Due to a change in circumstances I have a need for two new bikes (one for MrsAlias), mostly to be used on the flat and where ‘offroad’ nothing rough enough to need suspension, preferences for racks and low-maintenance/bullet proof and cheap as possible.

gonna keep my eye on freecycle and visit the tip later in the week to see if they have anything as a starting point.

Any other good suggestions?

Assuming I will need tyres, saddles, bar grips/tape, cables&outers, brake blocks/pads, BB, as a minimum, what is this realistically going to cost?

find a part in the shed you really should have thrown away or sold.

build a bike around it.

spend way more than you set out to.

depends where you live. the bike station – edinburgh . glasgow and IIRC perth do up old bikes and sell them on cheaply. Must be something similar around you

Any other good suggestions?

Assuming I will need tyres, saddles, bar grips/tape, cables&outers, brake blocks/pads, BB, as a minimum, what is this realistically going to cost?

😯

expensive way to do it!!

browse ebay for old (90s) mtbs. collection only keeps the price down.

I bought a 90s raleigh for £15.
It only needed tyres (all cracked). £30

I’ve since added a nexus hub gear (£15 off ebay) + £10 for spokes.
and some swept back bars £12.

Need to add some mudguards and a rack/ basket and i’m finished.

Reviously did a 90s raleigh road bike and it was in similar good condition. (that one cost a bit more as i didn’t realise how big sussex was so it was a LONG drive to collect. still only £15 though).

find a part in the shed you really should have thrown away or sold.

build a bike around it.

spend way more than you set out to.

Hahhh….. this exactly. I’ve done this sooooo many times.

a quick glance at ebay yesterday had people looking for ‘vintage’ prices for scrap! I was looking at the spares/repair ones

£15 for a pile of bike would be reasonable (what I will pay at the tip)

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/raleigh-max-ogre-mountain-bike-MTB-21-frame-26-wheels-21-gears-gold-/302379556194?hash=item466739dd62:g:gEQAAOSwKoRZY6yJ

something like this is a good start.

And yes you will have to sift through the people who think it’s worth £200 beacuse it cost £400 25 years ago and it’s in good condition!!

Planet X / CR are pretty good for buying cheap finishing kit.. you can buy stems for £3, saddles and tyres for £5 if you shop around.. I bought a 9 speed Alivio triple chainset with rings for £8 from CR the other day..

Edit: See, a 50p stem!

BTW Planet X is pretty poorly categorised, so search for “Stem” or “Tyre” rather than browse by category..

find a part in the shed you really should have thrown away or sold.

That’s what I do. Either that or it’s built around an incorrect part I ordered for another bike that didn’t fit.

Anytime I try to build myself a shite pub bike it gets out of hand and ends up wearing bits of XTR etc.!

This time I decided to buy a couple of cheap folders for us to use:

I’ve already caught myself looking for lighter/faster tyres though!

Depending on how tall you are, I recently put a 1998 Scott Tampico in the classifieds. I put it up for way too much though as it wants for nothing.

I’d be willing to let that go for a lot cheaper than the asking price to be honest.

Let me know if you want to see any pics.

Ask on here. I’ve done it a couple of times. People have stuff taking up space, and are sometimes grateful for the opportunity to give it to a good home.

I was given an old bontrager that had been rescued from a skip. Brakes, gears, forks, tyres, saddle had to be binned, but I think I spend £25 on a saddle, £6 on grips, £9 on a headset and £20 on s/h P2 forks. I sawed off the gear shifter pod from the brake levers (integrated XT jobs) and fished calipers, SS Chainring, sprocket, spacers pedals and tyres out of the parts bin. Forward facing horizontal dropouts meant SS was a doddle. Gave it a coat of exterior emulsion to match the front door. Great little bike to commute on, visit pubs on and rag around off road.

A year and a bit later, I noticed a rather large spiral crack in the downtube, posted a “oh noes” thread on here and had a few more offers from “free to collect” to £25/50 or so.

The one I went for was another skip rescue bike. The chap was in a shop when someone was shifting parts over to new frame, and was going bin th old one – a Raleigh Randonneur. Too big for him, but he couldn’t watch it being binned, so he held onto it for 7(?) years till someone the right size came along.

Spent more on bits this time, as it’s 700c and drop bars but it’s such a lovely bike to ride. Gets used pretty much every day, commuting, errands, long and short road rides. Love it!

Thanks again, tobymc and teasel!

Local facebook free ads is another place to pick up old bikes cheap.

fixed 😉

hmm, the stolen bit Im very keen to avoid.

a more refined ebay (avoiding spares/repair) search has thrown up a couple of local options

My Vitus Vee 29er single speed would be ideal for you, but I’m probably too far away to make it cost effective.

the mc in mcnultycop had me thinking you would be north of the border, however north of the Watford’s a bit far…

jam bo – Member
find a part in the shed you really should have thrown away or sold.

build a bike around it.

spend way more than you set out to.

so many times + 2

I’m pretty sure I’ve built hack bike that didn’t even include the part that triggered it all off before now.

good effort mr vegas. did you still have the original spare part on the shelf?

I think I have a spare sram rear mech and a set of 680mm riser bars. Neither of which would feature in my ideal build, and I suspect neither will be any use in functionifying whatever I can get my hands on.

I use ReCycabike here in Stirling – all bikes £75-150, all serviced and good to go.

I bought a Specialized hybrid for £125 that so far does paper round each day and gets me to work 2-3 times a week. I need a new tyre on it after 6 months.

I’m pretty sure I’ve built hack bike that didn’t even include the part that triggered it all off before now.

I bought a cheap TT bike meaning to replace the frame on it. I bought another frame then ended up buying a whole new set of bits and ended up with 2 complete TT bikes at the end. Hadn’t re-used a single part.

Have a look on ebay and Gumtree for “Real Classic” town bikes, you should be able to pick them up for under £50, enclosed drivetrain, Sturmey gears, sturdy 36H wheels, racks built in. Ladies and gents models out there.

For low budget/skip/pub bike, and in a blatant recommend what you have way I would look at a mid 90s hybrid or mountain bike from the budget to middling end of the spectrum. The steel components and frame will weigh a ton but will wear mileage and mistreatment well.

Throw the crap cantis and plastic brake levers in the bin (if that’s what it has – Shimano cantis and metal levers were quite good) and add a really cheap set of Shimano (or Tektro) Vs, a rack and some mudguards.

I have a muddy fox explorer sport. It’s a total piece of flexible, ugly pig iron. BUT it’s stupidly comfy for cruising about on tarmac and easy bridleway type stuff. Big 38c tyres help as do some of those weird ergonomic grips.

My only confession is the Muddy was a family hand me down so maybe not as badly treated as some kit will have been.

More modern idea would be an inbred as they had rack mounts and I bet you can fudge some guards on.

For low budget/skip/pub bike, and in a blatant recommend what you have way I would look at a mid 90s hybrid or mountain bike from the budget to middling end of the spectrum. The steel components and frame will weigh a ton but will wear mileage and mistreatment well.

Throw the crap cantis and plastic brake levers in the bin (if that’s what it has – Shimano cantis and metal levers were quite good) and add a really cheap set of Shimano (or Tektro) Vs, a rack and some mudguards.

This can get expensive when the upgraditis bites.

jam bo – Member

find a part in the shed you really should have thrown away or sold.
build a bike around it.

spend way more than you set out to.

so many times + 2[/quote]

My worst ever case of that was building a bike around a seatclamp I wanted to use 😳

the mc in mcnultycop had me thinking you would be north of the border, however north of the Watford’s a bit far…

It’s an Irish mc, which would’ve been further.

In MK midweek but reside in north Manchester.