. It was hit by a car. Mostly intact. It's now an 8 speed. It's going to be a beater/grocery getter/cruise to the beach bike. I'm laying out a "Lost in Space" inspired paint job. If it gets stolen, no big loss. Works surprisingly well for a cheap awful MTB.

wedgeSG

Not really Alt but I'll play. First off is a resto on a late '80's Puch. Managed to find the bike(s), that my, (now), wife and I bought when we were dating many years ago. The ladies mixte was bent beyond repair, but donated some parts so it still sorta lives on in a way. My old bike is getting the works, new paint, VeloOrange wheels, Nitto bars and stem, new BB, and other goodies. Lotsa improvements but still staying fairly close to the original design in both drivetrain and visuals. The other one in the works is, (best I can tell), a mid '80's Bianchi Strada. I got this frame off Craigslist as an abandoned project for cheapcheap. Thankfully the guy hadn't planned to go fixie with it, so all the braze-ons were still attached. He'd gotten it stripped and freshly powder coated in a lipsticky red and started to realize it was gonna be cheaper to buy new than redo vintage. I've got bitten by the build bug bad, so I'm wanting to do something a bit more dedicated on this one. Plans are for some nice mid-level wheels, and a full 5700 105 build. Already scored a 1" carbon fork for it that's in the paint shop now being finished in white. Red/White pretty much the whole theme. I'm wanting to modernize/update the entire bike. Pretty silly in the grand scheme of things, but I'm doing the project as a stepping stone. This is just a way to stay busy/sane until I can find a nicer frame to move the parts over onto. Really want something in Celeste, but stripping new powder is crazy and difficult. So that's my plans. Everything is ready to go on the Puch as soon as I get the frame back from the painter. The parts chase has just began on the Bianchi.

jimmie65

We have a little more winter here in central Texas, but not much. And my project's not really Alt.
But I picked up a Cannondale M300 for $10 recently. It rides as-is (once I did some adjustments) but I'm going to strip it down and overhaul it, then built it back up with scavenged parts - I think it will make a good light touring bike when I'm done.

Philphine

nothing and everything.

i'm constantly buying and doing small things, but the big projects i've been intentionally holding off on. trying to make myself finish some projects before i start new ones. it's log jamming me because the old projects either need something i can't do or want to pay for(build wheels mainly) or something i don't like doing (sanding and paint prep).

but i do have a nice long piece of square tubing i mean to make an attempt at a frame jig with, hopefully soon. it's another reason i'm holding off because if i can make something decent, i'd rather wait to use it for the new projects.

Rollfast

The Rollfast is put away each winter. The Schwinn is my daily driver year round. I have to put a suitable tread on the rear to replace the used Electra whitewall as diamond pattern siping is not going to handle icy roads. I have more than 30 years of experience in winter cycling and it's my only transportation independent of car rides in winter. I will be working on stereo equipment as much as I can.

Dilbert2015

I just ordered the head set and crank set for my DeSoto TrailMate trike.

Over the winter it will be getting completely overhauled. I will be posting pictures of my progress from teardown through paint and re-assembley.

(He said with such quiet confidence!)

Rollfast

I'm going to break this here instead of my Tempest thread...

I found a really inexpensive non-Schwinn (and unknown brand) cantilever bike and a tank and the lights for the tank and THAT is my winter project.

I could not resist at the prices I'm paying! It was repainted red and the fenders need work and paint and I have parts for it, intend to add black for a classic two-tone look.

Hey Dilbert2015! I switched a 60s Hawthorne ladies 26" with 3-speed '333' internal hub over to single speed and 1.95" wide tires, had the seat reupholstered, added paperboy baskets, a light, rear and wheel reflectors and new handle grips lickety split, you can do it!

Watch THIS (that's me!)

capnjonny 

I brought a Crestline tandem mtn bike home from the Bicycle Exchange a week ago. It had been sitting in the pile of old bikes all year and no one wanted to mess with it.

It came with 2.1/4" x 26" knobby tires on it .

I have re greased and adjusted the wheel bearings and replaced the rear seat that was getting gooey(gel) with a huge Schwinn comfort saddle big enough for any tushy and polished up the chrome handle bars.

Actually the bike was in pretty good nick when I brought it home. The brake pads look new. I just re adjusted the pads to hit the rims at the right angle. The bike shifts ok. Shimano 105 indexed 7 speed rear and 3 speed front. One thing wrong was the rear seat pinch bolt was stripped. I had to cut it off with my angle grinder and diamond disk and put on a new bolt.

I added front and back reflectors and removed the rear rack with folding metal side baskets(that sucker weighed 6.5 lbs) and added a rear CatEye flasher I found in the parts bin. I mounted it to the rear eyelet on the left side down at the axle.

I took of the knobbies and installed some CST C727 1.75x26" cruiser tires and lastly put a Q Light front headlight on the front handle bars. It ain't much of a light for brightness with its standard incandescent bulb but it was free from our bins and it works.

Now that I have the mechanical work done I want to tart it up a little. I am thinking of getting some reflective 1/8" pin stripe tape for the frame. Also a possibility is some black reflective tape. This stuff won't show against the black frame in the day time but will show up at night when the headlights hit it.

Some valve stem LEDs and maybe a whip antenna on the back with a flag on it and this bad boy should be ready for the local bike party of cruising the beach at Santa Cruz.

When it's all done we will sell it. All proceeds going to the Bicycle Exchange non profit.

The picture is from the internet. it is the same bike except mine has white graphics.

Rollfast

That's mine.

DQRider 

Found a 1971 Raleigh DL-1 at a garage sale this past summer. It was rusty and beat up, but I could see the Quality underneath all that. Forty bucks and it was mine. Here's the As Found shot:



After two months sporadic attention, and another two hundred spent, The Roadster looks like this now:



I'm waiting for decals and painting the chain guard right now, so it'll be ready for the Lake Pepin 3-Speed Tour in May. Plenty of time... right?

skrudumra

This is the bike I've been working on, a commuter made from a great old Giant MTB. I've changed bars, wheels, tires, seat and post, as well as handlebars and cables. I have it a much more upright position. The bike, fully dressed weighs about 30 pounds. Not bad for a steel frame. When putting the bike together,I was on a budget and bought cheap tires (Bell) and hope to soon replace them with Geax tires. I would also like to replace the steel forks with a carbon fiber fork.

Philphine

the frame jig I mentioned last year, and my first try at using it





I lost my younger sister recently, and kinda decided to build her son a bike a few weeks later. I'm a little further along than this. trying to get it done by christmas (build is on freakbike), but this pic had the jig in it. until it's done it's the main winter project.


the jig isn't perfect, but still better than none. I still eyeball a lot of things, but I have more ways to bolt/clamp things down once I'm satisfied with the position instead of trying to hold it straight and tack it together. now that I know the jig helps I'm hoping to maybe get to a coker monster project next (and other things where I lucked out on a frame I want to take less chance of messing up). i'll probably go back to dragging my butt speed again with no time limit.

george1

KOTA

Any of those projects finished?

Philphine

the last one I posted pretty much is





I still have it though, so I may make an attempt at adding a disc brake to the rear if I come across a wheel.


and now that I know the jig at least helps I cut up one of my coker monsters too. not done but rideable as a single speed while I figure out getting a rear wheel built

Philphine

it just occurred to me that might have been specificly asked to the last poster, but that's where I am anyway. also have come across two mongoose jump bikes, one is now my hooligan cargo bike project, and the other is a 26" bmx-ish project.

Patchupco

Since we are approaching winter again...

I'm gonna ratrod the hell out of this bike below. Adding a moped front light assembly that I will rig to work with batteries and I'll probably add some thickslick tires on it so I can hit all the downhills on it when I'm finished. Might clear-coat the frame to preserve the patina and add a front pizza rack that will hopefully be similarly weathered.

It's hard for me to decide anything though until I start doing stuff one by one. Enjoyed seeing the past builds on here and hope they at least got somewhat finished!

Happy Feet

I did this bike last winter but am thinking of dropping/replacing the seat, returning the HB's back to the flipped originals and adding one of those tiny gas motors to try and break the 1898 land speed record.

jimmie65

I've got a few things sitting around for Texas winter, though my skill level is way below most posters' level.

I'm hoping to restore and customize this rusty BMX fat bike. I'm thinking bright red paint job, ape hangers, and a layback seatpost. Currently, it's been stripped and primered. I need to repair the chainstay before painting, though.

Not sure what all I want to do with the Schwinn Meridian trike. Different bars, an umbrella holder, some paint? I just took off the original basket, which I might plasti-dip. I don't like the fenders at all, but not sure whether to lose them or paint them. If I lose them, I can fit some slightly wider tires on the back. Eventually, I'll convert it to multispeed (when budget allows).


EDIT - also have a golf bag caddy that I plan to convert to a travois style trailer.

Philphine

I'm into my usual scatterbrained million bikes projects going, and maybe one gets completely done.

my nephews bike is the only one I completely finished. still working on the coker monster stretch (need a rear hub and get a 36" wheel built from it), backtracked on a couple of stretches, about 3-4 other new stretches, and about 5 cargo bike ideas (the hooligan cargo bike, fat cargo bike, his and hers midtails, and tandem cargo bike. more ideas and parts collecting on those though).


so yeah, constantly building, and sometimes one actually gets finished.

voor9

Two great finds from same seller. New undriven frames:

Scott Speedster Contessa S (20 1/2") (40 bucks).

Pure Fix fixie (22"), seat post, seat, nothing else, luckily. Nice cream color. Can have something better than those original wheels these usually have (30 bucks).

oliviathesis

this winter I'll be working on my thesis project which is about biking with your children as passengers, I'll be designing either a bike or some accessories that twill help people carry their kids around.

rumrunn6

gotta clean & lube some drivetrains

jimmie65

Update -
I stripped and painted the BMX fat bike, got the seatpost, and set it aside. Lack of brake options is frustrating, so I'm looking for one of those 20" kid's fat bikes to steal a wheel from (I've got a disc brake adapter that I will weld to the frame). Plan B is v-brakes for the front only but I haven't had luck sourcing one big enough. If it falls back to plan B, I will have to fabricate a noodle.

Schwinn Meridian went bye-bye; couldn't handle the lack of gears for the hills around here. Found an old beat-up Torker and straightened/rebuilt it so it's rideable. Still to do: strut-mounted front basket, remove the ugly stickers. Possibly may replace the front fork with a disc-ready suspension fork I was given, though not sure what the geometry will be like.

The golf caddy is still sitting there, but I did put together a trailer frame I'd had sitting around for 3 years. Still need to bolt on the front toolbox for some covered storage and I may plywood the side rails.

Also restored this Mongoose Beast, which may be why I lost interest in the little fat bike.

And I needed some way to carry the trike since I no longer have a pickup. A heavy bread rack bolted to my cargo carrier did the trick.