bikemig 

I built 3 bikes and rode each at least a 100 miles. I also got rid of two of them.

(1) The first bike I built was the 1973 Sekine SHR for the cheapo contest. I sunk a total of $38 to get the bike roadworthy ($20 for the bike, $18 cost for cables, housing, and value of used saddle). I had fun rebuilding this bike and it was a fair amount of work because it had some rust issues when I picked it up. This ended up being one of my two N minus 2 bikes. I had some painting work done on the house. The painter hit an unexpected snag and I gave him the bike for the extra work. He did good work and is very pleased with his new old bike.

(2) The second bike was a 1979 Viking "European" with a Reynolds 531 plain gauge main frame. I sold it to someone I know slightly who ended up riding it on Ragbrai. So it's seen a few miles in addition to the 100 miles I put in before selling it. This was my from the frame up bike as I started with a frame, fork, and headset.

(3) Third bike is my early 70s Raleigh Gran Sport which is a keeper. I have a few hundred miles on the bike. The bike started out as a Frankenbike when I bought it and ended up as one after I was finished rehabbing it. It is a fine bike with Reynolds double butted main frame and fork. I like the parts build on this a lot. It is a good all around bike that also does well on gravel. I have to admit, I'm partial to this Raleigh. When I was a kid, I used to go hang out at the local Raleigh store on Oak St. in New Orleans. I didn't know much about bikes but I knew the white and blue Raleighs were something special. I sure as heck couldn't afford one then. Go figure, all the bikes I liked from way back in the day are now all on deep sale.

USAZorro

Well Alrighty. The judge has gone back through the whole thread and has been deliberating with himself for hours. I absolutely have to start by thanking all the people who participated in the thread - whether they actually followed everything through to completion or not. I am very pleased to see that the sense of community for which C&V is well known remains strong even when there are bragging rights on the line. I've learned several things about bicycles and also about the talents that so many here have. Perhaps most importantly, I've learned that Evaporust is readily available in the US.

But you're not here to savor my corny jokes. Let the pronouncements flow:

There were five categories for bike entries, but there were some deliberately un-announced categories that I had been considering from the time that I created the thread. I will start with those.

Git er Done

cyccommute does NOT mess around when there's a challenge before him He was done before most of the entrants announced they were starting. Well done!

Visual Storytelling

Many exemplified one of C&V's favorite attitudes - that being posting of many pictures, and there was a lot of competition - making this difficult
Runner-up: hazetguy
1st place: Rustystrings61

Technical Perseverence

darnet

Bang for the Buck

Senior Ryder 00 - for his $0 out of pocket Raleigh USA Grand Prix
(runner-up) campfire - Raleigh Kodiak

C & V Spirit

Bikemig - for completing not two, but three entries - and then passing two of them on for others to enjoy

Ride the Danged Bike

Campfire - who finished rather early on, took his Kodiak on RAGBRAI and logged considerably more than 800 miles

Now on to the category awards

Restoration

Technically, I never received notification that either entrant considered their bike complete, or logged the requisite miles. However, after thinking this over, I think that I should waive mileage as a requirement for entry (would consider it as a plus though). Also, as the spirit of restoration is remaining faithful to the original, any bike that hasn't added something implausible can rightfully be considered. Therefore... we have co-winners
Sactown_Albert for his beautifully curated Allegro Schweitzermeister (with the signature smoke paint finish)
Pompiere for his FW Evans that has plenty of Patina

Starts With a Part

rustystrings61 - for the very clean, elegant and appealing Lighthouse

Frankenbike Some bikes scream Frankenbike from a mile away, while others are more subtle, so we have two winners

Farther than 3 meters: Fredo76 for the wild Raleigh mixte
Nearer than 3 meters: darnet for the Raleigh Super Tourer with not only creative pairings of parts, but some of his own fabrications

From the Frame Up This was a very tough call as two of what I considered the most appealing bicycles of the entire competition were amongst the four completed entries, while the third and fourth weren't exactly chopped liver either. So in the spirit of King Solomon:

Best mass-produced: Bikemig - Viking European
Best smaller marque: rustystrings 61 - Lighthouse

Mucho Cheapo - Yes, this had the most entries, so it has to be last. Again a very difficult call - but one bias that I do have in this competition is rewarding creativity in getting a bike back on the road. While tuning up an otherwise serviceable bike that likely would otherwise have been trashed is a very commendable act, taking extraordinary measures to rectify a shortcoming (or several shortcomings) - whilst doing so on a shoestring - is the epitomy of the Much Cheapo spirit (yes I made this up, but it comes from my heart). Therefore:

Best preservation effort: Pompiere for his Ted Williams
Runner-up: zookster for the Montgomery Ward (whatever it is) it is quite cool in a funky 70's department store way, and almost certainly makes the rider smile
1st place - darnet - Raleigh Super Tourer

Worthy of Special Mention

Bikemig's Raleigh Grand Sports. While it didn't line up especially well with the five categories, it is a stunning bicycle, and quite obviously the "keeper" he recognizes it as being

Extra Special Thanks

To Narhay, whose previous challenges inspired this.

zookster 

Thanks! The Montgomery Ward had quite a few issues that were not apparent when purchased. It was fun bringing it back to life, but I ended up taking down to the bare frame to do so.

Lots of pictures of the process here: Montgomery Ward 10 Speed

Pompiere

Thanks to USAZorro to putting this together. I am humbled to be mentioned in two different categories amongst some very nice entries. I had intended to do full paint and decals on the FW Evans, but as the summer went on, other things took priority. I did manage to ride 218 miles, according to my Garmin. Since the bike was rideable, I didn't care as much about the paint. Some of my friends think I should keep it in the current rat-rod condition.

rustystrings61 

Many thanks to USAZorro for launching and judging this year's event! I have come to realize I like the acquiring, disassembly, and reassembly process almost as much as I enjoy actually riding, and having a place to share all of that is priceless. Are we doing this again next year?

bikemig 

Many thanks to USAZorro for putting this together and figuring out who the heck to give awards to. Plus I really appreciated the opportunity to get rid of 2 of my 3 bikes!

USAZorro

We'll be doing some version of it. If Narhay wishes to reinstate the Clunker Challenge for 2024, I would defer to him. If it gets into March and I haven't heard, I'll run something similar next year.

campfire

Yay! Thanks for the kind words.
Though it might be generous to say that I "finished" the project. I may be tinkering with it for quite a while yet...

Thanks again. This was fun, and should definitely happen again next year.

Fredo76

Thank you, USAZorro for issuing this challenge, and for doing the hard work (judgin').

It was fun.

iab

I got one frame back from nickel plating, the other back from paint only a few weeks ago, then I had to hit the road for work, getting back last night. And speaking of backs, below are pictures of my new back I got in June. Needless to say, not much riding. Do I qualify for complete restoration?

I'll have to carryover the completed bikes to next year.

jdawginsc 

I think this qualifies for restoration...

“Best use of titanium in challenge.”

iab

It is off-topic titanium, to be transparent.

See what I did there.

Peruano

The frame is bent!

rustystrings61 

And we have ALL the elements of a true BikeForums thread!

USAZorro

Yikes! My back tends towards being evil, and I can almost feel those screws myself.

Yes, please heal up. Put the finishing touches on your bikes during next year's challenge, and submit them then.

ollo_ollo

Really enjoyed the work of all who posted, and hope iab is fit and riding well by next year's challenge. I was in early for a frame-up build, but landed in the "abandonné" category when My late 8/31 start plus an incompatible brake set prevented finishing by the deadline, so posting now: I have a Grand Jubile here in Oregon that's a favorite ride. Plan was to build up a 2nd Grand Jubile for this challenge which would then live in Florida. Planned to use some Zeus brakes, but they didn't have enough reach. Bike was eventually finished with a set of Peugeot labeled Dia Compe center pulls.

Oregon Grand Jubile (with fenders to re-mount)

Florida Grand Jubile

Build Parts

Grease

Bearings

More Bearings

Headset + V.O. French BB

Stem + Bar

Aerox Crank + Wheel set + Saddle + Shift Levers

Cables/Sheaths + Derailleurs + Pedals

ollo_ollo

More Pics

Zeuss 2000 Brakes

Oregon Grand Jubile

Florida Grand Jubile

Peugeot Brake set

NOS Suntour 14/34 Perfect Free Wheel + Long Cage Grand Jubile Derailleur

Aerox Crank Set + Grand Jubile derailleur

repechage

Serious. I anticipate a change in riding position.

zookster 

I hope there is a Challenge next year. I already have a candidate, picked it up yesterday. lol.

Mad Honk 

Great read through this thread and kudu's to our originator and judge for a lot of hard work in doing this. Smiles, MH

USAZorro

Wrap the bars next year and enter it.

AdventureManCO 

What a great looking bike. Please enter it in something! But unfortunately it may be a little too high class for the 'Horror' thread. Still, we wouldn't say no!

hazetguy 

Thanks USAZorro for putting the Challenge together, and thanks for my runner-up mention!
Since the Challenge has ended, I have completely gone through the bike, cleaning, servicing, refurbishing, replacing old/worn/rusty parts, etc. Frame got a quick wipedown with some Meguiar's Cleaner Wax, brought out the sparkle in the paint. Replaced the very worn out bottom bracket with a vintage Sugino MW-68 with sealed bearings, greatly improved the pedaling! Headset has some pitting, but some valve grinding compound and steel wool lessened that a bit. New cables and housing all around. Replaced the seat post with a Shimano 600 AX (non-aero!), as the flutes in the original went into the seat tube, and I did not want water to get in there if I ride in the rain again. New Sram PC-870 chain. Got rid of the horrible plastic toe clips, installed some nice Christophe Specials. Wrapped the bars with Newbaums, put on some really nice brake hoods I had in my stash. Swapped out the original Cyclone hub/Ambrosio Elite 19 clincher wheels with a set of Shimano 600 hub/ Mavic GP4 tubulars I had hanging around. GP4's were the period upgrade at the time for an SR500, so in a way it's sorta an SR600 now. Cleaned and lubed the freewheel that was on it. Brake pads squeal like nobody's business, but I guess that's what I get from using ancient pads! New pads will be in the works soon.
Got out for an ~18 mile ride today, first ride since I crashed. Shoulder still hurts, but the bike felt noticeably better, smoother, nicer overall. Here are some updated pics:









Speaking of my crash (and the other person who crashed within minutes of me)....
In the week or so after the crashes, the city put up new signage, and kinda sorta modified the bike lane and street markings in that area. It is a known bad crossing for cyclists, just not sure how much better this is going to make it. Even today, in the dry, I got off the bike and walked across the tracks. I guess I am still a bit gun-shy of riding over them, even though I have crossed them hundreds of times in the past.

New signage approaching the area:


As you get closer. You can see the "ride around" they built on the other side of the street, so cyclists going in that direction can have a straight-on, perpendicular approach to the tracks:


The offending track that I wiped out on, and the ditch I landed in:

Mad Honk 

Jon,
Glad to hear "You" are on the road again! Smiles, MH

campfire

So...is there a challenge this year? I wasn't able to find a 2024 challenge thread.