So I wound up running three bikes this year for a total of 384 miles/618 km - and I still have another week to run up more km, which is highly likely.
$60 for the Cannondale (trade, based on actual outlay for bikes traded in)
$20 labor fee to remove horrifically stuck seatpost
$10 for well-used tires
$1 for well-used rear brake pads
$2.91 for very well-used pedals, clips & straps
$0 for bottle cage, 130 mm rear axle, Shimano bar-end shifters, shift boss cable stops and shift cables and housings (scavenged goods)
Totalling $93.91, with 113 km.
It's a nice bike, and I could see myself keeping it and finding the correct fork for it and using it for cycle-camping. I note that I have not actually been cycling camping since 1976, but my son and I have talked about it, so ...
Then there was the '88 Centurion LeMans -
$35.00 - initial purchase
$1.96 - four M5 bolts from Lowe's
$1.00 - Miche Monolithic crank scavenged from trash-picked bike
$6.00 - housing
$4.00 - rear brake cable
$2.00 - used toe clips from the stash (from some long-forgotten part-out)
$2.00 - used white bottle cages (technically free, and if memory serves they were used and cheap when initially purchased)
My spending grand total for the first 100 km was $51.96 - but then I spent $15.00 on a new chain, and rode the bike a whole bunch more, so my final total is more like $66.96 and 395 km.
The interesting thing here is, I can also see keeping this one as well. At this point in its career it is a carefree beater, cosmetically rough, lots of mismatched parts, does not look like it’s worth stealing - but it rides very well, it moves right along, and I just plain like it. So, keeper.
And finally there's the '88 Sirrus -
$50 - purchase price
$5 - used 39T chainring
$4 - bar tape purchased c.2006
$10 - used tires
$12 - brake and gear wires
$1 - used bottle cage
For a total of $82, and 115 km to date, and surely more to follow.
I really, truly, genuinely like this bike a lot. It has reminded me of how much fun light zippy bikes with skinny tires really can be, and I have greatly enjoyed it. It is an absolute keeper, and other bikes are going to have to go to make room, and that's that.
And not counting this year, but waiting in the wings for next year, the '89 Schwinn LeTour. I will freely confess that I was sorely tempted to try to rush it into running condition and crank out the last 100 km on it before midnight next Saturday, but - no. A man should know his limits, or at least recognize that one can only misprioritize things so much before bad things ensue. So, mothballed and awaiting next year -
$15 - purchase price
