Rocky Gravol

Had to remove a stuck seat post.
I tried everything, until I gave up and tried to cut it out with a hacksaw.

It was not as easy as I was led to believe.
I got almost five hours into it.



A twelve inch hacksaw blade was just long enough.
And the Sawzall blades were to wide to fit inside the tube.






The old seat post was 27.2 MM.

I have quite a few post in different sizes.
One was marked seven dollars, so I'm going with that value.

I found a post that's maybe to short that's 27.2 mm,
and a long post that's 27 mm.
Went with the longer 27mm.
When for a test ride. Instead of avoiding all the bumps in the road preserving
my rotting tires, I hit all the bumps to see if the narrower post would stay in place.

Got a flat.

deux jambes

The Johnny Cash approach, “one part at a time.” I’ve got a little ways to go yet before the parts list is all accounted for, and I’m sure that building a couple of wheels is not going to be an easy or quick task, but once there, assembly should be pretty quick. Fingers crossed that enough time will remain to ride the 100 km.

Today, another trip to the co-op yielding a set of brakes towards the clunker build...

Dia-Compe 750 for the rear, and a Racer for the front. The Dia-Compes will ensure successful use of 700c wheels. They have Scott Matthauser pads, but one of them is missing a chunk si will require a little finessing by material reduction to bring them up to speed. The Racer will be the one nod to the frame’s French heritage. Sanding the original pads down should get ‘em good enough for “construction de vélo

— — —

Frame: free plus $30 credit for parts sold
Suntour rear shift lever: $3
SR Crankset: $12
Brakes: $10
=
$5 credit remaining

Mr. 66

Where is the proper place for a "Kazama" Downhiller II?

The clunker challenge.

Here it is, not mine, for the challenge, The Kazama Downhiller II. My friend told me yesterday that he needed wheels, I got wheels I told him. He rolled his eyes at the thought of my junk (He rejected my last gift of a Raliegh and couldn't stop laughter of thinking of the junkyard PoS's). So the build is not for me, but perfect for the forum.

dweenk

I've had 4 days to accumulate mileage for the Cimarron, and I am up to 68km now. Next week is kind of busy, but I should hit 100 before the weekend.

Oscuro

Well, just did a 3.91 km ride while trying to figure out Strava. Turns out Strava pauses when my phone locks. Wonderful.

I had tried to adjust the front brakes earlier, due to the shoes only touching the rim on a corner, but couldn't find....a 10mm wrench of course. Checked the seat post if it moved, she do. Stem/bars? They do.

Yep, it is me, who is the clunker of this pairing!
5.18/100 km

Edit: Wait, if I am the clunker...is it me who has to be judged?!

jskita

Well I got this just before I read about this challenge. I had serious CL buyers remorse. It looked so perfect in the pics and I was sure I had gotten this Trek 360 for a steal at $80. When I got it I was like... aw crap. I just figured I'd work with it because the orange was blinding me so bad I failed to take a closer look. It rode great and all when I test rode it with the owner. He was also so nice to deliver it to me at the train station - so I bought it.

After closer look I wasn't even sure it was orange to begin with! It's even got two different rims.

I don't think I will win the challenge but I am calling it a clunker. I broke it down already and pulled out the bondo can




it looked so good in the ad!



even orange on the cable!

Oldsledz

Here is a update on my Motobecane. I lubed the fork bearings, I think that was the last thing I needed to do. Saturday I road 25.49 miles and 14.80 on Sunday. That give me a total of 52.80 miles.
Saturdays ride.


Sundays ride, this is the church my Grandparents went to. I stop here often for a short rest when riding.


Railroad bridge Sanford MI.


Sanford Lake below the dam.


Sanford Lake above the dam.


Sundays ride.

nlerner

I had some time this weekend to clean up my entry, a $40 CL Schwinn LeTour:



I swapped out the lousy saddle it came with for a new cheap one, swapped out the original stem for a used Technomic for more height, swapped out the original non-aero brake levers for some very basic Shimano aero levers, added used Fizik bar tape and plastic bottle cage. Everything else is original to the bike. I haven't test ridden it yet, much less ridden it for 100km, but I'll likely commute on it a couple of times this week and work the kinks out.

Oldsledz

Here is what I have done on my Hardrock Sport the last couple days. replaced the inner brake cable. I used the seat post from my Markin parts bike, it was a little small so I made a shim out of a plastic bottle after all this is a clunker. I used a damaged seat left over from another build, it just has a hole in the cover. My wife and I went for a short ride this morning. It was her first time on a mountain bike and her first ride this spring, so we only went 3.13 miles, my total for this bike is 5.80 miles. There are 2 of the decals on the bottom side of the frame that say Paid for by Citizens for responsible government , I wonder if this was a police bike?

Oldsledz

Ride photos City Forest Midland Michigan.
Rest time.


My wife's first time on a mountain bike.

Cl904

Got a free centurion pro tour 15 yesterday... may just be able to make this work.

bwilli88 

OOO, what did you get, pictures, serial number.

Cl904

Pretty sure an 84... I’ll get pics and more later tonight.

Phamilton

@Oldsledz that’s an anatomical cutout on that saddle, high end stuff

Phamilton

@nlerner I’ve always thought LeTours seemed like quite decent bikes for the money, will be interested to know how it does for you.

ryansu

I use Cyclemeter a free app for the iPhone, not as fancy pants as Strava but it gets the job done and doesn't pause when my phone locks.

grayEZrider

A last quick ride down the mountain (and very slow climb back up!) got in the last 11 miles late yesterday. But I was able to build the bike as a climber so I could make that particular trip without getting out of the saddle and it works. Mostly. While the microshift rear d/r works fine on friction mode, SIS mode works well only on upshifting. I can live with it. But having completed the challenge I've already upgraded the tires to foldables (Espoir Gripton 25s) from the cheap CSR wired ones. And I've got to find a lighter quill stem. The multi-adjustable things are great for being able to find just the "right" (or just possibly acceptable for temporary use?) fit. It weighs about 2 lbs. It isn't included on my cost list because I've had it for years and use it on every build for trial and error sizing. I hope it isn't a serious rules violation. Unlike the note of question I will post next with my costs list which may open a can of worms so large the Grand Master (Executioner?) may bar me from even future clunker challenges.

Cl904

Saddle and tires from the parts bin... bars and stem from an Atala... bought that for 50 and sold the frame for 60.

rustystrings61 

I’ve been home doing childcare this week. Their screen time gave me some wrench time in the workshop. I wiped the worst of the muck off the cranks, then poked around in the parts bin until I found my stash of cotters. I located a used one with a similar profile to what appears to be the original drive side cotter. I was most pleased when the cranks were suddenly in register, more than a bit irritated that I had to keep fiddling with the BB adjustment. Eventually it was right.

This bike came with mismatched brake levers. I have plans for the Weinmann that came on the right side and the original Universal on the left had the usual body crack. I hauled out the bin with the brake parts seeking levers for this and the Bianchi Timber Wolf that is marked for drop bar conversion. When I saw the grubby yellow Dia Compe aero hoods and the Shimano Exage aero levers, I looked over at this taxi cab yellow beast and made my decision. It took some armor all as lube, some thoughtful stretching of things and a healthy dose of brute force but it all went together. We’ll just ignore those gaping holes where the plastic trim rings should go.

Update - I managed another half hour, long enough to pump up the ancient tires, fit the original nutted hub wheels (13 mm front, 14 mm rear?), wipe down and lube the chain and fit it back on the bike, oil and fit the pedals and test the drive train. It works, though it won't win awards.

grayEZrider

Matching yellow hoods? A clunker with class. I love it!

grayEZrider

Keeper no.6
OK, here is my cost list for the Clunker '19 challenge.

Frame: $ 50 A 1988 Centurion LeMans
tires: 26 CST wired 25cm
RD: 12 Microshift long cage 6/7 speed
Freewheel: 9 14-34 Mega-range Shimano
DR extender: 2

total $ 97

The Sugino triple with a 28 small ring and the mega-range with the 34 gets me up the mountain seated. Although some people walk faster! Aside from wanting to replace the stem I have to do something about the pedals. Recycled wal-mart junk, and they are not even a matched pair. Not sure how I managed that. Is there a cheap light set available worth buying?


OK now. Sharp riders will notice the list is lacking a few useful items like handlebars, shifters, brakes and seat. That stuff came from a previous clunker build (bought for $10) which was stripped and the frame junked. What is the ruling on (now thrice) recycled stuff? Also I've already changed the tires to foldable Espoir blackbelt 25s and the ride (at 75psi) is much better.

Oldsledz

I put 13.32 miles on my Motobecane yesterday that give me a total of 65.68 miles or 105.70 Km For cost I got the bike as part of a package deal from a man that runs a recycling and trash compactor site for 25.00. I sold a AMF Sportmaster that was part of the package for 15.00. So I have 10.00 into the other 4 bikes, I will give each of the a value of 2.50. I have been using parts from one of them so far parts went to 2 of the other 3 bikes. For this bike I used from the parts bike both tires, one tube and 4 brake pads I will take 1.50 of value from the parts bike and put it on this one, so I have 2.50 for the bike plus 1.50 for parts giving me 4.00 into the bike.
Side door of the county court house.

Rocky Gravol

Went on a 35km ride yesterday.
The longest ride I've done in two years.
Since I was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma.

The Seattle Center International Fountain.
With the Space Needle in the background.




Have 75 km now.

If I were to post this on a Multiple Myeloma forum, it'd be a big deal.

I like this challenge.

ryansu

I recognized this view immediately, and I am fairly certain you didn't there without either climbing, descending or both - Chapeau! I worked in lower Queen Anne for about a year and the bus let me off right by Key Arena.

Cl904

Ok... so switched out saddles and bars... bought bar tape.

cost so far:
idale 90 saddle- came off a Liberia mixte I bought for $25. Also harvested Bar-cons off of it, so let’s say $15.
itm stem- off a $50 Atala I sold for $60... so -$10
bar tape- $12
chain- in a bag of stuff at the thrift store... $7
tires- don’t remember where they came from, but they are used... $20
the rest-free
total=$44

now, I just need to ride.