If you are able to build up 20 bikes within the $108 budget and ride them 5 kilometers each, does that count?

That would indeed be worthy of an honorable mention once I compile the best of the worst.

This challenge gives you an excuse to buy that cheapie bike you never would have bought otherwise . . .

I picked up that late 70s Peugeot UO 10 I'm using this year because it was only $40 and it's a good riding bike. My first good bike was an 80s UO 10 which I bought in London.

And it begins
 

I retrieved the rustiest LeTour in the state and went to work this evening after supper. The seatpost came out first before I put the bike on the stand. I am so grateful that all the parts came off without drama or trauma this time! There IS a little bend in the left seat stay, but if it bothers me enough I'll figure out a way to straighten it - or maybe I'll just run it as-is. As bad as it looks, I think everything, including the chain, will work okay once it's cleaned and de-rusted.


https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...782c6df2f.jpeg

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...9c0e6ccc9.jpeg

It is good that solvents and other cleaning products are not budget items. I tried several toxic mixes to remove gel saddle ooze from my hands after transporting the Impact Pro.

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...5f426c65d.jpeg
Use gloves.

^^^^^

That is the saddest saddle I’ve ever seen

As luck would have it I encountered a possible candidate at an estate sale yesterday morning after reading this thread.
Mid-70's Schwinn Traveler III for $45.
Nothing fab, but is in the proper size category.

I purchased a Peugeot UO8 10 years ago for $65.00, do I need to adjust for inflation?

Every year, this contest reminds me just how bad I am at bargain hunting. I was just looking at the "after" pictures of this bike and thinking, "Wait! How is that under $108?"

Meanwhile, I'm looking at Craigslist trying to decide between a "rare" 35 pound Pegasus described in this review with such glowing terms as "durable" and "adequate", an unbranded thing offered as "old steel frame road bike" complete with large rust patches on the seat tube and down tube, an equally rusty Schwinn Suburban 5-speed with the largest front basket I've ever seen, or a Nishiki Japan Champion with stem shifters and turkey levers. And, frankly, all four of those are better than I expected to find. I'm going to look at the rusty old steel frame road bike today and thinking about trying to buy the other three too.

If so, you're over budget already!

Does buying a project-specific bike tool to service a bb count against the total cost? I think this stupid cruiser bb one piece crank needs another tool I don’t already own.
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...aa5002ab1.jpeg

I don't think you are (bad at hunting bargains). I think there are places in the US that are gold mines for low price, classic/vintage, pieces of poop AND grail barn finds. South Carolina is absolutely not one of them. Then there are those areas where great vintage stuff is available, but in a high demand area. That would be you, Seattle, NY, San Fran, etc...

Boston (old houses and barns), Pennsylvania, Kentucky, NC piedmont/mountains, Florida, Minneapolis seem to be the places.

@Clang finds a bundle everywhere.

It's hard in areas of the country where the Craigslists bike ads don't even fill a single page. If you're very tall or very short things get harder quickly! Setting price filters helps because it's easy to pick out interesting bikes from the sea of kid's bikes in the sub $100 price range. Try using Facebook Marketplace too, though it can decide to show you some very random listings. Bookmark anything worthwhile, because there's no guarantee it will show it to you later.

These Clunker Challenges always get me looking extra hard at local listings and right now the most interesting bikes are too far north of the Twin Cities for me to seriously consider. Usually I'd expect to find mountain bikes for cheap, but right now it's 70's road bikes...

This ($60?) Batavus Tour de l'Europe with an upgraded crankset. It looks like it's maybe a 24" frame (though it's hard to tell with bad pics)- an inch too big but perhaps within the fudge-factor range.
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...0ac8137f27.png

And this $50 Opaque Blue Schwinn Super Sport since I've always wanted to try the comfy ride of fillet-brazed Schwinns.
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...b0ee4c5b27.png

Pickings for project bikes are pretty slim were I'm at In Fairplay Colorado so it looks like I will be going with a bike from my small death pile that was a free curb find a late 80's Motiv Stone Grindr mountain bike shaped object and a bunch of junk salvage low parts from the pile. The following is a pic of my starting point that I took earl today in keeping with spirat of the clinker I'm gonna guess FMV of $50 for the pile as my starting point which should leave me $50 to finish a build.

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...bb492e21a0.jpg
Don't think I stand much of chance of getting a good bike or winning.
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...8e0df328b6.jpg
I know it won't be anywhere near the level of my last clunker bike the Schwinn Mesa GSX which I sill ride regularly.

I spent another $8.80 today to build a Faux Nitto threadless stem adapter. At first I was disappointed with the 1 1/8” always obsolete threaded steerer but it turned out that 1” 6061 tubing is available locally. Now I need to source a front brake cable hanger. This bar and stem are place holders to probably make way for a shorter stem and mustache bars. The TT is 62 cm CTC which is 5 more than my ideal but it doesn’t feel bad in the garage. The saddle height is my preferred height and the saddle to bar drop is 5cm while my road bikes are 6-7. The BB on this Schwinn is really high like a Ridley CX bike. I’ve been thinking of racing again. Anyone interested in a Clunker CX Challenge?

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...866f76595.jpeg
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...d5056985d.jpeg
6061 is good. Right?
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...c24bafcd4.jpeg
XO XO XO XO?

Interestingly, after I responded to Andy_k an interesting one popped back up on FB MP feed. I had forgotten about it. Messaged the seller, and so for $50...

My goal this year is to complete 62.5 miles on 4 bicycles. The two from last year that did not get the ride time they deserved (9 on Bumblebeena Nishiki, and around 20 on Slimestone Peugeot), and this and the Schwinn Kom previously mentioned. Glad narhay inflated to $108, since that gives me a chance to replace something on the Schwinn if necessary (I spent $100 already on it).

I don't like failing to complete things.

https://scontent-atl3-2.xx.fbcdn.net...MQ&oe=625DE51A

https://scontent-atl3-2.xx.fbcdn.net...LA&oe=625EA021

I bought the "old steel frame road bike" and for the second year in a row I feel like I'm probably going to end up with a bike that's far too nice for this challenge. The frame is every bit as rusty as I said, but the components appear to be in great shape. Honestly, I could ride this the way it is. The seller was asking $75 but was kind enough to let me have it for $60, so I should have room in the budget for things like tubes, cables, and bar tape to make it reliable. The tires look like they'll survive 100 km. I'm planning to strip it down to bare metal and repaint it.

Curiously, the components are almost identical to those on the Takara that I entered in last year's edition of the challenge. The front derailleur is different, but rear derailleur, crankset, shifters, brakes, and brake levers are all the same. That's nice because I was really happy with those bits on the Takara.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...1a7efddb_h.jpg

Now for a bit of research to see if I can figure out what brand and model this is.

That’s an exceptional buy. What is the marquee?

The seller had no idea, but it turned out there were enough clues to make it an easy search, starting with the Sakae Centurion handlebars. The serial number matches the N(1) format in @T-Mar's Asian serial number database, which is consistent with Centurion. The serial number is N9S8262, indicating a 1979 model. The parts spec is an exact match for the Centurion Elite in the 1979 Centurion catalog. The catalog says it was only available in maroon or cobalt blue, but maybe they started offering green late in the year. There's also a paint drip near the seat cluster, so maybe it was repainted.

So, I'm calling it -- 1979 Centurion Elite

That would make the frame Tange Champion in the three main tubes with a Tange Hi-Ten fork.

Cool paint color. Would be interesting to find a similar color. I know you are great at looking for green paints!

Joking aside, pearl green and spray painted silver lugs would be too cool.

Coincidentally this "Dawes" popped up today. Pearl Green and silver lugs.

https://i.imgur.com/Z133WeJ.jpeg

This is my day for prescience...first I tell Andy it is difficult to find decent clunker candidates around here and I find one.

Then clairvoyant color choices...

Thats an odd little Dawes...

The color on this bike does look like it was probably very nice once. Also, by an odd coincidence, it looks fairly similar to the color of the bike I had when I was in high school (though that one wasn't nearly this nice).

This challenge being what it is though, I'm going to go with paint that I already have on hand. When I painted the lugs on my Allez a couple of years ago, I bought two shades of red to see which matched best. So now I have a nearly fully can of Sunrise Red. That will go great with the white saddle and some white bar tape, maybe some white cables too if I still have some from my bulk roll. This bike originally had very fancy pinstriping. I'm not up to recreating that, but I have some Sharpie paint pens that I've been meaning to use to try my hand at lug lining. The font for the original decals was very basic, so I think I can match that with lettering.com cheapo vinyl decals.

The vintage-centurion.com site won't let me share their picture here (despite it being copied from a scan on velobase), but here's a link to a page that has the catalog picture for this bike: Centurion Elite RS/Super

I look forward to your creation! Especially the paint pen lug lining.

I probably have a couple basic headset type hangers and spacers in my parts bins that I would let you have for shipping pm if interested. You could also just go with basic linear pull brake so wouldn't need a hanger cheap easy to get, cheaper easier overall setup no hanger no straddle just a short section of cable housing, cable and should work better with drop levers.