michael k

Now that's Funny!

2008. after 12yrs I was laid off and my company closed its doors for good. I thought Hey! I'll get a bike to stay in shape". My neighbor had a garage sale with a magna bike and when I inquired he talked himself down from $20 to "free! if you promise to not bring it back"

michael k

Got in a short ride around town.
1.Rear tire came loose! Removed remaining Gum from the gumwalls.
2. Seat has to go! It hurts
3.Pedals have to go! It hurts
4.Tighten shifter lever! It hurts

IMG_6343 (2) by K Farm, on Flickr


IMG_6347 (2) by K Farm, on Flickr

Somebody lose their Teddy bear?

IMG_6350 (2) by K Farm, on Flickr

OpenOpenOpen!

IMG_6354 by K Farm, on Flickr

My vision was starting to get a little blury.

IMG_6361 (2) by K Farm, on Flickr

rustystrings61 

This is SO far from a clunker - at least visually.
Is that saddle one of those infamous "GRAND-PRIX" plastic units? My first 10-speed, a German-made "Brownie" that was probably a Kalkhoff product purchased for $49.95 at Franklin's Five and Dime had one of those. I feel your pain ...

ryansu

crept up to 75 km total on Barney the IBEX by running a few errands on Sunday. Then I read that the air quality in Seattle was not only bad but apparently one of the worst days on record (wildfire smoke from BC), its ok though as I rinsed my throat with beer.

With a few more decent pub rides I should hit the mileage portion of the challenge.

Murray Missile 

It's official, the Fuji Royale II has been decommissioned. Moby is ready to roll, just have to reprogram the tire circumference and recalculate my investment after moving the computer, handlebar bag and bottle cage over from the Fuji. I'm moving the saddle too which puts me at a grand total of............. ouch........... $99.26!

michael k

Good call/catch. It is a Grand-Prix with the tension adjuster on the front.
Overall it does have a good feel to it that I like and you can easily ride around with no hands. Like has been pointed out, the low BB, maybe that is why it has this grounded/low center of gravity feel.
Seat,pedals,some tweeks and adjustments,possibly new tires and hoping the RD holds out and will be well on my way to the $100 limit.

Murray Missile 

I now have 2.5 "windy" non-test ride miles on Moby. It is amazingly comfortable considering the odd stem, it's smooth riding and very stable in gravel and I hardly noticed my elbow. The rear derailleur is working better with each mile.

gilesa

I completed the 100k on my Scott over a week ago, but the camera battery failed. A few from a more recent ride are below.

Accounts: bike £50; speedometer battery £3.20; balls for BB £0.90. £54.10 ≈ $70.

rustystrings61 

No pix for the update, but I managed to find time to tweak and tune the rear wheel into round with much less runout. The Cheng Shin tires are ridiculously heavy but they work, for now, and after I cross the 100 km line I can start looking around for a deal on Paselas. There is a perverse part of my brain that seriously wants to scrounge up what's needed to return this bike to full Simplex derailleur setup, but for now I'll stick with the SunTour stuff. At 84.5 km the end is near, though it remains to be seen if I will be taking this bike with me for the annual Labor Day beach trip ...

ollo_ollo

Rode too many other bikes again last week, only have a measly 5 km to add. Brings my total to 53.1 km, but still lots of time left to finish the 100 km on the alloy rims & Kenda tires. Can report that I don't like the Kenda's ride as well as the original Michelin 27 x 1 1/4 tires for several reasons which I will detail in my final summation. Don

gilesa

I am not sure how to interpret that. Too nice when new? Condition too good when found? Fixed-up too well? Too comfortable to make 100km hard?

I did briefly consider a couple of wheeless wrecks pulled from a river, but when I went back to look closer, they were gone. Retained water-weed must be worth something. Probably would have failed on C&V though.

For me personally, how does this previous completed entry fail to qualify?

michael k

It was more of a Tongue-in-cheek comment, a double (or quadruple) meaning.
To acknowledge (enviously) the deals others come up with and knowing how much time, effort, skill and knowledge goes into refurbishing them. I enjoy watching and learning as they progress along with the humor.

Personally, I find the format of this forum a little hard to take sometimes as it feels as though we are talking to ourselves out loud. A simple *Like or botton would go along ways.

deux jambes

Folks, it’s been a month since my last Clunker update, and it’s been just about as long since putting any miles on the wretched $25 Takara “Horizon.”



I initially refused to throw a penny into the bike, or to perform any mechanical operations that addressed anything other than immediate safety concerns. I was taking a Clunker Purist approach. But riding it as purchased, save for adjusting the single connected front brake, became an intolerable affair. I changed direction, and decided to do a tear down, and rebuild using upgrade parts I had on hand for the most part. It would become a sub hundred dollar single speed.

What actually took place though, was a tear down, followed by a nagging call to prioritize towards a couple of other frames I actually WANT to build. Time, money, and space became deciding factors in my next steps. I began selling parts which would have gone to the Takara in order to fund the other projects. Currently, the Takara itself is up for sale locally.



So while it was fun to initiate an attempt at rising to the Clunker Challenge, I am as they say, “out of the running.” Perhaps next time around... Until then, enjoy the challenge! I’ll keep peeking in to see what fun you’re having with your crappy bikes!

ollo_ollo

Spent most of my ride time on 3 other bikes this week but managed a decent 28.35 km with the Gypsy Lady. Brings my total to 81.45 and getting close now. Memory refresher Pics of each configuration: Down by the riverside, we have the original Michelin tires on steel rims with a Pryma saddle and Back at home, you see the new Kenda tires on alloy rims but with the original saddle. Fenders are from my local co-op. Don

ryansu

Got in a ride to the ball park, nice evening, beer and brats and I got my mileage up to 89 Km on Barney with a month to go.

In the cheap seats

IMG_E4083 by Ryan Surface, on Flickr

Multi modal on the way home - Barney rides the bus

IMG_4085 by Ryan Surface, on Flickr

ollo_ollo

Great Pic, and how Seattle has changed! When we arrived in 1965, Smith Tower, was tallest building in Downtown core and I-5 was under construction and not open yet. In your pic, you can just see the tip of the tower under the lights and above the "I". Don

ryansu

Yep my Dad would comment on the same thing, he grew up in Bremerton and lived in Seattle as a young married man while going to grad school at UW, he and my mom lived in off of Yesler. We were on the deck at the Edgewater for a wedding in the late 90s and he pointed to Smith Tower and commented that it wasn't that long ago that it was the tallest building in Seattle and West of the Mississippi.

rustystrings61 

FINI!

With zero fanfare, I rolled out the last kilometers by getting up at 5:00, fitting lights and donning a reflective vest, and riding the 1.08 mile loop around my neighborhood like some crazed hamster gone Francophile on Gallic gaspipe. The Liberia continues to be a revelation, and I look forward to doing some upgrades now that the expenditure cap can be done away with.

Current totals with upwards revised pricing -
$70.00 - initial purchase
$10.00 - rear derailleur and shifters scavenged from 2016 Clunker Challenge entry (price revised upward)
$2.50 - used Weinmann 27-in alloy rim (coated in paint)
$0.00 - used Weinmann 27-in alloy rim (scavenged from trash pile)
$1.99 - Schrader-to-Presta valve rim adapters/grommets
$1.00 - Selle Italia Grand Prix Professional saddle scavenged from 2016 Clunker Challenge entry and scrubbed, de-rusted and glued back down onto its base
$5.00 - used CTA alloy handlebars
$5.00 - used Nitto Technomic stem with multiple scars, sanded down to fit French headsets and steerers (price revised upward)
$3.00 - new rear brake cable
$98.49 - total

103 km

There will be more pix as I make changes to this bike during the run of the Challenge. I'm still flirting with the idea of reverting to Simplex derailleurs, if I can find a suitable French front mech. And tires, oh mercy, are tires on the list! For now, here's a pic of the rear hub and its R.F.G. skewer -

tiredhands 

60km done! I'm going to have to hustle to get in the remaining 40km. It's been raining buckets here in the panhandle recently.
Did an 18km jaunt in the swamp this past weekend. The Varsity is not a bad "gravel" bike, 35mm tires and noodly tubing smooths everything out pretty nicely. The FFS/Positron transmission is awful, however. There is so much side-to-side play in the front freewheel that, when in the big ring, any real amount of torque causes the chainwheel to shift around and drop the chain. Also, the brakes are 100% ineffective in the mud.

ollo_ollo

Rode 23.66 km on my 1973 Gitane, Gypsy Lady this past week. Brings my total to 105.11 km to finish this year's Challenge. The Gitane is by far the best riding of all my previous Clunkers. Alloy wheels and a better saddle do make for a better ride. Provided one has good tires on the alloy rims.

About tires: The original (45 y.o.) Gitane tires were Michelins which gave a soft, comfortable ride, good handling and enough feedback to inspire confidence of control. I would rate the new Kenda tires as merely "adequate" at best. They came with the bike so I don't know their cost, but undoubtably cheap. They had a hard, harsh ride that at times felt like solid rubber. Very little sidewall flex. In turns, managed to feel briefly "Squirrrely" as you started into a turn, but quickly became dull and heavy feeling through the remainder. I believe this is caused by the central ridge of solid rubber that extends about 3/16" beyond surface of the tire. I'll add a picture later. This feature will probably extend the life of the tires, adding value, but that just means you ride them longer before replacing with something better. I tried varying pressures from a max of 70# down to 32# trying for a better ride, but only saw slight improvement at the lower pressure & worried about pinch flats on poor roads. Only buy these tires if you are on a very tight budget, don't mind a duller feeling ride and just want to get around at moderate speeds. Don

Pictures: When I was near the end, I did a 6 mile tour of Stayton, a little farm town of 8,000 souls, located 17 miles SE of Salem Oregon. edit: Added a couple pics of the Kenda tire's central ridge

Narhay

Very good on the mileage. I am liking the photo updates. The mixte has a certain je ne sais quoi to it.

ollo_ollo

Yah, one look says "Definitely French" and the ride is an eye opener for such a cheap bike. I like it almost as much as my Grand Jubile Mixte. They ride almost the same, but 5 pounds weight difference and the Jubile is more ornate with finer components. Don

tiredhands 

Finit!

Finished up on Sunday with a 25km ride around the Cove with some pals. I'll take some glamour shots of the bike with a recap of expenses and distances soon.

shipwreck

ollo_ollo

Adding the cost summary for my 1972 Gitane Mixte. Purchased for $45, came with 2 front derailleurs and 2 new Kenda tires.

Version 1 Bike as purchased $45 + substitute Pryma saddle valued at $30 + set of aluminum fenders from NW Hub co-op $10 = $85 Total. Rode it this way on the original tires and steel rims for 104.75 km.

Version 2 Bike was changed back to original saddle with new Kenda tires, $45 + 2 used tubes $2 + Co-op fenders $10 + alloy rear wheel from last years Clunker $10 + alloy front wheel from NW Hub co-op $15 + new front Kool Stop brake pads $8.85 = $90.85 Total. Rode it this way for 105.11 km.


Today I mounted a very comfortable Avocet Touring saddle I found at NW Hub, then made a grocery run in the rain. Kool Stops + alloy rims are way to go in the rain. This is a keeper and I will do a full tear down and overhaul for 1 of my Winter Projects. Grand daughter will really like it. Don