duffer1960

I bought a Fuji mtn bike through Craigslist. The guy was advertising all sorts of random junk on Craigslist & that should have been my first clue that something was wrong. I rode it & it wasn't perfect but I thought I'd be able to fix it. Paid $60 iirc. When I got it home & disassembled it, found that it was completely trashed & broken internally. Since it was a Fuji, the parts were non-standard and not repairable. I ended up throwing most of it away. So mad, googled the guy, found out his profession was used car salesman. I'm pretty sure he picked it up off the curb.

A work associate wanted my opinion of a bike he'd bought from a different Craigslist seller who advertises bikes like the ones seen earlier in this thread. "All tuned up, ready to ride!" I've never seen such crap. The tubing was very thin sheet metal, with obvious seams, and the joints were barely tacked together with a few small welds, not welded all the way around the joint. As if that wasn't bad enough, it was rusty in critical areas, looked to me to be terribly unsafe. To the seller's credit, he did refund my associates' money or gave him a different bike or something.

Lascauxcaveman 

I don't see any parts worth salvaging, so just get rid of it.

Second fastest way to get rid of it: leave it on a busy street corner with a "Free Bike" sign stuck to it
Fastest way to get rid of it: park it unlocked at night near a pub in the sketchy part of town.

tonyfourdogs

Thanks for all the encouragement, friends. I feel much better now....

It gets better of course. I think the previous owner must have been an adhesives expert. One hour later, and I've exposed the bar tape, and some of the right seat stay.





Beneath several layers of electrical tape, I had to tackle half a dozen wraps with gaffer tape. Seriously wtf? And those 'chrome' seat stays are just cheap, thin aluminium foil superglued to the frame (at least, that's how it feels to peel it off)

It's definitely a peugeot though - the paint doesn't cover the sticker on the seat tube at all well.

non-fixie 

Yes, a Peugeot. The only one with that tubing decal I've found is the Esprit. The geometry looks quite decent, and if it were mine I'd be tempted to strip and repaint it and build it with some leftover parts.

tonyfourdogs

I'm tempted too. It's my size, and I've always found peugeots to be a comfortable ride. Might even consider a powder coat...

HarborBandS

If you do, in fact, believe this is a decent frame, just strip the parts off and take it to a powder coater.

I know you're in the UK, but here in the Chicago area you can get a frame media-blasted and powder coated for just over $100. And since you have 15 pounds in to this thing at this point, you would have a nice frame set with fresh paint for under $150. That's not a large sum.

I only mention this because it's a frame that fits you and perhaps one that you know you like the ride of. It's low risk. And hey, if any of the parts are salvageable, that's an added bonus.

jethin

I’m very disappointed in you and your poor decision, Tony.

Sister Jethin of the Perpetual Martyr

tonyfourdogs

Hahahaha please tell me how to absolve myself, sister. I am a slave to my impure thoughts, obviously

USAZorro

How are we defining "worst'? Is it by appearance? State of deterioration? A malfunction of design that just can't be turned into something that would be worthy of being used?

Depending on the criteria used, I could make a case for the well maintained and carefully kept 198x Trek Tri-series that I bought about 10 years ago being the worst bike ever. I got it for $125, and it was ready to ride. I took it along with me to watch a day of bike racing on the Rodale circuit at Trexlertown, and then took it for a spin a few times around the course after the competitions were done. The bike had a dead feel to it. The next week I passed it on to a local C&V acquaintance for what I paid for it. It was his size also and a much better specced bike than what he was riding, and HE had it up for sale within a week. Yet, I don't think this is the criteria being applied here.

Looks to me that the OP picked up something that is butt-ugly, but has some redeeming qualities - though possibly something that would require more effort and expense to justify going through the process.

I've had a number of bicycles come into my possession that were rather questionable, and I've had a number that I've put way more into than I could every hope to get back out from them. I know I am not alone here. I've found the keys to contentment is to rationalize a reason for getting it, and having a plan for either the entire bike, or for the parts. I could elaborate, but that should be its own thread.

Hudson308 

Trade ya!

non-fixie 

Depending on budget and ambition level, I wouldn't discount the rattle can or the brush.

€19.95 rattle can:



€15 can of paint and a brush:

noglider 

I have never seen the words "help me regret it," so thank you for that.

dddd

Would like to know how to achieve such apparent gloss using a brush!
I picked up a free '97 Town Car that I could (spot-) paint a better finish on, so far have tried a clear aerosol urethane using a brush with some improvement, and the Camry behind it needs paint at one or two fenders as well. I'm thinking the black won't be as difficult to blend/match, and the silver hopefully not so difficult either.

non-fixie 

A free Lincoln? Wow. We don't see many Lincolns here, much less free ones.

Maybe just as well, as they wouldn't fit in our streets and car parks anyway ...

WRT brush painting: I found that easier than I imagined it would be. Just brush it on and it flows into a nice glossy layer. On bicycle tubes, that is. Not sure how it would turn out on a large area like a car body panel. And black is probably the worst color to try it with. It shows imperfections way better than any other color ...

cudak888 

Carbocrap 103 for the win!

-Kurt

non-fixie 

Interestingly, I recognized the brand because it isn't built with Carbolite 103, but with this:

madpogue 

So it's made from old Lockheeds?

rickrob 

Tristar tubing

horatio 

OP: strip off all that crappy paint and see what you've really got underneath.

tonyfourdogs

That's what I love about this forum: the range of replies. From the simply voyeuristic to the offers to exchange with a suspiciously tidy looking bike (I'm not falling for that one) to the admonition for improper use of the word 'worst'.

I'm still undecided, but since I've never painted a frame before, and I can't make this one any worse, it's still currently plan A.

Talking of which, can anyone point me to a good, detailed guide to painting? Youtube is mostly full of slick kids with bad music and fancy editing techniques that leave too many questions unanswered.

Slightspeed

Ugliest frame I ever found ...


Turned out to be a '73 Super Course under all the green paint and rust.



One of my favorite rides!

dddd

Which model of Peugeot featured 1011 tubing?

It makes sense that after introducing the lighter Carbolite tubeset that a lesser tubeset might be needed for lowest-cost bikes, since I believe that with Carbolite the brazed-on housing stops were requirement of the thinner walls. And brazing costs more than spot-welding.
But additionally, the headtube joints look suspiciously NOT like their lugless brazed joints, more like welding!

As for the "free" Lincoln, needed repairs would exceed the vehicle's book value, though I was able to do all the cleaning myself as well as diagnostics on the no-start condition, fixes to get through CA smog, and rectifying symptoms of loose steering parts with but a $300 set of tires.
What remains is replacement of a leaking plastic intake manifold and three power window repairs, looking like all DIY, but would be $2k at any CA shop.

madpogue 

This is where English needs to be more like those fridge-magnet word set thingies, but with particular magnetic repulsion systems built-in, that prevent certain phrases (such as this one) from ever being assembled.

SurferRosa

That's big time.

dddd

Can I add "plastic front derailer" to your list, please?

To the plastic manifold's credit, it did last two decades, despite being the subject of a class-action! The car's owner would have received $700+ from FoMoCo if it had failed and been repaired before some time in 2006!

The large coolant passage connecting the left and right cylinder banks is the only real problem with this design, subjected to fluctuating temperatures, pressure, and is what the alternator bracket is bolted onto! All of the OEM and aftermarket replacements now available have a large, aluminium coolant passage where the alternator bolts on, the balance is still plastic.

I probably got the car free because of a high price quote for replacing the manifold, so I shouldn't complain.
All this reminds me of the "unfortunate" dings in a few of the classic bikes I own (which likely would not have gone to market at a low price if the ding weren't there).
Moral of the story, in both cases, might be to be careful what you wish for (or against).