Stroke of luck

Last year I came across an abandoned bike in my wife's size. After a few parts from our bin were swapped on it, some new rubber, she had the best beer bike of all time (IMO).

I've been keeping my eyes peeled for a similarly abandoned rig for me. Our condo has a rubbish bin twice a year so people can dump their shit. It's usually full of crap but today had a perfectly preserved piece of crap. An Outeniqua MTB500. Whats that? You've never heard of Outeniqua? Well it looks like it sounds. Amazingly, the rubber is still good, the chrome rims have not even a spec of rust and the chain isn't even ceased. I think someone bought it and stored it in the bike lockup until it went in the bin. I'm stoked to put new cables on it and ride it down to the beach.

I'll post a picture once it's done. In the meantime share your lucky breaks here. Gear you got for free? Hand me downs. Whatever.

That beer run basket is money! I haven’t had a good find or restoration project for a couple years now as I haven’t been looking.

I’ll post a pic later but favourite find was a 24” wheeled Specialized Gromhit that I got cheap as it was pretty bagged and the shock was shot. Tore it apart, replaced the shock, raided the parts bins at home and LBS and built a wicked bike for my son. He’s super proud of it and brags how his dad built it for him. I’ve also got a long list of people in line to buy it when the kids are done!

Wikipedia says: "Outeniqua" is said to be derived from a Khoikhoi tribe that once lived in the mountains of South Africa, and means "they who bear honey"

Still can't figure how it looks like it sounds. I'm getting Winnie the Poo mixed with Dr. Seuss visions.

replace the water cannon with pressurized beer kegs and you are good to go

Your photos please

and Dr. Seuss bikes links me to MC Escher bikes

Posted by: Poz

That beer run basket is money! I haven’t had a good find or restoration project for a couple years now as I haven’t been looking.

I’ll post a pic later but favourite find was a 24” wheeled Specialized Gromhit that I got cheap as it was pretty bagged and the shock was shot. Tore it apart, replaced the shock, raided the parts bins at home and LBS and built a wicked bike for my son. He’s super proud of it and brags how his dad built it for him. I’ve also got a long list of people in line to buy it when the kids are done!

That's an awesome story. I would have been so proud if my dad had done that for me. Would love to see a photo.

Several months ago there was old 26" bike out in front of our complex with a "free" sign hanging on it.  It had seen better days, but I figured I could fix it up for my daughter who was ready to move on from her 24".  Took it apart, cleaned everything, put on new brake pads, new cables, and a new chain and it's ready for summer.

I have no idea what brand of bike it is, I suspect it was built up from some spare parts.  The frame is polished aluminum, but no name or logos anywhere.  The drivetrain is 90s Deore LX, and it has a Mongoose stem, and a weird steel handlebar.  The suspension fork just says  "737" on the side.

Only photo I have of it now

Has Crank Bros stamps on it now along with Minions. Also swapped on some SLX brakes  

and he just got tall enough for me to toss on my old external routed reverb which he is jazzed on

Only problem is I think I set the bar too high as his little sister wants a “daddy custom” bike for her next ride!

Posted by: Poz

Only photo I have of it now

Has Crank Bros stamps on it now along with Minions. Also swapped on some SLX brakes  

and he just got tall enough for me to toss on my old external routed reverb which he is jazzed on

Only problem is I think I set the bar too high as his little sister wants a “daddy custom” bike for her next ride!

I want a "daddy custom"!

What a spectacular kids bike. You really did outdo yourself. The dropper and hydraulic brakes are def. over the top!

Thanks for posting the pic.

Ha thanks. I blame it on the kids but really I just love to work on bikes and do fun builds. So it’s win win!

He’s growing fast and may move ip to a larger size wheel frame next year. Maybe a small women’s. I’ve got some good hope wheels sitting and waiting  

Will probably have to swap out some parts on this build for some pink or purple to make it “custom” for the daughter.

Stroke of luck : selling all my new old stock parts with obsolete standards that I'll never use. I had a box full of various things that I kept moving around and this spring seemed like the time to unload it. 

Stroke of badluck : A good friend of mine wanted a bike and I had an old '96 Rocky Mtn Hammer Race frame with old high-end Mavic/XT wheels, an 01 marzocchi and the original Quadra 21R fork. He told me "I'll give you 400$ for the parts and whatever you need to make it rideable for cyclepaths and gravel roads". It needed around 200$ of parts so that was a good deal. 

After cleaning everything, I built it up, install the fork, cycle it a few times and see that the seals are leaking. It worked very well without leaks 5-6 years ago, but was not anymore. Okay no big deal, I bought new seals and dust wipers and rebuild the fork. While rebuilding it, after having cleaned it so well and installed the new SKF seals and Enduro wipers, the internal damper shaft cracked at the threads. Damn! I looked around and couldn't find parts at all for that '01 MCR. Okay, no big deal, I wanted to keep the Q21R as a souvenir of my early years, but for the price it was worth using it. Open it up, the elastomers are still feeling fresh (!) and the threads are all good everywhere. It cycles well, but with a few miles in it should be smooth as back in the days. I Loctite the fork brace bolts and bolt it on the bike to discover that it has so much bushing play and cycles in steps. What the hell! I shoved a few spoons of WPL oil in the bushing area under the stanchion protectors, cycled it and left it for a day. To no surprise, it didn't work any better.

I was 275$ in for new parts bought for the damn old bike and it still didn't have a fork. Anyone has tried to find a cheap 26" fork with v-brake posts lately? Nothing. Left. Anywhere. There was a cheap RockShox 28 for 200$, but that would bring the bike to 475$ without including the labor. 

Stroke of luck #2 : One of my friends had an old Giant Yukon with disc brake wheels and a Suntour fork that was working well. He said " It needs a few repairs and I don't want to deal with that so just come pick it up and I'll give it to you!". I ran to grab it! It was dirty as sin but after an hour of cleaning everything, I discovered that the fork was usable and the wheels were true and turning nicely. 

Spent probably 30-40 hours of cleaning, installing, shopping parts, picking up parts, unbuilding and rebuilding forks and parts, but it is now built and ready to ride. This wasn't my first frankenbike build but I swore I'd never do another build like that ever!

Finally got around to putting new cables on this mint POC. My condo puts a dumpster out once or twice a year so people can get rid of things like couches. This beaut was chucked in there. The tires are cracking and falling apart but still hold air. The cables all need to be replaced but they are just corroded with age, not rusted. I'm sure the grease is long dried out but everything spins. For sure it's an awful bike, but it rolls and to my surprise the limit screws were all set perfectly. 

New beer bike day today!

A close up of the breathtaking brown sparkle paint job

Extra sweep for more comfort. And the sponge grips are original!