I know this is poorly disguised my new bike thread, but I am genuinely interested to know how far people have gone when adorning a “cheap” frame.

I bought this off the classifieds this week from a very nice chap not called Steve…

[url=https://flic.kr/p/rutS99]IMG_0839[/url] by MartinRobbo, on Flickr

And I put all the best bits I had on it (bar the cranks, but the best ones have a funny BCD), it feels nice & light but I’m waiting on some bits so I can shorten the hoses before I take it out.

How far have you gone polishing a turd?

Cheers.

I don’t see that as polishing a ‘turd’, higher mid range kit on a higher mid range frame.

Maybe polishing a turd was the wrong phrase, but it is a cheap frame if you compare on-one carbon with other carbon frame manufacturers.

Cheers.

Definition of cheap certainly has changed.

My “turd” at the moment is a tensile steel 1996 Diamondback Traverse. I’ve probably spent about £40 on it and feel robbed, still need to spend more on a chainring.

I once spent £2400 on building up an On One Summer Season frame. Fox, Hope, Race Face, XT. The frame was £129 in the sale.

It rode like a £129 gas pipe frame.

I got this for £12 for the Frame and Fork !!!!!

[url=https://flic.kr/p/dRzxKZ]P1050024[/url] by eastham_david, on Flickr

What frame is that?

I got this for £12 for the frame and fork

Bargain’tastic , the Salsa fork alone would have been a absolute steel looks nice and clean too.

This whole bike (rare-ish chromoly US General Lee 24″) cost me about £50 about a year ago-

That’s how it arrived, all rusted and tired. I’ve since chucked probably £300 at new and decent used parts for it. Yes, I’m an idiot, but it’s lovely to ride and a definite keeper 😀 –

[url=https://flic.kr/p/8WN8Se]Another gate shot[/url] by Northwindlowlander, on Flickr

This gets rebuilt in different forms about once a year- my old Carrera Kraken that got me back into riding. This isn’t the pimpiest variant but I don’t seem to have any pics- in its prime it had carbon cranks, forks, bars, a gravity dropper turbo, formula r1 brakes, roval control el wheels, x9 drivetrain, and weighed somewhere around 20lbs. There weren’t many parts on it worth less than the frame- maybe the grips, and the chain? But not the tyres.

it’s a 2006 kona unit, and I got the kona frame and fork for £12, the salsa was £50

Ha, I had a General Lee once as well, proper fun bike that I used for a relatively short commute. Once rode it 18 miles to East Kilbride and back for no real reason. Sold it to a mate and not seen it since he gave it to someone to fix, fud. Would have it back as an n+1 if I actually had anywhere to ride it.

Rode it into the back of a van as well, £30 and a new set of forks later you would never have known.

Vortex racing was that the frame that needed a bit of adjustment at the back that I sent for just the postage cost? Just interested, I can’t remember!