What do you do with a tired old frame?

dustboy
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21
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8/26/2010
Location
Oakland, CA US
6/26/2011 2:57pm Edited Date/Time 8/14/2014 2:08pm
If you've been riding long enough, you've probably had the problem of what to do with an old frame.

Maybe it's cracked, or bent, or just obsolete. But you can't just kick an old friend to the curb.

I have this old Santa Cruz Super 8 that was well used and passed down to me by a good friend, I rode it for a few seasons and passed it to my brother. He tired of it, so now it's back to me. It has survived a lot of great rides. Now the rear swingarm is bent, and replacements are nowhere to be found. The old Boxxer leaks, and all the usable parts have been stripped to build other bikes.

If it was rideable, I'd sell it cheap or donate it to a (big) kid who could use it, but it can't collect dust in my garage any longer.

It might make a great beach cruiser, with the rear shock sagged way out..but in my town you'd get bike-jacked for it.
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sideshow
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291
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8/6/2009
Location
Keene, NH US
6/27/2011 8:00am
I've heard that they make great wall-hangings.
sspomer
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Location
Boise, ID US
6/27/2011 8:00am
can you turn it into some sort of mechanical bull? : ) you could see how much you could get for it at a scrap aluminum yard i guess. i think the beach cruiser idea for sure. take the shock out, replace it w/ a block of wood to keep it sagged and rigid for pedaling.
6/27/2011 9:18am
I reckon you might be able to take it to a bike restorer or something like that...
6/27/2011 9:57am
Bolt it together with a bunch of other crap and make a chopper, tall bike or other freakshow 2 wheeled thing. The top half of my tall bike is a Brooklyn Machine Works park bike HT with the broken rear end cut off.
Iggz
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55
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8/1/2009
Location
Scotts Valley, CA US
6/27/2011 10:55am
They all go to my homies legendary wall of broken parts
bturman
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2102
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8/1/2009
Location
Durango, CO US
6/27/2011 11:19am
One of my old frames is now a "cow bell."
And a damn good one at that. I have video footage to prove it!
dustboy
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21
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8/26/2010
Location
Oakland, CA US
6/27/2011 11:50am
Samsquatch wrote:
Bolt it together with a bunch of other crap and make a chopper, tall bike or other freakshow 2 wheeled thing. The top half of my...
Bolt it together with a bunch of other crap and make a chopper, tall bike or other freakshow 2 wheeled thing. The top half of my tall bike is a Brooklyn Machine Works park bike HT with the broken rear end cut off.
For f**k's sake, you broke a BMW? You savage.

Big Bird gets cred for the beach cruiser idea. He was the original owner, so dude if you're listening you have first crack at it.
codh
Posts
2
Joined
6/10/2011
Location
Littleton, CO US
6/27/2011 2:20pm
Mojo wheels modded an old frame to a toilet, sp now you spin the crank and it flushes!
camdenthekid
Posts
46
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8/6/2009
Location
Sloughhouse, CA US
6/27/2011 2:27pm
we just make crap play bikes to screw off on our mini pump track trials course haha
TG333
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2
Joined
6/28/2011
Location
DE
6/28/2011 1:12am
One of my old frames is now a "cow bell."
This. A fearsome downhill harp.
Jeremy
Posts
1
Joined
8/1/2009
Location
Assen NL
6/28/2011 3:10am
We build some lakejump bikes from the old frame's. Alu frame's are the best, they keep floating for a while.
Big Bird
Posts
2133
Joined
2/1/2011
Location
Oceano, CA US
7/2/2011 10:56am
Samsquatch wrote:
Bolt it together with a bunch of other crap and make a chopper, tall bike or other freakshow 2 wheeled thing. The top half of my...
Bolt it together with a bunch of other crap and make a chopper, tall bike or other freakshow 2 wheeled thing. The top half of my tall bike is a Brooklyn Machine Works park bike HT with the broken rear end cut off.
dustboy wrote:
For f**k's sake, you broke a BMW? You savage. Big Bird gets cred for the beach cruiser idea. He was the original owner, so dude if...
For f**k's sake, you broke a BMW? You savage.

Big Bird gets cred for the beach cruiser idea. He was the original owner, so dude if you're listening you have first crack at it.
@dustboy. You're a pretty good fabricator, you should try Spomers idea of a bull ride bike. Just replace the shock with an eccentric gear driven by a chain from the rear wheel, so as you coast along, the bike cycles through the travel like a bucking bronco. Yee Haw! Otherwise, I already have a 41 Schwinn project that I'm not working on, so I don't need a cruiser. But man I liked that bike when it was mine. That Super 8 was the best technical climbing bike that I've ever ridden. I used to train for DH on it by doing stair climbs on UCSC campus, including the long sets near the library. 21 stairs up is my record.
dustboy
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Joined
8/26/2010
Location
Oakland, CA US
7/2/2011 12:37pm
Big Bird wrote:
@dustboy. You're a pretty good fabricator, you should try Spomers idea of a bull ride bike. Just replace the shock with an eccentric gear driven by...
@dustboy. You're a pretty good fabricator, you should try Spomers idea of a bull ride bike. Just replace the shock with an eccentric gear driven by a chain from the rear wheel, so as you coast along, the bike cycles through the travel like a bucking bronco. Yee Haw! Otherwise, I already have a 41 Schwinn project that I'm not working on, so I don't need a cruiser. But man I liked that bike when it was mine. That Super 8 was the best technical climbing bike that I've ever ridden. I used to train for DH on it by doing stair climbs on UCSC campus, including the long sets near the library. 21 stairs up is my record.
Heh heh, yeah that sounds hectic. Would be a good chance for me to practice a bit of machining. I agree with you on the climbing, I have climbed tech sections on the S8 that I haven't been able to touch on any other bike. Counterintuitive but true.
Big Bird
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2133
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2/1/2011
Location
Oceano, CA US
7/4/2011 8:45am
@dustboy. Now that I think about it, how bout you throw it in the truck next time you come to Santa Cruz. I'd like to carefully measure it's geometry to try and figure out how it climbs so well. I'm thinking of building myself an xc bike and that might be the perfect pivot placement/chainstay length.
dustboy
Posts
21
Joined
8/26/2010
Location
Oakland, CA US
7/4/2011 12:46pm
You got it walti.

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